This course focuses on the United States government. You'll examine the historical forces that influenced the English and, later, American governments and the forms of government created. You'll also investigate the way the government functions and learn about the US
Constitution. The final part of the course centers on citizenship and the election process.
Analyze the US government's influences
Interpret the US Constitution
Identify the levels of US government
Explain the rights and responsibilities of citizenship and the political process
You’ll begin this lesson by thinking about the nature of government in general. Although this course is about American government, you’ll
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first look at ideas about government across time.
You’ll see how governments began, what the basic purposes of government are now, and what they’ve always been.
You’ll see how modern governments differ from one another. With all of these things in mind, you’ll then begin the study of American government. Well, almost. You see, America’s form of government owes much to English history.
You’ll come to understand how English ideas of representative government were brought to American shores. You’ll see that England and America were—and still are—political cousins.
In the final part of this lesson, you’ll learn that Americans thought of themselves as British subjects for a long time. When America was born in 1776, British settlers had been here since 1607. That’s 169 years. Over that period, the colonists had developed their own customs and ways of thinking about things. For example, think of the way that the British and the Americans use the English language.
They both speak English, but there’s a difference. In a way, the colonists were developing their identity as Americans long before
1776. Then, in the years leading up to 1776, Americans began to feel hemmed in by Parliament and the English king. People began to whisper to each other about independence. When the British made
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the colonies pay unfair taxes, that whispering became shouting.
American patriots formed a Continental Congress and openly challenged King George III of England.
The Nature of Government
READING ASSIGNMENT
Simply put, government is one or more people who exercise control over a society. A society is a group of people who live and work in a particular area, such as a state or nation. The people in the society may or may not have a say in how the government operates. Human societies have existed for many thousands of years. The earliest societies were small bands, or groups. They had no government as we know it today. Even so, a form of governing did exist. Groups of elders would gather to consider the needs of the band and make decisions on important matters. For example, the elders would decide where the people should travel next in search of food.
Later, in tribal societies, government became more formal. Most often, councils of elders gathered under the guidance of chiefs. Before
Europeans arrived in America, tribal chiefs usually served different purposes. Some would act as authorities on settling disputes. Others would plan for war or organize religious ceremonies.
As societies became larger and more complex, so did their
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governments. About 7,000 years ago, people in the Middle East and
Africa began systematic farming. This type of development is called an agricultural revolution.
Before this, people simply raised vegetables in local gardens. Now, this new kind of farming produced surpluses of grains like wheat, rice, and oats, which could be stored for future use.
That’s important. Before the agricultural revolution, people were always in danger of running out of food if a crop failed or if game was scarce.
With organized farming, however, came the need for organized government. In fact, most historians agree that the agricultural revolution brought about organized governments and civilizations.
As civilizations rose and fell, societies changed. Harvest surpluses allowed for larger populations. As populations grew, people were divided into social classes.
Farmers made up the largest social class.
But there were also rulers and priests, who were usually the only people who could read and write. Other social classes included traders, soldiers, and artisans.
Diagram of social class structure illustrating both size and rank.
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As populations grew, people were divided into social classes. This diagram illustrates the approximate size and rank of some of these classes.
A social class is a group of people with similar positions in society.
Artisans are people who make things that people need, like pots, weapons, and bricks for building.
As societies became larger and more complex, they began to need written laws. The first written laws were developed in Mesopotamia, which is now Iraq.
The earliest roots of modern European government came from two great civilizations—Greece and Rome. At first, Greece was the dominant civilization of Europe and the Mediterranean area. During this time, something extraordinary happened. We call it democracy.
About 350 B.C.
, Athens was the greatest city in a region called Attica.
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It was in Athens that democracy was invented, and that’s why our word democracy comes from Greek. The first part of the word, demos, means “the people.” Democracy is government that draws its power from the people. Of course, in Athens, rule wasn’t by all the people.
Only male citizens who owned property could gather to make public policy and pass laws. Slaves, women, and children weren’t considered citizens.
Elements of Greek government were used by the next government of the people, Rome. In fact, historians speak of this early period as the
Greco-Roman period. They do so to remind us that both societies shared ideas about citizenship and government.
In the Roman Republic, citizens chose representatives to a national
Senate to vote for laws for Rome. The republic didn’t last, though. It eventually became an empire, ruled by military rulers called caesars, for Julius Caesar. The Roman Empire in the western part of Europe ended around 476 A.D.
In the eastern part of Europe, it lasted until about 1100 A.D.
All of the major Greek philosophers thought democracy was a bad form of government. Two of these philosophers were Aristotle and
Plato. Aristotle claimed that the competing interests in a democracy made for chaos rather than purposive and deliberated action. Plato, in his critique of democracy, called The Republic, claimed that democracy allowed people to follow all their passions and drives without order or control.
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But, to this day, the foundations of Roman roads exist in England and all over Europe. Some modern roads have been built over them.
Those old roads serve as reminders that European civilization was built on Roman foundations. European and American ideas about law, citizenship, and representative government came from the Romans.
In the world today, there are almost 200 sovereign states . A state or nation is called sovereign if it has the power to govern itself fully, by such things as making laws, imposing taxes, forming treaties, and engaging in commerce with other nations. The United States of
America, Canada, China, Japan, and Mexico are just a few examples of sovereign states. Although there are many different kinds of national governments, most can be grouped into two categories: authoritarian governments and democratic governments.
An authoritarian government rules without the consent of the people.
By contrast, a democratic government is based on the will of the people.
Image of a royal crown
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There are three basic kinds of authoritarian governments:
1. Absolute monarchies
2. Dictatorships
3. Totalitarian states
Absolute monarchies.
Absolute monarchies are governments ruled by emperors, kings, or queens who have absolute power. In 44 B.C.
,
Augustus Caesar became the first Roman emperor after the republic collapsed. At that time, a senate advised the king. But the senate had lost its real power. Augustus actually held absolute power.
Louis XIV became king of France in 1643 A.D.
, when he was only 5 years old. However, he wasn’t allowed to rule until 1651 A.D.
, when he was 13.
Much later, Louis XIV held absolute power as king of France. He
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called himself le Roi Soliel (the Sun King). He used that name to show the French people that he was the center and the source of power in
France. Louis XIV also said, “L’état, c’est moi,” which means “I am the state.” Statements such as these illustrate the power these monarchs held during that period of history.
Some absolute monarchs, like King Solomon in ancient Israel, have ruled in a just and wise manner, but many absolute monarchs were cruel and unjust.
In Europe and Asia, absolute monarchy was justified by a religious idea called the divine right of kings.
In other words, kings ruled by
God’s will. Today, that idea is no longer accepted, and few absolute monarchies exist. Some present-day monarchs like Queen Elizabeth of England don’t actually rule.
The British Parliament and the prime minister govern the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Queen Elizabeth is honored as a symbol of the nation, but she has little real power. (Later in this lesson, you’ll learn more about Parliament and the prime minister of England.)
Another type of monarchy is called a constitutional monarchy . In such a government, the powers of the ruler are limited to those granted under the constitution and laws of the nation. Some nations with this type of government have a written constitution (for example, Denmark and Norway); others, like Great Britain, have an unwritten constitution.
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Image of a fist
Dictatorships.
Dictatorships take different forms. There are pure dictatorships in which one person holds all power. For example, the brutal military leader Idi Amin was the dictator of the African state of
Uganda. He ruled by gathering wealth for himself and his associates.
He did so by using force and fear to control the people of Uganda.
Juan Perón, another military leader, was the dictator of Argentina in
South America from 1946 to 1974. Perón wasn’t as cruel as Idi Amin.
He did help the industrial workers in the form of pay increases and fringe benefits. But he ruled the country of Argentina with military power, and he eliminated the people’s constitutional rights.
Sometimes, dictatorships exist as small groups called oligarchies
(pronounced AH-luhgar-keez). Today, when a legitimate government is overthrown, it will often be ruled by a group of military officers called a junta (pronounced HUN-tah). Junta is a Spanish word that means to join. A junta is a form of ruling oligarchy.
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A regime is a system of government, but the term is often used to refer to a dictatorial or totalitarian government.
Totalitarian states.
A totalitarian state is one in which the leader has total control of the government and the people. The two most terrible totalitarian regimes of the twentieth century were those of the former
Soviet Union and of Germany under Adolph Hitler. Let’s take a look at both of these states.
The former Soviet Union had an absolute ruler called the Soviet premier. Other people in the Soviet Union had power, but the premier made the most important decisions. The most brutal and ruthless of the Soviet premiers was Joseph Stalin, who ruled the Soviet Union from 1928 to 1953. Stalin ruled with police terror and caused mass murders of some of his own people.
During Stalin’s rule in the Soviet Union, Adolph Hitler ruled Germany
(about 1933 to 1945). Hitler was also a dictator who held absolute power. He called himself the führer (leader) of the Nazi party, and his regime was called the Third Reich.
While Hitler ruled, the Nazi party was the only political party permitted to exist.
Both Hitler and Stalin ruled by using military force and by making people afraid to question government policies. Both dictators used concentration camps to control millions of people. In the Soviet Union, the slave labor camps were called gulags . At least 20 million people were enslaved in the gulags to build dams, railroads, and factories.
Conditions in the gulags were terrible. Millions died of disease and
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starvation. No one knows how many others were simply worked to death.
Hitler also set up concentration camps all over German-occupied territory. Some of these camps were for slave labor. Conditions in these camps were like those in the Soviet gulags. But Hitler also set up death camps, most of which were in Nazi-occupied Poland, for the purpose of eliminating certain people. The death camps had names like Sobibor, Auschwitz, Treblinka, and Buchenwald. These are hard names to pronounce and remember, but they’re names you should be familiar with. At Sobibor alone, one million Jews were murdered.
Overall, six million Jews died during the Nazi rule of Germany. At least two million other people were murdered along with the Jews. They included Roma Gypsies, people with intellectual disabilities, and people who vocally disagreed with Nazi rule. The wholesale murder of entire populations is called genocide . The genocide that occurred in
Hitler’s Germany is called the Holocaust.
More recent examples of genocide occurred in the 1990s among the warring states that made up the former Yugoslavia. The state most involved in this activity was Serbia, which called the genocide ethnic cleansing .
Both Hitler and Stalin used propaganda to persuade people that they ruled in the name of the nation and the people. Propaganda is the spreading of information, false or true, with the purpose of convincing people of something. Hitler’s propaganda was mostly lies. He taught
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young and old alike racial superiority, that the German people were the world’s master race. All other peoples were considered inferior.
Stalin’s biggest lie concerned the Communist democracy. He called it a democracy, but the only political party allowed in the Soviet Union was the Communist Party. Elections were held, but they had no meaning, because the people had no power to choose whom they would vote for.
Both Hitler and Stalin were dictators who ruled totalitarian states. The difference between the two was in their ideas. Hitler wanted to conquer Europe and exterminate what he called “inferior people.”
Stalin wanted to make the Soviet Union a world power through slave labor and propaganda. Stalin’s propaganda proclaimed a philosophy called communism.
People were taught that communism was the perfect government of the future—that it would bring about a world in which all would be equal. In reality, Stalin’s government, the Union of
Soviet Socialists Republics (USSR), was a brutal totalitarian police state.
As you’ve already learned, democracy is a type of government by the people. In this section, you’ll examine two different styles of democracies:
1. Direct democracy
2. Representative democracy
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The main difference between the two is the amount of participation by the citizens. In a direct democracy , any citizen can participate directly in the decision making of government. In a representative democracy , the people participate in the decision making through an elected representative.
Direct democracy.
The democracy of ancient Athens was a direct democracy. Any citizen could participate in a public debate over government policies. As you can imagine, debates were often noisy affairs in crowded assemblies. In the United States, direct democracy still exists in some localities. For example, in the states of New
Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont, people gather in town meetings. At these meetings, any citizen can make proposals, enter into debate, and vote. The basic aim of direct democracy is majority rule . If a majority of people vote for a new law, the law is passed. Sometimes a majority means more than half of the voters; sometimes it means more than two-thirds of the voters.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, considered by many to be the “grandfather of direct democracy,” said, “All citizens should meet together and decide what is best for the community and enact the appropriate laws.
The ruled should be the rulers.”
The danger of direct democracy is that majority rule may take away the rights of minorities. In the representative democracy of the United
States, a majority opinion can’t silence a minority opinion. Citizens of the United States are guaranteed basic rights, such as freedom of the
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press, freedom of assembly, freedom of religion, and freedom of speech. As you’ll learn later in this course, these freedoms are granted to all United States citizens by a part of the Constitution called the Bill of Rights.
Image of a ballot box
Representative democracy.
Modern nations, including the United
States, have too many people for a direct democracy. Instead, people vote for candidates to represent them in the decision-making process.
This form of government is called representative democracy.
The heart of a representative democracy is called a legislature . In the
United States, the legislature of the federal government is Congress. It consists of two houses, a Senate and a House of Representatives.
Both houses consist of representatives from each state.
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In addition to the federal legislature, each state has its own legislature.
Many of these are similar in nature to the US Congress. In fact, in the
United States, the people have a representative government at every level. There are thousands of local governments, 50 state governments, and a central federal government. All of these governments have legislative bodies.
A legislature is a group of people who propose, debate, and pass laws. A legislature in a democratic nation is intended to represent the wishes and needs of the people. Most often when you hear the term legislature, it refers to a state or federal legislative body. At the local level, a legislative body may be all the people at a town meeting.
They’re practicing direct democracy.
In some representative democracies, the will of some people is much better represented than in others. For example, people who hold wealth and power may be better represented than those who are poor and powerless. In the United States, during the years of slavery,
African Americans had no power. Their interests weren’t represented in either the federal or the state governments. They couldn’t vote. Until the twentieth century, the interests of women weren’t represented either. Women couldn’t vote until 1920, when women’s suffrage (the right to vote) was granted by the Nineteenth Amendment to the
Constitution.
All governments have three basic purposes:
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1. To decide how food and other resources are to be distributed
2. To settle disputes among people in an effort to maintain order
3. To organize the work of the people to meet common goals
Let’s look more closely at each of these purposes.
Image of money being exchanged for food
In tribal societies, harvested food was often brought to a chief. The chief would then see that the food was distributed. Everyone received a share of the maize (a kind of corn), fish, and other kinds of food.
Today, our way of getting the things we need is much more complicated. People are paid for their work in money, which they use to buy what they need. Distributing resources in our society requires many laws and regulations—laws for printing and distributing money
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to banks, laws and regulations for all the kinds of businesses and occupations, and so on.
All types of governments are based on two factors: first, who has power to make decisions and second, the way in which people make a living. When people think of government, they often think of the power factor. But the main way in which people make a living is what determines the way that power is used. The main way people make a living indicates what kind of economy a society has. The economy and the use of power go together.
For example, in ancient Egypt most people were farmers. The pharaoh (supreme ruler) appointed ministers to take a portion of the farmers’ harvests. You can think of these portions as “harvest taxes.”
Other officials had to keep track of who owned parcels of land. So, as you can see, Egyptian pharaohs had to use their power to regulate harvests and the storage of food surpluses.
In modern societies, people have many different kinds of jobs. Only a few people are farmers. Others work in construction; work in the natural gas and oil industry, or run power plants to supply electricity.
Lots of people work in the medical field. Still others work in banks or grocery stores. Some people are dentists, accountants, and lawyers.
You could add many more occupations to this list.
Because of the great variety of jobs, modern society is said to have a complex division of labor . That is, people make their living in all kinds of different ways. But most important, all of the jobs you can think of
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are connected to other people’s jobs. Mechanics are needed because other people make automobiles. Banks are needed to lend money to people who want to buy new automobiles. You can probably think of many more examples of this sort of thing. Because our economy is complicated, government must serve many purposes. It must regulate buying and selling. It must make sure that banks have enough money to make loans. It must pass laws about how people use automobiles.
You’re probably getting a good idea now of why the economy and the use of power go together.
Image of a judge
Tribal societies had customs but no written laws. After the agricultural revolution, some civilizations needed written laws to organize work and settle disputes. Where there are laws, there must be government.
And where there’s government, there must be people who make laws
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and enforce laws. Because people often disagree about things, government must have ways to manage conflict. As you might guess, this means that governments must establish courts of law and police forces. Later in this course, you’ll learn how laws and the courts are set up in America.
Image of a police and military badge
In tribal societies, elders or chiefs organized people for hunting buffalo or for defending the tribe against an enemy. In modern societies, life isn’t quite so simple. Most work that people do is regulated by organizations like corporations and small businesses and like the
Internal Revenue Service (IRS), which collects taxes.
The government in America regulates the economy. For example, it tries to make sure food is safe for people to eat. It also regulates the
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economy by controlling the money supply. Individuals decide for themselves how to make their living; the government doesn’t establish private work organizations. People are basically free to farm the land, start businesses, go to school to learn to fix computers, or do whatever else they would like.
So how do modern governments organize the work of the people to meet common goals? They do so in a variety of ways. Let’s look at just two of them.
The common defense.
One of the main goals of government is to provide for the common defense. This means that the government is responsible for protecting and defending the people who live within the area controlled by that government. In the United States, the federal government is responsible for maintaining the armed forces
(army, navy, marines, air force, and coast guard). National Guard units are maintained by the state governments. However, in time of need, the National Guard can be federalized—or brought under the control of the federal government. When that happens, National Guard units become part of the overall armed forces as long as they’re needed.
Gathering intelligence about other countries is also vital to modern defense. For that reason, the US government has established intelligence agencies. The largest and best known of these is the
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The CIA is an agency within the
Executive branch of the US government.
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The Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence develops and implements policies to combat the domestic and international financing of terrorists. This office was created in 2004 by the Bush
Administration. The Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence is part of the US Department of the Treasury.
Image of the Department of the
Treasury building
The Department of the Treasury is housed in this building in
Washington, D.C
Police and emergency services.
The federal government maintains several organizations dedicated to police and emergency services.
Policing agencies include the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Secret Service. The Secret Service is part of the US
Department of Homeland Security. The Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA) is responsible for responding to, planning for, recovering from, and mitigating disasters. The agency has had mixed results over the years. One particular incident that led to a lot of criticism was the agency’s response to Hurricane Katrina.
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Image of a fire truck outside of a station
Most towns have a volunteer fire department made up of residents of that town.
Under the US Constitution, police powers are reserved mainly to the states. Local and state police organizations are maintained within states and localities. The same is true for fire departments and emergency medical services. Nearly all localities maintain volunteer fire departments and lifesaving squads.
Key Points and Links
READING ASSIGNMENT
A government is one or more people who exercise control over a society.
All governments have three basic purposes: distributing resources, settling disputes, and organizing work.
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An authoritarian government rules without the consent of the people.
A democratic government is based on the will of the people.
In a direct democracy, any citizen can participate directly in the decision making of government.
In a representative democracy, the people participate in the decision making through an elected representative.
Library of Congress (www.loc.gov/index.html)
CIA World Factbook (www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-f actbook/index.html) iCivics.org Games (www.icivics.org/games) iCivics.org Web Quests (www.icivics.org/products/webquests)
Government in the United Kingdom (England) (www.parliament.u
k/about/mps-and-lords/principal/government-opposition/)
Foundations of American Government (www.ushistory.org/gov/2.
asp)
Discover More: Types of Government
Based on what you've read, answer the following questions.
1. What is a possible drawback to direct democracy? How might it be resolved?
2. What was the divine right of kings?
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3. What was the Holocaust? What type of government was in effect in Germany at the time of the Holocaust?
Discover More Answer Key:
Discover More: Types of Government
1. A direct democracy may allow a majority to dominate and silence a minority. This kind of problem can be remedied by providing all citizens with basic rights. Freedom of speech and freedom of religion are examples of basic rights.
2. In Europe, kings sometimes claimed that their power was from
God. They ruled by divine right.
3. The Holocaust was the killing of millions of Jews and others during Hitler’s rule over Germany. Hitler led a totalitarian government at this time.
American Government Before Independence
READING ASSIGNMENT
You’ve probably heard that America is a land of immigrants . That’s true. Americans came here from everywhere, and they continue to do
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so today. Americans trace their ancestry from almost every country in the world, but the earliest influential immigrants came from England,
Scotland, and Northern Ireland. All of them came for different reasons over a period of about 60 or 70 years. To be sure, early immigrants also came to North America from France, Spain, and Holland.
Africans came here, too, not as immigrants, but as slaves forced to become laborers. All of these peoples contributed to what America would become. Of all the people who immigrated to America, the
English people had the greatest influence on the type of country
America was to become. Let’s take a look at who they were.
Jamestown.
The first settlers in the land we now call the United
States came from England to establish a colony at Jamestown. That was in 1607. Later, the Jamestown colony became part of the
Commonwealth of Virginia. The new settlement was established in the middle of land controlled by Native American people under Chief
Powhatan. For a while, Native Americans and settlers got along. But that situation changed. The aim of the Jamestown settlers was to prosper by claiming free land for farming. Of course, to do this, they had to push the people of the Powhatan nation off their land. From that time on, for the next 100 years and more, immigrants were in conflict with Native Americans.
An immigrant is a person who goes from one country to another for the purpose of taking up permanent residence.
As you probably know, the Native Americans came out on the short
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end of the conflict. Some settlers made an effort to put Native
Americans to work on their farms, but some became slaves and were forced to work. In addition, Native Americans died from diseases
Europeans brought with them. Common diseases like measles wiped out whole tribes.
Native cultures didn’t take well to any kind of slavery. By 1619,
Africans had been brought into the Jamestown colony. As you know,
Africans soon became unpaid workers on the new plantations. The interesting thing about the Africans was that they didn’t die from
European diseases as often as Indians did. The reason was that
Europeans and Africans had been in contact with each other for a few thousand years. There were many Africans in ancient Rome, for example and large African populations in Spain during the Middle
Ages. As a result, Africans had the same immunities to disease that
Europeans had.
Plymouth.
In 1620, Puritans arrived at Plymouth. In a few years, their ancestors settled the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Puritans had strict religious values. They came to the New World to practice their religion without interference.
The New World was the term used for the land on which the new colonies were settled. Hence, Europe and England became known as the Old World , or Old Country .
Pennsylvania.
A third wave of immigrants settled the middle Atlantic area of the eastern seaboard shortly after 1680. Many of them were
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Quakers. We call Pennsylvania the Quaker State, since it was established by a Quaker named William Penn. Like the Puritans, the
Quakers were in search of a place to practice their religion in freedom.
While the Puritans were intolerant of other religions, the Quakers believed tolerance was a great virtue.
Tolerance in relation to religions means respecting the faiths of others.
Intolerance is just the opposite. It refers to the practice of condemning the religious practices of others.
The name Philadelphia , a city in Pennsylvania, means “city of brotherly love.” It received its name from the Quakers who settled there.
Southern colonies.
After the 1640s, political unrest and civil war in
England brought a new wave of colonists to Virginia and other southern colonies. Sir William Berkeley, the governor of the Virginia colony in 1642, led a campaign to draw members of England’s elite class to Virginia. His campaign led to the immigration of elites who were unhappy with the increasing power of Puritans in England.
However, the majority of immigrants came from lower classes of society. These immigrants often became indentured servants , or immigrants who paid for their passage into North America by working for an employer for a set number of years. Those who came from the lower classes hoped to eventually become landowners in the New
World.
Some of the indentured servants initially brought to Virginia were
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Africans who had a chance to earn their freedom. Slavery gradually replaced indentured servitude for African Americans and in 1661 slavery was officially established in the Virginia Colony.
Borderlanders.
Finally, coming in scattered groups were refugees from the highlands of England, Scotland, and northern Ireland. The immigrants from northern Ireland were from an English colony there called Ulster Plantation. Most of them were originally from Scotland. In
America, they became known as the Scotch-Irish. All of these highland people can be called borderlanders , because they settled the borderlands of the earlier colonies. Many of their ancestors remain in the Appalachian highlands that stretch from Georgia through West
Virginia. Many more of the borderlanders were the pioneers who pushed westward toward the Mississippi.
All of these first waves of immigrants had several things in common:
They spoke English. That’s why today English is the main language of Americans.
They shared a belief in personal liberty. Americans still value liberty very highly.
Above all, these first immigrants brought English ideas about human rights and the place of government in daily life. Americans in all the colonies believed in liberty under the rule of law.
In addition to these common ideas, Puritans and Quakers brought their love of learning. Americans still value public education for all children. Borderlanders brought their love of independence—not to
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mention country music! And the cavaliers brought ideas about how ladies and gentlemen should behave.
Now that you’ve studied the first arrivals to America, let’s look back in time to see how American ideas of liberty and democracy were born in
England.
England was inventing ideas about citizenship and government long before Europeans came to the New World. In 1215, King John ruled
England. To rule, he had to keep the power of the nobles, or barons , in check.
During this period, land was the most important form of wealth. Those who owned or controlled lands were either nobles or kings. Conflict arose between King John and the English barons who held titles to land. The king, you see, needed money for his royal duties and for wars. He wasn’t a careful spender and was usually broke. Therefore, to gain some extra money, King John imposed many kinds of taxes on the barons. As you can guess, those taxes angered the barons for two main reasons. First, the taxes were too high. Second, they were imposed without any say from the barons themselves.
Photo of the Magna
Carta
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The Magna Carta changed the government in England by checking the power of the king.
At last, in the year 1215, a group of barons drafted a document called the Magna Carta.
At a place called Runnymede, the barons confronted the king with armed force and required him to sign the document.
The Magna Carta changed the nature of government in England.
From then on, the power of the king was checked by the power of the barons. Above all, the king was required to follow the same laws that applied to the barons. In time, that idea spread to include English citizens of all social classes.
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Under the provisions in the Magna Carta, people who were accused of an offense had the right to a trial by a jury of peers . This was a great advance toward modern ideas of the rule of law. Prior to this time, kings had the power to throw people into prison if they challenged the king’s authority. Trials, when they occurred, were conducted by nobles. Now, under the Magna Carta, accused persons deserved a trial by a jury of peers. That meant that people charged with an offense had to be judged by people who were like them. It also meant that no person, not even the king, was above the law.
The words Magna Carta are Latin for “Great Charter.” For many years after the fall of Rome, Latin was the language of scholars. That fact reminds us of the great influence of Rome on medieval Europe. Latin was a language known to lords and barons in England.
In time, the following items were added to these principles of the
Magna Carta:
Offenders must be charged with a specific crime and brought before a magistrate or judge.
Those charged with a crime must be considered innocent until proven guilty.
Accused persons had the right to confront their accusers and know what offense they were charged with.
The Magna Carta gave additional rights and powers to English barons. But as time passed, the principles of the Magna Carta were claimed by other citizens. Click here (www.archives.gov/exhibits/featur
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ed_documents/magna_carta/) for additional information on the significance of the Magna Carta and to view the actual document.
Life in the Middle Ages was based on who owned land. Land was power. Kings and lords granted titles and land to lesser lords. These lesser lords, then, were expected to repay their lord with money and armed service. The Middle Ages was a tangle of alliances formed by who had given land to whom.
Rome fell in 476 A.D.
The period of approximately one thousand years that followed is called the Middle Ages .
Late in the Middle Ages, Edward I was king of England. He ruled from
1272 to 1307. During his reign, the English government began to change this system. Before King Edward’s reign, there existed a king’s council. Edward increased the size of this council and called it a
Parliament . The members of Parliament included important barons
(lords), bishops of the church, and representatives from counties and towns. In 1287, Edward approved a document called the Confirmation of Charters . This document stated that taxes could be levied only by consent of the whole realm. The whole realm came to be understood as approval of Parliament.
Photo of the Parliament building in London at night
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This building in London is where the Parliament still meets today.
In the following century, Parliament was divided into two houses—a
House of Lords and a House of Commons.
For years after Parliament was established, there was conflict between those who supported the monarch (king) and those who supported the idea of Parliament. Kings came and went. Civil wars ravaged the land. Things eventually came to a head during the reign of James II (1685–1688). He was a Catholic king who made himself unpopular with English Protestants. Members of Parliament wanted a constitutional monarchy, and James II didn’t.
Parliament ultimately decided to offer the British throne to William and
Mary of the Netherlands. The couple accepted and came to rule in
1689. These events are called the Glorious Revolution , because it was bloodless and peaceful and because James II simply fled
England without any resistance. The new monarchs accepted a Bill of
Rights . Its principles, which were based on ideas that started with the
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Magna Carta, became the foundation of English government.
A bill of rights is a statement of the rights and liberties of a group of people.
William and Mary brought with them the idea of a constitutional monarchy and the concept of religious toleration. That’s important because it recognized the separation of church and state. That principle was also adopted by the founders of the American republic.
Just a few years later, in 1702, England and Scotland were united.
From that point on, the country was known as Great Britain. Today, the United Kingdom of England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland is ruled by a parliamentary government. The British monarch no longer holds real power. Instead, the leader of Parliament, called the prime minister , is the political leader of the United Kingdom.
The role of the prime minister of England is a bit like that of the
American president. For that reason, it’s interesting to see how British prime ministers came to hold such power.
Earlier in English history, Parliament was mainly a tool of royal power.
With the arrival of William and Mary, the power of the prime minister increased. Eventually, Parliament developed the Westminster Model , an outline for parliamentary government that has been adopted by many nations. In today’s British Parliament, the House of Lords serves as the highest court of appeal in the United Kingdom’s legal system.
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The House of Commons elects the prime minister and acts as the legislative body that debates and passes laws. The prime minister usually represents the political party with the largest number of members in the House of Commons.
Once elected by the House of Commons, the prime minister follows the custom of asking the ruling monarch for permission to form a government. This request is always granted. Once the government is formed, the prime minister appoints ministers to head such things as the military, the treasury, and foreign affairs.
Click here (www.parliament.uk/about/mps-and-lords/principal/governm ent-opposition/) to learn more about the Parliament and the prime minister in England.
Early American colonies were established for different reasons, but one of the main reasons was to gain income. European settlers expected that the colonies would supply raw materials for trade.
Tobacco, hemp, lumber, and cotton are examples of raw materials.
Europeans also hoped to profit from selling manufactured products to the colonists. By the year 1650, several different European countries had established colonies along the Eastern seaboard.
Raw materials are goods used in the production or manufacture of products. For example, cotton is a raw material for the production of cloth.
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Map of America in 1650 depicting European settlements
This map of 1650 America shows the areas settled by different European countries.
Britain, of course, had established the greatest number of settlements.
Spain and France had settled in parts of New England and Canada, and the French also occupied the area of Louisiana. The Dutch settled
New Amsterdam in the area that’s now New York City. They also established New Netherland along the Hudson River. The Swedes established New Sweden north of the Chesapeake Bay.
Although many of these settlements were eventually taken over by
Great Britain, the people who had founded them remained. Because
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of their different backgrounds, they contributed to the cultural diversity of the colonies. The colonies brought people from many places and with many different ideas. Living in such a place is interesting and exciting. Cultural diversity attracted many settlers to the New World.
Cultural diversity means that a region is populated by people from different places who have different customs.
Many more settlers were attracted by economic opportunity, the promise of representative government, and the search for religious freedom. By 1753, the colonies of America were governed by Great
Britain. All of the colonies had their own representative governments based on English principles. However, all of the colonies were expected to obey laws set by the British Parliament.
Map of America in 1753 depicting 13 British colonies
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This map illustrates the location of the 13 colonies in 1753.
There were three kinds of British colonies:
1. Royal colonies
2. Proprietary colonies
3. Corporate colonies
Royal colonies were run by a governor appointed by the king.
Proprietary colonies were managed by the people who owned them.
Corporate colonies were expected to set up their own governments and run their own affairs. A corporate colony was owned and
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managed by a company, which in turn was owned by its investors. To understand how these kinds of colonies were different, let’s take a look at how government developed in some of the earliest colonies.
You’ve already learned a little about Jamestown, the first English settlement in the New World. It was settled in 1607 under a royal charter granted by James I. The charter gave control of the colony to the Virginia Company. The shareholders and directors of the company were given authority to appoint a governor and a council of advisors for the colony. The first governor to be appointed was John Smith.
In 1618, the Virginia Company created the House of Burgesses , a representative assembly for the Virginia colony. That body was the first representative assembly in colonial America. The Virginia
Company thought that creating the House of Burgesses would attract more people to the Virginia colony.
It did. But the company directors kept a check on the power of the burgesses. They would allow no law to be passed that wasn’t approved by the directors of the Virginia Company.
Investors (shareholders) in the Virginia Company wanted Jamestown to be a trading outpost. That idea didn’t work because the local
Indians had no valuable crops or products to exchange for English goods. The colonists then turned to farming. As you’ve already learned, this venture brought them into conflict with the Native
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Americans. In fact, an uprising by the Powhatan confederacy nearly wiped out the colony in 1622. The revolt caused James I to become very critical of the Virginia Company. He revoked its charter in 1624.
Meanwhile, many colonists in Virginia had become prosperous from raising tobacco and exporting it to England. King James was impressed with their success. He decided to grant Virginia a royal charter. The king and his ministers took control of the Virginia colony and appointed a new governor. They retained the House of
Burgesses, but any legislation it passed had to be approved by the king’s Privy Council, which was made up of the king’s top aides. At that time, the Church of England (Anglican Church) was the main religion in England. King James required the Virginia colonists to adopt that church as their own. In fact, all property owners had to pay taxes to support Church of England ministers.
Virginia began as a corporate colony and ended up a royal colony. As a royal colony, it was a model for other royal colonies in America. All of them had a governor and a council appointed by the king. All of them had a representative assembly. And all of them were required to adopt the Anglican Church as their official religion.
To seek religious freedom and avoid persecution in England, many
Puritans fled to other shores. One such group ended up in Holland.
After a time, some of these same refugees headed for New England.
Their tiny wooden ship, called the Mayflower, arrived at presentday
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Massachusetts in the fall of 1620. There they founded Plymouth
Colony. The Pilgrims, as they called themselves, had no charter.
Therefore, before they disembarked from their ship, they gathered to draw up an agreement. The Mayflower Compact, as the agreement was called, allowed the Pilgrims to establish laws based on a majority vote. It also permitted towns and villages to govern themselves.
However, all these governments had to be based on Puritan religious ideas.
The Puritans who founded the Plymouth Colony called themselves
Pilgrims.
Pilgrims are people who take a sacred journey. For example, people of Islamic faith are expected to take at least one pilgrimage to their holy city of Mecca. The New England Puritans saw their journey to the New World as a holy migration—a pilgrimage.
In 1630, a much larger group of Puritans traveled to America. They came with a corporate charter from King Charles I to found the
Massachusetts Bay Company. The company directors chose John
Winthrop to be the colonial governor. However, Winthrop had other ideas besides just helping the company shareholders make profits.
When he took charge in Massachusetts, he made a change. The governing body of the Massachusetts Bay Company was made up of company shareholders. Each shareholder had a vote. Winthrop changed this body into a colonial legislature in which each qualified settler had a vote. Not everyone qualified, however. Only godly Puritan males could vote. Women couldn’t vote. Those who weren’t Puritans couldn’t vote.
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Winthrop made the Congregational Church the official religion. As the religion of the Puritans, it was also the religion of those who governed the Massachusetts Bay Colony. However, since each community was self-governing, the principle of the separation of church and state was still partly recognized.
Not everyone on the Mayflower was a Puritan or a pilgrim. Some just wanted a ride to the New World. One of these was Captain Soule, a forefather of the author of this lesson.
In 1632, Maryland was established as a proprietary colony. King
Charles I granted ownership of the lands around Chesapeake Bay to
George Calvert. Calvert was an English aristocrat, who held the title
Lord Baltimore. At the death of Lord Baltimore in 1632, his son inherited the charter. The son, Cecilius Calvert, Second Lord
Baltimore, now owned the Maryland colony. He could appoint officials, name ministers, and establish churches as he wished.
Like Virginia, Maryland was a tobacco-growing colony.
But things didn’t turn out as he might have liked.
Cecilius sent his brother, Leonard Calvert, to govern Maryland in his place. When he arrived in Maryland, Leonard ran into resistance from the Maryland settlers. The original charter for the colony permitted the establishment of a representative colonial assembly. The Maryland
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colonists considered this as their legislature. They claimed they had the right to make their own laws. The Calverts, on the other hand, saw the assembly as a means to introduce their own policies. Tensions over this issue were never resolved.
Meanwhile, Leonard encountered some religious issues. He had recently converted to Catholicism. Since Catholics were encountering prejudice in England, he wanted Maryland to be a refuge for his fellow
Catholics. But he also knew he had to appease the Protestant majority in Maryland, who supported the Church of England. He ordered his brother Cecilius to pass a law requiring Maryland Catholics to practice their religion as privately as possible. Leonard also persuaded the
Protestant-dominated Maryland assembly to pass a religious toleration law. Passed in 1649, the law was an important one. It granted freedom of worship to all Maryland Christians.
Religion was very important to the early colonists. In 1635, the
Massachusetts Bay colonists expelled a gentleman named Roger
Williams for questioning church doctrines. Williams, a Puritan minister, established his own colony at Rhode Island. Soon it became a separate, self-governing colony. It had an elected governor, and the colony had its own representative assembly.
In 1636, more Puritans left Massachusetts over religious conflict and a search for new land. Some of them ended up in New Hampshire. That part of New England was part of a land grant that had been given to
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Captain John Mason. Mason’s heirs neglected the colony, however, and New Hampshire came under the protection of the Massachusetts
Bay Colony. In 1679, a royal charter was granted for the people of
New Hampshire.
Still another Puritan group established New Haven, a settlement in what’s now Connecticut. New Haven was an independent theocracy .
A theocracy is a government based entirely on religion and run by religious leaders.
As other Puritans settled near Connecticut, the situation there changed. In 1639, the Connecticut colonists adopted the Fundamental
Orders . This plan of government called for a popularly elected governor and a representative assembly. In 1662, New Haven merged with the Connecticut Colony. As in Massachusetts, the Congregational
Church was the state religion of Connecticut. However, Connecticut had one important difference. The Connecticut assembly eventually allowed men to vote if they owned 40 acres of land or more. Many of these men weren’t Puritans. In this way, religious toleration spread into one part of New England.
Key Points and Links
READING ASSIGNMENT
The early Americans who came from England had the greatest influence on the type of country America was to become.
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Americans in all the colonies believed in liberty under the rule of law.
The Magna Carta changed the nature of government in England.
Under the provisions in the Magna Carta, people who were accused of an offense had the right to a trial by a jury of peers.
In British Parliament, the House of Lords serves as the highest court of appeal in the United Kingdom’s legal system.
The House of Commons elects the prime minister and acts as the legislative body that debates and passes laws.
Magna Carta (Primary source document) (www.archives.gov/exhi bits/featured_documents/magna_carta/)
Archives.gov’s Focus on the Magna Carta (www.archives.gov/ex hibits/featured_documents/magna_carta/)
UK Parliament Official Website (www.parliament.uk/about/mps-an d-lords/principal/government-opposition/)
Massachusetts Historical Society’s Overview of the Second
Continental Congress (www.masshist.org/revolution/congress2.p
hp)
USHistory.org’s Comparison of the Declaration of Independence
Drafts (www.ushistory.org/Declaration/document/compare.html)
USHistory.org’s Overview of the Foundations of American
Government (www.ushistory.org/gov/2.asp)
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Discover More: Colonial Government
Based on what you've read, answer the following questions.
1. How were royal colonies different from corporate colonies?
2. What was the king’s Privy Council? What role did it play in the
House of Burgesses?
3. What led to the creation of the Rhode Island Colony? How was the colony governed?
Discover More Answer Key:
Discover More: Colonial Government
1. Royal colonies were founded under a royal charter. Their governor and colonial council were appointed by the king of England. Such charters provided for a representative assembly and support for the
Church of England. Corporate charters, on the other hand, were granted by the king to a company of investors. The management of a corporate colony was up to the directors and shareholders of the company. 2. The Privy Council was made up of the king’s top aides.
After Virginia became a royal colony, decisions of the burgesses had to be approved by the Privy Council. 3. Roger Williams, a Puritan minister, had differences with the Puritan leaders of the
Massachusetts Bay Colony. When he was expelled, he founded
Rhode Island as a colony that would be free to practice his brand of
Puritanism. It was self-governing, with an elected governor and its own representative assembly.
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The Road to Independence
READING ASSIGNMENT
Both France and England had settlements in America. Difficulties between these two nations occurred for two main reasons:
1. The nations disagreed about territorial claims.
2. The nations were competing for the fur trade with the Indians.
In 1754, the war known as the French and Indian War began. The
French and the Indians fought together against the British. After several years, the British captured the French cities of Quebec and
Montreal. The French surrendered in 1763 and the war ended.
The French and Indian War in America was only one part of a world war. In Europe, it was called the Seven Years War .
The war greatly reduced France’s claims in North America. And the
British became more confident about their control of the American colonies. They passed the Stamp Act of 1765. This act required all legal documents and even playing cards and newspapers to have a tax stamp on them. The colonists weren’t happy about paying for these stamps. They voiced their displeasure in their local assemblies.
Image of different stamp
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designs
These are examples of the types of stamps Great Britain required on all legal documents.
In 1766, the Stamp Act was repealed . The act was replaced with the
Declaratory Act , which gave Great Britain the right to make any laws they wished to regulate the colonies. Many colonists resented this new act and the attitude of Great Britain.
To repeal means to end or remove a law.
In 1767, things changed for the worse. Charles Townshend became the new finance minister in Great Britain. He immediately passed the
Townshend Acts , which placed import taxes on goods shipped into the colonies. According to the Townshend Acts, the colonists had to buy things like tea, paper, lead, and paint from Great Britain and from no one else. Even worse, the taxes collected were used to pay the governors and judges of the colonies, who were appointed by the
British. The result of this was to reduce the authority of the colonial assemblies. When the colonists protested, Townshend abolished the assemblies.
In Boston, these measures caused people to begin to riot. In
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response, British troops were ordered away from their frontier posts and into Boston. On March 5, 1770, violence erupted on the Boston
Commons. An unruly mob confronted British troops. The nervous troops were prodded and insulted. At last, the troops fired on the crowd, killing five men. This event is now known as the Boston
Massacre . It wasn’t actually a massacre, but people came to think of it that way. Paul Revere, a famous American patriot, made an engraving of the incident (Figure 9). The engraving was printed and distributed throughout the area. The picture served to increase colonial resentment of Great Britain.
Strange as it may seem, on the very day of the Boston Massacre, the
British Parliament repealed all Townshend’s taxes except the one on tea. The tea tax was left to make a point. The British wanted to show that they still had the right to impose taxes on the colonials. Eventually the colonists heard about the repeal of the Townshend Acts, and they ended their boycott of British goods. Colonists could once again get things they needed from the British. The only thing they continued to boycott was tea.
A boycott is a protest against a group or nation in Which people refuse to buy goods from that group or nation.
Image of an old document illustrating the Boston Massacre
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Paul Revere’s image of the
Boston Massacre may not represent exactly what happened, but it inflamed colonial resentment against
Great Britain. Colonists were already boycotting British goods. Now, they were also getting more interested in reading revolutionary pamphlets.
For the British, the situation in the colonies was all about money.
Great Britain wanted to control the sale of tea to the colonists. In those days, tea was a favored beverage, and Great Britain’s East India
Company was a major exporter of tea. But the British tax on tea
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angered the colonists. They continued to complain about taxation without representation . In other words, the colonists were being taxed without having any say in the matter.
In 1773, matters came to a head. To make a point, a group of colonials dressed themselves as Indians. In the deep of night, they crept aboard a British ship and dumped its cargo of tea into Boston harbor. This act, later called the Boston Tea Party , enraged King
George III of England and the members of the British Parliament.
Almost immediately, they passed a series of acts, which the colonists called Intolerable Acts . The following are some of the provisions of these acts:
The port of Boston was closed.
The power that had been partially restored to the colonial assemblies was cut off.
British troops were to be quartered (housed) in private homes.
(Imagine how you would feel if a foreign soldier forced you to sleep on the floor while he slept in your bed. The Intolerable Acts were called that for good reason.)
Colonial unrest led to efforts to form a central government for the colonies. By 1772, groups called the Patriot Bodies of
Correspondence existed throughout the colonies. These groups worked hard to keep colonial leaders informed and in touch with each other.
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Image of an etching depicting the First Continental Congress
The First Continental Congress drafted a petition declaring that
British Parliament couldn
To deal with the problems they were having with Great Britain, the
First Continental Congress met in Philadelphia in 1774. Delegates from every colony, except Georgia, attended. This Congress drafted a petition to King George III. In it, they declared that the British
Parliament couldn’t pass laws for the colonies without colonial consent. This principle was to apply to all legislation, including taxation. During this period, British troops occupied Boston. In response to their presence, Massachusetts established a temporary government at Concord. The situation was getting very tense.
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In April of 1775, British troops marched toward Concord. They met with a skirmish at Lexington Bridge, but they marched on. Things didn’t go well for the British that day. Colonials fired at them from behind every tree and rock on the road to Concord. Some 270 British soldiers were killed before they retreated. About 100 colonial soldiers lost their lives as well. This incident is called the Battle of Concord and it marked the beginning of the American Revolution.
It was under these conditions the Second Continental Congress met at Philadelphia in May, 1775. This time delegates from all 13 colonies attended. John Hancock was elected president. They had much work to do. Fortunately for future Americans, they did it.
In the summer of 1775, there was no such thing as air conditioning.
The delegates had to contend with heat and humidity, day in and day
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out. To reduce the clatter of wagon wheels over cobblestone streets, dirt was dumped over the cobblestones around the hall.
Their first order of business was the war with Great Britain. Americans had no official army. Therefore, by order of the Continental Congress,
George Washington of Virginia was appointed to command the
Continental Army. He was directed to carry out his charge with courage and wisdom. But there was more to do and the work wasn’t easy. For one thing, it was hot that summer in Philadelphia. The building where they met is now called Independence Hall.
The delegates who met for the Continental Congress were at risk.
What they were doing was considered treason by the British. For that matter, many Americans who remained loyal to King George considered that the delegates to the Continental Congress were acting unlawfully.
Treason is an act of disloyalty to one’s country.
At last, another Virginian, Thomas Jefferson, was appointed to draft a document to declare the independence of the colonies from Great
Britain. With advice from Benjamin Franklin, Jefferson worked hard through the summer nights. He had been asked to define the proper reasons why the colonies should separate from British rule. Imagine this tall, redheaded gentleman pacing the floor as he considered how he should complete this important task.
For a summary of events leading up to the Second Continental
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Congress, click here (www.masshist.org/revolution/congress2.php) .
Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin was a printer, writer, scientist, inventor, and leader in the 13 colonies. Just before the men were preparing to sign the
Declaration of Independence, Franklin commented, “We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.”
With revisions, Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence was adopted on July 4, 1776. These revisions included the deletion of a section in which Jefferson calls slavery an evil given to the colonists by Great
Britain. It had to be taken out after protests by many delegates (in both the North and the South). The Continental Congress had made its position clear to Great Britain. More importantly, the Declaration outlined a common ground for agreement among the delegates.
Photo of the Declaration of
Independence with signatures
Those who signed the
Declaration of Independence took a giant step toward freedom. However, they all knew that England would
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consider a signature on the document as an act of treason.
John Hancock became wellknown for signing the
Declaration of Independence in large handwriting.
The main concepts of the Declaration of Independence are
1. When a people choose to break their ties with another people, the reasons for doing so must be explained.
2. Any such explanation must be based on the natural rights of men.
(Jefferson put it this way: “All men are created equal . . . they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”)
3. Governments are created by people to protect their natural rights.
To that end, governments must be based on the consent of the people.
4. People have a right to change a government that takes away their natural rights. Great Britain has taken away the natural rights of the colonists. At this point, the Declaration lists the many ways in which the British government had taken away the natural rights of the American people. Many of the examples listed here became the basis for the Bill of Rights.
5. We, the delegates, represent the people of the United States.
Therefore, we now declare that the United States is an independent nation. We trust that Divine Providence will protect
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us.
6. We support this Declaration with our lives, our money, and our sacred honor. (This item in the Declaration clearly showed the deep commitment these delegates shared in the cause of independence.)
Click here (www.ushistory.org/Declaration/document/compare.html) to get a better idea of how the document moved from early drafts to a final version. Click here (www.ushistory.org/gov/2.asp) to learn more about the principles that influenced the foundation of American government.
Two Thomases were major figures of the American Revolution.
Thomas Paine was born in England. He had a hard life and always struggled to keep afloat. After he met and befriended Benjamin
Franklin in London, he decided to come to America. That was in 1774.
Soon after he arrived in America, he began writing pamphlets that aroused the anger and concern of colonial patriots. ( Patriots were colonists who wanted independence from Great Britain.) The most famous of these pamphlets was “Common Sense,” published in 1776.
In it he presented a clear and convincing argument for American independence from England. Thomas Jefferson was the author of the
Declaration of Independence. Because of his height and his red hair, he commanded attention wherever he went. A native of Virginia,
Jefferson was a man of great brilliance, an architect, an inventor, and
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a political philosopher. He served as American ambassador to France and as Secretary of State. Jefferson also served as vice president and, finally, as the third president of the United States.
The plan adopted by the Second Continental Congress was called the
Articles of Confederation . The work of preparing it wasn’t easy, but getting it approved was even harder. John Dickenson had been appointed to head a committee to work on the Articles.
On July 12, 1776, just eight days after the signing of the Declaration of
Independence, Dickenson brought a first draft to the delegates. It proposed a strong central government that had the power to levy taxes. The central government would control the western lands, and the states would be equally represented in the government.
Many delegates to the convention didn’t like Dickenson’s plan. They felt there was too much concern about setting up a strong central government. Many felt they had seen enough of strong central government under British rule. Therefore, the committee went back to work.
In November, 1777, a revised draft of the Articles was submitted to the Continental Congress. This version assured the independence of the states and limited the functions of the central government.
It wasn’t until four years later that the states ratified the Articles of
Confederation. There were many reasons for this delay. First, since
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the war was still going on, it was difficult to get the work of ratification done. Second, the states had different laws and different interests. For example, states bordering the frontier wanted to expand their territory as much as possible. States along the seaboard disagreed. They wanted all the states to benefit equally as new territory was settled.
To ratify means to approve by a vote.
Collage depicting Benjamin
Franklin and printed page reading Join, or Die
At last, in 1781, the Articles were revised to settle the territory problems. It was agreed that the federal government would have control of all unsettled lands. With this agreement, the Articles of
Confederation were adopted by all the states on March 1, 1781. The
Articles of Confederation had many flaws, but it was a start. Until the
United States Constitution was adopted in 1788, it was the foundation of the American government. (You’ll be studying the creation of the
United States Constitution in the next lesson.)
Shown here is Benjamin Franklin, along with a cartoon he created and drew. The cartoon, which first appeared on May 9, 1754, was
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considered to be the first prominent political cartoon.The drawing shows a snake that has been cut into several pieces, one for each of the states. Benjamin Franklin’s purpose was to encourage the states to unite and work together against the enemy. Although this cartoon was originally used as propaganda during the French and Indian War, it was used again to encourage the country during the American
Revolution.
As you may have noticed, the American Revolution and the first developments of American government happened at the same time.
You’ve already examined the important early steps taken toward a new American government. The remainder of this study unit presents the important events in the American Revolution.
You’ve already learned that the British were forced to retreat from
Concord in April of 1775. But at that time, no real colonial army existed. The people who took up arms against the British on the road to Concord were local militia. Their weapons were the same long rifles they used to hunt game. Few of them had any real military training.
When George Washington was made commander of the Continental
Army in May of 1775, there was still no army to speak of. He had to work fast to recruit volunteers and turn them into a fighting force. At that point, the odds of an American victory looked very slim. The population of Great Britain was 9 million people while all 13 colonies had 2.5 million. About 500,000 of those were African slaves. On top of
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that, the British army was well trained and well equipped. Indeed, it was probably the strongest army in the world at that time. As they studied the situation in the colonies, the British commanders decided on their strategy. They would use overwhelming force against centers of resistance such as Boston.
Photo of Revolutionary War reenactment
Almost always outnumbered and outgunned, the soldiers of the Continental Army succeeded against all odds.
Shown here is a re-enactment of a battle of the American
Revolutionary War.
Meanwhile, the colonials did have some advantages:
1. They were fighting to defend their homes and families. They had the “home advantage.”
2. The Americans knew the territory much better than the British.
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That would turn out to be important.
3. The Americans had a number of skilled commanders who had gained experience in the French and Indian War.
4. America received vital financial aid from Spain and France.
Neither of these countries thought well of Great Britain. During the French and Indian War, the French had lost most of their
American territory to Great Britain. The Spanish had been at war with the British on and off for many years.
None of these advantages, however, were obvious as the war began.
All through the American Revolution, keeping up a strong colonial army was very difficult. Congress had promised to raise an army of at least 60,000 men. As it turned out, Washington never had more than
24,000 active soldiers at any time. Because of a lack of funds, the army was always short of everything—food, ammunition, and other needed supplies. During the winters of 1777 and 1778, the
Continental Army was nearly wiped out by cold and hunger. Also, soldiers sometimes panicked in the heat of battle. Desertions were common. Some started mutinies over poor pay. Gradually, however,
General George Washington was able to count on regiments of battlehardened soldiers.
Click here (www.pbs.org/ktca/liberty/road.html) to test your knowledge on events of the American Revolution.
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After their defeat at the Battle of Concord, the British began to send more troops into the area. They had control of Boston, but they determined to take the hills around the city. Hearing of this plan,
General Artemas Ward sent a troop of approximately 1,500 colonials to fortify Bunker Hill. The fortification was built during the night of June
16, 1775. On the morning of June 17, the British were surprised to see the embankments that had been erected during the night hours.
Nonetheless, the British troops began to ascend the hill to battle with the colonial troops. Knowing that they had a short supply of ammunition, the American commander, William Prescott, directed his men not to fire on the British until “you see the whites of their eyes.”
As they continued their ascent, the British may have wondered why the Americans weren’t firing on them. However, once the British got within about 50 yards, the Americans opened fire. Many of the British soldiers were killed and the survivors had to retreat. On their third attempt, the British succeeded in pushing the patriots off Bunker Hill and Breed’s Hill, but only at a heavy loss. The bodies of more than
1,000 British soldiers littered the battlefield. Approximately 140
Americans were killed and around 270 wounded. The encounters at
Lexington and Concord were only skirmishes. The Battle of Bunker Hill was a full-scale battle.
Although the battle fought in June of 1775 is called the Battle of
Bunker Hill, it actually took place on Breed’s Hill, near Bunker Hill.
The Battle of Bunker Hill wasn’t conclusive, however. Neither side was
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victorious, and Boston remained surrounded by the British. Finally, in
March of 1776, General Washington’s new army set up batteries of cannons on Dorchester Heights, overlooking Boston. The British commander, General William Howe, looked up at the American cannons, remembered all the men lost at Bunker Hill, and decided to call it a day. Howe withdrew his troops from Boston and sailed to Nova
Scotia. Approximately 1,000 Boston loyalists went with him.
Loyalists were colonists who remained faithful to the king of England.
Many fought for the British during the American Revolution.
During this early period of the war, skirmishes and battles were also occurring in Virginia and the Carolinas. Once again, the patriots experienced a number of victories. In the north, Americans moved against the British with limited success. For example, the Green
Mountain Boys , a group of patriots organized by Ethan Allen, and forces commanded by Benedict Arnold moved toward Montreal. In
May of 1775, they took the British Fort at Ticonderoga. That victory received much praise, but it was mainly a boost to American morale.
The fort was only lightly defended. The American effort against another fort at Lake Champlain was also successful. However,
Benedict Arnold’s effort to take Quebec failed. The Americans took very heavy casualties and Arnold himself was wounded.
Washington considered Benedict Arnold to be one of his most able commanders. A veteran of the French and Indian War, Arnold had won important battles for the Continental Army. Yet, after 1778, he
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became a traitor and began plotting against the American Revolution.
Why he did so is uncertain. He did have inferior officers promoted over him, which probably angered him. He also disliked the American alliance with France. But some said he became a spy for the British because he was in debt from a lavish lifestyle. Today, a traitor is often called a Benedict Arnold .
Click here (virtualamericanrevolution.com/) to take a virtual tour of historic sites of the American Revolution.
The early patriot successes didn’t win the war, but they were important. Because of these victories, the Continental Congress was encouraged to draft the Declaration of Independence. But much harder times lay ahead. In July of 1776, as the Declaration was being signed, 30,000 British troops were landing at Staten Island near New
York City. General Howe was in command of this fresh army. His orders were to take New York and the Hudson Valley. In this way, the
British hoped to cut off New England from the rest of the colonies.
Howe imagined that the Americans might surrender when confronted with so large an army. Negotiations did occur, but they failed. In
August, Howe launched an attack on an American army of 10,000 troops who were defending Brooklyn Heights. The Americans were outflanked and 1,000 men were captured. Howe next pursued the retreating American forces northward, up the Hudson Valley. In
October, the Continental Army suffered defeats in pitched battles at
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Harlem Heights and at White Plains, New York.
In the months that followed, Howe sought a decisive victory.
Washington, on the other hand, simply wanted to survive and keep his army intact. In fact, Washington’s army did survive as a consequence of several factors. First, Howe was actually sympathetic to colonial demands. Because he was, he didn’t pursue Washington’s army as forcefully as he might have. Second, Benedict Arnold’s forces succeeded in driving a major British army back into Canada. Had those forces joined Howe, things might have turned out differently for the revolution. Third, Howe was a cautious general. He wanted to avoid large numbers of British casualties since getting reinforcements across the Atlantic would take months.
Washington withdrew his broken army to New Jersey. A bit later, his forces crossed the Delaware River into Pennsylvania. By doing this,
Washington hoped to draw the British forces inland. In that way, the
British lines would be spread thin and the British supply lines would be harder to maintain. However, Washington also knew that American morale was low. They needed some kind of immediate success against the British.
Washington waited for the British to camp for the winter. Then, on
Christmas night, 1776, he slipped his forces across the Delaware
River into New Jersey. His troops were miserably dressed for winter warfare. Some trudged through the snow with only rags wrapped around their feet. Yet, Washington’s surprise attack worked. The
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Americans defeated German mercenary troops, called Hessians , at
Trenton. They then moved on to defeat British troops at Princeton. In military terms, neither one of these victories was significant. Even so, news of the battles spread like wildfire and American spirits were lifted.
A mercenary is a soldier paid to fight for another country. The
Hessians were Germans hired by the British to fight against the
American patriots.
In 1777, the British seized and occupied Philadelphia, where one year before, the Declaration of Independence had been drafted. But the
British paid a high price for this victory. Because a large number of
British troops were needed in Pennsylvania, the British lines were thin elsewhere. Washington’s strategy had worked. And because it had worked, the Continental forces were able to move against British forces in New York. After a number of battles and skirmishes, the
British army, under General John Burgoyne, was surrounded at
Saratoga in New York. Under the command of Horatio Gates, the
Continental Army defeated the British forces. The battle at Saratoga was a turning point in the war. The effort to cut off New England had failed. British forces were now forced to think out a new strategy.
Illustration of person playing a drum
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The defeat of the British plan to cut off New England had two main effects. First, it caught the attention of the French. They saw a chance to get even for their defeat in the French and Indian War. In 1778, the
Continental Congress entered into a formal alliance with France.
Second, the British decided to focus on the southern colonies. From that point on, the tide of war changed. The British strategy in the south was successful at first. British forces seized the port cities of
Savannah, Georgia, and Charleston, South Carolina. The fighting farther inland wasn’t so successful, however. After a number of battles and skirmishes, British hopes sagged.
In 1781, the British were defeated at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse in North Carolina. At that point, the British knew that their southern strategy had failed. They retreated toward Yorktown in Virginia.
What began at Lexington and Concord in 1775 ended at Yorktown in
1781. It was at Yorktown that the American alliance with France paid
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off. Washington’s forces had surrounded the British army of Lord
Cornwallis within the town. But the chances of an American victory became much greater as the French fleet appeared on the horizon.
British ships were now blockaded and under attack. A short time later, disciplined French officers stood shoulder to shoulder with the
Americans on the ground. Cornwallis saw that the battle was lost and surrendered his entire army. The British regulars marched from their defenses in surrender.
Some fighting continued after Yorktown, but the war was all but over.
Two years later, in 1783, the British and the Americans signed the
Treaty of Paris. From that moment on, the United States of America was recognized as an independent nation. That new nation now took its place on the world stage.
As the defeated British troops marched out of Yorktown, their drum and fife corps played “The World Turned Upside Down.” For the
British it must have seemed like that. The world’s greatest power had been defeated by a poorly equipped army of colonists.
Click here (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_American_Revolutionary_Wa r_battles) to review a list of all the battles of the American Revolution.
Key Points and Links
READING ASSIGNMENT
The Townshend Acts placed import taxes on goods shipped into
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the colonies and forced the colonists to buy things like tea and paper from Great Britain and from no one else.
The Boston Tea Party enraged King George III of England and the members of the British Parliament and led them to pass the
Intolerable Acts.
The Battle of Concord marked the beginning of the American
Revolution.
Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence was adopted on July 4, 1776.
The Articles of Confederation were adopted by all the states on
March 1, 1781. Until the United States Constitution was adopted in 1788, the Articles of Confederation were the foundation of the
American government.
PBS's Road to Revolution (Interactive) (www.pbs.org/ktca/liberty/ road.html)
The Coming of the American Revolution (www.masshist.org/revol ution/congress2.php)
Breakdown of Battles during the American Revolution (www.thea
mericanrevolution.org/battles.aspx)
The Virtual American Revolution (virtualamericanrevolution.com/)
Discover More: Journey to Independence
Based on what you've read, answer the following questions.
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1. Why did it take the states so long to ratify the Articles of
Confederation?
2. What was the Stamp Act of 1765?
3. The First Continental Congress sent a petition to King George.
What did it proclaim?
Discover More Answer Key:
Discover More: Journey to Independence
1. The war was still going on. Therefore, getting things done was difficult. Also, the states had different laws and different interests. One big problem had to do with control of the frontier lands. States bordering the frontier wanted to expand their territory. States along the seaboard wanted all the states to benefit equally as new territory was settled. 2. The British Stamp Act of 1765 forced the American colonists to buy a tax stamp for many purposes. Stamps were required on all legal documents, playing cards, and even newspapers.
The colonists were greatly angered by the act. 3. The petition sent by the First Continental Congress to King George proclaimed that the
English Parliament couldn’t pass laws without the consent of the colonial government. The Declaration of Independence
READING STUDY MATERIAL
The text below is the text of the Declaration of Independence. You can also read it here.
(www.ushistory.org/Declaration/document/)
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen United States of America.
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When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness—That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such forms, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the Forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.
Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is
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now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his
Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of
Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of
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Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the
State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migration hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his
Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payments of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither swarms of
Officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the consent of our legislatures. He has affected to render the Military independent of, and superior to the Civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation.
For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us.
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any
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Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States.
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world.
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent.
For depriving us, in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury. For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences.
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring
Province, establishing therein an arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries, so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies.
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments.
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his
Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time, transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of cruelty & perfidy, scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
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He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high
Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless
Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare is an undistinguished destruction, of all ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these Oppressions we have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Nor have we been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace, Friends.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the United States of America, in
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General Congress Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by
Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be,
Free and Independent States; that they are absolved from all
Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full
Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish
Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent
States may of right do. And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.
Self-Check
1. Which of the following is a type of authoritarian government?
a. Sovereign state
b. Direct democracy
c. Representative democracy
d. Absolute monarchy
2. People vote for candidates to represent them in the decision-
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making process in a/an
a. direct democracy.
b. absolute monarchy.
c. sovereign state.
d. representative democracy.
3. On which one of the following factors are all government types based?
a. Who has power to distribute resources
b. Who has power to make decisions
c. Who has power to enforce the decisions
d. Who has power to make the laws
4. Which one of these characteristics did all of the first waves of immigrants have in common?
a. They all spoke English.
b. They all had the same political beliefs.
c. They all valued education.
d. They all had the same religious beliefs.
5. Under the provisions in the Magna Carta, people who were accused of an offense had the right to a trial by a jury of
a. elders.
b. peers.
c. the state.
d. a religious order.
6. Which type of colony was managed by the people who owned them?
a. Proprietary colonies
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b. Corporate colonies
c. Residential colonies
d. Royal colonies
7. What was the French and Indian War referred to in Europe?
a. French and Great Britain Civil War
b. Indian Civil War
c. Seven Years War
d. Ten-Year War
8. British Parliament passed a series of acts, which the colonists called Intolerable Acts, following which event?
a. Boston Massacre
b. Boston Tea Party
c. Stamp Act of 1765
d. Townshend Acts
9. Which colony did not attend the First Continental Congress met in
Philadelphia in 1774?
a. Massachusetts
b. Boston
c. Georgia
d. Virginia
10. Why was the first draft of the Articles of Confederation revised?
a. It proposed a limited function of the central government.
b. It proposed a strong central government.
c. It assured the independence of the states.
d. It stated that the central government wouldn't control western lands.
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Self-Check Answer Key
1. Absolute monarchy
Explanation: An authoritarian government rules without the consent of the people. By contrast, a democratic government is based on the will of the people. The three basic kinds of authoritarian governments are 1. Absolute monarchies 2.
Dictatorships 3. Totalitarian states
Reference: Section 1.1
2. representative democracy.
Explanation: Modern nations, including the United States, have too many people for a direct democracy. Instead, people vote for candidates to represent them in the decision-making process.
This form of government is called _representative democracy._
Reference: Section 1.1
3. Who has power to make decisions
Explanation: All types of governments are based on two factors: first, who has power to make decisions and second, the way in which people make a living. When people think of government, they often think of the power factor. But the main way in which people make a living is what determines the way that power is used. The main way people make a living indicates what kind of economy a society has. The economy and the use of power go
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together.
Reference: Section 1.1
4. They all spoke English.
Explanation: All of the first waves of immigrants had several things in common: - They spoke English. That’s why today
English is the main language of Americans. - They shared a belief in personal liberty. Americans still value liberty very highly. -
Above all, these first immigrants brought English ideas about human rights and the place of government in daily life. Americans in all the colonies believed in liberty under the rule of law.
Reference: Section 1.2
5. peers.
Explanation: Under the provisions in the Magna Carta, people who were accused of an offense had the right to a trial by a jury of peers.
Reference: Section 1.2
6. Proprietary colonies
Explanation: _Royal colonies_ were run by a governor appointed by the king. _Proprietary colonies_ were managed by the people who owned them. _Corporate colonies_ were expected to set up their own governments and run their own affairs.
Reference: Section 1.2
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7. Seven Years War
Explanation: The French and Indian War in America was only one part of a world war. In Europe, it was called the Seven Years
War.
Reference: Section 1.3
8. Boston Tea Party
Explanation: In 1773, matters came to a head. To make a point, a group of colonials dressed themselves as Indians. In the deep of night, they crept aboard a British ship and dumped its cargo of tea into Boston harbor. This act, later called the Boston Tea
Party, enraged King George III of England and the members of the British Parliament. Almost immediately, they passed a series of acts, which the colonists called Intolerable Acts.
Reference: Section 1.3
9. Georgia
Explanation: To deal with the problems they were having with
Great Britain, the First Continental Congress met in Philadelphia in 1774. Delegates from every colony, except _Georgia,_ attended.
Reference: Section 1.3
10. It proposed a strong central government.
Explanation: During the writing of this document, many delegates felt there was too much concern about setting up a strong central
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government. They felt they had seen enough of strong central government under British rule.
Reference: Section 1.3
Flash Cards
1. Term: Social Class
Definition: A group of people with similar positions in society
2. Term: Artisans
Definition: People who make things that people need—like pots, weapons, and bricks for building
3. Term: Regime
Definition: A system of government—but the term is often used to refer to a dictatorial or totalitarian government
4. Term: Legislature
Definition: A group of people who propose, debate, and pass laws, such as a state or federal legislative body
5. Term: Immigrant
Definition: A person who goes from one country to another for the purpose of taking up permanent residence
6. Term: New World
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Definition: The land on which the new colonies were settled
7. Term: Tolerance
Definition: Respecting the faiths or beliefs of others
8. Term: Intolerance
Definition: The practice of condemning the religious practices or beliefs of others
9. Term: Bill of Rights
Definition: A statement of the rights and liberties of a group of people
10. Term: Raw Materials
Definition: Goods used in the production or manufacture of products
11. Term: Cultural Diversity
Definition: A region populated by people from different places who have different customs
12. Term: Repeal
Definition: To end or remove a law
13. Term: Boycott
Definition: A protest against a group or nation in which people refuse to buy goods from that group or nation
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14. Term: Treason
Definition: An act of disloyalty to one’s country
15. Term: Ratify
Definition: To approve by a vote
16. Term: Loyalists
Definition: Colonists who remained faithful to the king of England
17. Term: Mercenary
Definition: A soldier paid to fight for another country
18. Term: Old World
Definition: Europe and England (also called the Old Country)
19. Term: Indentured Servants
Definition: Immigrants who paid for their passage into North America by working for an employer for a set number of years
20. Term: Middle Ages
Definition: Period of about 1,000 years after the fall of Rome
21. Term: Prime Minister
Definition: Political leader of the United Kingdom
22. Term: Pilgrims
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Definition: People who take a sacred journey
23. Term: Mayflower Compact
Definition: Allowed the Pilgrims to establish laws based on a majority vote
The Articles of
Confederation were soon found to be a poor plan for the new American government. In this lesson, you’ll learn why the Articles needed to be revised. As
American leaders recognized this need for revision, they decided to call a constitutional convention. You’ll also learn how that came about and how the framers (writers) of the Constitution went about their work. When you complete this lesson, you’ll have a good understanding of what’s in the Constitution of the United States. You’ll also understand the main
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principles included in that document—principles such as liberty, basic rights, and checks on the power of government.
After the Revolution
READING ASSIGNMENT
The Articles of Confederation provided for a weak central government.
As a result, the nation consisted of a loose alliance (union) of independent states. This alliance was called a “league of friendship” among states. The central government consisted of a Congress in which the representative of each state had one vote. Each state was expected to honor the laws of the other states. But there was no central court to handle disputes among the states. There was no president or executive branch.
The Congress had the power to declare war and enter into treaties with foreign powers. It could establish a postal service and coin money. However, the Congress couldn’t levy taxes. Money for the central government depended on donations from the states, based on how much land they controlled. In other words, the Congress couldn’t fund an army without hoping that money would be provided from the states. It could do little to control the western lands, since money might not be available for that purpose. The weaknesses in the
Articles of Confederation are summarized in the figure below. Let’s
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take a closer look at some of these flaws.
Illustration listing the problems with the Articles of Confederation
As the new independent nation began to apply the Articles of
Confederation, they soon recognized its weakness.
Levy is a term generally used to refer to taxes. To levy taxes means to impose or collect the taxes.
Congress couldn’t levy taxes. Think about what that meant. The central government could send bills to the states for the services it provided. However, that didn’t mean that the states would always pay
—or always pay on time. If you were trying to make a budget for the central government, how would you go about it? With no firm idea about revenues or taxes coming in, you could make no firm plans. You couldn’t be sure how many cannons to buy for the army. For that
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matter, you couldn’t be sure there would be money to pay the soldiers.
These types of events actually did happen.
This weakness almost caused the end of the United States, just as it began. The British crossed boundaries into the United States in violation of the Treaty of Paris of 1783. The Spanish also violated the borders of southern states. The central government could do nothing about it because the states didn’t pay requested taxes.
As mentioned, states and individuals sometimes ignored laws sent to them by the federal government. When that happened, what could the government do? Send a nasty letter? The central government had no real power to enforce laws. It couldn’t even use the army without the unanimous consent of all the states.
In 1786, a bankrupt farmer named Daniel Shays led an uprising in
Massachusetts. The incident is called Shays Rebellion . Shays had fought in the American Revolution. He resigned from the army in 1780 because he hadn’t been paid. At home, he faced a mountain of debt.
To make matters worse, the Massachusetts legislature in Boston was coming down hard on debtors. Poor farmers were often sent to debtor’s prison. Others had their property unfairly confiscated and sold. Shays organized a rebellion made up of Continental Army veterans. Massachusetts sent its militia to restore order, but many of them ended up joining the rebels. The state militia was finally able to end Shays Rebellion when the group tried to take weapons from the
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federal armory.
Through it all, the central government could do nothing. It couldn’t act to override Massachusetts laws that were unfair. It could do nothing to restore order. Even though the Shays Rebellion was unsuccessful in itself, it did have one useful outcome. It encouraged national leaders to seek alternatives to the Articles of Confederation.
Paris, France, January 30, 1787
In a letter to James Madison, Thomas Jefferson wrote this thought:
“I hold it that a little rebellion now and then is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical.
Unsuccessful rebellions, indeed, generally establish the encroachments on the rights of the people who have produced them.
An observation of this truth should render honest republican governors so mild in their punishment of rebellions as not to discourage them too much. It is a medicine necessary for the sound health of the government.”
Basically, Jefferson is saying that rebellions, if they’re unsuccessful, sometimes give the government more control in certain areas.
Under the Articles of Confederation, the central government had no power to regulate trade. If a group of Connecticut dairy farmers wanted to protect prices on goods it produced within that state, they
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might ask their legislature to charge a tariff on out-of-state cheese.
They would want to keep cheese prices high in neighboring states, such as New York, so that citizens of Connecticut would buy cheese from Connecticut producers.
A tariff is a tax on goods that one nation (or state) buys from another nation (or state).
Now let’s say that Connecticut townsfolk have been selling textile goods to people in New York. The New York legislature could respond to the cheese tariff by placing a tariff on Connecticut textiles. The result could be a battle over tariffs. Meanwhile, because the central government couldn’t control interstate trade , it could do nothing about the tariff problem. This cheese and textile example may seem trivial, but it should help you get an idea of one of the problems created by the Articles. There were also much bigger problems. For example, states were freely making trade agreements with foreign powers. In this way, if one state set a price for an export , it might drive competing states out of the foreign market for the same export. Because the central government couldn’t regulate foreign trade, it was powerless to solve this problem.
Interstate trade refers to trade from one state to another. New York sending cheese into New Jersey is an example of interstate trade.
An export is a product taken from one country to another for the purpose of trade.
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The Articles of Confederation served as the law for the entire nation.
However, it made no provision for a president or a central court system. With no central court, there was no way to interpret that law.
Without a central court, there was no way to manage legal disputes between the states. And, of course, with no president, there was no one to lead or enforce the laws passed by the Congress.
IMAGINE THAT IT’S 1786.
While on a tour of Italy, you’re in a restaurant in Rome. After finishing your meal, you begin to write a letter home. A curious waiter notices that you’re writing in English. His name is Giuseppe and his knowledge of the New World is sketchy.
“Ah,” he says, “you are English?”
“No,” you reply, “I’m an American.”
“Ah yes, America. Such a big place, America. You come from
Canada?”
“I come from Virginia.”
Giuseppe looks puzzled. “Oh, yes. Virginia. Who is leader of your
Virginia?”
“The governor. He holds office in a town called Williamsburg.”
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Giuseppe still looks puzzled. “But I read in a newspaper that there is a revolution in America and now there is a new country.”
“Yes,” you say, “the United States of America. Virginia is part of the
United States.”
“Oh,” Giuseppe says, “and who is leader of United States of
America?”
You think about that for a moment before you say, “No one person.
We have a Congress in Philadelphia. Each state has one vote in the
Congress.”
“Then who is leader of this Congress?” Giuseppe wants to know.
“No one person. Each state sends delegates to the Congress. But no delegate is the leader of the United States.”
“Ah,” Giuseppe replies. “This is strange to me. You live in Virginia.
Virginia is in the United States of America. Virginia has a governor.
But the United States has no governor.”
You nod. “That’s right.”
Giuseppe shrugs. “So, this United States is not really a country. It cannot be a country because it has no leader. It is just a lot of states.”
You have no answer to that. If you had been in contact with someone back home, you could tell Giuseppe what has been happening.
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In January of 1786, a group of Virginians called a meeting in
Annapolis, Maryland. They wanted to have a national convention to discuss problems with the Articles of Confederation. Since only five states sent delegates to the convention, no work could be done.
Therefore, plans were made to assemble in May of 1787 to revise the
Articles of Confederation. Little did those delegates who met in 1787 know at the time that they would end up drafting the Constitution of the United States—a document that has survived over 200 years. If you go back to Rome in 1790, you can tell Giuseppe that the United
States now has a leader. He’s a fellow Virginian named George
Washington. Let’s take a look at how the Constitution of the United
States came about.
A delegate is a person who represents others at a meeting.
During the summer of 1787, delegates from all of the 13 states, except
Rhode Island, met in Philadelphia. Originally, they planned to revise the Articles of Confederation to eliminate the problems it contained.
However, once the delegates began to meet, they decided the problems were too big to simply revise the Articles. They instead discarded the Articles and started from scratch. This was a significant decision because it was outside of the rules that Congress gave the delegates. In doing what they did, they could have been charged with treason. This was one of the reasons that the delegates worked in secret and stayed silent when they left each day. This also allowed
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the delegates to speak freely without fearing what others outside the building would say. We only know about the debates in the convention because of writings from delegates published later on.
To learn more about the meeting place for the convention, access this link (www.ushistory.org/tour/independence-hall.htm) and take the virtual tour.
The Constitutional Convention had a president and a number of different committees. The president of the convention was George
Washington. He had little part in actually drafting the Constitution.
Instead, he saw his job as overseeing the proceedings and keeping the people focused on the job at hand.
Most of the committees were created to discuss particular issues that needed correction in the Articles of Confederation, The style committee was responsible for the final draft of the Constitution. A member of the style committee, Gouverneur Morris of Pennsylvania, was responsible for the final format of the document. Another member of the committee, James Madison, was responsible for the
Constitution’s language.
Over 100 working days, they completed a constitution that all the delegates could agree on. But getting to that agreement wasn’t easy.
The delegates came from states with different interests. Some states, like Georgia, Virginia, and New York, were large. Other states, like
New Jersey, Delaware, and New Hampshire, were small. States of the
South wanted to protect their plantation economy and maintain
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slavery. States of the North were interested in protecting the interests of their small farmers, while at the same time encouraging the growth of thriving cities that were developing manufacturing and trade.
Delegates from each state brought different political philosophies as well. But there was one thing most of the delegates clearly understood: The Articles of Confederation were flawed. They didn’t allow the United States to function as a single nation. A government that can’t collect taxes or regulate commerce is too weak to gain the respect of foreign powers. A central government that can’t enforce its laws is hardly a government at all.
The delegates to the Constitutional Convention held their meetings in secrecy. Though it was hot that summer in Philadelphia, they kept the windows closed and the doors sealed. They allowed no newspaper reporters behind those closed doors. The delegates wanted secrecy so they could speak their minds freely. Maybe that was a good idea.
But we can wonder what would have happened if the proceedings had been broadcast on C-SPAN.
Learn more about the Constitutional Convention of 1787 by visiting this link.
(teachingamericanhistory.org/convention/)
Because the delegates to the convention represented states with different interests, the men soon split into two groups over how states should be represented in the new Congress. As you probably remember, the Articles of Confederation had one chamber of
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Congress with one vote per state. Each group had its opinions about what form of government was appropriate for the new nation. Out of this division came two separate plans.
James Madison of Virginia presented to the convention a proposal called the Virginia Plan . Madison’s plan called for a strong central government with three branches, or divisions—an executive branch
(president), a legislative branch (Congress), and a judicial branch (a federal court system). The powers and duties of the government were to be divided among these three branches. This arrangement is known as separation of powers . In addition, the Virginia Plan provided for a system of checks and balances . That is, each branch had enough power of its own to keep the other branches from becoming too powerful.
James Madison, at 29, was the youngest delegate at the
Constitutional Convention. Ben Franklin, at 81, was the oldest.
According to the Virginia Plan, the legislature was to be bicameral .
That is, it was to have two houses, like the Parliament of Great Britain.
At that time, the British Parliament consisted of a House of Lords, which represented the nobility, and a House of Commons, which represented the people of the towns and counties. In the Virginia plan, the bicameral legislature would consist of a lower and an upper house.
The upper house would be selected by the lower house. The president would be elected by the legislature. The number of representatives
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that each state would have in the legislature was to be based on the population of the state. The larger the population of a state, the more representatives it would have in Congress. The figure below illustrates the government described in the Virginia Plan.
Diagram of the Virginia Plan
The Virginia Plan called for a strong central government and three separate branches.
William Paterson of New Jersey was the leading spokesman for the
New Jersey Plan . He offered it to the convention in response to
Madison’s Virginia Plan. Paterson was concerned for the rights of the small states—like New Jersey. He wanted to make sure those states would have equal representation in the Congress. Basically, advocates of the New Jersey Plan wanted to revise the Articles of
Confederation. They agreed with Madison’s idea of three branches of government. However, they felt that a strong president would be too much like a king. They suggested having several executives, each
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with limited authority. They also wanted a legislature in which each state had a single vote. In addition, they agreed that the central government should be able to regulate commerce between the states.
After both plans had been presented, debate stormed through the convention for many days. Supporters of the Virginia Plan debated with supporters of the New Jersey Plan. The two main areas of disagreement were
Representation
Slavery
After much debate, it was agreed that representation in the lower house of Congress would be based on population. The upper house, however, would be composed of two delegates from each state. In that way, the lower house represented the people, and the upper house represented the states. This agreement is known as the Great
Compromise . Two things made this compromise great. First, it assured the political power of the small states. Second, it committed the delegates to a new form of government. The Articles of
Confederation would be abandoned.
Once the representation problem was resolved, the issue of slavery reared its head. The first debate was over whether slavery would be allowed. Some northern delegates wanted to take the opportunity to abolish slavery altogether. Other northerners and most southern
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delegates argued that slavery was too large of an issue to be argued there and worried that abolition would have a negative affect on the economy.
The second question was whether slaves should be considered as property or citizens. In this case, southerners believed that slaves should be considered people, and not just property, so they would have more representation in Congress. At that time, about 70 percent of the population in South Carolina was represented by slaves. Some delegates felt that South Carolina, and the rest of the Southern states, would have unfair representation if slaves were counted as population.
Northerners, though many were anti-slavery, tried arguing that slaves should be considered only property and not counted as people to be represented.
To resolve that issue, the delegates agreed to a compromise. First, they agreed that the legality of slavery would be addressed in 20 years and Congress would be given the power to outlaw the international slave trade. As for representation, each slave would count as threefifths of a person. In determining the population of a state, five slaves would count as three persons. This agreement was called the Three-
Fifths Compromise .
The basic structure of the completed Constitution was fairly close to
Madison’s Virginia Plan. However, the Constitution was also shaped by the compromises.
The Rising Sun
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The Rising Sun
Illustration of Benjamin Franklin
At the Constitutional Convention, Franklin was often consulted between sessions. As a diplomat, his contributions to the new nation were greatly respected. He was also well known for his wisdom and common sense. During sessions, however, he seemed content to be mainly an observer.
When the Constitution had at last been drafted, Ben Franklin rose to speak. He said there were parts of it he could never approve. Even so, he asked the delegates to sign it. He said the new government would be a blessing for the people if it was conducted well and honestly.
While the framers were signing the Constitution, Franklin studied a picture of the sun on the back of the president’s chair. It was the chair
George Washington used. He commented to some delegates sitting
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nearby, “I have often . . . in the course of the session . . . looked at that sun behind the President without being able to tell whether it was rising or setting. But now at length I have the happiness to know it is a rising and not a setting sun.”
Photo of the Constitution
The Constitution was completed in 1787 and sent to the states for ratification.
(National Archives and Records
Administration)
The Constitution was completed in September 1787. The next step was to send it to the states for ratification . The delegates to the convention decided that each state should hold a ratification convention.
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Ratification is the process of approving something by a vote.
Before the Articles of Confederation went into effect, all 13 states had to ratify the document. It took four years for this to happen. In 1787, the American nation was in crisis. The delegates knew that the nation couldn’t wait four years for a new government. Therefore, they decided that only 9 of the 13 states must ratify the Constitution before it would replace the Articles of Confederation and become the law of the nation.
As people in the states began to examine the Constitution, they became divided into two groups:
The Federalists supported the Constitution.
The Anti-Federalists opposed the Constitution.
One problem was that many people didn’t identify themselves as
Americans. They identified themselves with their states, considering themselves to be New Yorkers, Pennsylvanians, and Georgians, for example. The Anti-Federalists were suspicious of the strong central government of the Constitution.
Delaware was the first state to ratify the Constitution. It was quickly followed by Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Finally, on June 21, 1788,
New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify the Constitution. It officially went into effect on that date. The figure below lists the 13 colonies along with the dates on which they voted to ratify the new
Constitution.
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Table listing the dates each state ratified the United States
Constitution
It took nine months for the necessary nine states to ratify the
Constitution. It took almost three years for all of the states to ratify it.
The Constitution is called the “supreme law of the land.” This means that no state can make any laws that contradict the Constitution. If they do, those laws have no effect.
As you can see in the figure above, New York was one of the last states to ratify the Constitution. To gain support for the Constitution,
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mainly in New York, a group of three men wrote a series of articles arguing for federalism—that is, for the Constitution. The articles were published in newspapers under the pseudonym Publius . (A pseudonym is a false, or fictitious name.) These articles eventually became known as The Federalist Papers , or The Federalist .
The men who authored these articles were James Madison, Alexander
Hamilton, and John Jay. James Madison became the fourth president of the United States. Alexander Hamilton, who represented New York at the Constitutional Convention, became the nation’s first secretary of the treasury. John Jay was the nation’s first chief justice of the
Supreme Court. There were 85 federalist essays written during this period. Here are a few of the topics addressed in these articles:
Political differences among people at the time were mainly due to economic conflicts—not the conflict of large states versus small states.
Since slavery was vital to the southern economy, many of the articles touched on this issue.
Some articles explained how a strong constitution would help to reduce the conflicts between northern and mid-Atlantic states over trade and manufacturing.
The publication of The Federalist Papers helped turn the tide in some states in favor of the Federalists.
Two Enemies Who Became Friends
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Collage depicting Thomas
Jefferson and John Adams
Two famous patriots who weren’t present at the convention were
Thomas Jefferson of Virginia and John Adams of Massachusetts. Both were on diplomatic missions in Europe. However, each had made crucial contributions to the founding of the American nation. And, of course, both men took a strong interest in the convention taking place at Philadelphia. John Adams became our nation’s second president, and Thomas Jefferson, our third.
Jefferson and Adams had bitter disputes. They had different visions of
American government. They had different visions of the place of the
United States in history. Yet, in the end they became great friends. An interesting note is that both men died on the same day. That day was
July 4, 1826, precisely 50 years after July 4, 1776, when the
Declaration of Independence was signed.
In this section, you’ll study some highlights of just a few of the better-
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known participants in the development of the United States
Constitution.
James Madison.
James Madison is often called the “Father of the
Constitution.” He was a Virginian and a wealthy landowner. Madison was a brilliant student of history, public law, and political theory.
Indeed, he arrived at the Constitutional Convention with two long essays outlining the ideas he would present as the Virginia Plan. He was a small, intense man. His friends called him the “Great Little
Madison.”
James Madison served first as a member of the House of
Representatives, and then as secretary of state during the presidency of Thomas Jefferson. He served as president of the United States from 1809 to 1817.
Gouverneur Morris.
Gouverneur Morris of Pennsylvania was the most active debater of the convention. He delivered 173 speeches during the course of the convention. Like many of the able statesmen at the convention, he distrusted the common people. He thought they were too easily misled. The electoral college system for electing the president reflects the influence of those who thought rule by educated aristocrats was important. (You’ll read about the electoral college later in this unit when you study Article II of the Constitution.)
While 55 delegates assembled in Philadelphia, only 39 of them actually signed the Constitution.
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Alexander Hamilton.
Alexander Hamilton served on the style committee with Morris. Because Hamilton was often absent from the convention on legal business, his direct contribution to the document was less than it might have been. On the other hand, Hamilton played a vital role in getting the Constitution ratified in New York. Hamilton saw trade and manufacturing as the key to America’s future power. As secretary of the treasury, he helped create a financial system that would make America a powerful industrial nation.
William Paterson.
William Paterson led the Anti-Federalists by proposing the New Jersey Plan. His ideas helped to force the compromises needed to adopt the Constitution. The city of Paterson,
New Jersey, is named after him.
Roger Sherman.
Roger Sherman of Connecticut was the delegate who proposed the ideas for compromise that were eventually adopted.
He was also a signer of the Declaration of Independence. In the new government, he served in both the House of Representatives and the
Senate.
First in War, First in Peace
Photo of a painting of George
Washington
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After his death, George Washington was described as “First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen.” He was, indeed, a key figure in the birth of the American nation. Washington had little respect for government under the Articles of Confederation, which he called “a mere shadow without substance.” Yet, as president of the Constitutional Convention, he kept his opinions to himself. For one thing, there was already serious talk of making him the first
American president. Washington was not at all sure he wanted that post. Therefore, he refused to make a show of himself during the convention. Later, though, he fought hard to get the Constitution ratified in Virginia.
So now you know how the United States Constitution came to be.
Next, you’re going to examine the various parts of the Constitution itself.
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Key Points and Links
READING ASSIGNMENT
Under the Articles of Confederation, the central government couldn’t levy taxes or regulate trade.
The Shays Rebellion was unsuccessful, but it encouraged national leaders to seek alternatives to the Articles of
Confederation.
Delegates at the Constitutional Convention initially planned to revise the Articles of Confederation, but eventually decided to discard the Articles and start from scratch.
The two plans for representation in the United States Congress were the New Jersey Plan and the Virginia Plan.
The Three-Fifths Compromise determined that each slave would count as three-fifths of a person. In determining the population of a state, five slaves would count as three people.Federalists
supported the Constitution; Anti-Federalists opposed it.
Articles of Confederation (Primary Source Document) (www.ushis
tory.org/documents/confederation.htm)
Articles of Confederation (Strengths) (blogs.loc.gov/law/2011/09/t he-articles-of-confederation-the-first-constitution-of-the-united-stat es/)
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Discover More: Two Plans
Based on what you've read, answer the following questions.
1. What was William Paterson’s main contribution to the
Constitutional Convention?
2. What was the Three-Fifths Compromise?
3. Why were some delegates opposed to having a president to lead the executive branch?
4. Explain the name Publius.
Discover More Answer Key:
Discover More: Two Plans
1. William Paterson presented a plan to oppose Madison’s Virginia
Plan. The New Jersey Plan, as it was called, proposed revising the
Articles of Confederation. 2. To settle the issue of proportional representation, the delegates agreed on a formula for counting slaves in a state’s population. A slave would count as three-fifths of a person.
3. Paterson and others who supported the New Jersey Plan thought a single president would be too much like a king. 4. The name Publius was used to sign _The Federalist_ articles when they were published in newspapers. Publius was a pseudonym for James Madison,
Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay.
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The Constitution
READING ASSIGNMENT
The Constitution of the United States has three main sections:
The Preamble
The Articles
The Amendments
The Preamble is the introduction to the Constitution of the United
States. It presents the six general purposes—that is, the framers of the Constitution began by stating their reasons for writing the document.
The Preamble is like a gem. It compresses the main ideas of an
American vision of government into a single sentence. The gem has six sides. Let’s briefly look at each one.
Illustration of a gem indicating the six main ideas of the Preamble
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The Preamble to the Constitution of the United States includes six purposes.
A more perfect union is the term that the framers of the
Constitution used to indicate they wanted something better than what they experienced in the Articles of Confederation. In addition, union means that the citizens of each state must share in the benefits of justice, civil order, and equal opportunity.
However, they must also shoulder responsibility for the common defense.
Justice requires laws that protect people without taking away their natural rights.
Domestic tranquility is civil order based on sound and wise laws.
To “insure domestic tranquility” means to assure peace within all states within the nation.
General welfare requires that all citizens must have equal opportunities under the law. If that’s to occur, wise laws must reflect compassion for people’s needs. Liberty is based on the natural rights written down in the Declaration of Independence:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” No government may be just or wise that takes away these rights.
The common defense reminds us of the motto of the Three
Musketeers: “All for one and one for all.” An enemy of one state is
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an enemy of the union.
Liberty in the Preamble means freedom from government oppression. “To secure the blessing of liberty to ourselves and our posterity” indicates this liberty will be passed down to future generations.
The Preamble is reproduced for you below:
Illustration of the Premable
The Preamble to the Constitution presents the six reasons or purposes that the Constitution was written.
The Constitution of the United States is divided into seven Articles, each covering a separate topic. Together, the articles set forth the basic plan of the government of the United States. Let’s take a brief look at each of these.
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Article I establishes the legislative branch of the government. It consists of a Congress with the power to make laws. Congress includes two houses:
House of Representatives
Senate
We call this a bicameral legislature since it has two houses.
The legislative branch of a government is that part which makes the laws of the country or state.
The House of Representatives consists of members elected from each state. The number of representatives from each state is determined by its population. States with larger populations have more representatives than states with smaller populations. Currently, the number of representatives in the House is 435. Each state must have at least one representative in the House.
Members of the House of Representatives are elected every two years. Candidates must have been citizens of the United States for seven years and be at least 25 years old. They must also be residents of the states they’re to represent.
When Congress meets, which must be at least once a year, the members of the House elect a Speaker of the House and other officers. The Speaker is in charge of the meetings of the House of
Representatives. Today, the House meets all year with some breaks
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to go home and talk to their constituents.
At the beginning of a session, which is the January after an election, the leadership of the political parties, including the Speaker, is elected. Other leadership positions will be introduced in the next lesson.
Members of the Senate are elected to six-year terms. Candidates must have been citizens of the United States for nine years and be at least 30 years old. They must also be residents of the states they’re to represent. The citizens of each state elect two senators. Therefore, the Senate is composed of 100 people (two from each of the 50 states).
Members of both the House and the Senate are elected on the first
Tuesday after the first Monday in November of even-numbered years.
The vice president of the United States serves as the president of the
Senate. However, the vice president can vote only in the event of a tie. Since the vice president may often have other duties, the Senate is expected to elect officers to conduct its meetings. For example, the president pro tempore conducts Senate meetings when the vice president is unavailable.
Pro tempore is Latin meaning “for a time allotted.” This is typically the most senior member—the person who has been in the Senate longest
—of the majority power.
To maintain the separation of powers, no member of the House or
Senate may hold another government job while serving his or her
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term.
Both houses of Congress make their own rules for conducting meetings or for punishing members who behave badly. They also set their own salary by vote. Each house has different rules for conducting debate. Both the Senate and the House can meet without a quorum present. However, a quorum of members must be present in either house to vote on a bill.
A quorum is the number of members that must be present to conduct business. In the case of the Senate and House, a quorum is a majority of the members.
The main job of Congress is to make laws. A bill is a proposal for a law. Bills may be proposed, debated, and either passed or defeated in either house. (The way bills become laws is discussed later in this course.) The Constitution requires all tax bills to originate in the House of Representatives. When passed, they’re sent to the Senate for approval or amendment. Any bill amended by the Senate must be returned to the House for approval. You can imagine that it can take awhile to get such a bill passed.
The Constitution requires that records be kept of all bills introduced in the House or Senate. Each record includes who proposed a bill, what it says, and who voted for or against it. All of this information is published in the Congressional Record. You can find copies of this record in your local library.
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Whether a bill originates in the House or the Senate, it must be passed by both houses before it’s sent to the president for a reading.
The bill becomes law if it’s signed by the president within 10 days, excluding Sundays, and returned to the house where it originated. A president who doesn’t want to sign a bill can pass it back, unsigned, to the house where it originated. This process is called a veto . However, if both houses of Congress vote for the bill with a two-thirds majority or more, the bill overrides the president’s veto and becomes law. If the president holds a bill without signing it for 10 days, excluding Sundays, and without returning it to Congress, it becomes law. When a president does this, we can assume that the president doesn’t like the bill but doesn’t want to fight it.
Rules for proposing and passing bills are outlined in Article I of the
Constitution. However, the way bills are actually proposed and debated has developed in part from customs established in Congress.
Congress also makes all the laws for the District of Columbia
(Washington, DC).
A big part of Article I outlines the powers of Congress, which are summarized for you in the image below.
Table describing the Powers of Congress
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As you can see from this list, the Constitution gives Congress a tremendous amount of responsibility.
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Article II outlines the executive branch of the government. In the
Constitution, Article II is divided into four sections. Because this covers such an important part of the United States government, we’ll look at each section individually.
Section 1: President and Vice President.
The first section of Article
II declares that the executive power of government will be vested in a president of the United States, who will serve a four-year term. A vice president will serve the same term with the president. This section also explains the manner in which the president is to be elected.
Briefly, here’s how it works:
Each state is allocated a certain number of electors—equal to the number of its senators and representatives combined.
Before the election, the political parties in each state submit a slate of electors for their political party. These electors have pledged themselves to vote for the candidate of that particular party. Each party submits a slate equal to the number of electors allowed in that state.
On Election Day, when voters go to the polls, they’re really voting for the slate of electors, not for an individual person.
Whatever party wins the vote in a state wins all of that state’s electoral votes. In Nebraska and Maine, the electoral votes are divided by who won each congressional district.
In December following the election, the electors meet in their states and cast their votes for president and vice president. The president isn’t officially elected until the electoral votes are all in
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and counted.
This group of electors is known as the electoral college . See the image below for some interesting facts about presidential elections in the United States. Later in this course, you’ll study more about the way elections occur.
Section 1 also lists the qualifications for a candidate for president of the United States. That person must be
A natural-born citizen. That is, he or she must have been born in the United States and must be a citizen of this country.
At least 35 years old
A resident for at least 14 years within the United States
Although women aren’t excluded from being presidential candidates, so far the United States hasn’t had a woman president.
Table describing election trivia
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Here are some interesting facts about presidential elections in the
United States.
The remaining information in Section 1 deals with the following issues:
On the day a person takes the office of president of the United
States, he or she must take the presidential oath
Figure depicting the presidential oath of office
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This is the oath that’s taken by all presidents on the day they begin their term of office.
Congress is to set the president’s salary.
Congress shall decide who will be president if the president dies or is disabled and if, for some reason, there’s no vice president.
Details on what must be done if the president is unable to fulfill his or her duties are outlined in the Twenty-Fifth Amendment.
Section 2: Powers of the President.
Here are some of the main powers outlined in this section. The president is empowered to
Act as commander-in-chief of the armed forces
Appoint executive leaders to cabinet posts, such as secretary of state and secretary of defense
Grant pardons for federal crimes, except in the case of impeachment
Enter into treaties with foreign powers with the advice and consent of the Senate. Advice and consent means that any treaty must be approved by a two-thirds majority of the members present in the Senate.
Appoint ambassadors to foreign lands and judges to the Supreme
Court, with the advice and consent of the Senate. Presidential appointments to less important posts don’t require Senate approval.
While Ronald Reagan was president, he was disabled for a time after
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an attempt on his life. His vice president, George H. W. Bush, acted as president during that time.
Section 3: Duties and Responsibilities of the President.
While
Section 2 outlines what the president is allowed to do, Section 3 lists what he or she is expected to do. These responsibilities include
Giving Congress regular information on the state of the union
Convening and adjourning either or both houses of Congress under “extraordinary [special] occasions”
Receiving ambassadors
Assuring that the laws be “faithfully executed”
Commissioning or appointing “all the officers of the United States”
After World War I, President Woodrow Wilson entered into an international alliance to form a League of Nations. The Senate, however, wouldn’t approve it. Without Senate ratification, the United
States had no part in the alliance.
Section 4: Impeachment.
Section 4 of Article II declares that the president, vice president, or other officials not in the military may be removed from office through the process of impeachment and conviction of a crime while in office. President William Clinton, the forty-second president of the United States, was impeached, but not found guilty, for lying under oath in a court. The only other American president to be impeached was Andrew Johnson. He was vice president when Abraham Lincoln was assassinated in 1865, just after the Civil War. Johnson was seemingly impeached because he didn’t
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follow a law to dismiss a member of his Cabinet. It was really because of his attitudes about reconstruction in the South. Johnson wanted to follow the moderate proposals of Lincoln, but members of the
Congress wanted to punish southern states and do more to protect the civil rights of former slaves. Like Clinton, Andrew Johnson was found not guilty and wasn’t forced from office.
Impeachment is the process by which a government leader is charged with a crime.
Article III defines the judicial branch of the government. It says that the judicial branch shall consist of the Supreme Court, which has nine judges, and the lower federal courts. Judges in the lower federal courts are appointed by Congress. As you’ve already learned, the president appoints judges to the Supreme Court, and the Senate approves these appointments.
Judicial power is the power to interpret laws. Congress passes laws and the president enforces them, but the federal courts and the
Supreme Court decide if they’re constitutional. The Supreme Court can strike down a law that it decides is against the Constitution.
Photo of the Supreme
Court building in
Washington D.C.
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The Supreme Court meets in this building in
Washington, D.C. The building is appropriately called the Supreme
Court Building. Its address is One First
Street.
The Supreme Court has the power of judicial review . That means it has the power to interpret the Constitution. If a case comes before the
Court, the justices can decide if the case is unconstitutional. The
Supreme Court hears many kinds of cases. In some cases, the Court has original jurisdiction, which means that it has the authority to hear cases that haven’t already been tried by lower courts. Later in this
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course, you’ll learn about some important cases of this type.
Most cases brought before the Supreme Court come under its appellate jurisdiction.
The world appellate is a form of the word appeal.
Appeal is the process by which a party in a lawsuit asks a higher court to review the decision of a lower court. The Supreme Court is the highest court of the land. Cases disputed in the lower federal courts can be brought before the Supreme Court on appeal. The decision of the justices is final. Segregation in the United States was ended by a
Supreme Court decision.
You’ll learn a lot more about the court system later in this course.
Article IV concerns relations between the states. Here are a few of the basic ideas found in Article IV:
Every state must respect the laws of all other states. For example, the laws for marriage are different in Virginia and
Arkansas. Suppose a couple married in Arkansas moves to
Virginia. To be considered lawfully married in Virginia, the couple must meet the laws of that state. This had been an issue in the case of gay marriage, because as some states legalized it, other states outlawed it. The Supreme Court in the case Obergefell v.
Hodges ruled state laws prohibiting gay marriage were unconstitutional. This decision requires all states to recognize and allow gay marriage.
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When you travel from your home state to another state on vacation, you can expect the same rights as a resident of that state. States aren’t permitted to treat residents of other states unfairly.
If a person charged with a crime flees from one state to another, the second state has an obligation to return the suspect to the state from which he or she fled.
Congress has the power to admit new states into the Union. It guarantees that each state shall have a representative government.
Each state and its government are to be protected by the armed forces of the United States. In the case of violence or civil unrest within a state, the governor of that state can call on federal forces to restore order. This is often done by putting the state’s National
Guard under federal control. Sometimes, however, the president may send regular troops into a state. For example, during the civil rights struggle, Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus refused to obey the Supreme Court ruling that required racial integration in the schools. President Dwight Eisenhower sent the 101st Airborne
Division to Little Rock, Arkansas, to maintain order.
Article V explains how amendments are to be made to the
Constitution. This procedure will be discussed later in this lesson.
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Article VI makes the Constitution the supreme law of the land. The article has three main provisions:
The US government is obligated to repay any debts on money borrowed before the Constitution was adopted. The idea of this provision was to make the new government legitimate and responsible in the eyes of the world.
The Constitution, the laws of Congress, and all treaties are the highest law of the land. That means that the Constitution is supreme over any state laws. Therefore, any state law that violates the provisions of the Constitution can be overturned. This clause was part of civil rights cases in the 1960s and 1970s, in deciding that state segregation laws were unconstitutional under the Civil Rights Law of 1965. All of these ideas are found in what is called the supremacy clause of Article VI.
All members of Congress, all members of state legislatures, all federal and state executives, and all who serve in the judicial branch must take an oath to obey the United States Constitution.
Furthermore, there can be no religious requirement for any who apply for government jobs.
Article VII explains how the Constitution was to be ratified. You’ve already read about how that happened. The Constitution had to be ratified by nine states in a convention held for that purpose. It was ratified on June 21, 1788, and Congress first convened under its
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provisions in 1789. In that same year, George Washington became the first president of the United States.
After the Constitution was completed, it was sent to all 13 states for ratification. Those who were opposed to the Constitution, the Anti-
Federalists, felt that the central government was too strong. They remembered the recent problems they had experienced with the
British before the American Revolution. These people asked that a bill of rights be added to the Constitution to spell out the rights of individual citizens. When they returned their ratification, several states asked for such rights to be added to the Constitution as amendments; other states ratified the Constitution with the understanding that the amendments would be added.
Therefore, on September 25, 1789, the first Congress of the United
States proposed 12 amendments that covered these issues of the rights of citizens. Only 10 of these amendments were ratified by the state legislatures. These became the first 10 amendments to the
Constitution, which are known as the Bill of Rights.
The following paragraphs outline the main points of the 10 amendments that comprise the Bill of Rights.
The First Amendment grants five freedoms:
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Religion
Speech
Press
Assembly
Petition
These freedoms are the lifeblood of American democracy.
Freedom of religion is one of these basic freedoms. As you’ve already learned, many people originally came to America to be free to worship as they wished. The First Amendment assures this freedom. The amendment protects both the free exercise of religious expression and states that the government can’t have an established religion, or one they approve above others. The Supreme Court created a “wall of separation” between religion and government action to follow the establishment clause. In a Supreme Court case, the Court explained the freedom of religion as follows:
“Neither the state nor the Federal Government can set up a church.
Neither can pass laws which aid one religion, aid all religions, or prefer one religion over another. Neither can force nor influence a person to go to or remain away from church against his will or force him to profess a belief or disbelief in any religion. No person can be punished for entertaining or professing religious beliefs or disbeliefs, for church attendance or nonattendance. No tax in any amount, large or small, can be levied to support any religious activities or institutions, whatever they may be called, or whatever form they may adopt to
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teach or practice religion.”
Freedom of speech assures United States citizens that they have a right to voice their opinions. That means Americans can express views that others may find offensive. They can even speak against the government. Freedom of speech can’t be denied unless it’s accompanied by actions that threaten or harm other people. As a
Supreme Court justice put it, yelling “Fire” in a crowded hall isn’t free speech.
Freedom is one side of a coin. Responsibility is the other side of that same coin. Freedom doesn’t give you the right to harm yourself or others. Responsibility means exercising freedom while clearly understanding that principle.
Freedom of the press is vital to democracy. A free press means exercising freedom of speech through print or images, such as political cartoons. Thomas Jefferson was a great advocate of a free press. He felt that a democracy was hollow if people couldn’t read and write their opinions in books, newspapers, and pamphlets. Today, of course, freedom of the press also applies to electronic media, such as radio and television.
Freedom of assembly means that people have the right to gather peacefully to demonstrate or march for something they believe in. The
Civil Rights Movement in America depended on that freedom.
Recently, there have been assemblies and protests on many issues, including wars, economics, and religious beliefs.
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Photo of peaceful protester with sign that reads STOP THE WAR
In the United States, people have the freedom to gather peacefully to let their views and opinions be known to their government representatives.
The right to petition gives Americans the freedom to attempt to influence members of the government. They can do so by visiting or writing letters to their congressional representatives or other government officials, including the president of the United States.
When this right is expressed in a letter or a statement signed by many people, the request is called a petition . Today, there are websites devoted to creating and signing petitions for the government, such as
Petition the White House (petitions.whitehouse.gov/)
Care2 - The Petition Site (www.thepetitionsite.com/)
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The Second Amendment to the Constitution says that every state has the right to a well-armed militia. Therefore, it guarantees the right of the people to keep and bear arms. The interpretation of this amendment has met with some controversy. Some feel it guarantees the right of all citizens to own guns for self-protection. Others feel that the amendment is outdated—that it refers to the need for a well-armed militia. They feel that the modern National Guard and police meet this need very well. Still others say that the right of a citizen to be a responsible gun owner should be guaranteed under the Ninth
Amendment. In other words, the right to own a gun is a public right.
The Third Amendment declares that in time of peace, no citizen shall have to quarter soldiers unless they agree to do so. People resented being forced to house British soldiers before and during the
Revolution. That’s why this amendment seemed important in 1788.
This amendment is a bit outdated today. Few Americans are much concerned about having soldiers take over their homes and there has been no threat by the military to do so. Nevertheless, the amendment still stands because it protects Americans from government intrusion into their homes and personal affairs.
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The Fourth Amendment states that people have a right to be safe from police searches and arrests in their homes. Only a judge can issue a proper search warrant to police officers. Further, the warrant must be issued for a legal cause, such as sufficient evidence that a crime has been committed. Throughout US history, federal courts have allowed more causes for police and federal officers to search without warrants.
The Fifth Amendment contains several important principles:
1. No person can be charged with a capital crime or other serious crime unless a charge is brought by a grand jury.
In today’s court system, a grand jury must issue an indictment (formal charge) for any offense considered to be a felony (serious crime). For example, robbery, murder, rape, and auto theft are recognized as felonies in the laws of all states. The job of a grand jury is to decide whether there’s enough evidence to issue an indictment.
A jury of peers is selected only when an indictment results in a trial.
2. No person tried by a jury and found innocent can be tried again for the same offense. This is called the double jeopardy rule.
3. No person can be forced to speak against or to produce evidence that would in any way incriminate the individual. When you read or hear of people “taking the fifth,” they’re referring to this right.
4. All persons are guaranteed due process under law, which means that above all, a person must be treated fairly by the police and
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the courts.
5. The government must pay a fair price to the owners of property if that property is claimed for public use. This right to take property for public use is called eminent domain.
A capital crime is one that’s punishable by death.
Photo of a courtroom judge
According to the Constitution, no person can be forced to provide testimony against himself or herself.
A simple example of this is when a town government claims an area to build a public sidewalk across the front of a person’s lawn. The strip of land must be paid for at a fair price. This example also helps you see that the Constitution applies to federal, state, and local laws.
The Sixth Amendment to the Constitution specifies many of the basic
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principles of due process. If you or anyone you know is ever charged with a crime, you’ll want to study this list carefully. Here are the provisions of this amendment:
Every person has a right to a speedy trial. Cases can still take time to be heard in order for the accused to be able to work with their lawyer(s) on their case. The framers of the Constitution must have agreed with the old saying “Justice delayed is justice denied.”
Accused people must be informed of the charge or charges brought against them. This is typically done when the accused is either arrested or arraigned in front of a judge.
If a case comes to trial, the accused have the right to question people who are witnesses against them. They can also bring their own witnesses who have evidence to support their cases.
A person accused of an offense has the right to be represented in court by an attorney. Under a Supreme Court decision of 1963,
Gideon v. Wainright , the Court decided that there couldn’t be a fair trial without an attorney to defend the accused. Therefore, since 1963, a person who can’t afford a lawyer must have one provided by the court.
People have a right to a trial only if they declare themselves innocent in the pretrial hearing.
A person who pleads guilty does not stand trial, but is sentenced by a judge.
Woman in Courtroom
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If you’re accused of an offense and you can’t afford an attorney, the court must provide one for you.
The Seventh Amendment guarantees an individual’s right to a jury trial in civil cases that involve at least $20 in value. Civil cases are argued in civil courts. Unlike criminal law, civil law deals with disputes over property, business contracts, and the like. While this amendment is for the federal courts, most state laws also permit a jury trial in civil cases.
The Eighth Amendment speaks for itself. Here’s what it says:
“Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.”
Bail is an amount set by a judge, which allows an accused person to remain free until his or her trial takes place. If bail is denied, a person must remain in jail until the trial. A fine may be the form of punishment
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declared by a judge. Under this amendment, fines shouldn’t be so great as to impoverish a person unfairly. The best known part of
Amendment VIII is the part about cruel and unusual punishment.
Public whippings were once common in America. In England, there was a time when a person could have his or her hands cut off for stealing. The framers of the Constitution wanted America to be free of such barbaric punishments.
The Ninth Amendment is about rights not enumerated in the
Constitution. It states that rights specified in the Constitution don’t deny or reject other rights held by the people. For example, some state and local laws say that a person has a right to be protected from his or her neighbor’s dog. Where such a law is seen as a public right, it must be protected by the government. Of course, state and local laws must also be constitutional. They can’t infringe on people’s basic rights.
The Tenth Amendment states that all powers not given to the federal government are reserved to the states or to the people. This is a basic principle of federalism, which allows for a strong central government.
But it also allows for separate state governments that have their own powers.
Photo of the Supreme
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Court building in
Washington, D.C.
On the Supreme Court building in Washington,
D.C., are inscribed the words "Equal justice under law."
The Fourth through the Eighth Amendments provide basic legal rights.
Along with the Fourteenth Amendment passed in 1868, they outline what’s meant by equal justice under law.
That motto is inscribed on the Supreme Court building in Washington, DC. Later in this course, you’ll learn more about how the court system works to protect the legal rights of citizens.
In addition to the 10 amendments in the Bill of Rights, the Constitution includes other amendments that have been added over the years.
You’ll briefly examine just a few of them here.
The Thirteenth Amendment, passed in 1865, abolished slavery. It also gave Congress the power to make laws to assure that
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slavery would no longer exist in the United States or its territories.
The Fourteenth Amendment, passed in 1868, made former slaves citizens of the United States, overturned the Three-Fifths
Compromise, and extended and explained many rights of
American citizens. For example, it guarantees rights of due process under the Fifth Amendment to all citizens. People in every state are guaranteed equal protection under the law.
Because the Fourteenth Amendment is the basis of much civil rights legislation, you’ll study it again later in this course.
The Fifteenth Amendment, passed in 1870, proclaims that no male citizen can be denied the right to vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude (slavery).
The Eighteenth Amendment, passed in 1919, established the prohibition of alcohol in the United States. It made the buying, selling, and transportation of alcohol illegal. It resulted in the growth of organized crime in America. It’s important to realize that this is the only amendment to the Constitution that limited freedoms to American citizens. In 1933, the Eighteenth
Amendment was repealed by the Twenty-First Amendment. No other amendment has been repealed.
The Nineteenth Amendment, passed in 1920, gave the right to vote to women. It was a turning point in women’s struggle for political equality.
The Twenty-Sixth Amendment, passed in 1971, lowered the voting age to 18. That seemed reasonable, since many who serve in the armed forces are 18. On the other hand, the legal
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drinking age in most states is now 21. Some have suggested that this fact delivers a mixed message. If you’re 18, you’re responsible enough to die for your country and to vote in local, state, and federal elections. However, you’re not competent enough to drink a glass of beer in celebration if your candidate wins. No one ever said democracy was simple.
The framers of the Constitution were committed to government under the rule of law. The separation of powers protects and preserves the rule of law. As you’ve already learned, separation of powers refers to the division of power among the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. In this way, no one person or group becomes too powerful.
Illustration of the three branches of governement
With the principle of separation of powers, no one part of the government becomes too powerful.
When the principle of separation of powers is properly applied,
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democracy is protected from the rule of one or a few.
Lord Acton, a British statesman, said, “Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” The principle of separation of powers works against the corruption that can result when power is held in too few hands.
The principle of separation of powers is closely related to the principle of checks and balances. Checks and balances are controls given to one branch of government to limit the power of another branch.
Diagram of the process of checks and balances
This simple illustration shows just some of
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the powers each branch has over the other two branches. It illustrates the principle of checks and balances.
James Madison’s ideas of checks and balances were the ones adopted into our Constitution. America’s executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government were designed to keep an eye on each other. That is, each branch has checks on the power of the other branches. For example, if the president tries to act without or against legislation, Congress can cut off money. If Congress passes laws against the Constitution, the Supreme Court can overturn them. If
Congress passes a law that is against the common good, the president can veto it. Congress can then override that veto with a twothirds majority in both houses if it’s widely accepted.
Madison argued that American society had many different interests and points of view. Checks and balances were needed in the
Constitution to prevent any one group of interests or any one point of view from gaining too much power. This is to protect from the majority rule discussed in the first study unit. Above all, checks and balances were needed to prevent the majority from dominating the minority.
For additional information on the concept of checks and balances, click on this link (www.socialstudieshelp.com/lesson_13_notes.htm) .
The word federalism comes from the Latin word fidere , which means
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“to trust.” The basic idea of federalism in American government is that power is shared between a central government and state governments. The Articles of Confederation took a step toward federalism. However, it didn’t give the central government enough power to balance the power of the states. A basic aim of the framers of the Constitution was to balance the powers of the central and state governments.
Diagram depicting unique and shared powers of federal and state governement
In federalism, the central government has some powers and the state governments have some powers. In addition, both have some powers that they share. This illustration shows just a few of those powers.
From the time the Constitution was adopted in 1789, tensions over states’ rights and central powers mounted. Much of the conflict was
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over slavery. As you’ve already learned, the framers of the
Constitution had to compromise over this issue. The states in the
South wanted slavery, but many people in the North opposed it. Only the American Civil War finally resolved the slavery issue. However, issues of voting rights and racial discrimination remained after the war ended in 1865. From that time on, Congress passed more and more laws that affected states and localities. For example, Congress passed laws to restrict child labor, protect the quality of food, and regulate interstate commerce. The principle of federalism remained, but power drifted toward the central government. Since the end of
World War II in 1945, the power of the central government over the states has largely focused on racial discrimination, expansion of executive power, and social programs. Segregation was challenged in the federal courts. Integration was made the law of the land by a decision of the Supreme Court.
Popular sovereignty, or rule by the people, is the principle that the people in a state can determine the laws within that state. The states felt that this principle of self-determination was implied in the
Constitution under the concept of federalism. The problem was that states began to apply this principle to slavery. States wanted to decide for themselves whether they would be slave or free states. However, allowing states to make this determination threatened to upset the balance of power between the states and the central government.
People in the South depended on slaves to work their plantations.
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Many people in the North thought slavery was cruel and immoral. In
Pennsylvania, where Quaker influence was strong, anti-slavery sentiment was also strong. Quakers were often abolitionists —people who wanted to do away with slavery.
The tension between the states over popular sovereignty put pressure on the federal government. In 1803, President Thomas Jefferson signed a treaty with France to purchase a tract of land called the
Louisiana Purchase. Fifteen years later, in 1818, there were 22 states in America—11 were free and 11 permitted slavery. At that time, the
Missouri Territory, which permitted slavery, applied for statehood.
Arguments raged over whether Missouri should be slave or free. If
Missouri entered the Union as a slave state, it would upset the balance of free and slave states. As it turned out, Maine applied for statehood in 1819. To keep the Union intact, Congress adopted the
Missouri Compromise of 1820. Missouri remained a slave state, and
Maine was admitted as a free state. However, the compromise didn’t settle debates over states’ rights. Slavery, in particular, remained an unresolved issue. Only America’s Civil War (1861–1865) would resolve that issue at the cost of more than a half million lives.
Today, the territory of the Louisiana Purchase includes 15 Midwestern states. They stretch from Louisiana and the Gulf of Mexico all the way to the Canadian border. Jefferson paid the Emperor Napoleon of
France $15,000,000 for that territory. Can you imagine buying a state today for $1,000,000? However, at the time, the purchase wasn’t permitted under the Constitution. Fifteen US states owe their
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existence to a purchase that was unconstitutional!
Key Points and Links
READING ASSIGNMENT
The US Constitution is divided into seven Articles.
The legislative branch of the government consists of a Congress with the power to make laws.
Congress includes two houses: a House of Representatives and a Senate.
A bill is a proposal for a law.
A candidate for president of the United States must be a naturalborn citizen, at least 35 years old, and a resident for at least 14 years within the United States.
Impeachment is the process by which a government leader is charged with a crime.
The Supreme Court has the power of judicial review and can strike down a law that it considers to go against the Constitution.
The first 10 amendments to the Constitution are known as the Bill of Rights.
A proposal can be ratified by approval of three-fourths of the state legislatures or conventions in three-fourths of the states.
The Eighteenth Amendment, which denied Americans the legal use of alcoholic beverages, was repealed in 1933.
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The Constitutional Convention (teachingamericanhistory.org/conv ention/)
The Constitution of the United States of America (www.policyalm
anac.org/government/archive/constitution.shtml)
Virtual Tour of Historic Sites in Philadelphia (www.ushistory.org/t our/independence-hall.htm)
Constitutional Duel Game (theconstitutionquiz.org/)
Amendments to the Constitution (www.ushistory.org/documents/a mendments.htm)
Discover More: The Articles of the Constitution
Based on what you've read, answer the following questions.
1. Explain how the popular and electoral college votes decide the presidency.
2. Identify and explain the different forms of jurisdictions for the
Supreme Court.
Discover More Answer Key:
Discover More: The Articles of the Constitution
1. Each state is allowed a certain number of electors equal to the number of its senators and representatives combined. Political parties submit a slate of electors (electoral college) pledged to vote for the candidate of that party. The candidate who wins the vote in a state wins all that state’s electoral votes, regardless of the popular vote. 2.
The Supreme Court has the power of judicial review; it can interpret
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the Constitution. In original jurisdiction cases, the Supreme Court hears cases that haven’t been tried by lower courts. Most often the
Court hears appeals to previously tried or disputed cases. This is appellate jurisdiction.
The Constitution Today
READING ASSIGNMENT
The US Constitution is very difficult to amend. The framers purposely wrote it that way. They believed that the United States should have a stable constitutional structure that would create respect for the rule of law. Over the more than 200 years of the history of the United States, only 27 amendments have been added to the Constitution—and 10 of them were added almost immediately as the Bill of Rights.
In The Federalist , James Madison wrote that the Constitution should be amended only on “great and extraordinary occasions.”
Amending the Constitution requires two steps:
Proposal
Ratification
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A proposal for a new amendment can be introduced in two ways:
By two-thirds vote in both houses of Congress
By two-thirds vote of the state legislatures to have a national convention
This second method has never been used to propose an amendment.
Once a proposal has been made, it must be ratified to become an amendment. It can be ratified in one of two ways:
By approval of three-fourths of the state legislatures
By approval of conventions in three-fourths of the states
Congress decides which method of ratification should be used. In fact, the convention method of ratification was used only once. That was in
1933 to ratify the Twenty-First Amendment, which repealed the
Eighteenth Amendment.
To repeal means to end or remove a law.
Trying to control people’s behavior by passing laws isn’t always wise.
That lesson was learned from experience with the Eighteenth
Amendment on prohibition. On the other hand, the use of law to make democracy work better has been vital to American democracy. A key to making laws work for the people has been the Supreme Court’s
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power of judicial review. To help you understand how the Supreme
Court interprets the Constitution, let’s take a look at three landmark
Supreme Court decisions that deal with this issue. The first decision established the principle of judicial review. The second overturned an earlier Supreme Court decision that permitted racial segregation. The third reinterpreted the Tenth Amendment, also to challenge racial discrimination.
The term judicial review refers to the Supreme Court’s power to interpret the Constitution. That is, the nine justices of the Court can decide whether or not a law is constitutional. It can also decide whether an action of the executive branch is constitutional. Since the
Supreme Court is the highest court of the land, its decisions hold for the entire nation.
The principle of judicial review isn’t spelled out in the Constitution; it’s only implied. Judicial review became established for the Supreme
Court through the legal case of Marbury v. Madison in 1803.
John Marshall was appointed as chief justice of the Supreme Court by
President John Adams, just as his term of office was ending. During
Adams’s presidency, Marshall had been secretary of state. Under the
Judiciary Act of 1789, William Marbury had been appointed as a justice of the peace for the District of Columbia (Washington, DC). The appointment needed the Great Seal of the Republic from the secretary of state, which at that time was John Marshall. Marshall failed to put
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the seal on the appointment.
The Great Seal of the Republic is used to authenticate certain documents issued by the US federal government.
When Thomas Jefferson became the new president in March of 1801, he appointed James Madison as his secretary of state. Madison refused to add the seal to Marbury’s appointment, and Marbury took his case to the Supreme Court.
In deciding on the case, the Supreme Court determined that the
Judiciary Act of 1789 was unconstitutional. However, the Court also decided that it had no authority to act on Marbury’s behalf. The decision established the legal authority of the Supreme Court. Citing the Constitution, it declared that the Court had sole authority to decide what the law is. In short, the Court had the obligation to reject any law that was against the Constitution. And who would decide if it was?
The Supreme Court!
Marshall led the Supreme Court for more than 30 years. During that time, he helped to establish the power of the Court. He left no doubt that the justices of the Court had an absolute right of judicial review.
Since the time of Marbury v. Madison , the Supreme Court has overturned more than 100 federal laws and more than 1,000 state laws.
To learn more about the principle of judicial review, access this link (la
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w2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/judicialrev.htm) .
The power of judicial review allows the Supreme Court to respond to changing times. After the Civil War, America continued to experience racism. The slaves had been freed by law, but they weren’t free in reality. State governments restricted the rights of African Americans.
In the South, but also in the North, racist attitudes were widespread. In
1896, in the case of Plessy v. Ferguson , the Supreme Court declared the “separate but equal” doctrine. It upheld the rights of governments to set up separate schools and separate public facilities for blacks and whites so that blacks and whites could be “equal.” However, they were far from equal. In department stores, there were drinking fountains labeled “White” and “Colored.” White-only restaurants didn’t serve
“Negroes.” Black people were expected to sit in the back of city buses.
Black men were lynched for talking to white women.
The American Civil Rights Movement has a long history. The National
Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was founded in 1909. The NAACP Legal Defense Fund was an important part of the Civil Rights Movement. It brought many cases to the courts to challenge segregation. Some of these cases succeeded; others failed. But throughout most of America, segregation remained. As a result, schools for African Americans were poorly funded, and their teachers were poorly paid. The schools were racially separate but definitely not equal.
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Oliver Brown filed a suit against the board of education in Topeka,
Kansas, on behalf of his seven-year-old daughter. Brown’s daughter had to travel one hour and 20 minutes to get to her segregated school.
The school for white children in her neighborhood was only seven blocks from the Brown home. In 1952, NAACP attorneys took Brown’s case before the Supreme Court. However, the Brown case was joined with other school segregation cases going on in Virginia, Delaware, and the District of Columbia. The cases were joined because they addressed the same kind of discrimination. The chief justice at that time, Frederick Vinson, wasn’t a strong leader. Since he couldn’t control bitter disputes within the court, no decision was made while he was chief justice. In 1953, Vinson died and was replaced by Earl
Warren. Warren was a strong leader who opposed segregation. The attorneys for Brown and the other plaintiffs went back to the Supreme
Court. This time they were successful.
Chief Justice Warren overturned the separate but equal principle, thus making the decision in Plessy v. Ferguson unconstitutional. He also wrote that education is vital to a democracy. Public education, he said,
“is probably the most important function of state and local governments.” Segregated schools don’t provide African Americans with education equal to that of whites. Because segregation denies children equal opportunity, it must be considered unconstitutional.
Therefore, segregation in public schools is unconstitutional.
The unanimous 1954 decision in the Brown case ended segregation in the public schools. But it also made other kinds of segregation
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unconstitutional. No longer would African Americans be forced to the back of the bus. No longer could they be denied service in public restaurants.
Thurgood Marshall served as the chief attorney for the NAACP Legal
Defense Fund. He argued many cases relating to segregation. His arguments before the Supreme Court in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka greatly influenced Chief Justice Earl Warren. His story reminds us that American democracy has the power to make changes that benefit everyone. President Lyndon Johnson appointed Thurgood
Marshall to the Supreme Court in 1967. During his time as a Supreme
Court justice, Marshall did much to make the United States free for all of its citizens.
The Warren Court would become, like Marbury’s court, an activist court willing to rule against state and federal laws to protect individual rights.
Even though segregation was ended in the public schools, racism remained. State and local governments continued to argue that the
Tenth Amendment allowed them to maintain white-only facilities, such as hotels and restaurants. In 1964, the Supreme Court interpreted the
Tenth Amendment rights differently. In the case Heart of Atlanta Hotel v. United States, the Court ruled that racial discrimination in hotels harmed interstate commerce. By this decision, the Court showed that it could overturn even local laws.
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.
To review additional cases related to the Tenth Amendment, access this link (law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/tenth&elev.htm)
The US Constitution is a living document. It has withstood the test of time. Perhaps you’ve heard the expression “It’s better to bend than to break.” A willow tree bends in the wind and survives a storm.
However, the brittle limbs of some trees can’t withstand a storm.
They’re torn away from their trunks by the “winds of change.” The
Constitution was purposely designed to bend like a willow. You’ve just seen how the Supreme Court may act to interpret the Constitution. But there are other ways that the Constitution has allowed for change.
Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution gives Congress authority “to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers and all other powers vested by this
Constitution in the government of the United States, or in any department or officer thereof.” This means that the Constitution allows
Congress to make laws as they’re needed.
Congress has passed many laws by the authority of Article I, Section
8. However, some interpretations of the Constitution have come about through custom and usage. The president’s appointment of a cabinet is one of these. So is our political party system and our customs for nominating presidential candidates.
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Key Points and Links
READING ASSIGNMENT
Judicial review became established for the Supreme Court through the legal case of Marbury v. Madison in 1803.
The Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka Kansas Supreme
Court decision ended segregation in public schools and made other kinds of segregation unconstitutional.
Examples of Conflict Between Branches of the Federal
Government (law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/separ ationofpowers.htm)
Checks and Balances (www.socialstudieshelp.com/lesson_13_no tes.htm)
Example of a Dispute Between Two Branches of Government (on line.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405270230489870457747837045
2447012.html)
Tenth Amendment Cases (law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/c onlaw/tenth&elev.htm)
Judicial Review (law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/judi cialrev.htm)
Discover More: Interpreting the Constitution
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Based on what you've read, answer the following questions.
1. Why is it appropriate to say the Constitution is designed to “bend like a willow”?
2. What did James Madison and John Marshall have in common?
3. Who was Thurgood Marshall?
Discover More Answer Key:
Discover More: Interpreting the Constitution
1. The Constitution is designed to be flexible. New laws can be made as they’re needed. In addition, old laws can be reinterpreted. 2. Both
James Madison and John Marshall served as secretary of state. 3.
Thurgood Marshall was an attorney for the NAACP who argued the
_Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka_ case before the Supreme
Court. Later, he was appointed as a justice of the Supreme Court. The
Constitution of the United States
READING STUDY MATERIAL
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect
Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the
Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of
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the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of
Representatives.
The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several States, and the
Electors in each State shall have the Qualifications requisite for
Electors of the most numerous Branch of the State Legislature.
No Person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the Age of twenty five Years, and been seven Years a Citizen of the
United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen.
Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a
Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other
Persons. The actual Enumeration shall be made within three Years after the first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by
Law direct. The Number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty Thousand, but each State shall have at Least one
Representative; and until such enumeration shall be made, the State of New Hampshire shall be entitled to chuse three, Massachusetts
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eight, Rhode-Island and Providence Plantations one, Connecticut five,
New-York six, New Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one,
Maryland six, Virginia ten, North Carolina five, South Carolina five, and Georgia three.
When vacancies happen in the Representation from any State, the
Executive Authority thereof shall issue Writs of Election to fill such
Vacancies.
The House of Representatives shall chuse their Speaker and other
Officers; and shall have the sole Power of Impeachment.
The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, chosen by the Legislature thereof for six Years; and each Senator shall have one Vote.
Immediately after they shall be assembled in Consequence of the first
Election, they shall be divided as equally as may be into three
Classes. The Seats of the Senators of the first Class shall be vacated at the Expiration of the second Year, of the second Class at the
Expiration of the fourth Year, and of the third Class at the Expiration of the sixth Year, so that one third may be chosen every second Year; and if Vacancies happen by Resignation, or otherwise, during the
Recess of the Legislature of any State, the Executive thereof may make temporary Appointments until the next Meeting of the
Legislature, which shall then fill such Vacancies.
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No Person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty Years, and been nine Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen.
The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the
Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they be equally divided.
The Senate shall chuse their other Officers, and also a President pro tempore, in the Absence of the Vice President, or when he shall exercise the Office of President of the United States.
The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments. When sitting for that Purpose, they shall be on Oath or Affirmation. When the
President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside:
And no Person shall be convicted without the Concurrence of two thirds of the Members present.
Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States: but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to Indictment, Trial,
Judgment and Punishment, according to Law.
The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and
Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature
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thereof; but the Congress may at   any time by Law make or alter such
Regulations, except as to the Places of chusing Senators.
The Congress shall assemble at least once in every Year, and such
Meeting shall be on the first Monday in December, unless they shall by Law appoint a different Day.
Each House shall be the Judge of the Elections, Returns and
Qualifications of its own Members, and a Majority of each shall constitute a Quorum to do Business; but a smaller Number may adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the
Attendance of absent Members, in such Manner, and under such
Penalties as each House may provide.
Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish its
Members for disorderly Behaviour, and, with the Concurrence of two thirds, expel a Member.
Each House shall keep a Journal of its Proceedings, and from time to time publish the same, excepting such Parts as may in their Judgment require Secrecy; and the Yeas and Nays of the Members of either
House on any question shall, at the Desire of one fifth of those
Present, be entered on the Journal.
Neither House, during the Session of Congress, shall, without the
Consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any
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other Place than that in which the two Houses shall be sitting.
The Senators and Representatives shall receive a Compensation for their Services, to be ascertained by Law, and paid out of the Treasury of the United States. They shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their
Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any Speech or Debate in either
House, they shall not be questioned in any other Place.
No Senator or Representative shall, during the Time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil Office under the Authority of the
United States, which shall have been created, or the Emoluments whereof shall have been increased during such time; and no Person holding any Office under the United States, shall be a Member of either House during his Continuance in Office.
Section 7
All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of
Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with
Amendments as on other Bills.
Every Bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a Law, be presented to the
President of the United States: If he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his Objections to that House in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the Objections at large on their
Journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If after such Reconsideration
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two thirds of that House shall agree to pass the Bill, it shall be sent, together with the Objections, to the other House, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two thirds of that House, it shall become a Law. But in all such Cases the Votes of both Houses shall be determined by yeas and Nays, and the Names of the Persons voting for and against the Bill shall be entered on the Journal of each
House respectively. If any Bill shall not be returned by the President within ten Days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the Same shall be a Law, in like Manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their Adjournment prevent its Return, in which
Case it shall not be a Law.
Every Order, Resolution, or Vote to which the Concurrence of the
Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary (except on a question of Adjournment) shall be presented to the President of the
United States; and before the Same shall take Effect, shall be approved by him, or being disapproved by him, shall be repassed by two thirds of the Senate and House of Representatives, according to the Rules and Limitations prescribed in the Case of a Bill.
Section 8
The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties,
Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common
Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties,
Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;
To borrow Money on the credit of the United States;
To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several
States, and with the Indian Tribes;
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To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States;
To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;
To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the United States;
To establish Post Offices and post Roads;
To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;
To constitute Tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court;
To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high
Seas, and Offences against the Law of Nations;
To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make
Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;
To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that
Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;
To provide and maintain a Navy;
To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces;
To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the
Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;
To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the
United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the
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discipline prescribed by Congress;
To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such
District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of particular States, and the Acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States, and to exercise like Authority over all Places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the
State in which the Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines,
Arsenals, dock-Yards, and other needful Buildings; and
To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any
Department or Officer thereof.
Section 9
The Migration or Importation of such Persons as any of the States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the
Congress prior to the Year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a Tax or duty may be imposed on such Importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each Person.
The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.
No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed.
No Capitation, or other direct, Tax shall be laid, unless in Proportion to the Census or enumeration herein before directed to be taken.
No Tax or Duty shall be laid on Articles exported from any State.
No Preference shall be given by any Regulation of Commerce or
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Revenue to the Ports of one State over those of another; nor shall
Vessels bound to, or from, one State, be obliged to enter, clear, or pay
Duties in another.
No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of
Appropriations made by Law; and a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time to time.
No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no
Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument,
Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign
State.
Section 10
No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or Confederation; grant
Letters of Marque and Reprisal; coin Money; emit Bills of Credit; make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts; pass any Bill of Attainder, ex post facto Law, or Law impairing the
Obligation of Contracts, or grant any Title of Nobility.
No State shall, without the Consent of the Congress, lay any Imposts or Duties on Imports or Exports, except what may be absolutely necessary for executing its inspection Laws: and the net Produce of all Duties and Imposts, laid by any State on Imports or Exports, shall be for the Use of the Treasury of the United States; and all such Laws shall be subject to the Revision and Controul of the Congress.
No State shall, without the Consent of Congress, lay any Duty of
Tonnage, keep Troops, or Ships of War in time of Peace, enter into
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any Agreement or Compact with another State, or with a foreign
Power, or engage in War, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent
Danger as will not admit of delay.
Article II
Section 1
The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United
States of America. He shall hold his Office during the Term of four
Years, and, together with the Vice President, chosen for the same
Term, be elected, as follows:
Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of
Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or Representative, or Person holding an
Office of Trust or Profit under the United States, shall be appointed an
Elector.
The Electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by Ballot for two Persons, of whom one at least shall not be an Inhabitant of the same State with themselves. And they shall make a List of all the
Persons voted for, and of the Number of Votes for each, which List they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the Seat of the
Government of the United States, directed to the President of the
Senate. The President of the Senate shall, in the Presence of the
Senate and House of Representatives, open all the Certificates, and the Votes shall then be counted. The Person having the greatest
Number of Votes shall be the President, if such Number be a Majority of the whole Number of Electors appointed, and if there be more than
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one who have such Majority, and have an equal Number of Votes, then the House of Representatives shall immediately chuse by Ballot one of them for President, and if no Person have a Majority, then from the five highest on the List the said House shall in like Manner chuse the President. But in chusing the President, the Votes shall be taken by States, the Representation from each State having one Vote. A quorum for this purpose shall consist of a Member or Members from two thirds of the States, and a Majority of all the States shall be necessary to a Choice.
In every Case, after the Choice of the President, the Person having the greatest Number of Votes of the Electors shall be the Vice
President. But if there should remain two or more who have equal
Votes, the Senate shall chuse from them by Ballot the Vice President.
The Congress may determine the Time of chusing the Electors, and the Day on which they shall give their Votes; which Day shall be the same throughout the United States.
No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United
States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that
Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.
In Case of the Removal of the President from Office, or of his Death,
Resignation, or Inability to discharge the Powers and Duties of the said Office, the Same shall devolve on the Vice President, and the
Congress may by Law provide for the Case of removal, Death,
Resignation or Inability, both of the President and Vice President,
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declaring what Officer shall then act as President, and such Officer shall act accordingly, until the Disability be removed, or a President shall be elected.
The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Services, a
Compensation, which shall neither be encreased nor diminished during the Period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that Period any other Emolument from the United
States, or any of them.
Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:—“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the
Constitution of the United States.”
Section 2
The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the
Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive
Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and
Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of
Impeachment.
He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the
Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and
Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public ​‐
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Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other
Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law: but the
Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments.
The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session.
He shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the
State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such
Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary Occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and in Case of Disagreement between them, with Respect to the Time of
Adjournment, he may adjourn them to such Time as he shall think proper; he shall receive Ambassadors and other public Ministers; he shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed, and shall
Commission all the Officers of the United States.
The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United
States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and
Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and
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Misdemeanors.
The judicial Power of the United States shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish. The Judges, both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices during good Behaviour, and shall, at stated Times, receive for their Services a Compensation, which shall not be diminished during their Continuance in Office.
The judicial Power shall extend to all Cases, in Law and Equity, arising under this Constitution, the Laws of the United States, and Treaties made, or which shall be made, under their Authority;—to all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls;—to all
Cases of admiralty and maritime Jurisdiction;—to Controversies to which the United States shall be a Party;—to Controversies between two or more States;— between a State and Citizens of another State;
—between Citizens of different States;—between Citizens of the same
State claiming Lands under Grants of different States, and between a
State, or the Citizens thereof, and foreign States, Citizens or Subjects.
In all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and
Consuls, and those in which a State shall be Party, the supreme Court shall have original Jurisdiction. In all the other Cases before
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mentioned, the supreme Court shall have appellate Jurisdiction, both as to Law and Fact, with such Exceptions, and under such
Regulations as the Congress shall make.
The Trial of all Crimes, except in Cases of Impeachment, shall be by
Jury; and such Trial shall be held in the State where the said Crimes shall have been committed; but when not committed within any State, the Trial shall be at such Place or Places as the Congress may by Law have directed.
Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and
Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the
Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court.
The Congress shall have Power to declare the Punishment of
Treason, but no Attainder of Treason shall work Corruption of Blood, or Forfeiture except during the Life of the Person attainted.
Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each State to the public Acts,
Records, and judicial Proceedings of every other State. And the
Congress may by general Laws prescribe the Manner in which such
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Acts, Records and Proceedings shall be proved, and the Effect thereof.
The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and
Immunities of Citizens in the several States.
A Person charged in any State with Treason, Felony, or other Crime, who shall flee from Justice, and be found in another State, shall on
Demand of the executive Authority of the State from which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the State having Jurisdiction of the
Crime.
No Person held to Service or Labour in one State, under the Laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in Consequence of any Law or
Regulation therein, be discharged from such Service or Labour, but shall be delivered up on Claim of the Party to whom such Service or
Labour may be due.
New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union; but no new State shall be formed or erected within the Jurisdiction of any other State; nor any State be formed by the Junction of two or more
States, or Parts of States, without the Consent of the Legislatures of the States concerned as well as of the Congress.
The Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all needful
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Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United States; and nothing in this Constitution shall be so construed as to Prejudice any Claims of the United States, or of any particular State.
The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a
Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion; and on Application of the Legislature, or of the
Executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened), against ​‐ domestic Violence.
The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the
Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which, in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as Part of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several States, or by Conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other
Mode of Ratification may be proposed by the Congress; Provided that no Amendment which may be made prior to the Year One thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any Manner affect the first and fourth
Clauses in the Ninth Section of the first Article; and that no State, without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the
Senate.
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All Debts contracted and Engagements entered into, before the
Adoption of this Constitution, shall be as valid against the United
States under this Constitution, as under the Confederation.
This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme
Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the ​‐
Contrary notwithstanding.
The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the
Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.
The Ratification of the Conventions of nine States, shall be sufficient for the Establishment of this Constitution between the States so ratifying the Same.
Done in Convention by the Unanimous Consent of the States present the Seventeenth Day of September in the Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and Eighty seven and of the Independence
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of the United States of America the Twelfth In witness whereof We have hereunto subscribed our Names.
Self-Check
1. The nation consisted of a loose alliance (union) of the independent states, which was called the League of
a. States.
b. Peers.
c. Government.
d. Friendship.
2. Which one of the follow was a problem caused by the Article of
Confederation?
a. Congress couldn’t levy taxes.
b. It could establish a postal service and coin money.
c. Congress had the power to declare war.
d. Congress had the power to enter into treaties with foreign powers.
3. Which one of the following agreements stated that the lower house represented the people and the upper house represented the states?
a. Representation Compromise
b. Three-Fifths Compromise
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c. Executive Compromise
d. Great Compromise
4. Articles published in a newspaper under the pseudonym Publius became known as?
a. The Public Papers
b. The Government Papers
c. The Anti-Federalist Papers
d. The Federalist Papers
5. What does liberty in the Preamble mean?
a. To insure domestic tranquility
b. The citizens of each state must share in the benefits of justice, civil order, and equal opportunity
c. All for one and one for all
d. freedom from government oppression
6. Which one of the following conducts Senate meetings when the vice president is unavailable?
a. Member pro tempore
b. Congress pro tempore
c. President pro tempore
d. Representative pro tempore
7. What is a bill?
a. A regulation
b. A law
c. A requirement for a law
d. A proposal for a law
8. Which one of the following is a qualification to becoming the
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president?
a. At least 30 years old
b. A naturalized citizen
c. A natural-born citizen
d. A resident for at least 10 years within the United States
9. Which one of the following methods was used only once to ratify an amendment?
a. By approval of the president
b. By approval of three-fourths of the state legislatures
c. By approval of Supreme Court
d. By approval of conventions in three-fourths of the states
10. Which one of the following cases did the Supreme Court declared the "separate but equal" doctrine. It upheld the rights of governments to set up separate schools and separate public facilities for blacks and whites so that blacks and whites could be "equal"?
a. Plessy v. Ferguson
b. Heart of Atlanta Hotel v. United States
c. Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka Kanas
d. Marbury v. Madison
Self-Check Answer Key
1. Friendship.
Explanation: The Articles of Confederation provided for a weak central government. As a result, the nation consisted of a loose alliance (union) of independent states. This alliance was called a
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"League of Friendship" between states.
Reference: Section 2.1
2. Congress couldn’t levy taxes.
Explanation: The Congress had the power to declare war and enter into treaties with foreign powers. It could establish a postal service and coin money. However, the Congress couldn’t levy taxes.
Reference: Section 2.1
3. Great Compromise
Explanation: After much debate, it was agreed that representation in the lower house of Congress would be based on population. The upper house, however, would be composed of two delegates from each state. In that way, the lower house represented the people, and the upper house represented the states.
Reference: Section 2.1
4. The Federalist Papers
Explanation: To gain support for the Constitution, mainly in New
York, a group of three men wrote a series of articles arguing for federalism—that is, for the Constitution. The articles were published in newspapers under the pseudonym _Publius._ (A
_pseudonym_ is a false, or fictitious name.) These articles eventually became known as _The Federalist Papers,_ or _The
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Federalist._
Reference: Section 2.1
5. freedom from government oppression
Explanation: _Liberty_ in the Preamble means freedom from government oppression. "To secure the blessing of liberty to ourselves and our posterity" indicates this liberty will be passed down to future generations.
Reference: Section 2.2
6. President pro tempore
Explanation: Since the vice president may often have other duties, the Senate is expected to elect officers to conduct its meetings. For example, the president pro tempore conducts
Senate meetings when the vice president is unavailable.
Reference: Section 2.2
7. A proposal for a law
Explanation: The main job of Congress is to make laws. A bill is a proposal for a law. Bills may be proposed, debated, and either passed or defeated in either house.
Reference: Section 2.2
8. A natural-born citizen
Explanation: To become president, a person must be - A naturalborn citizen - A citizen of this country - At least 35 years old - A
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resident for at least 14 years within the United States
Reference: Section 2.2
9. By approval of conventions in three-fourths of the states
Explanation: Congress decides which method of ratification should be used. In fact, the convention method of ratification was used only once.
Reference: Section 2.3
10. Plessy v. Ferguson
Explanation: In 1896, in the case of _Plessy v. Ferguson,_ the
Supreme Court declared the "separate but equal" doctrine. It upheld the rights of governments to set up separate schools and separate public facilities for blacks and whites so that blacks and whites could be "equal." However, they were far from equal.
Reference: Section 2.3
Flash Cards
1. Term: Levy
Definition: To impose taxes
2. Term: Tariff
Definition: A tax on goods that one nation (or state) buys from another nation (or state)
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3. Term: Interstate Trade
Definition: Trade from one state to another
4. Term: Export
Definition: A product taken from one country to another for the purpose of trade
5. Term: Delegate
Definition: A person who represents others at a meeting
6. Term: Ratification
Definition: The process of approving something by a vote
7. Term: Legislative Branch
Definition: The part of a government that makes the laws of the country or state
8. Term: Quorum
Definition: The number of members that must be present to conduct business
9. Term: Impeachment
Definition: The process by which a government leader is charged with a crime
10. Term: Capital Crime
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Definition: A crime that’s punishable by death
11. Term: Repeal
Definition: To end or remove a law
12. Term: Great Seal of the Republic
Definition: Used to authenticate certain documents issued by the US federal government
13. Term: Three Main Sections of the Constitution
Definition: Preamble, articles, and amendments
14. Term: Judicial Review
Definition: The power to interpret the Constitution
15. Term: Bill of Rights
Definition: First 10 amendments to the Constitution
16. Term: Article IV of the Constitution
Definition: Relations between the states
17. Term: The First Amendment
Definition: Freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition
18. Term: Second Amendment
Definition: Right to bear arms
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19. Term: Fourth Amendment
Definition: Protection from illegal search
20. Term: Sixth Amendment
Definition: Right to due process
21. Term: Tenth Amendment
Definition: Powers not given to the federal government are reserved to the states
22. Term: Thirteenth Amendment
Definition: Abolished slavery
23. Term: Nineteenth Amendment
Definition: Women's right to vote
24. Term: Twenty-Sixth Amendment
Definition: Lowered voting age to 18
25. Term: Checks and Balances
Definition: Controls given to one branch of government to limit the power of another branch
26. Term: Popular Sovereignty
Definition: Rule by the people
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27. Term: _Marbury v. Madison_
Definition: Established the right of the Supreme Court to overturn laws deemed unconstitutional
28. Term: _Plessy v. Ferguson_
Definition: The Supreme Court declared the "separate but equal" doctrine
29. Term: _Brown v. Education_
Definition: Made school segregation illegal
30. Term: Three-Fourths of the State Legislatures
Definition: What an amendment to the Constitution can be ratified by
You’ve seen how the United States entered the world stage, and you’ve learned something of its colonial past. You’ve also learned a bit about the American Revolution that separated this nation from Great
Britain. Finally, you took a good look at the US Constitution. That
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document, beginning with
“We the people . . .” is unique. It was the first document of its kind. Its principles have been imitated and adopted by many nations across this planet. In this lesson, you’ll get an overview of government in the United States. You’ll explore the three main branches of the federal government—the legislative, the executive, and the judicial branches. You’ll then learn how state and local governments fit in to the bigger picture of American government.
The Federal Government: Legislative Branch
READING ASSIGNMENT
You’ve already learned that the United States government is established in three parts:
The legislative branch
The executive branch
The judicial branch
Table describing the three branches of government
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The main purpose of the legislative branch is to debate and pass laws.
It consists of the US Congress, which is made up of the House of
Representatives and the Senate.The executive branch administers and enforces the laws. In doing so, it exercises a wide range of powers. In fact, the executive branch is the largest and most complex branch of the federal government. Finally, the judicial branch interprets the Constitution and decides whether laws conform to the Constitution or not. The Supreme Court is the highest court in the land. It holds the power of judicial review , or the power to interpret the Constitution.
Beneath the Supreme Court is a system of federal courts that stretch across the land. In this unit, you’ll explore each of these branches individually.
Photo of the Capitol building in Washington,
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D.C.
The Capitol in
Washington, DC is the headquarters for both the House of
Representatives and the
Senate.
The US Congress, which meets in the Capitol Building in Washington,
DC, is the most powerful legislative body in the world. It prevents the president and the executive branch from gaining too much power. It levies and collects taxes. It passes legislation that protects our food supply. It acts in many ways to influence our daily lives.
Access America’s Homepage (ahp.gatech.edu/buildings.html) to learn more about some of the historical buildings and museums in
Washington, DC, our nation’s capital.
As you learned in the previous study unit, the Constitution gives
Congress many powers, including
Levying and collecting taxes
Borrowing money by issuing bonds and certificates
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Controlling and regulating commerce between the states and between the United States and other nations
Determining how people become citizens of the United States
Printing and coining money
Punishing counterfeiters
Establishing and regulating a postal service
Issuing copyrights and patents
Creating a system of lower federal courts
Establishing and paying for the armed forces
Declaring war
Providing for a militia
Making laws necessary for carrying out these powers
In addition to these powers, Congress also acts as part of the government for the District of Columbia.
The Constitution does, however, limit the powers of Congress. For example, Congress can pass no law that violates people’s basic rights. But the Constitution also permits Congress to make laws as times change. Article 1 Section 8 is called the elastic clause .
According to this article, Congress can make laws as they’re needed.
As this happens, special powers are reserved to the House and others to the Senate. You’ll see what these are shortly.
The voters in each state elect two people to represent them in the
Senate. Therefore, in the Senate, states with a small population are
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overrepresented and states with a large population are underrepresented because the same number of senators represent larger and smaller populations. This arrangement allows the powers of the states to be balanced in one of the two legislative branches. The total members of the other legislative house, the House of
Representatives, is based on each state’s population, but because there are 50 states in the United States, there are 100 senators—two for each state.
Senators serve six-year terms. The framers deliberately gave senators relatively long terms; they wanted the senators to have time to do their work without worrying about being reelected. In the view of James
Madison, the fourth president of the United States,the Senate was to be a cool-headed body of able people. Senators would be able to take their time about studying the nation’s needs and passing laws.
In addition to the powers provided to the Senate in the Constitution, the Senate also has special powers. Some of these come from the
Constitutional principle of advice and consent . According to Article 2,
Section 2, the Senate must approve the president’s appointments of
Supreme Court justices, federal judges, ambassadors, and many other important federal officials. The Senate must also approve the president’s choices for the cabinet.
The Senate has seldom questioned a president’s choices for cabinet posts. However, the Senate can become very picky about appointees
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to the Supreme Court or federal judgeships. Presidents want to appoint judges who share their political philosophies, and Supreme
Court justices and federal judges are appointed for life. For that reason, senators are highly aware of the political philosophies of candidates for the judicial branch.
The president can make treaties with foreign powers. However, the
Senate must ratify such treaties. As mentioned earlier in this course, the Senate refused to ratify the League of Nations treaty under
President Woodrow Wilson. Generally, however, the Senate ratifies treaties without any revisions.
Access www.senate.gov
(www.senate.gov) to review a summary of the powers of the Senate.
Despite its numerous special powers, the main business of the Senate is to pass laws. Committees are an important part of that process in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. For example, the
Senate has 16 standing committees that deal with important things like foreign relations, banking, commerce, agriculture, and the armed services. Many of the standing committees oversee the work of government agencies,such as the Department of Agriculture and the
Department of Defense.
A standing committee is a committee permanently established by the
House or Senate.
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Three very powerful Senate committees are the Appropriations
Committee, the Finance Committee, and the Budget Committee. The
Appropriations Committee makes recommendations about how federal revenues (money) can be spent. The Finance Committee looks at ways of raising revenues (taxes). Although the president prepares and submits an annual budget to Congress, the Budget Committee studies and revises the budget to prepare the budget resolution that will be voted into law.
Along with the standing committees, the Senate has 68 subcommittees. All of the committees (approximately 92 of them) can draft new bills or review bills submitted to them. They can also hold hearings to gather information.
When necessary, the Senate can set up investigative committees .
These are temporary committees that hold hearings and get people to testify about scandals and other problems. Such committees can’t consider legislation. Their only purpose is to gather information.
Sometimes, though, the information the committees gather does lead to legislation.
Proceedings in the Senate are rather relaxed and even casual.
There’s no limit on the amount of time that can be taken for debate on an issue. Senators can hold long colloquies ,or exchanges, with each other. (The word colloquy actually means conversation.) Senators can delay action on a bill by extending debate. If a senator or senators
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really don’t want a bill to pass, they can filibuster . A filibuster is a tactic by which a senator or group of senators takes the floor and keeps it.
They can talk for hours or even days. Newspapers and magazines often include political cartoons about filibusters to make a point to their readers.
Illustration of a politician at a podium
Political cartoons often highlight the Senate
Most debates in the Senate are orderly and polite. By current custom, senators don’t verbally attack other senators in their speeches. These are called decorum rules. Personal attacks are considered inappropriate. Even in disagreement, a senator usually addresses another senator as “the distinguished gentleman” or “the senator from
New Jersey.”
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Decorum means orderliness, polite behavior, and good taste in conduct.
The Senate doesn’t change very much or very fast. Senators serve six-year terms, and only one-third of the Senate comes up for election at any time. Often, too, senators are reelected. Therefore, the rules of procedure don’t change often.
Senators with seniority (that is, those who have been in the Senate the longest) often have great power. Because the Senate is small compared to the House of Representatives, even new senators must serve on several committees and subcommittees. However, those who have been in the Senate a long time often chair the most important committees.
Most business in the Senate is presided over by a president pro tempore (pro tem) . Elected by the senators, by custom, the pro tem is the longest serving senator in the majority party. The pro tem acts in place of the vice president, who is president of the Senate. The vice president normally presides over Senate meetings only on ceremonial occasions or when the vote is likely to result in a tie, and the vice president votes only if there’s a tie.
Other leaders of the Senate are the majority and minority leaders. If the Republicans hold more seats in the Senate, the majority leader will be a Republican and the minority leader will be a Democrat. If the
Democrats hold more seats, the reverse is true. Each of these party leaders has assistants called whips . Whips are responsible for
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encouraging members to vote along party lines. A floor manager is responsible for guiding a bill through the Senate. The floor manager is usually the bill’s sponsor or the chair of the committee responsible for the bill. A majority party floor manager tries to get the bill passed. A minority floor manager tries to get the bill amended or defeated.
Access www.senate.gov
(www.senate.gov) to learn more about
Senate rules and procedures.
The cost of running for the Senate is enormous. In 2012, the average senatorial campaign cost $10.5 million. Unfortunately, this high cost prevents average Americans from running for the Senate. The Senate is also weak on representing women and racial minorities. Only nine
African Americans have held Senate seats. The first Asian American to serve in the Senate was Hiram Fong of Hawaii. Only one Native
American, Ben Nighthorse Campbell, has served in the Senate. He represented the state of Colorado. Thirty-three women have held
Senate seats.
When the United States was a young country, the House of
Representatives had only 60 members. As the nation grew, the number of representatives also grew. Since 1913, the House of
Representatives has been set to 435 members. Each state has a specified number of representatives based on its population. Some
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states, like New York and California, which have large populations, have a large number of representatives. Other states, like Alaska and
Montana, have only one representative. As you may recall from your study of the Constitution, each state must have at least one representative in the House.
Every 10 years, the US Census Bureau takes a census. The main reason for conducting the census is to apportion (distribute) the members of the House of Representatives among the 50 states. The following table shows how the 435 representatives were apportioned according to the census taken in 2010.
Table describing the number of representatives by state
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Source: US Census Bureau
A census is an official counting of a population.
Each state is divided into a number of congressional districts equal to the number of representatives it’s allotted. The districts are determined according to population. That is, each district should have approximately the same number of people. Study the maps in the
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figure, which show the boundaries of the congressional districts for the states of Utah and Oregon. Utah (A in the figure) has four congressional districts, three of which are approximately the same size geographically. Therefore, the population of Utah is probably relatively even across the state, with the exception being District 4.
Oregon (B in the figure) has five congressional districts, which vary greatly in size. The most heavily populated areas are in the west, which borders on the Pacific Ocean. District 2, the largest by far of the five districts, is the least populated. Note, too, that while Oregon covers a lot of geographic territory, its population is fairly small, approximately 4 million. Therefore, it has only five congressional districts. By contrast, Pennsylvania, which covers less geographical territory than Oregon, but with a population of over 12 million, has 18 congressional districts.
Illustration depicting how Utah and Oregon are divided into districts
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Congressional Districts in the States of Utah (A) and Oregon (B)
The populations of states do change and the population distribution can change as well. When this happens, a state may be allotted more or fewer representatives. After a new apportionment, a state may have to redraw the boundaries of its congressional districts. This process is called redistricting . The purpose of redistricting is to make sure that each district has approximately the same number of people.
As the population of the United States has grown, the number of people represented by each member of the House has also grown.
Today, the average number of people served by a representative is about 700,000 people.
Political parties try to manage reapportionment to their advantage. An attempt to redraw districts to the advantage of one political party is called gerrymandering . The name comes from Elbridge Gerry of
Massachusetts. As governor of that state in 1810, he redrew districts to favor his political party. Ever since, his name has been associated with unfair redistricting practices. Since Gerry’s day, a number of bitter disputes have occurred over redistricting. In 1985, the Supreme Court outlawed unfair redistricting for one party’s advantage. Even though this is the case, only five states have no elected representatives drawing the district lines. The states of Washington, Idaho, California,
Arizona and New Jersey have independent commissions. Federal courts only get involved when the districts are drawn so strangely that they’re clearly about politics.
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When Elbridge Gerry redrew the congressional districts in
Massachusetts, one of his districts was an unusual shape. A senator from the opposing party said it looked like a salamander. Another opposing senator quipped that it was actually a gerrymander .
Representatives serve terms of only two years. Therefore, they’re pressed for time. They must try to study and draft bills, attend committee meetings, attend floor sessions to debate and to vote, deal with the concerns of their voters, and raise money for their next campaign. To manage voter concerns, representatives are allowed as many as 18 staff members. Congressional staff people answer phone calls and emails, write letters, and keep their representatives informed as well as they can.
The House works together with the Senate to draft legislation. Bills must pass both houses of Congress in exactly the same form.
Otherwise, they don’t go to the president for his consideration.
As you probably remember, the early colonists were very concerned about taxation without representation. For that reason, the framers of the Constitution made sure the people’s voice would be heard on matters relating to taxes. The House of Representatives has special authority over taxing and spending. By law, all tax bills originate in the
House. The same goes for most spending measures. Finally, the
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House has the power to vote to impeach an official of the government.
President Nixon resigned the presidency in 1974 when threatened with impeachment. He didn’t want to give the House time to cast that vote. However, if the House votes for impeachment, the actual trial is held in the Senate.
Like the Senate, the House does much of its work in committees.
Committees in the House are almost the same as those in the Senate, but the House has more of them. In 2015, the House maintained 20 standing committees and approximately 101 subcommittees. There were also four joint committees and two select committees. The following are some of the powerful and important committees in the
House:
The Appropriations Committee studies ways to spend money on different programs.
The Ways and Means Committee decides how to raise money for various programs.
The Budget Committee takes part in evaluating and revising the annual budget proposed by the president.
The Energy and Commerce Committee is concerned with energy policy and trade. It oversees the Interstate Commerce
Commission.
The Rules Committee helps the Speaker of the House schedule bills for consideration.
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As you’ve already learned, debate time in the Senate is more or less unlimited. In the House of Representatives, however, debate is strictly regulated by the Rules Committee. You’ll learn more about how that works when you study how laws are passed.
A task force investigates and recommends legislation on a specific issue, such as education.
The most powerful person in the House of Representatives is the
Speaker of the House. Under current law, the Speaker of the House is the next in line to act as president of the United States if both the president and the vice president become unable to fulfill their duties.
The Speaker is the most prominent member of Congress. He or she presides over the House and is the head of the majority party. The
Speaker assigns members to special committees and decides which bills go to which committees. With the help of deputies, he or she oversees the committees. Above all, the Speaker is responsible for scheduling debates and voting on bills. The Speaker’s powers allow him or her to decide which bills will get to the floor for debate. The
House considers far more bills than the Senate. For this reason alone, the Speaker’s power over federal and state legislation is enormous.
Other leaders of the House include the majority and minority leaders.
As in the Senate, the leaders in the House are assisted by party floor leaders called whips. The House also has a sergeant-at-arms . The
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duty of this officer is to maintain order. More often, he or she will be sent to round up representatives when it’s time for a floor vote. The clerk of the House, also an important leader, keeps track of bills and debates and records votes.
In 2012, the average cost of a campaign to run for the House of
Representatives was approximately $1.7 million. Although that figure is considerably less than the cost of a Senate campaign, the amount puts the office beyond the reach of most working Americans. It also means that members of the House must spend an enormous amount of time trying to raise money. Besides seeking wealthy individual donors, they must spend a lot of time dealing with special interest groups, such as farmers, labor union members, teachers, lobbying organizations, and large corporations.
Since the civil rights movement, minorities have gained a few more seats in the House. However, they’re still grossly underrepresented.
Also, throughout the twentieth century, women held fewer than 4 percent of the House seats. In the twenty-first century, that figure is changing. In the Congress of 2012 and 2013, for example, 79 of the representatives were women. That’s almost 18.2 percent of the House seats.
The following table summarizes some characteristics of both the
Senate and the House of Representatives.
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Table comparing several factors of the Senate and House of
Representatives
The process of making a law is complex. The following steps explain the procedure.
Step 1.
The first step in making a law is to introduce a bill , or a proposal for a law. A bill can be introduced in either the House of
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Representatives or the Senate. The bill might propose a federal school lunch program, a revision to the tax code, or any number of other issues. Let’s say we’re following an imaginary House bill that will ban snowmobiles from operating in national parks. The bill is introduced by Representative Quill, a Democrat from Colorado (D.
Col.), and Representative Foresite, a Democrat from Wyoming (D.
Wyo.).
Step 2.
The bill is assigned a number. If a bill is introduced in the
House, the number will be something like HR122. HR stands for
House of Representatives. In the Senate, the number will be preceded by S— for example, S103. The name of the sponsor or cosponsors is written on the bill. For example, our imaginary bill would probably be called the Quill-Foresite Bill.
Step 3.
HR122 goes to the Government Printing Office, which makes copies for distribution to all government employees concerned with the bill.
Step 4.
Next, the Speaker of the House or the person presiding over the Senate assigns the bill to the appropriate committee. Generally, the House or the Senate parliamentarian handles the assignment. A parliamentarian knows the rules of procedure and where a bill should go according to those rules.
Step 5.
Once it’s assigned to a committee, the bill is put on the committee calendar . That is, it gets put in line among other bills assigned to that committee. In the House of Representatives, the
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Speaker can put time limits on bills. These limits affect how a bill gets placed on a committee’s calendar.
In a committee, one of three things can happen to a bill:
The bill dies in committee. That means the committee doesn’t do what’s needed to move the bill along. Therefore, the bill is never reported from the committee to the full House or the Senate.
If members of the House of Representatives want to get a bill out of a committee, they can get it out with a discharge petition . The petition must be signed by a majority of the members of the
House. As you can imagine, that doesn’t happen very often.
The committee does what it’s supposed to do. The bill gets reported to the full House or Senate.
In the House, most bills go to the Rules Committee before they reach the floor. The Rules Committee sets up the rules for debating the bill in the House. If the committee decides on a closed rule , there will be a strict time limit on debate. Also, no amendments can be added to the bill. You can see that the Rules Committee can play a big part in whether or not a bill gets passed.
Step 6.
The bill must be placed on the calendar. In the House, bills are placed on one of four house calendars in the order in which they were reported from the committee. However, the bills aren’t necessarily brought to the floor in that order. The Speaker of the House and the majority leader have power to decide which bill comes to the floor and when. In fact, many bills never get to the floor at all. For example, if
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the Speaker of the House likes to go snowmobiling, he or she may find ways to keep HR122 from ever being voted on.
In the Senate, bills are placed on one of two calendars. The legislative calendar is for most bills; the executive calendar is for treaties and nominations. (See the figure below.) The majority leader of the Senate sets up the schedule for bills to come to the floor.
Figure describing House legislative calendars for different kinds of bills
The house has four different calendars. Depending on what kind of bill is involved, it will be placed on the appropriate calendar.
Step 7.
The bill is debated in either the House or the Senate. Since the House of Representatives has 435 members, debate time must be restricted. The Rules Committee establishes the restrictions.
Generally, bills are debated by what’s called the Committee of the
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Whole , which includes all of the members who are interested in talking about the bill. Most House business is conducted in the Committee of the Whole because it doesn’t require a quorum . As you’ve already learned, a quorum is a specific number of members that must be present to conduct business. During debate in the House, representatives can suggest amendments to the legislation. Any such amendments must be germane —that is, they must be related to the subject of the bill. After debate is closed, a call goes out for the representatives not present to come to the floor for a vote.
Debate in the Senate is unlimited. It can go on and on. Also, suggested amendments don’t have to be related to the topic of the legislation. Therefore, senators may propose a rider . A rider is a bill attached to another bill. It may often have nothing to do with the first bill. Often, a rider can’t get passed on its own. Therefore, it gets a “free ride” on another bill. Riders are attached to important bills in order to get pet legislation passed along with a major bill.
Another tactic, called a filibuster, can be used to defeat a Senate bill by talking it to death. Let’s say that the Senate is debating a bill like
HR122. Senators that come from states that manufacture snowmobiles may think it’s a bad bill. They can filibuster. That is, they can get the floor and keep it, hour after hour, day after day, until everyone gives up and the bill dies. The only way to defeat a filibuster is to invoke cloture . Cloture occurs when a senator makes a motion to end debate. The motion must then be seconded —that is, another senator must agree with the motion. To end debate, the motion for
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cloture must get 60 votes out of a possible 100 senators. In today’s
Senate, the filibuster has been used on almost every bill that comes up. The minority party has used this to keep bills they don’t like from coming to a vote because they know the majority will win. This has been used a lot since the early 2000s.
Step 8.
At last, HR122 is brought to a vote in the House. Bells ring.
Members of the House wander into the chamber. Some stand around talking; some sit and read the newspaper. The house is finally called to order. If a quorum is present, the vote is called.
Each representative slides a special plastic card—like a credit card— through an electronic reader in a certain way. The vote can be “yea,”
“no,” or “present.” “Present”means that the person abstains from voting either way. A big electronic display on the wall of the chamber registers the votes as they come in. If the bill passes, it goes to the
Senate.
Voting in the Senate isn’t electronic. If a quorum is present, a clerk calls the roll of each senator. The senator votes and the clerk records the vote. If the bill passes, it then goes to the House.
Note : Bills that are introduced and passed first in the Senate must be sent to the House for a vote in the same procedure. Conversely, bills that are introduced and passed first in the House must be sent to the
Senate for a vote. This can provide a clue as to why Congress can be slow in passing bills.
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Representatives in the House don’t have assigned seats. But there’s a custom about who sits where. The Democrats sit on the left side of the central aisle. The Republicans sit on the right side of the aisle. That’s one way we got our political idea of “left wing” and “right wing.”
Step 9.
Once both houses of Congress have passed a bill, it’s sent to the president of the United States for approval. The president has 10 days to review the bill. Here’s what can happen next:
The president signs the bill and returns it to the house where it originated. If he does this within 10 days, not counting Sundays, the bill becomes law.
The president doesn’t sign the bill, but holds it for 10 days. If
Congress is still in session, the bill becomes law.
The president returns the bill within 10 days, but unsigned. It is vetoed . To override this veto, both houses of Congress must approve it with a two-thirds majority. Otherwise, the bill is defeated.
If the president hasn’t signed the bill and Congress adjourns within the 10-day period, the bill doesn’t become law. This occurrence is called a pocket veto .
The chart below summarizes the steps in the process of making a bill into a law.
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In the process of becoming a law, a bill goes through many different
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steps.
Watch a classic Schoolhouse Rock video (www.youtube.com/watch?v
=FFroMQlKiag) that explains how a bill becomes a law.
This section covers two bills passed by Congress at very different times in the history of the United States. Now that you have an idea of how Congress passes such bills, you should appreciate what goes into getting these laws into the books.
If consumers are to have the goods and services that they need and want, then business owners and employees must get along. That, unfortunately, hasn’t always been easy. Over the years, business owners and employees have been in a power struggle. The outcome of this struggle has sometimes favored the workers’ side. More often, however, it has favored the side of the business owners.
During the Great Depression of the 1930s, working people had it tough. Wages were low and unemployment was high. Senator Robert
Wagner of New York proposed a bill to help workers get a better deal.
His bill eventually led to the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 , often called the Wagner Act . The Wagner Act allowed workers to organize labor unions. It entitled unions to engage in collective bargaining with business owners and managers. It also required employers to refrain from unfair labor practices. The act also created
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the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to oversee the provisions of the act.
Many people in the United States feel that the Second Amendment guarantees private citizens the right to own firearms. Other people feel threatened by the wide availability of guns. People who live in big cities are especially worried about the guns used in violent crimes.
The struggle over gun control continues.
In 1981, an attempt was made on the life of President Ronald
Reagan. Reagan was seriously injured. One of the stray bullets entered the brain of White House Press Secretary James Brady.
Brady was permanently disabled but made a promising partial recovery. He and his wife, Sarah, pursued a seven-year struggle to introduce a gun control bill into Congress. At last, in 1993, Congress passed the Brady Bill, which established a five-day waiting period for people who wish to purchase guns. It also required licensing fees. By
1998, a computerized system replaced the waiting period. The system allows law enforcement personnel to make an immediate check on the background of anyone wanting to buy a gun. Many feel that
Americans are safer because of Sarah and James Brady’s long struggle for gun control. The nonprofit lobbying group, The Brady
Campaign, continues to advocate for gun control legislation.
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In 2007, President George W. Bush wanted a comprehensive immigration bill to be passed during his presidency. A comprehensive bill means that it addressed all aspects of the debate over immigrants, including controlling the borders, further work on guest workers programs for southern farmers, and dealing with the illegal immigrants currently in the country, some of whom have been here for decades with no legal status. The president was committed to this because of the effect it had on the border states, including Texas where he was governor before being elected. He worked with senators Edward
Kennedy and John McCain on the bill. He hoped that having the liberal Kennedy and conservative McCain would help get the bill passed. The Senate seemed willing to pass a compromise bill that would strengthen border security, allow for more legal immigrants coming for seasonal work, and provide a path to citizenship for immigrants in the country who for years came illegally.
Although liberal groups didn’t like parts of the bill, it was conservatives in the House of Representatives who were able to stop the bill from passing. Many conservatives objected to the last part of the compromise, believing there should be no way to become a citizen while being in the country illegally. Such a measure is often referred to as amnesty . Individuals and groups opposed to amnesty argue that it punishes those attempting to immigrate to the United States legally and undercuts the legal process. This continues to be what stops
Republicans from supporting an immigration bill. Most Democrats insist on creating a path to citizenship, within an immigration bill, for
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those who are here illegally.
Key Points and Links
READING ASSIGNMENT
There are three main branches of the federal government— legislative, executive, and judicial.
The Senate must approve the president’s appointments of
Supreme Court justices, federal judges, and the cabinet.
Senators serve six-year terms, and only one-third of the Senate comes up for election at any time.
Each state is divided into a number of congressional districts equal to the number of representatives it’s allotted. The districts are determined according to population.
The first step in making a law is to introduce a bill, or a proposal for a law. A bill can be introduced in either the House of
Representatives or the Senate.
The president has the power to veto a bill. To override a veto, both houses of Congress must approve it with a two-thirds majority.
Virtual Tour of Historic Sites in Washington, DC (ahp.gatech.edu/ buildings.html)
Senate Rules and Procedure (www.senate.gov/reference/referen
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ce_index_subjects/Rules_and_Procedure_vrd.htm)
Senate Powers (www.senate.gov/pagelayout/history/one_item_a nd_teasers/powers.htm)
Find Your Senate Representative (www.senate.gov/general/conta ct_information/senators_cfm.cfm)
Congressional Apportionment (www.census.gov/topics/public-sec tor/congressional-apportionment.html)
Find Your US House Representative (www.house.gov/representa tives/find/)
House Rules and Procedures (clerk.house.gov/legislative/legproc ess.aspx)
The Redistricting Game (redistrictinggame.org/)
Tracking Money Spent on Political Races (www.cfinst.org/federal.
aspx)
How a Bill Becomes a Law (www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyeJ55o
3El0)
Discover More: Powers of the Legislative Branch
Based on what you've read, answer the following questions.
1. What are the overall powers of the legislative branch?
2. Briefly compare debate rules in the House and the Senate.
3. What are the special powers of the House of Representatives?
4. What does the phrase advice and consent mean?
Discover More Answer Key:
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Discover More: Powers of the Legislative Branch
1. Levying and collecting taxes, borrowing money by issuing bonds and certificates, controlling and regulating commerce between the states and between the United States and other nations, determining how people become citizens of the United States, printing and coining money 2. In the Senate, debate time is more or less unlimited. In the much larger House, debate is strictly controlled by the Rules
Committee. Senate debate rules allow bills to be talked to death through a filibuster. That isn’t possible in the House. 3. To best represent the will of the people, tax measures must be initiated in the
House. The House also has the power to vote to impeach a federal official. 4. Advice and consent is the Senate’s power to approve or reject presidential appointments.
The Federal Government: Executive Branch
READING ASSIGNMENT
When the framers of the US Constitution created the executive branch of the government, they decided to limit the length of time a person could serve as president. They were concerned about what too much power in the hands of one individual might lead to. In addition, they included the system of checks and balances to prevent
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any one branch from becoming too powerful. Although the president of the United States is a very powerful individual, the plan implemented by the framers over 200 years ago is still working today.
The executive branch can be organized into three divisions:
1. The executive office of the president is made up of offices and agencies that help develop and implement the policy and programs of the president. It includes
The president
The vice president
The White House staff
Agencies such as the National Security Council (NSC) and the
Council of Economic Advisors (CEA)
The White House press secretary
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) (The OMB is an agency in its own right, which helps the president plan the annual budget for the nation.)
The 15 executive departments make up the largest part of the executive branch. The heads of these departments, called secretaries , make up the president’s cabinet.
Over 200 independent federal agencies comprise the third part of the executive branch.
Table listing federal agencies
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There are in fact over 200 individual federal agencies. These are just some examples.
This section of the study lesson examines each one of these divisions individually.
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Access www.whitehouse.gov
(www.whitehouse.gov) to learn more about the executive branch.
Terms of office.
The president and vice president of the United
States are elected for a four-year term. They’re the only two government officials elected by the entire nation. Although George
Washington, the first president, could have been reelected after two terms, he refused to run for a third term. He set a precedent for the number of terms a president should serve. Throughout American history, only 13 presidents have served two full terms; most presidents have served only one term or less.
A precedent is an act or decision that serves as an example or model in the future. Washington’s precedent of serving only two terms lasted until Franklin Roosevelt campaigned for and won a third term in 1940 and a fourth term in 1944 .
Franklin Roosevelt was the exception to the one- or two-term president. He was elected to four consecutive terms. He was president during the Great Depression and World War II when the nation wanted strong leadership. Roosevelt provided that leadership.
The Twenty-Second Amendment, which was added to the
Constitution in 1951, states, “No person shall be elected to the office of the president more than twice.”
Photo of the White House
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The White House is the official residence for the president of the United States. It has 132 rooms, 35 baths, 28 fireplaces,
412 doors, 6 levels, 147 windows, 8 staircases, and 3 elevators. The White House requires 570 gallons of paint to cover its outside surface.
Compensation.
Congress sets the president’s salary, which is currently $400,000 per year. On top of this, the government pays for many presidential needs. One example is Air Force One, the presidential aircraft. Of course, the president is also provided with a home to use during his term of office.
Originally, the Electoral College voted for two presidential candidates.
The winner became president and the runner-up became vice president. A tie vote between Aaron Burr and Thomas Jefferson in
1800 showed this system to be flawed. Congress stepped in and
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decided the election in favor of Jefferson. To avoid further confusion, the Twelfth Amendment was ratified in 1804. Thereafter, the president and vice president had to be on separate ballots .
Responsibilities.
The first responsibility of the president is to protect and defend the US Constitution. Under this responsibility, the president is expected to uphold the laws of Congress. He must also act to lead the nation. This means setting domestic and foreign policy goals. When promoting legislation, the president must act to secure and enhance the general welfare of all citizens. He must also act to defend the people of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.
A woman will probably become president of the United States someday. However, since all presidents so far have been men, the pronoun he is used to refer to the president.
As commander in chief of the armed forces, the president has primary responsibility for defending the United States against foreign invaders and domestic disorder. Congress does have the power to declare war.
However, historically, the president has sent in troops to foreign lands before consulting Congress. Rapid response to military threats is necessary in our modern world. Even so, some have questioned the president’s power to use the armed forces without the approval of
Congress. Most of the military actions by the United States since
World War II haven’t had this declaration of war. Congress has continued to have the power to provide money for the armed forces.
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Figure describing Harry S. Truman
Legislative powers.
The legislative powers of the president are extensive:
The president is expected to propose legislation to Congress.
Ideally, those proposals should be based on the platform of his political party.
The president may act to veto legislation. (You’ve already learned how that works.)
The president may issue executive orders that have the force of law.
The president can implement laws by directing federal agencies, such as the Department of Justice.
Judicial powers.
The judicial powers of the president include appointing Supreme Court justices and federal judges. As you know, he must do so with the approval of the Senate. Even so, the president’s choices have long-term effects on the judicial system,
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because judges are appointed for lifetime positions. The president also has important judicial powers through executive agencies. For example, through the Department of Justice and the FBI, he can prosecute a war on drugs.
Presidential power is often exercised through federal agencies, which are under control of the executive branch. For example, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulates stock and bond trading abuses. The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) regulates the entrance of immigrants into the United States. While the president delegates much authority to the many officials of the executive branch, he can step in to direct these activities. The president also sets the tone for the policy decisions made within the agencies.
Finally, the president can issue pardons and reprieves in criminal cases involving federal officials. Such actions don’t require the approval of Congress. However, the president can’t pardon an official who has been impeached.
In addition to nominating justices and judges, the president appoints cabinet secretaries and many other important government officials.
The Fate of Some Presidents
Four United States presidents have been assassinated: Abraham
Lincoln (1865), James A. Garfield (1881), William McKinley (1901), and John F. Kennedy (1963). Four others have died in office: William
Henry Harrison (1841), Zachary Taylor (1850), Warren G. Harding
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(1923), and Franklin D. Roosevelt (1945). Some presidents, like
Woodrow Wilson, have been disabled by the stress of the job. Being president isn’t easy. Thomas Jefferson knew that when he described the presidency as a “splendid misery.”
Economic power.
The president exercises economic authority through tax and spending proposals. The president is also responsible for preparing an annual budget. The proposals and proposed budgets, however, may be blocked or modified by Congress before being approved.
Foreign affairs.
Our country doesn’t exist all alone in this world. We have to deal with many other countries in a variety of ways—for example, trade. Throughout the history of the United States, our presidents have had a variety of opinions on dealing with foreign nations. Here are some examples of some presidential activities that involved foreign nations:
In 1803, President Thomas Jefferson made the Louisiana
Purchase. Technically, he did so without constitutional authority.
Our fifth president, James Monroe, established the Monroe
Doctrine , which was a warning to Europe to keep out of the
Western Hemisphere. Since then, the United States has felt free to intervene in the affairs of American interests beyond the United
States. For example, under Theodore Roosevelt, the United
States saw to it that Colombia lost its claim to a vital part of
Panama. Soon after, the United States began construction of the
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Panama Canal. The Canal Zone was the property of the United
States until 1999.
In 1991, President George H.W. Bush crafted a United Nations coalition, which was used to free Kuwait from the forces of Iraq.
The US Constitution requires the president to regularly give Congress information on the state of the union. Each year in January, the president addresses a joint session of the House and Senate. This
“state of the union” message is televised to the entire nation. Often, the president uses this speech to propose goals for the nation. Of course, he may also use it as an opportunity to defend the record of his administration.
Figure describing the events that led Richard M. Nixon to resign.
The vice president has only two formal duties—to preside over the
Senate and to replace the president of the United States if the president is unable to carry out his duties. If there’s one vital thing to remember about vice presidents, it’s this: they sometimes become presidents. Table 5 lists those vice presidents who became president by succession . Succession refers to the order in which a person
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becomes president if the president is unable to fulfill his duties.
Table listing vice presidents who became president by succession
Gerald Ford became president upon the resignation of Richard Nixon.
All others became president upon the death of their predecessor.
The original order of succession was established in 1792 and revised in 1886. The Presidential Succession Act of 1947 changed the order again to what it is today. The image below presents the current order of presidential succession.
Figure listing the order of presidential succession
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This list outlines the order in which a person would become president of the United States if the president were unable to fulfill his duties.
After the first three, the cabinet members are ordered in the line of succession according to the date their offices were established.
The US Constitution assigns only one responsibility to the vice president—to preside over the Senate. However, this responsibility is mainly a ceremonial duty with the exception of attending to cast a tiebreaking vote. In addition, the vice president often attends Cabinet meetings, and is often assigned specific duties by the president.
Recent vice presidents have been quite active. For example, they often become active advisors to the president. Vice presidents also tend to matters of state as they may arise. For instance, the vice president may attend state funerals on behalf of the president. He may also be put in charge of federal agencies.
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The importance of the job of vice president rests in the fact that at any moment he may be required to take over the most powerful office in the world.
Congress makes the laws and the judicial branch interprets them. It’s up to the executive branch to administer and enforce the laws. The executive branch has grown in size and complexity over the years.
Today, it includes 15 major executive departments. The head of each of these departments is called the secretary . Along with the US vice president, these 15 secretaries make up the president’s cabinet.
The table below lists the 15 executive departments, along with a brief description of their responsibilities and some of the major agencies within the departments. The next section in this study lesson covers executive agencies.
Table listing executive departments and samples of their agencies and responsibilities
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Government departments and agencies are organized as bureaucracies . A bureaucracy is an organization designed to handle complex tasks efficiently. It does so by assigning specialized tasks to individuals. It also develops precise job descriptions and procedures.
People who work in a bureaucracy do their jobs within a chain of command. That means lower employees report to a supervisor. The supervisor, in turn, reports to a department chief, and so on. When people speak of government bureaucracy , they usually mean it in a negative way. Of course, some bureaucracies do get bogged down.
They may need reorganizing. But bureaucracies are simply efficient ways of organizing work.
Independent federal agencies make up the third part of the executive branch. They perform many different tasks and services. Some independent federal agencies are called regulatory agencies because they have legal authority to identify abuses, gather evidence, and take legal action. In effect, regulatory agencies make laws through the power of the executive branch. The following paragraphs briefly summarize the responsibilities of some of the many independent
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agencies.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is a regulatory agency that reports directly to Congress. The commission helps to regulate the clutter of commercial broadcasting by licensing broadcasters to transmit at certain electromagnetic frequencies. A television station broadcasts at an assigned frequency that corresponds to a channel on your television receiver. An FM radio station is licensed to broadcast at a frequency that corresponds to a particular place on your radio dial. If a broadcaster violates FCC rules, it can lose its license.
The Peace Corps trains volunteers to do all kinds of work for people in less-developed countries. Some volunteers may work as teachers; others may help people in Africa develop a safe water supply for their village. The Peace Corps, initiated under President John F. Kennedy, was intended to demonstrate America’s concern for the people of disadvantaged nations.
Photo of astronaut on the moon
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The landing of a manned spaceship on the moon was a major step forward in the space program.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was founded under President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1958. This organization became interesting in the 1960s, when space travel became much more extensive. Men first landed on the moon in 1969 during the administration of Richard Nixon. NASA combines several agency functions in one. These include the Ames Research Center,
Armstrong Flight Research Center, Goddard Space Flight Center, and the Glenn Research Center. The agency employs thousands of engineers and scientists.
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has its headquarters in
Langley, Virginia. According to its website, the CIA’s mission is to
“support the president, the National Security Council, and all who make and execute US national security policy by
Providing accurate, evidence-based, comprehensive, and timely foreign intelligence related to national security
Conducting counterintelligence activities, special activities, and other functions related to foreign intelligence and national security as directed by the president”
The CIA gathers information from around the world by employing field agents (spies) and by monitoring electronic transmissions, breaking
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codes, and studying photos taken from orbiting satellites.
Regulatory agencies that are a part of the executive branch of government include the following:
The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) researches consumer products for basic quality and safety. For example, the
CPSC worked to demonstrate the importance of child safety seats in automobiles.
The Commission on Civil Rights investigates complaints filed under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of
1965.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) monitors the provisions of the Environmental Protection Act (EPA). This agency is concerned with safe water, air pollution levels, and hazardous wastes.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) works to reduce discrimination in the workplace.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) was developed during the Great Depression of the 1930s. Many banks failed and millions of Americans lost their savings. The
FDIC insures most savings and other bank deposits for up to
$250,000. It acts as an insurance agency that also imposes some regulations on banks.
The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) regulates trade between the states. It developed from early efforts of the United
States government to remedy shortcomings in the Articles of
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Confederation.
The Federal Elections Commission (FEC) oversees federal elections. State districts often have problems with vote counts and administration. The FEC tries to sort out human error from fraud.
The Small Business Administration (SBA) is designed to help small businesses. Since small businesses generate most new jobs, it makes sense to give them help. The SBA can help with business plans, business organization, and financing problems.
The federal executive branch has very real effects on the lives of all
US citizens. For example, if you have a job, your paycheck is affected by the taxes you pay to the federal government. If the government institutes the military draft during a time of crisis, you may be chosen to serve your country. If you ever get lost in a national forest, you might be rescued by a park ranger. That would introduce you to the executive branch in yet another way. As you can see, when we speak of the executive branch in action, we’re talking about many kinds of action. Let’s look at some examples that may help you see the wide reach of the executive branch.
The Rural Electrification Administration (REA) is an agency of the
Department of Agriculture with offices in downtown Washington, DC.
In 1935, during the Great Depression, Congress established the REA.
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Its aim was to get electric power to rural areas. This task was accomplished mainly by helping people in rural areas to form REA cooperatives, or co-ops. Once approved, a co-op received a government loan. The money from the loan was used to build transmission lines and substations. Once this was completed, the coop could buy power from large electric utility companies like Niagara
Power.
Many REA co-ops remain today. They’re common in western states like Montana and Wyoming. Each co-op member is a shareholder in the co-op. Members also pay regular fees to the co-op for electric service. Most REA loans have been repaid with interest. REA has been a great success. Its cooperatives were largely responsible for getting power to rural areas across the nation.
REA was just one of a large number of initiatives that helped America get through the Great Depression. Under the leadership of Franklin
Roosevelt, a large number of public works programs were managed under the Works Progress Administration (WPA) . WPA was part of what Roosevelt called his New Deal . Under this plan, the Grand
Coolee dam was built, many highways were laid, and a number of bridges were erected. These work programs gave people jobs. The workers’ pay allowed families to buy groceries and housing. All of these activities together helped the national economy to recover.
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The Upward Bound Project was one of several projects developed during the presidency of Lyndon Johnson. It was administered under the federal Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO). During his term as president, Johnson declared a Great Society program and a war on poverty. Part of this was the Upward Bound Project, which helped disadvantaged youth.
The job of the Upward Bound workers was to help high school students from poor backgrounds become interested in higher education. Each student in the two-year program received special attention and encouragement. They spent six weeks each summer at
Virginia Tech, where they lived in the dorms, took classes, and attended special activities. National research has confirmed that
Upward Bound helped. The great majority of participants went on to college, even though most of them came from families in which few members had even finished high school. Young people from the mountains of Virginia ended up with college degrees and good jobs.
The taxes from their jobs have paid for the cost of the program many times over.
In 2009, President Obama established the Race to the Top competitive grant for school districts and states taking steps toward reforms in their educational systems. It is funded through the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, better known as the Stimulus Act. The Department of Education’s criteria assess
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applicants on priorities like teacher evaluations, Common Core standards adoption, and expanding school choice options. There has been criticism that the federal government plays too great a role in education. As you remember, it’s supposed to be the responsibility of the states to implement education policies. Others have argued that most of the reform criteria haven’t shown proven results and that the program creates unneeded pressure on teachers.
Key Points and Links
READING ASSIGNMENT
The president and vice president of the United States are elected for a four-year term. They’re the only two government officials that the entire nation can vote for.
The executive branch also contains various departments and agencies.
A major responsibility of the executive branch is to enforce the laws of the nation.
The Executive Branch (www.whitehouse.gov/our-government/exe cutive-branch)
What Is the Role of the President?
(www.trumanlibrary.org/whistl estop/teacher_lessons/3branches/exec_toc.htm)
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Discover More: The Executive Branch
Based on what you've read, answer the following questions.
1. What are the two formal duties of the vice president?
2. What are the three parts of the executive branch?
3. What were the Constitutional changes to the presidency?
Discover More Answer Key:
Discover More: The Executive Branch
1. The vice president presides over the Senate when there’s likely to be a tie vote, and he’s responsible for taking over the duties of the president should that be necessary. 2. The executive branch is composed of the executive office of the president, the executive departments, and independent agencies. 3. The election of the president in the 12 amendment and the terms limits in the 22nd amendment.
The Federal Government: Judicial Branch
READING ASSIGNMENT
Supreme Court justices and federal judges are appointed for life. That provision of the Constitution was intended to allow federal judges to
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“stand above the fray.” In other words, they have to be able to make decisions without fear of being removed from office in the next election. Above all, the framers of the Constitution believed in the idea of equal justice under law. For you and me, that means learning to balance freedom and responsibility. If we’re to live in liberty, the rights of all must be considered. My freedom means I claim my rights, but not at the expense of your rights. The rule of law is meant to maintain this principle.
The Supreme Court is the highest court of the land. It’s made up of nine Supreme Court justices who hold court in the Supreme Court building. The head of the Court is the chief justice. When the chief justice is effective, he or she can guide the final decisions of the Court.
Above all, the Supreme Court is a court of appeals, or an appellate court.
Photo of the Supreme
Court building in
Washington, D.C.
The Supreme Court
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building is located about
10 blocks away from the
White House—straight down Pennsylvania
Avenue.
An appellate court doesn’t try cases. They’re tried in a lower court.
However, the decision of the lower court can be appealed to a higher court, such as the Supreme Court. In fact, the Supreme Court is the court of last appeal. There’s nowhere to go after the Supreme Court hands down a decision and it’s up to the lower courts to follow its ruling.
Around 5,000 cases are appealed to the Supreme Court each year.
Obviously, the Court can’t act on all of them. The justices review all these cases, but they hear only about 200 of them. Some cases are combined together under one case to be heard, others aren’t heard and the previous court’s decision stands as final. Every effort is made to ensure that the most important cases get attention. Cases that challenge the Constitution are those most often considered.
When a case is heard, attorneys speak for both parties to the case.
The justices listen carefully and ask questions. They then retire to chambers to discuss the case. The chief justice presides over the discussion. After discussion, the justices vote for or against the case of the defending party. The decision is made by majority vote. That’s one reason there are an odd number of justices. After the decision,
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one of the justices who voted with the majority writes a legal defense of the decision. This document is called the opinion of the court .
Justices who voted against the decision may write one or more dissenting opinions to explain their view. During a final session, the opinion of the Court is declared. Either the chief justice or the senior member of the Court as the majority or dissent will have first opportunity to do the writing.
You’ve already studied some important cases of the Supreme Court.
In this section, you’ll examine two additional cases—one that interprets due process and one that interprets the right to privacy.
The 1960s were years of political and social turmoil in the United
States. Law enforcement responses to civil demonstrations raised questions. Evidence seemed to indicate that police were using excessive force against civil rights and antiwar demonstrators. In this period, the Supreme Court overturned a number of state laws governing criminal procedure. The most famous of these was a 1966 decision in Miranda v. Arizona , which changed state laws.
According to this decision, criminal suspects must be informed of their constitutional rights when they’re arrested. Police often refer to this process as Mirandizing the suspect. You’re probably familiar with the
Miranda rights from television shows or films.
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Figure showing the Miranda Warning
In their decision, the Supreme Court didn’t give exact wording of the
Miranda rights. However, law enforcement agencies have developed statements that can be read to suspects. Officers carry Miranda cards something like this one so they can, if necessary, actually “read” the rights.
All of the Miranda stipulations refer to the basic rights of the accused given in the Constitution. For example, “You have the right to remain silent” refers to the Fifth Amendment, which says that people aren’t required to incriminate themselves.
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The Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade (1973) was and continues to be very controversial. The decision gave women the legal right to seek an abortion. It overturned a number of state laws that banned abortion. The opinion of the court stated that the right to choose an abortion was granted under the Constitution. Women are assured the right of privacy and personal autonomy . Therefore, a woman has the right to choose whether or not to continue a pregnancy—at least in the first trimester. Since 1973, abortion has remained what politicians call a hot-button issue. All candidates running for office since Roe v. Wade must declare themselves either pro-life (anti-abortion) or pro-choice (pro-abortion).
Autonomy actually means the state of being self-governing. In this case, however, it means the right to individual choice.
A hot-button issue is one that people generally feel strongly about on one side or the other.
Both the Miranda case and the Roe case make a point that can never be settled. Justices of the Supreme Court tend to interpret the
Constitution according to their values. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The whole purpose of law is to express common values shared by a people. But that poses a problem in a diverse society like the
United States where values often differ greatly. Can values expressed in law ever balance rights and responsibilities to everyone’s satisfaction? People in a democracy can never answer that question.
But they must never stop asking it.
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The most important power of the Supreme Court is probably judicial review. As you’ve already learned, judicial review refers to the Court’s power to interpret the Constitution. Decisions of the Supreme Court can overturn acts of the executive branch as well as federal and state laws. Laws and executive decisions that are overturned in this way can’t be appealed. Remember that the Supreme Court is the last court of appeals.
Visit www.pbs.org
(www.pbs.org) to learn more about the history of the Supreme Court .
The federal court system in the United States has three levels: the
Supreme Court, courts of appeals, and district courts. The Supreme
Court is the highest national court. It was established by the
Constitution. Below the Supreme Court are the courts of appeals and district courts. These courts were established by Congress. Let’s take a look at these courts.
Diagram depicting the structure of the federal court system
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The
United States federal court system is divided into three levels.
District courts.
The bottom level of the federal court system consists of the district courts , which are the federal trial courts. In these courts, federal cases are tried, witnesses testify, and juries make decisions.
Congress has divided the entire nation into 94 federal court districts.
Every state has at least one federal district court. Puerto Rico, which is a US commonwealth but not a state, also has a district court.
Approximately 650 federal judges serve on these courts. All federal court districts are contained within the boundaries of only one state.
That is, no federal court district crosses state lines.
The US military has its own legal code, called the Uniform Code of
Military Justice . Its trials are conducted by a panel of military officers, not by judges. Yet, people in the military are also citizens. Therefore,
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court-martial decisions can be appealed to a federal court.
Courts of appeals.
Each of the 94 districts is located in one of 12 regional circuits . Each of these circuits has a court of appeals. If someone loses a case in a district court, he or she can ask the court of appeals to review the case to see if the district judge applied the law correctly. In addition to these 12 courts of appeals, there’s also a
US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, located in Washington,
DC. This court hears cases on the basis of subject matter, not location. It hears cases from across the nation on patent infringements, trademarks, and money claims against the United
States, veterans’ affairs, and international trade.
Illustration of the United
States showing the 12 regional circuit court districts in the federal judicial system.
This map shows the 12 regional circuits in the federal judicial system.
Alaska and Hawaii are
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part of the Ninth Circuit,
Puerto Rico is part of the First Circuit, and the
Virgin Islands are in the
Third Circuit. Circuits 1–
11 are identified by number. The twelfth circuit is called the DC
Circuit.
Supreme Court.
As you’ve already learned, the Supreme Court is the court of last appeal. If someone loses a case in a court of appeals, that person can ask the Supreme Court to hear an appeal. The
Supreme Court can determine whether or not it will hear the case. In reality, the Supreme Court hears only a small number of the cases it’s asked to review.
Special courts.
In addition to these three levels of federal courts, there are also courts of special jurisdiction and territorial courts . Courts of special jurisdiction include the US Tax Court, the Court of
International Trade, and the US Court of Military Appeals. The US Tax
Code is very complicated. It leads to disputes over interpretations. The
Tax Court manages these disputes. Territorial courts are located in the districts of Guam, the US Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana
Islands. These courts perform the job of both state and local courts as well as the job of a federal court.
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Across the world, the United States has possessions called territories .
These include American Samoa, the American Virgin Islands, and
Guam. The territorial courts in these areas serve as both trial courts and district courts.
Access www.uscourts.gov
(www.uscourts.gov) to learn more about the structure of the federal court system.
In some ways, the system of checks and balances has worked very well over the more than 200 years of US history. Here are just a few examples:
Through the power of judicial review, the Supreme Court has acted to keep our society faithful to the Constitution.
Congress has kept a check on executive power. It has often done so by restricting government spending or by directing it to other purposes.
Congress carefully questions the president’s nominees to the
Supreme Court and federal courts, and the president doesn’t always get his way.
Over the course of US history, the system of checks and balances has sometimes failed. Here are some examples from different times in the country’s past:
In 1832, President Andrew Jackson ignored a declaration of the
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Supreme Court and forcibly moved approximately 20,000
Cherokee men, women, and children from Georgia to Oklahoma.
About 4,000 of them died on the trip west.
Congress has had a hard time controlling the growth of the central government. Partly in response to citizens’ requests,
Congress has passed many laws that require more bureaus in the executive branch to enforce them. Some people argue this has increased the power of the executive branch and decreased the power of Congress.
The Patriot Act was enacted after the destruction of the World
Trade Towers and the attack on the Pentagon in 2001. Some feel that the provisions of this act violate the Constitution. Sections of the Patriot Act, such as bulk collection of data, have been challenged in federal court. The court did rule that the government cannot use this method to collect data. However, most of the original provisions of the Patriot Act are still in use today.
Access How Stuff Works (people.howstuffworks.com/patriot-act.htm) to review the Patriot Act.
Key Points and Links
READING ASSIGNMENT
Decisions of the Supreme Court can overturn acts of the executive branch, as well as federal and state laws.
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The Supreme Court (www.supremecourt.gov/)
Justices of the Supreme Court (www.supremecourt.gov/about/bio graphies.aspx)
Supreme Court Interactive Games (www.pbs.org/wnet/supremec ourt/games/index.html)
The Federal Court System (www.uscourts.gov/FederalCourts.asp
x)
Discover More: The Supreme Court
Based on what you've read, answer the following questions.
1. What’s the main power of the Supreme Court?
2. Suppose the Supreme Court justices vote on a decision in
Franklin v. United States . The chief justice votes with three other justices in favor of Franklin. Who will write the opinion of the court?
3. Why did the framers of the Constitution want Supreme Court justices appointed for life?
Discover More Answer Key:
Discover More: The Supreme Court
1. The main power of the Supreme Court is the power of judicial review. Only the Supreme Court can interpret the Constitution. Its interpretations become law since the Supreme Court is the highest
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court in the land. 2. The opinion will be written by one of the justices who voted with the majority. 3. The framers felt that members of the federal judicial branch should be free to voice legal opinions. That freedom would be lacking if the justices feared losing their jobs for rendering unpopular decisions.
State and Local Governments
READING ASSIGNMENT
The continent on which the United States exists extends from the
Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean, a distance of over 3,000 miles.
The states of Hawaii and Alaska extend these boundaries even further. You can live halfway across the Pacific Ocean and still be a citizen of the United States. You can also live well above the Arctic
Circle at Alaska’s Prudhoe Bay and be within the United States.
Out of Many, One
Photo of the Sacagawea dollar coin
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Sacagawea Dollar Coin
On the front of the one-dollar coin is an engraved image of
Sacagawea. She was a Native American who helped guide two early
American explorers, Lewis and Clark. On their expedition they found an enormous untamed land, rich with resources, stretching from the
Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean. On the other side of the same coin is an engraving of an eagle in flight. Beside the eagle is an inscription in Latin— E Pluribus Unum , which means “Out of many, one.” The Lewis and Clark expedition reminds us that the American continent is immense. Today it consists of 48 continental states,
Alaska, and Hawaii. Its population is approximately 319 million. All of these many states and many people are united under the principle of federalism. Federalism means independence within a framework of union. The United States is one nation with many parts.
Each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia has its own government, which is generally located in the state capital. Within each state are many local governments. Imagine a mosaic made up of thousands of separate pieces of colored tile. All of them together make up American government. All of them are tied together by the provisions of the US Constitution. All of them are joined by the
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principle of federalism.
Photo the State Capitol Building in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
(top) and the State House of
Representatives in Denver,
Colorado (bottom)
Shown here are the State
Capitol Building in Harrisburg,
Pennsylvania (top) and the
State House of Representatives in Denver, Colorado (bottom).
The differences among the states are related to at least four things:
The size of the state
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The history of the state
The people who live in the state
The economy of the state
Let’s explore each of these four ideas with a couple of examples.
Rhode Island is our smallest state. At first, its Puritan founders wanted their Congregational Church to be a guiding light to the settlers. In time, Rhode Islanders accepted religious toleration. Yet, to this day, they value Christian piety, learning, and democracy under law. The state’s economy reflects its location along the Atlantic seaboard. Its citizens value trade, commerce, and Yankee ingenuity.
Texas was forged in a warlike contest of people. In 1836, Mexico controlled most of its presentday territory. Also, wide areas of the region were still dominated by Native Americans like the Cheyenne.
Eventually, Texas fought for and won its independence from Mexico.
For a time, it was an independent country. When Texas became a state in 1845, Texans retained a sense of rugged independence.
Tourist ads for Texas refer to it as “a whole other country.” It really was a whole other country at one time. Texas was settled by people looking for land and freedom. They found plenty of land. Some of it was well suited to cattle ranching. Some of it in the east was great for planting cotton. In time, what was under the land—its rich oil reserves
—became even more important to the Texas economy than their famous longhorn cattle. To this day, a slang expression for petroleum is “Texas tea.”
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The people who settled Oregon had strong ideas about individuality and independence.The land of the Pacific Northwest is broad and fertile. Oregon is rich in forests and fisheries, and it provides good land for dairy farmers. At the same time, Oregon is far removed from major industrial areas like those of New York and Illinois. Citizens of
Oregon value equality, independence of spirit, and democracy.
The differences in state and local laws reflect other differences among the states. For example, New England states like Connecticut wanted
Christian values to guide state laws. Connecticut legislators struggled to contain sexual promiscuity. Their state laws and customs rejected birth control measures and sex education for many years.
Virginia was the home of many of America’s founders. Its wealthy northern counties border on the District of Columbia. Richmond, the state capital, was also the capital city of the Confederacy. The central and southern counties of Virginia are still famous for tobacco.
Tobacco was a mainstay of the original colony and is still a major
Virginia industry. Virginia laws reflect this history. State legislation has long supported the tobacco industry. That remains true even in the current “No Smoking” society. Virginia tobacco now finds its way to foreign markets.
Texas depends strongly on money from petroleum and natural gas.
The Texas Railroad Commission is a powerful player in the state executive branch. That commission controls the oil and natural gas
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resources of the state.
State constitutions are similar in form to the Constitution of the United
States. For example, all of the states except Nebraska have a bicameral (two-house) legislature, which generally consists of a
Senate and House of Representatives. State constitutions also contain measures or amendments similar to the Bill of Rights.
However, most state constitutions are much longer. One reason is that states have to be specific about many services offered to state citizens. They also have to set up frameworks for their many county and city governments. Some details on constitutions in several states are included in the appendix to this study unit.
An important issue within each state is the arrangement of its congressional districts. As you’ve already learned, the Census Bureau in the US Department of Commerce conducts a national census every
10 years. After each census, the federal government informs the states of the number of representatives that each will be able to send to the US House of Representatives. This is the process of apportionment you learned about earlier. Apportionment is based on changes in population. Over 10 years, some states gain population and others lose population. For example, after the 2010 census,
Texas gained four seats and Michigan lost one. Because of such increases or decreases, each state must reevaluate the arrangement
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of its districts.
Under the US Constitution, all powers not reserved to the federal government are reserved to the states or the people. Main responsibilities of state governments include the following:
1. Establishing and enforcing the state criminal code
2. Establishing and enforcing regulations relating to property
3. Regulating industries, businesses, and public utilities
4. Regulating working conditions within the state
5. Regulating and administering elections
6. Regulating communications (including broadcasting) within the state
7. In cooperation with localities, funding and establishing curricula for public education
8. Building and maintaining state highways, bridges, ferry services, and so on
9. Establishing and maintaining state welfare programs, including state unemployment compensation and social services programs
State laws and regulations may not contradict the United States
Constitution. Nor may they contradict other laws or treaties of the
United States. Otherwise, all powers of the state are considered lawful. And the laws of the states must be honored and obeyed.
However, a fair amount of overlap exists between state and federal
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governments. For example, state welfare programs are often administered under federal regulations. The federal government is also more and more involved in health, education, transportation, and housing programs. Ideally, the states and the federal government work in cooperation, but states often resent and resist federal programs imposed on them.
The responsibilities of the three branches of state governments are similar to those of the federal government. The legislative branch proposes and passes laws. As in all American legislatures, it’s responsible for expressing the wishes of the people. Bills passed by state legislatures can be vetoed by the governor. But a state legislature can override a governor’s veto, usually with a two-thirds vote.
The executive branch of a state government serves the same basic purposes as the executive branch of the federal government. The head of the executive branch in a state is called the governor , who is a bit like a state president. Governors can usually veto legislation.
Governors set goals that deal with state problems and serve the needs of state citizens. In time of crisis or natural disaster, governors take responsibility for managing the emergency. In the case of serious flooding, for example, a governor can declare a state of emergency for certain counties or for the whole state. They can also call up the state
National Guard to restore order or help out with natural disasters. As
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in the executive branch of the federal government, the state executive branch has executive departments and independent state agencies.
Many governors appoint important state officials as well as justices and judges. However, in some states, executive branch department heads are elected rather than appointed by the governor.
In the federal government, the person in the office of vice president takes over if the president is unable to fulfill his duties. In state governments, a lieutenant governor is elected along with the governor. If the governor dies in office or is otherwise unable to complete his or her term, the lieutenant governor assumes the responsibilities of governor.
The state judicial branch upholds the laws of the state. Its highest court, often called the supreme court, interprets the state constitution.
So state supreme courts may also practice a form of judicial review.
The biggest part of a state judicial system involves its trial court system, which includes
Courts of limited jurisdiction
Courts of general jurisdiction
Courts of limited jurisdiction.
These courts include small-claims courts, traffic courts, family courts, and juvenile courts. Most state courts are of these types. You may not be surprised to know that most cases in courts of limited jurisdiction are for traffic violations.
Courts of general jurisdiction.
These are the trial courts. There are
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two basic kinds of courts of general jurisdiction—civil courts and criminal courts.
Civil courts deal mainly with disputes between private citizens involving property. Property disputes always involve a breach of contract or implied contract. Therefore, many civil court cases are concerned with disputes over who owes what to whom and for what reason. For example, in a civil court malpractice case, a doctor may have to pay damages for a treatment gone wrong. Or a builder may sue a plumbing contractor for overcharging. A civil court may decide in favor of the plumbing contractor. The builder may then have to pay court costs. In many states a special civil court called a domestic relations court handles divorces and custody battles. In a contested divorce, the court may decide if a spouse should get alimony payments or have custody of the children.
A breach refers to the breaking or violation of an obligation.
Criminal courts deal with crimes , which are wrongs committed against the state. A crime isn’t a dispute among private citizens.
Criminal cases are prosecuted by an attorney who represents the city, county, or state. That attorney may be called a county prosecutor, a state’s attorney, or a district attorney. Crimes are of two kinds. Minor offenses in law are called misdemeanors . Petty larceny and some cases of embezzlement are treated as misdemeanors. Major offenses are called felonies. Murder, rape,
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arson, grand larceny, and armed robbery are felonies . A misdemeanor in one state may be considered a felony in another and vice versa.
A person charged with a felony is first indicted by a grand jury. The grand jury evaluates evidence in the case to see if it warrants prosecution. If the grand jury indicts, the person who is charged is scheduled for a pretrial hearing. Most criminal offenses, however, are settled before they ever come to trial. Trials are expensive for the state, and the court calendars are overloaded with cases.
Trials can be avoided in two ways:
1. A defendant may plead guilty in the pretrial hearing. In that case, the judge evaluates the case and passes sentence. There’s no trial by jury.
2. The state, county, or city prosecutor negotiates with the defendant’s attorney. The defendant may agree to plead guilty to a lesser charge. This is called plea bargaining . The plea is filed with the judge. If the judge accepts the plea, he or she passes sentence. Again, there’s no jury trial.
If a case comes to trial, a jury is selected. Attorneys for the defense and for the prosecution present their cases before the jury. After the defense and prosecution have completed their presentations, the judge instructs the jury. The jury deliberates and reaches a decision.
As in the federal system, many states have at least one intermediate
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court of appeals. As of this writing, 39 states have at least one such court. After the jury renders its verdict, the defense or the prosecution may file an appeal. It will go to an intermediate court of appeals if the state allows for that. Otherwise, in every state, the final court of appeals is the state supreme court.
Each state is divided into counties. Texas has the largest number of counties with 254. Most counties contain two or more townships and several villages, and most designate a town as the county seat . That’s where you’ll find the county courthouse and county government offices. Counties are generally governed by a board of supervisors or by county commissioners. In less populous counties, the board of supervisors or the county commissioners is elected by the people of the county. In larger counties, supervisors may represent one or more townships. People of each township or district vote for their local supervisors.
Photo of a county courthouse in
Pennsylvania
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This county courthouse is located in
Pennsylvania. It houses several courtrooms, a law library, and many government offices.
In counties, the board of supervisors or county commissioners levy taxes, borrow money, and supervise elections. They’re also responsible for building and maintaining schools, highways, and bridges. Generally, they administer national, state, and local welfare programs, such as the food stamp program. County governments establish the salaries for their officials and employees, but these are often affected by state budgets or federal funds given to localities.
City governments are an important part of American life.
Approximately three-fourths of Americans live within metropolitan areas. In fact, city governments have a more direct effect on most
Americans than do federal or state governments.
City governments are chartered by the states. The charter outlines the powers and responsibilities of the city’s government. The types of city governments vary quite a bit across the nation. However, nearly all of them have a central council elected by voters. They also have some kind of executive, generally called a mayor . To manage the city, the executive gets help from various departments.
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There are three common types of city government: the mayor-council form, the commission form, and the city manager form. However, some cities combine the types in unique ways.
1. The mayor-council form is the oldest type of city government in
America. It’s structured very much like state and national governments. The mayor and the mayor’s office act as the executive branch. An elected city council acts as the legislative branch. The mayor appoints department heads and other officials, often with the approval of the city council. The city council levies taxes, borrows money, and appropriates money for city departments, such as the police department. Although this form of government has no judicial branch as such, the city council can pass local ordinances that have the weight of law and are enforced by the city police department.
2. The commission form merges executive and legislative functions in a single group of officials. Three or more commissioners are elected across the city. Each commissioner is responsible for certain departments. Commissioners also establish ordinances related to their departmental authority.
3. The city manager form employs professionals who are trained in urban management. The city manager, in effect, is a professional paid administrator. This form has become more and more common as urban problems have grown more complex. A city manager generally answers to an elected town council of some sort. The council establishes local ordinances and pays the town
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manager. The town manager acts as the executive branch for the city and is responsible for all city services, including the city police force, utilities, sanitation, city streets, parks, and public buildings.
The responsibilities of city governments are similar to those of county governments. However, the government in cities tends to be more complex.
Thousands of township and village governments dot the American landscape. Townships and villages are municipalities that are too small for city governments. Schools are administered locally, but usually in cooperation with both county and state authorities.
Otherwise, township and village governments deal with immediate local needs, including collecting local taxes, maintaining streets, ensuring a safe water supply, managing sewage and sanitation, providing for police and fire departments, and establishing local health regulations and ordinances. All these small governments have some kind of a council. It might be called a board of supervisors, a board of selectmen, or the village council. In New England, township and village legislation is handled in an annual town meeting where direct democracy is applied. Taxes are levied, needed projects are agreed on, and building programs are approved.
Key Points and Links
READING ASSIGNMENT
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State laws and regulations may not contradict the United States
Constitution or other laws or treaties of the United States. Otherwise, all powers of the state are considered lawful.
The Role of State and Local Government (www.whitehouse.gov/o ur-government/state-and-local-government)
Discover More: Governments
Based on what you've read, answer the following questions.
1. What principle is expressed by the Latin phrase e pluribus unum ?
What does the phrase mean in English?
2. Briefly describe the city manager form of government. Why is it used more and more often?
3. What is a plea bargain and what is it good for?
Discover More Answer Key:
Discover More: Governments
1. The phrase _e pluribus unum_ expresses the principle of federalism. Each state and local government has its own power under a central government with limited powers. The phrase means “out of many, one.” 2. The city manager form includes a city manager with a city council. City managers are professionals trained in urban
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management. The city manager and his or her staff run the city or town, but the manager answers to an elected town or city council. City managers are used more and more as urban problems have grown more complex. 3. Trials are expensive for a state or locality. Plea bargains avoid the time and expense of a full jury trial. In a plea bargain, a person charged with an offense may agree to plead guilty to a lesser offense. The attorneys for the defense and the prosecuting attorneys determine what the lesser offense is.
Self-Check
1. Which senate committee makes recommendations about how federal revenues (money) can be spent?
a. Ways and Means Committee
b. Budget Committee
c. Finance Committee
d. Appropriations Committee
2. The Cabinet is part of which branch of the federal government?
a. The judicial branch
b. The representative branch
c. The legislative branch
d. The executive branch
3. Which one of the following is a special power of the House of
Representatives?
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a. Conducts impeachment trial following vote in House
b. Has sole power to initiate all tax measures
c. Ratifies treaties
d. Approves appointments of Supreme Court justices, federal judges, ambassadors, and other important officials
4. Which one of the following executive departments protects the fish, wildlife, and natural resources?
a. Interior
b. Agriculture
c. Labor
d. State
5. Which one of the following is an organization designed to handle complex tasks efficiently?
a. Foreign affairs
b. Precedents
c. Bureaucracies
d. Task force
6. Which one of the following agencies is considered an independent federal agency?
a. Environmental Protection Agency
b. Rural utilities
c. International Trade Agreement
d. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
7. US Tax Court is part of which one of the following levels of federal courts?
a. Supreme Court
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b. Courts of Appeal
c. District Court
d. Special Court
8. Which one of the following cases addressed the issues of constitutional right of the criminal suspect?
a. Miranda v. Arizona
b. Roe v. Wade
c. Meyer v. Nebraska
d. Loving v. Virginia
9. Which one of the following has the power and responsibility of regulating industries, businesses, and public utilities?
a. City Government
b. County Government
c. State Government
d. Federal Government
10. Which types of city government is the oldest type of city government in America?
a. Court form
b. Commission form
c. City manager form
d. Mayor-council form
Self-Check Answer Key
1. Appropriations Committee
Explanation: The Appropriations Committee makes
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recommendations about how federal money can be spent. The
Finance Committee looks at ways of raising revenues. Although the president prepares and submits an annual budget to
Congress, the Budget Committee studies and revises the budget to prepare the budget resolution that will be voted into law. The
Ways and Means Committee decides how to raise money for various programs.
Reference: Section 3.1
2. The executive branch
Explanation: Executive Branch consists of the - President -
Cabinet - Administrative agencies, such as the Social Security
Administration, the Internal Revenue Service, and others
Reference: Section 3.1
3. Has sole power to initiate all tax measures
Explanation: The House of Representatives has sole power to initiate all tax measures and can vote to impeach a government official.
Reference: Section 3.1
4. Interior
Explanation: The Interior is responsible for protecting, fish, wildlife, and natural resources; administers federal lands and national parks; and administers Native American reservations.
Reference: Section 3.2
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5. Bureaucracies
Explanation: Government departments and agencies are organized as bureaucracies. A bureaucracy is an organization designed to handle complex tasks efficiently. It does so by assigning specialized tasks to individuals. it also develops precise job descriptions and procedures.
Reference: Section 3.2
6. Environmental Protection Agency
Explanation: Some independent federal agencies are called regulatory agencies because they have legal authority to identify abuses, gather evidence, and take legal action.
The Environmental Protection Agency is one of them.
Reference: Section 3.2
7. Special Court
Explanation: In addition to these three levels of federal courts, there are also courts of special jurisdiction and territorial courts.
Courts of special jurisdiction include the US Tax Court, the Court of International Trade, and the US Court of Military Appeals.
Reference: Section 3.3
8. Miranda v. Arizona
Explanation: According to this decision, criminal suspects must be informed of their constitutional rights when they’re arrested.
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Police often refer to this process as Mirandizing the suspect.
Reference: Section 3.3
9. State Government
Explanation: Main responsibilities of state governments include the following: 1. Establishing and enforcing the state criminal code 2. Establishing and enforcing regulations relating to property
3. Regulating industries, businesses, and public utilities 4.
Regulating working conditions within the state 5. Regulating and administering elections 6. Regulating communications (including broadcasting) within the state 6. In cooperation with localities, funding and establishing curricula for public education 7. Building and maintaining state highways, bridges, ferry services, and so on 8. Establishing and maintaining state welfare programs, including state unemployment compensation and social services programs
Reference: Section 3.4
10. Mayor-council form
Explanation: The mayor-council form is the oldest type of city government in America. It’s structured very much like state and national governments.
Reference: Section 3.4
Flash Cards
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1. Term: Standing Committee
Definition: A committee permanently established by the House or
Senate
2. Term: Decorum
Definition: Orderliness, polite behavior, and good taste in conduct
3. Term: Task Force
Definition: A committee that investigates and recommends legislation on a specific issue, such as education
4. Term: Precedent
Definition: An act or decision that serves as an example or model in the future
5. Term: Bureaucracies
Definition: Organizations designed to handle complex tasks efficiently
6. Term: Autonomy
Definition: The state of being self-governing
7. Term: Hot-Button Issue
Definition: An issue that people generally feel strongly about on one side or the other
8. Term: Breach
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Definition: The breaking or violation of an obligation
9. Term: Census
Definition: An official counting of a population
10. Term: Judicial Branch
Definition: The branch of government made up of courts
11. Term: US Supreme Court
Definition: The highest court of the land
12. Term: _Miranda v. Arizona_ (1966)
Definition: The Supreme Court decision that requires criminal suspects to be informed of their constitutional rights when they’re arrested
13. Term: _Roe v. Wade_ (1973)
Definition: The Supreme Court decision that gave women the legal right to seek an abortion
14. Term: District Courts
Definition: Federal trial courts
15. Term: Supreme Court
Definition: The court of last appeal
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16. Term: _E Pluribus Unum_
Definition: “Out of many, one”
17. Term: Department of Interior
Definition: Protects natural resources and administer federal lands
18. Term: Department of Labor
Definition: Deals with unemployment, minimum wage, and job discrimination
19. Term: Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
Definition: An agency whose mission is to support the president and the National Security Council
20. Term: Bureaucracy
Definition: Way of organizing work efficiently by assigning specialized tasks
21. Term: Courts of Limited Jurisdiction
Definition: Includes small-claims, traffic, family, and juvenile courts
22. Term: Apportionment
Definition: The number of representatives each state is allowed in
Congress, based on population
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Think of your course in civics as a journey of discovery. It’s a remarkably important journey for three reasons. First, it helps you understand the nature of the country you live in.
Second, it explains your rights and responsibilities as a citizen of the United States. Third, you can use your knowledge of civics to help you take an active part in the democratic process.
When Abraham Lincoln dedicated the cemetery at Gettysburg, he left us some memorable words. He said the government of this nation was intended to be “...of the people, by the people, for the people.”
Who are the people? All American citizens, so that includes you. In this final lesson of your course in civics, you’ll study the political process. Learn all you can about it.
Think hard about the rights and responsibilities of a US citizen. Any citizen of the United States can play a part in the government. US
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citizens have that right and that responsibility.
Citizenship
READING ASSIGNMENT
Photo of the Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty was a gift from France to the United
States. Since 1886, it has welcomed immigrants to the
United States. The statue stands as a symbol of the
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freedom, liberty, and equality that citizens of the United
States enjoy.
Section 1 of the Fourteenth Amendment explains that all citizens of the United States are entitled to the full rights of citizenship as set forth in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. They’re entitled to equal protection under the law and to due process . In addition, citizens may not be improperly deprived of life, liberty, or property.
Due process refers to fair treatment by both the courts and the police.
The United States is a land of immigrants. That means that many people who live here weren’t born here; they were from other countries. That’s the main reason the United States has two kinds of citizens: natural-born citizens and naturalized citizens.
Very simply put, a natural-born citizen is someone who becomes a citizen at birth.
If you were born in the United States, you’re automatically a United
States citizen. And you’re also a citizen of the state in which you were born.
The US Constitution defines citizenship in the Fourteenth
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Amendment:
"All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside."
Although this is a clear definition, it doesn’t cover many common scenarios. People began to ask questions like “What if someone is born outside the United States, but both parents are US citizens?”
This and other questions have been answered in the US Code. The current code lists a number of people who are “citizens of the United
States at birth.”
Figure listing the conditions for being U.S. citizen at birth
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The definition of a natural-born citizen is rather detailed and complex.
Why has the government developed such a complicated definition of a natural-born citizen? One of the main reasons may be that only a natural-born citizen can become president of the United States.
Anyone who doesn’t fit into one of these categories isn’t a naturalborn citizen and is therefore ineligible to run for president or vice president of the United States. The government wants to make sure
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it’s clear on who is eligible and who is not eligible.
A naturalized citizen is someone who is not a natural-born citizen, but becomes a citizen through the process of naturalization . Legal authority for allowing someone to become a naturalized citizen belongs to the federal government. However, under federal law, both state and federal courts can grant citizenship.
Naturalization is a legal process by which a person becomes a citizen of the United States.
Because the US government has grown increasingly concerned about illegal immigration into the country, it has tightened its immigration laws. In 1996, Congress passed the Illegal Immigration Reform and
Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA) . The act focused on two areas:
1. Adopting stronger penalties against illegal immigration
2. Making it easier to deport illegal aliens—that is, those individuals who try to enter the United States without proper documents
Specifically, the act called for a number of provisions. For example, illegal aliens who are deported (removed from the country) can’t return for 5 to 20 years, depending on the seriousness of their immigration violation.
Criminal aliens in custody can’t be released prior to their deportation.
Also, the IIRIRA requires that a sponsor of an immigrant earn at least
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25 percent more than the poverty level. A sponsor is a person who signs an agreement to help an immigrant lawfully enter the United
States. The sponsor promises to provide financial support for the immigrant until he or she becomes a citizen or has worked for a certain period of time.
Some IIRIRA restrictions on immigrants have been reversed by
Congress or overturned by the Supreme Court. Even so, it’s harder for immigrants to get into the United States now than it was at some earlier times in history.
Becoming a US citizen isn’t an easy process. Suppose you live in a foreign country and you want to move to the United States and eventually become a citizen. Here are the steps you must take:
1. Apply for an immigrant visa , which will allow you to move to the
United States and establish a residence. The immigrant visa also allows you to obtain a green card , which permits you to become a legal permanent resident. That means you can live and work permanently in the United States.
2. Meet certain qualifications. Here are just a few of those requirements:
After you receive your green card, you must live in the United
States for at least five years.
You must be of good moral character. That generally means you
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shouldn’t have a criminal record of any kind.
You must have a basic knowledge of simple English.
You must be at least 18 years old.
You must have a basic knowledge of the history and government of the United States.
Submit an application for naturalization. Along with the application, you must submit two photographs of yourself, any other requested documents, and a fee. You must file this application at an Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) center in your area.
Once you receive an appointment letter from the INS, submit the required documents. You’ll also be asked to submit your fingerprints.
Participate in an interview during which you must take an English and government test and answer questions about your application and background.
Once you’re granted citizenship, you must attend a ceremony where you take the oath of citizenship and receive your Certificate of
Naturalization.
As with many regulations, there are exceptions to these requirements.
For example, the English requirement may be waived for people who have been living in the United States 20 years or more and are over
50 years old. Aliens who have served in the armed forces also have a shorter waiting period.
Some schools and community organizations offer programs to help
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individuals prepare for the English and government tests for citizenship and may offer help in completing the naturalization application.
Access the US Citizenship and Government (my.uscis.gov/prep/test/ci vics) website to complete a Civics practice test, which is a study tool meant to help individuals prepare for the citizenship exam.
Illustration showing the naturalization oath
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All persons who become citizens of the United States through the naturalization process must take this oath.
The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution express the basic rights of citizens of the United States. The Declaration expresses basic human rights—the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit
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of happiness. The Constitution and the Bill of Rights spell out the legal rights of citizens.
In the next few paragraphs, you’ll examine some of your basic legal rights provided in the Constitution. Some of this is a review of material you’ve already learned. But since this is information you should know, it’s worth repeating.
The First Amendment gives you the right to
Worship as you wish (freedom of worship)
Freely express your opinions (freedom of speech). The only exception is that you can’t express your opinions in a way that may bring harm to others. For example, you can say your office building is a firetrap, but you can’t call the fire department and declare that a fire is about to occur.
Publish your opinions (freedom of the press).
Assemble with others in peaceful meetings, marches, and demonstrations (freedom of assembly). The term peaceful may mean that you have to obtain a permit from a local authority so you don’t obstruct traffic or cause other problems of civil disorder.
Address your concerns and grievances to your local, state, and federal government, in person or in writing (freedom of petition).
Under the Second Amendment, you have the right to own firearms.
However, gun ownership is restricted in various ways under federal, state, and local laws. For example, you may not purchase a firearm if you’ve been convicted of a felony. You may not discharge a firearm in
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a public place or in a manner that puts others at risk. You may not legally purchase a military-style automatic weapon.
You can be arrested if you’re caught in a criminal act. Otherwise, according to the Fourth Amendment, an officer needs a court order to arrest you. Furthermore, police can’t search your place of residence or take private property away as evidence without a bench warrant , or court order.
According to the Fifth Amendment, you can’t be tried for a capital crime or other felony unless a charge is brought against you by a grand jury. A capital crime can carry the death penalty. You’re also protected from double jeopardy . That is, if you’re tried for an offense and found not guilty, you can’t be tried again for the same offense. In addition, you have the right to due process. Finally, the government isn’t allowed to take away any of your private property without paying a fair price for it. For example, if a highway is to be built across your land, you must be paid for that land at market value.
Under the Sixth Amendment, you have the right to a fair and speedy trial. For serious crimes, you have a right to a trial by a jury. If you’re arrested, you have the right to know why—that is, you have the right to know what you’re charged with. You also have a right to question witnesses who bring evidence against you.
The Fourteenth Amendment addresses many issues. However, the two important elements that deal with citizens are the due process and equal protection clauses . As you’ve already learned, due process
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refers to fair treatment in legal proceedings. The equal protection clause gives you the right to equal protection under the law. In other words, no one should be above the law. Anyone charged with an offense should be treated the same way—rich or poor, black or white, male or female.
Photo of a penny
As I Would Not Be a Slave . . .
Abraham Lincoln was the sixteenth president of the United States. He led the nation through the Civil War (1861–1865). Lincoln had an interesting way of expressing his idea of democracy and the rule of law. Here’s what he said: As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master. This expresses my idea of democracy. Whatever [form of government] differs from this, to the extent of the difference, is no democracy.
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As a citizen of the United States, you have the legal right to expatriation . That is, you have the right to renounce your citizenship.
Just as an immigrant has the right to petition for citizenship, all citizens have the right to give up their citizenship. Not all countries give their citizens the right to expatriation.
As a US citizen, you’re responsible for obeying all local, state, and federal laws to the best of your ability. Although you may not be aware of every law, common sense is usually a sufficient guide. If you’re concerned for the rights and needs of others, you’re likely to be within the law.
As you’ve already learned, the ideal of equal justice under law requires that a person be tried by a jury of his or her peers. Therefore, as a citizen, you’re also responsible for answering calls to jury duty .
Most employers honor this obligation. Under the law, you won’t lose your job if you have to take time off to serve on a jury. Some people are excused from jury duty if they’re public servants. This often includes teachers and government workers.
A duty is a moral or legal obligation. Jury duty refers to the legal obligation to serve on a jury when called to do so.
Many of your obligations as a citizen aren’t precisely spelled out; they’re implied. For example, if you’re willing to protect and defend the
Constitution, then you must be responsible to take up arms in defense
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of the nation if you’re healthy enough to do so. However, American law respects freedom of religion. People who belong to a religion that doesn’t allow them to go to war are allowed to serve as conscientious objectors . A conscientious objector, who doesn’t wish to fight, may serve in field hospitals or in other noncombatant roles.
A conscientious objector is someone who refuses to fight in the military based on religious or moral principles.
As you’ve already learned, democracy is a type of government by the people. The United States is a representative democracy . That is, the people participate in the decision making through elected representatives. As a citizen of the United States, you have many elected representatives—local, state, and federal representatives— including the president of the United States. These representatives are supposed to carry out the will of the people. To do that, they must know what the people want. Of course, it’s part of a representative’s job to find out what the people want, but it’s also each citizen’s responsibility to get their wishes to their officials.
The first step in making your voice heard is becoming informed. For example, if you’re opposed to the death penalty, you should gather facts about that issue, such as the risk of innocent people being executed. If you’re in favor of supporting public libraries, you need to gather the facts on library funding and library services. If you want to support certain candidates, you should learn all about their voting
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records and how they stand on the issues that are important to you.
To become informed, you can begin by watching television news programs or by reading newspapers. But you must be an intelligent listener and reader. Some newspapers and news programs have a certain political bias . That is, they have predetermined positions on particular issues and publish stories which support their position.
Make sure you know your sources. The possibility of bias should also be considered on candidates’ official websites, since this is where they try to gain support.
To get information quickly on specific issues, you can use the Internet.
Begin with any of the basic search engines, like Google or Yahoo. If you don’t have access to the Internet, most public libraries have computers available for use by the public.
Photo students looking at a computer screen in a library
Most public libraries have computers that the public can use. If you’re unfamiliar with
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using a computer as a research tool, ask the librarian for help.
Your librarian can show you how to search through books and periodicals to get information. Larger libraries have specialists called reference librarians . Their job is to help you find the information you’re looking for. If you want information on a particular bill, your library should have copies of the Congressional Record . The Congressional
Record is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the US
Congress. It’s published daily when Congress is in session. The contents page for each edition tells you which House and Senate bills it contains.
Access the US Government Publishing Office (www.gpo.gov/fdsys/se arch/home.action) office to locate the Congressional Records from
1994 to the present.
The next step in getting your voice heard is choosing a strategy. You may decide to approach your concern by getting signatures on a petition or by forming or joining an interest group .
An interest group is a voluntary association that seeks to publicly promote and create advantages for its cause.
The simplest way to make your voice heard, however, is to contact your representative and senators directly. You have two senators who represent your state in the Senate and one representative who represents your district in the House of Representatives.
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Access GovTrack.us
(www.govtrack.us/congress/members) to find your representatives.
You can contact your representatives by letter, phone call, or email.
To obtain the correct addresses and phone numbers, check with your local public library or go to http://www.usa.gov/ (www.usa.gov/) and click on Government Agencies and Elected Officials . The website even provides phone numbers and email addresses for the president and vice president. Evidence shows that letters from constituents do have a real effect. Also, you may get interesting replies on official stationery.
A constituent is someone who authorizes another to act as agent. In government, the people are the constituents of their elected officials.
As an alternate approach, you can write a letter to the editor of your local paper. Letters to the editor can have an impact when you want to voice your opinion on local issues. Effective or not, you may get interesting letters from people with other opinions.
The final step in making your voice heard is commitment, which can be a time-consuming step. Americans are chronically busy people with little free time. Work and family demands eat up a lot of people’s time.
It can take serious discipline to put aside some time to read the paper and keep up with important issues. But it’s not impossible. Besides, if you do have children, you’ll be teaching them a valuable lesson by your example. They’ll learn that civic responsibility matters.
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Citizenship carries with it both privileges and obligations. One of the main obligations you have as a citizen is to get out and vote on election day. With your vote, you can play an important role in the shaping of your nation. If you don’t vote, you lose your voice in your government, and the democratic system of government isn’t maintained.
To vote, you must meet four basic requirements. You must
1. Be at least 18 years old
2. Be a US citizen
3. Have resided in a state for a certain period of time (usually 30 days or more)
4. Be registered to vote (in every state except North Dakota)
The purpose of voter registration is to assure that people vote only once. Usually, registering is a matter of filling out a simple form like the one in the figure below.
Figure showing a voter registration application
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This sample Voter Registration Application gives you an idea of the type of information required to register to vote.
Since 1993, many states have instituted motor-voter laws, which allow people to register to vote when they get their driver’s license or have it renewed.
Access the Election Assistance Commission (www.eac.gov/voter_res ources/register_to_vote.aspx) website for information on how to register to vote. Most states allow individuals to register online.
After you’re registration is completed, you’ll receive a voter registration card, which will tell you where to go to vote.
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In the United States, many people don’t bother to vote. In fact, less than half of the registered voters usually turn out to vote in a presidential election. Even fewer vote in elections that don’t involve presidential candidates. There are several important reasons that people don’t vote. Let’s explore some of them.
1. Many people who are qualified to vote may not be informed about political issues or candidates. People who feel uninformed often decide not to vote. As a citizen, however, you have a responsibility to become informed about the candidates and the issues and then to vote.
2. Some people don’t like either candidate, so they don’t vote.
They feel that it’s a case of Tweedledee or Tweedledum, brothers in the book Through the Looking-Glass , who look alike and say the same things in the same way. If voters feel it doesn’t matter which of two similar candidates wins, they don’t vote.
3. Many Americans are cynical about government. A cynical person is one who is short on trust and long on doubt. Many
Americans feel their votes won’t change government one way or the other so they don’t bother to vote.
Illustration of Australia
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In Australia, people who run for public office receive campaign money from the government. Taxes include an amount for that purpose. Any qualified candidate receives such funds. No private funding is permitted. Australian media is expected to provide equal exposure and debate time to all the candidates. Citizens of Australia are required to vote. Failing to vote is punishable by a fine.
1. Some people feel that their one vote doesn’t make a difference.
Of course, their votes can’t make a difference if they don’t vote.
And if enough people have this attitude, then their lack of voting can make a big difference. Every vote is important.
2. Many people don’t vote because they don’t identify with either
Democrats or Republicans. Therefore, during an election campaign, they don’t find their point of view represented.
3. In some states and localities, registration is complicated. People may not know how to register, or they may not care enough to find out how to register. In either case, they don’t vote.
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4. Some people would like to vote, but have a hard time doing so.
Disabled and elderly people in poor health have trouble getting to the polls. Although relatives and volunteers sometimes offer transportation for these people, there are still many who would vote if they had the opportunity, but can’t.
5. Political parties have lost much of their ability to organize voters.
Years ago, strong party organizations, called political machines , existed in states and urban areas. They organized voters and made sure they got to the polls. Voting turnouts during the time of strong party machines were sometimes as high as 90 percent in national elections. Today, the political parties are much weaker.
People vote more on issues or individual candidates. They no longer feel much pressure to vote with their political party.
So, who votes? Here’s what political scientists tell us:
Table listing the percentage of people who vote by age range
1. Older people are more likely to vote than younger people. They're members of the generations who benefited from the Civil Rights
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Movement of the 1960s and economic growth during the terms of
Reagan and Clinton. Many of these voters hope government will do good things again. See the figure for how the US population voted in the 2012 presidential election according to the US
Census Bureau.
2. People who vote are those who are likely to be affected by the outcome of the election.
3. People are more likely to vote if the election seems critical—for example, if there are sharply defined issues and strong differences between the candidates. In some elections, the differences between candidates seem more or less insignificant, possibly because both political parties take a centrist approach.
Centrist politicians are afraid to go too far to the left or the right.
They want to get as many votes as they can. Therefore, they try to find a safe middle ground between liberal (left) and conservative (right) ideas of government. For example, a candidate may support some liberal and some conservative programs if those programs are popular with the American people.
4. People with more education vote more often than those with less education. Better-educated people are more likely to read newspapers and watch C-Span and other news networks.
Possibly because they’re better informed, educated people are more likely to vote.
C-Span is a nationwide television network that broadcasts things like
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the Senate and house sessions. viewers can watch their government in action.
Key Points and Links
READING ASSIGNMENT
A natural-born citizen is someone who becomes a citizen at birth. A naturalized citizen is someone who is not a natural-born citizen, but becomes a citizen through the process of naturalization.
The equal protection clause gives citizens the right to equal protection under the law. Anyone charged with an offense should be treated the same way—rich or poor, black or white, male or female.
The United States is a representative democracy—people participate in the decision making through elected representatives.
As a citizen, you can make your voice heard by first becoming informed, then choosing a strategy, and finally contacting your representative and senators.
There are three ways citizens can contact their representatives to make their voices heard—letters, phone calls, and emails.
An interest group is a voluntary association that seeks to publicly promote and create advantages for its cause.
To vote in the United States, a person must meet certain criteria.
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Naturalization Process (www.citizenshipworks.org/learn/)
Citizenship Quiz (www.history.com/interactives/citizenship-quiz)
Rights of Naturalized Persons (www.law.cornell.edu/anncon/html/ art1frag64_user.html)
Discover More: Voter's Questionnaire
Based on what you've read, answer the following questions.
1. Are you at least 18 years old?
2. Are you a citizen of the United States?
3. Are you registered to vote?
4. Did you vote in the last election?
Discover More Answer Key:
Discover More: Voter's Questionnaire
If you answered “yes” to the first two questions, you should also have answered “yes” to the second two. You may not be _required_ to vote in the United States, but it’s your duty as a responsible citizen to exercise this right. Discover More: Voting Rights and
Responsibilities
Based on what you've read, answer the following questions.
1. What are motor-voter laws ?
2. What is the purpose of voter registration?
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Discover More Answer Key:
Discover More: Voting Rights and Responsibilities
1. Motor-voter laws, which were instituted in 1993, allow people to register to vote when they get their driver’s license or have it renewed.
2. The purpose of voter registration is to assure that people vote only once.
The Political System
READING ASSIGNMENT
The framers of the Constitution didn’t want political parties in the
United States. They were afraid parties would create conflicts and divisions within the country. However, at the very beginning of the history of the United States, during the ratification process of the
Constitution, two parties emerged. The supporters of James
Madison’s Virginia Plan and the new Constitution were known as
Federalists. They proposed a strong central government with three branches. These Federalists were opposed by the Anti-Federalists, who wanted a weak central government and strong state governments. The Anti- Federalists supported Thomas Jefferson.
A political party is a group of people who have the same political views and agendas.
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In the years after the ratification and during George Washington’s presidency, political parties changed their names. The Anti-Federalists became known as the Democratic-Republican Party, which eventually evolved into the present-day Democratic Party. The first Republican
Party was formed in 1854 as an anti-slavery party. It backed the nomination of Abraham Lincoln. Even though the parties have kept the same names through most of American history, their positions on issues have changed dramatically over the years. The timeline in the figure below briefly outlines the evolution of the two main political parties in the United States.
Republicans sometimes refer to their party as the "party of Lincoln."
Timeline of the United States Two-Party System
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Timeline of the United States Two-Party System
Illustration of the Republican and Democratic mascots designed by
Thomas Nast
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Over the years, third parties have tried to challenge the two-party system. So far, none have succeeded in becoming established parties. The following list includes just some of the third parties that have come on the American scene:
The Greenback Party of the 1870s was supported by many farmers. They wanted the government to increase the amount of paper money in circulation.
The Populist Party of 1891 to about 1908 was a combined effort of farmers and various labor groups.
The national Progressive Party was founded by Theodore
Roosevelt in 1912. It didn’t get Roosevelt back into the presidency, but it did shake the political ground. Its popular name, the Bull Moose Party, was well chosen. Since 1912,
Progressives have voted primarily for the Democratic Party.
Third parties have been important in three ways:
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1. They’ve offered an alternative to voters who didn’t want to support either of the major parties.
2. They’ve helped political leaders understand the real concerns of voters. For example, Ralph Nader’s Green Party received no electoral votes in 2000, but his campaign did sharply outline important issues that concerned many Americans.
3. Some third-party candidates have altered the outcome of a national election. Ross Perot’s Reform Party earned 19 percent of the votes in the 1992 election in which Bill Clinton ran against incumbent Republican President George H. W. Bush. Many feel
Perot split the conservative vote, which allowed Clinton and Al
Gore to win the election.
Once the two-party system was well established, the election process emerged. Basically, this is how it works today.
Entering the race.
A number of people from each party may “throw their hat into the ring” or announce their desire to run for president of the United States. These candidates must raise money and begin campaigning across the country. Their purpose is to try to convince the people to vote for them.
A candidate is a person who is seeking the nomination to an office.
Primary elections.
Primary elections are held in most states beginning in January. In the primary elections, voters indicate their
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preference for the person they wish to represent their party in the election. Most states have closed primaries . If you’re registered as a
Democrat, you can vote only for a Democratic candidate. If you’re registered as a Republican, you can vote only for a Republican candidate. Some states, however, hold open primaries . In those states, you can vote for any candidate, no matter which party you’re registered with. Some states hold caucuses to discuss the candidates.
There are often several rounds of voting until a winner in that meeting is decided
The earliest primaries are held in New Hampshire and Iowa, so they often get a lot of attention.
During primary elections, candidates of both parties go from town to town and door to door shaking hands and explaining their position.
They attend rallies and purchase lots of local ads. As the primaries progress from state to state, candidates slowly begin to drop out of the race. By the time the national convention occurs, usually only a few candidates remain.
National conventions.
Each party holds a national convention at which it selects its candidate for president of the United States. The convention can choose only one candidate. Each presidential candidate then chooses a running mate —that is, someone to run as vice president.
During national conventions, party leaders prepare a party platform , which lays out the goals and plans of the party for the next
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administration. Each goal of the platform is called a plank . If a party’s candidate is elected, the platform becomes the agenda for the newly elected president. If the party’s candidate loses, the party platform guides the legislative goals of party members elected to Congress.
The party platform also serves voters. By examining the platforms of all of the parties, voters can decide which candidates they want to vote for.
Campaigning.
By tradition, the national conventions are held in the summer, and the official campaign begins in September. In fact, though, candidates begin to seek support and money long before the national convention. A large part of the expense of modern national campaigns is media advertising. An enormous amount of money is poured into television ads. Radio and newspaper ads, posters, buttons, and bumper stickers add to the expense.
Campaign strategies are complicated. Candidates must speak to the
American people, debate with other candidates, and try to convince the American people to vote for them. Campaigns require the support of party regulars, volunteers, and professional political managers.
Managers can help candidates to select key issues to attract undecided voters. Managers also try to make sure a candidate presents an attractive public image. A lot of attention is given to photo opportunities and getting favorable media publicity.
Photo of Barack Obama as a campaign event in New
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Hampshire
During a presidential campaign, candidates are constantly in the public eye. This photo shows
Barack Obama at a campaign event in New Hampshire.
Election.
According to the Constitution, election day is the first
Tuesday after the first Monday in November. On that day, voters elect the person who will be their president and vice president for the next four years.
The president and vice president are the only government officials elected by all the people in the United States. On voting day, the polls open early and close late, but the times vary from state to state. Each registered voter is assigned a specific polling location, which is run by local election boards.
Photo of a sign that reads Vote
Here next to an American flag
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Find out where your voting location is. It may be in a public school, a municipal building, a fire hall, or even a library. Each location sets up temporary headquarters on election days.
The law doesn’t allow people to campaign at the polls. However, outside most polling places, there are volunteers from the different parties handing out sample ballots. Sample ballots highlight the candidates running for one of the parties—usually Republican or
Democrat.
When you enter the polling place, a volunteer or an election board official will check to find your name on the registration roll. Once your name and proper address are confirmed, you’re ready to vote. You may have to wait a minute or two to use an electronic touchscreen device or for a private area to become open. American voters cast secret ballots.
Today, many states use optical scan paper ballot counting machines rather than voting booths with pull curtains (mechanical lever voting
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machines). Voting machines are a bit like calculators. Every time a vote is cast, the total vote tally increases by one and the machine is ready to process another completed ballot.
Photo of a voter entering his votes into a ballot machine
When you enter a polling place, you may be given a paper ballot to complete. Most polling places using paper ballots now have optical scan paper ballot machines. You
On your electronic or paper ballot, you’ll see the candidates that you can vote for. If you want to vote for all Democrats or all Republicans, you can simply touch the button or fill in the circle for the appropriate party. If you want to split your vote between parties, you’ll have to go through each option on the ballot. If you have any questions about how to vote, don’t hesitate to ask. There are typically volunteers present who will be glad to assist you. Each facility usually has a sample ballot on display. You should study that before you go in to
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vote.
When you’re given a paper ballot, it’s simply tagged with the next available ballot number. You’re not assigned a specific number. The number isn’t recorded on the registration roll under your name.
Therefore, your vote remains private.
Electronic machines are very efficient. They provide a means to quickly tally returns after polling places close. In fact, winners and losers of most political races can be determined within hours after voting ends.
Photo of the Florida punch card ballot used in the presidential election in 2000
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Electoral college.
Once all the votes have been cast and the polls have closed, the votes are counted in each state. Whoever wins the most votes in any state receives all the electoral votes for that state.
Eventually, one party or the other declares victory. Champagne corks pop. Red, white, and blue party streamers fly. The losing candidate makes a concession speech. However, the president isn’t yet officially elected. On the first Monday after the second Wednesday in
December, the electors meet in their state capitals. The number of electors depends on the number of representatives in Congress. For example, California has 55 electors (53 representatives and two senators); New Hampshire has only 4.
The electors are to cast their votes according to the results in their state. The results of the electoral vote in each state are transmitted to the secretary of state in Washington, DC. On January 6, the results are publicly presented before a joint session of Congress.
To be elected president of the United States, a candidate must receive at least one-half of the electoral votes, plus one. Since there are 538 electors, a candidate must receive 270 votes to win (1/2 x 538 = 269
+ 1 = 270).
The president is officially inaugurated on January 20. He or she takes a solemn oath administered by the Chief Justice of the Supreme
Court. The oath requires the president to say, “I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and I will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the
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Constitution of the United States.”
In summary, there are three main steps to the presidency: the primary elections, the party conventions, and the campaigns for the general election. The election process is very long, very expensive, and very hard on the candidates. All candidates, even those in office spend a lot of time raising campaign money. Interest groups and political action committees that supply most of that money may influence legislation. In that regard, business interests carry a lot of weight.
Many feel that the election process should be reformed, but few agree on how to do that.
Special interest groups are organizations that form to influence legislation that will benefit the people that they represent. There are about as many interest groups as there are different points of view.
Teachers, doctors, manufacturers, farmers, and many others form interest groups. The main interest groups are corporate-industrial, organized labor, and special issue interest groups.
Industries are organizations that produce goods and services.
Examples of some of the larger and more powerful industries are
The automobile industry
The petroleum industry
The coal-mining industry
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Pharmaceutical (drug) manufacturers
Banking and financial services
Insurance
Farming
Farm machinery manufacturing
Steel
Electronics
One of the largest industries today is the media. Media includes all the ways of storing and transferring information. Newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations, movie producers, and the Internet are media.
Business corporations represent an industry. Today, many corporations own or manage operations in more than one industry.
For example, at one time, General Electric was mainly a manufacturer of products like transformers, light bulbs, and generators. Today, however, it also owns the National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC).
Phillip Morris, a tobacco manufacturer, now also owns General Foods.
Such recent corporate mergers have resulted in many giant corporations. A merger occurs when two or more corporations join into one.
The power of corporate interest groups in our world has become international. Such multinational corporations have created a process called globalization , which refers to the methods of handling businesses and industries that conduct business in more than one
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country. The federal government has a lot of trouble trying to regulate the business activities of such multinational corporations as General
Motors, Coca-Cola, and International Business Machines (IBM).
The interest groups for these corporations and industries work to persuade a government, or several governments in different countries, to pass or enforce laws that would benefit their work.
the labor movement, children worked long hours in factories. Many factories and mines were unsafe. The labor movement brought the eight-hour day and the minimum wage. It got workers higher wages for overtime. The labor movement also brought improvements in worker safety. Factories and other work environments, such as coal mines, are less dangerous than they once were.
For many years, the most important organized labor group in America was the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial
Organizations (AFL-CIO). This organization is made up of a federation of unions for steelworkers, coal miners, truckers, and many other trades. The Wagner Act of 1947 allowed workers to organize and enter into collective bargaining with business management. It also gave them the right to strike. A strike occurs when union members walk out and refuse to work until an agreement is reached between union leaders and business management.
The federal government oversees labor-management disputes
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through the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) . The NLRB was created by the Wagner Act. Globalization has moved most manufacturing jobs out of the United States. Multinational corporations have increased their profits by taking jobs overseas where labor is less expensive. Today, only a small fraction of US manufacturing workers are in unions.
Meanwhile, other industries have formed unions. These include airline workers, US Postal Service employees, public school teachers, college teachers, and healthcare workers. Two of the most influential of the teachers unions are the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the National Education Association (NEA). Physicians are represented by the American Medical Association (AMA). The AMA isn’t a union, although it’s an interest group for physicians. Beyond the
AMA, groups of physicians have begun to form unions. Nurses and other healthcare workers are represented by unions in some states.
There are an amazing number of special issue interest groups. They include organizations like the Sierra Club (an environmental group) and Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD). Possibly the largest of the special issue interest groups is the American Association of
Retired Persons (AARP), which represents the interests of older
Americans. AARP has been influential in helping senior citizens in areas like healthcare and discrimination.
Some special issue interest groups give support to an industry, even
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though this may happen unintentionally. For example, the National
Rifle Association fights for the individual rights of gun owners. As a result, arms manufacturers may benefit. Companies like Remington,
Colt, and Winchester are able to sell more guns to private citizens.
Other special issue interest groups include the following organizations:
The League of Women Voters promotes open debate and democratic values.
A large number of issue groups focus on environmental concerns. Examples include the National Audubon Society,
Friends of the Earth, and the Sierra Club.
Some special interest groups support particular political philosophies.
These groups are often called foundations or institutes . But, like other interest groups, they try to influence public policy. A common nickname for such interest organizations is think tanks , because their members are often highly educated experts in fields like economics and history. A conservative think tank is the Cato Institute, which supports capitalism and business interests. Another conservative think tank is the Heritage Foundation. The Center for the Study of
Democratic Institutions supports ideals of liberal democracy. One of its founders is actor Paul Newman. Such special interest groups produce studies and position papers on public issues. Their members also publish books and articles in magazines or journals.
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Interest groups try to get laws passed in their favor. To do so, they use three main approaches—member education, media, and lobbyists.
Member education.
Most interest groups publish magazines or newsletters that are distributed to members of the interest group.
Included in these publications is information about the group’s activities and when important bills are coming up for debate in the
House or Senate.
Media.
You’ve probably seen television messages sponsored by interest groups. For example, AARP ads try to convince people that they need to join the AARP and support its mission. NEA commercials promote school reforms that support teaching. Media time is expensive. Since interest groups depend on contributions from group members, they may not be able to afford such ads. Notice that there are a lot more corporate ads on television than there are interest group ads.
Lobbyists.
Washington, DC is jam-packed with lobbyists. In fact, there are far more lobbyists in Washington than there are members of
Congress. Lobbyists are professionals who are hired by interest groups to help them in their causes. Some lobbyists make a lot of money because skilled lobbyists have many connections and a lot of clout.
Lobbyists have enormous influence on legislation through three primary avenues. First, they’re a source of information for their interest group. For example, lobbyists are responsible for an NEA newspaper
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that informs teachers about educational goals and legislation to meet those goals. Second, lobbyists use the media. They help get out newspaper, television, and Web ads that support their interest group’s goals. They set up interviews with public officials and experts to further their group’s goals. They write letters to the public—often as newspaper editorials. Third, lobbyists directly influence members of
Congress. Representatives and senators spend a lot of time talking to lobbyists. They count on lobbyists to help them know what voters are interested in. They count on them to explain the many bills they have to read. Lobbyists, in turn, argue for legislation that favors the interest they represent.
People often think of lobbyists as targeting members of Congress. In fact, lobbyists also influence members of the executive branch, including the president. Lobbyists are also active at the state and local levels of government.
Interest groups raise money from their members. Often this money is used to form a political action committee (PAC) . PAC money is used to support candidates who endorse the concerns of a particular interest group. There are more than 4,000 PACs in the United States. They have an enormous impact on election campaigns.
Congress has been concerned about the power of PACs and has tried to restrict their influence. It passed legislation to restrict the amount of money any PAC could give to a campaign fund. The limit is $5,000.
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However, PACs can contribute to many different campaigns. A wealthy PAC, therefore, can support a whole slate of candidates across the nation. Further, PACs aren’t restricted from running their own campaigns for a candidate. They can buy television and newspaper ads on their own. Ads paid for by such groups usually end with something like “Paid for by Citizens for Thorndike.”
Interest groups and PACs permit citizens to make their voices heard.
They permit ordinary citizens to influence legislation. It’s hard to see this as anything but democracy in action. Interest groups also supply important information to legislators and members of the executive branch. The downside is this: some PACs, especially the corporateindustrial groups, are much wealthier than others and can exert more influence.
The United States is the only industrial nation that doesn’t have some kind of universal health insurance for all its citizens. In America today, approximately 12 percent of people have no health insurance. During the first Clinton administration, first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton led a campaign for universal health coverage. Some would say it was badly designed. Some would agree that it was defeated by powerful interest groups. Primary among these were the pharmaceutical industry and the insurance industry.
Toward the end of 2013, the Affordable Care Act went into effect.
Passage of this bill is considered one of Barack Obama’s most
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important achievements. The act, also referred to as Obamacare, was intended to increase access to healthcare while controlling future cost increases making healthcare more affordable. Access to healthcare has improved; the percent of uninsured decreased by approximately 5 percentage points since implementation of the act. The question on cost is still open for debate. Some participants in the program receive subsidies, which come from the federal budget. Others with private insurance have seen deductibles and premiums increase significantly.
Challenges to the Affordable Care Act are ongoing, but as of today it is the law of the land.
Concern about interest groups and PACs representing business interests isn’t new. Abraham Lincoln complained about the power of the “moneyed interests.” Theodore Roosevelt attacked the power of business monopolies.
A monopoly exists when one company controls the entire market for a particular good or service.
President Dwight D. Eisenhower warned about the rise of what he called the “military-industrial complex.” He was referring to close connections between government contractors, the military, and large corporations that produce vehicles and weapons systems for the armed forces.
Meanwhile, election campaigns have become enormously expensive.
It takes so much money to run a campaign that many government leaders worry about big business. These critics argue that big
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corporations have too much influence. When a special interest group contributes a lot of money to a particular candidate’s campaign, that group is certainly expecting something in return. Here’s the problem:
Let’s say a certain senator receives one million campaign dollars from interests representing the fishing industry. Will this senator really be able to fairly evaluate legislation to stop overfishing in the Atlantic?
Key Points and Links
READING ASSIGNMENT
A political party is a group of people who have the same political views and agendas.
The United States has two major parties: Republicans and
Democrats.
Each party holds a national convention at which it selects its candidate for president of the United States. Each convention can choose only one candidate.
Election day is the first Tuesday after the first Monday in
November.
To be elected president of the United States, a candidate must receive at least one-half of the electoral votes, plus one. Since there are 538 electors, a candidate must receive 270 votes to win.
Special interest groups are organizations that form to influence legislation that will benefit the people that they represent. These
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groups use member education, media, and lobbyists to get laws passed in their favor.
Lobbyists are professionals who are hired by interest groups to help them in their causes.
Jury Duty Laws (www.employmentlawhandbook.com/WageHour/
JuryDutyLaws.html)
Register to Vote (www.rockthevote.com/rtv_voter_registration.ht
ml?source=)
Voter Requirements by State (www.ncsl.org/legislatures-elections
/elections/voter-id.aspx)
Statistics on Voter Turnout (www.census.gov/topics/public-sector/ voting.html)
Electoral College Figures (www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2012/ president/2012_elections_electoral_college_map.html)
Court Decision Impacting Special Interest Groups (www.reuters.c
om/article/2010/01/21/us-usa-court-politics-idUSTRE60K3SK201
00121)
The Congressional Record (www.gpo.gov/fdsys/search/home.acti
on)
Discover More: Third Parties and Interest Groups
Based on what you've read, answer the following questions.
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1. Summarize the three main effects of third parties on American politics.
2. How is a special issue interest group like the AARP different from an organized labor interest group?
3. Summarize three main things interest groups do to get laws passed in their favor.
4. Members of Congress get benefits from lobbyists. What are they?
Discover More Answer Key:
Discover More: Third Parties and Interest Groups
1. Third parties offer an alternative to voters who don’t want to support either of the major parties. They’ve given political leaders insight into the real concerns of voters. Finally, they’ve sometimes affected the outcome of national elections. 2. Generally, special issues groups address issues of broad public concern. For example, the American
Association of Retired Persons (AARP) addresses the concerns of older people. The National Rifle Association addresses the public's right to bear arms. Organized labor interest groups, on the other hand, are focused on getting a fair slice of the economic pie. They first formed to oppose the power of business owners and managers.
Teacher and government worker unions try to get a fair deal from governments that own and manage their labor. 3. Interest groups try to get laws passed in their favor through member education, using the media, and hiring lobbyists. 4. Senators and representatives use lobbyists as a source of information. Lobbyists help them know what
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voters are interested in. They also help explain some of the many bills that legislators must read and understand.
To Serve and Protect: Basic Issues of Government
READING ASSIGNMENT
You learned earlier in this course that one of the fatal flaws of the
Articles of Confederation was that the central government couldn’t levy and collect taxes. It couldn’t perform as a true central government because it had no firm source of revenue . To support the government, citizens pay taxes. The Constitution gave the House of
Representatives the main power for levying federal taxes. State government legislatures have the main responsibility for establishing state tax laws. Localities may also impose county or city taxes.
In this instance, revenue refers to the income a government receives, for example, from taxes, for public use.
Pie chart showing the distribution of revenue received by the federal government
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The federal government receives revenue from a variety of sources. The figures shown in this pie chart represent the approximate amounts received in the year 2014. (Source:
Office of Management and
Budget)
The government receives revenue from a variety of sources. To better understand where the government gets its money, study the figure below, which shows the approximate percentages of revenue for the year 2014. Most revenues received at the federal level come from direct taxes. In fact, 80 percent of the money that goes to the federal government comes from two sources:
Personal income taxes
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Payroll taxes
If you examine your pay stub, you’ll see that a certain amount of money has been withheld. Two taxes withheld are the federal tax and
FICA. FICA stands for Federal Insurance Contributions Act. These taxes are used to fund Social Security and Medicare. Your FICA and federal income taxes together take by far the biggest bite from your paycheck. In addition, you may have deductions for state taxes, local taxes, and unemployment compensation.
The next largest source of revenue for the federal government is corporate taxes. Businesses pay taxes based on their estimated earnings. They do so by paying quarterly taxes based on that estimate. At the end of the year, they must pay more taxes if their income exceeds the estimate. Otherwise, they may get a refund.
The government also receives revenue from excise taxes on alcohol, tobacco, telephone services, and gasoline. Other taxes include fees collected for fines, custom duties, Federal Reserve profits, and penalties on late tax payments. Finally, the federal government can borrow money to close a budget deficit. The 2015 budget is projected to have a deficit —that is, the government will spend more than it takes in. The estimated deficit is $564 billion. The amount the government borrows to cover the deficit will have to be paid back by future taxpayers. The last government surplus —that is, the government took in more than it spent—was in 2001.
An excise tax is a tax imposed on the manufacture, sale, or
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consumption of a commodity or service. The government uses excise taxes to support highways, airports, and airways.
If you’ve ever had to file a federal income tax return, you probably have an idea of how complicated the tax code is. Even people with relatively simple returns often use tax services to complete their forms.
Photo of tax form and calculator
Completing a federal income tax return can be an overwhelming task. To make sure they
Income may also be taxed at the state level. Some states, however, rely more heavily on revenues from sales taxes . Sales taxes are placed on things we buy—from groceries to tire wrenches. Sales tax laws vary greatly from state to state. Some states tax almost everything; others tax only certain items. In addition, states have different amounts they charge in sales tax—say, four percent, six percent, or seven percent. Sometimes states charge excise taxes on cigarettes, liquor, and gasoline. These taxes are in addition to the federal excise taxes on the same items. Other state revenues come
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from charging for auto inspections and legal services, such as issuing marriage licenses. Some state and local income comes from the federal government. These funds may be designated for a particular project, such as highway construction and maintenance. Other federal funds go to state colleges and universities.
At the local level, the most common tax is a property tax . A county or city assessor regularly determines the value of your property. Usually that includes your home and any land you may own. Then, you’re taxed according to the assessment. In addition, state and federal funds may also be designated for local budgets. For example, public schools get some of their money from state and federal funds.
The federal government spends its money on a wide variety of programs and services. Discretionary spending is the part of the budget that goes through the appropriations process each year. The figure below combines many of the categories and illustrates total spending. The following list outlines some of the expenditures of the federal government from largest amounts to smallest amounts:
1. Entitlements such as Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid take the largest chunk of the federal budget. In the figure below, healthcare and a percentage of pension spending are used to fund these entitlement programs. (An entitlement is a federal benefits program available to individuals who meet certain requirements—for example, age or disability. The requirements of
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an entitlement program are set by law.)
2. Defense funds support the armed forces and departments that serve veterans such as Veterans Affair.
3. The Welfare section includes Temporary Assistance to Needy
Families (TANF), food stamps, and other income security programs.
4. Interest on the federal debt consumes about 10 percent of the federal budget. Over the history of the United States, the government has had to borrow money. If you own savings bonds, you’ve loaned money to the federal government. By law, you must be paid a certain rate of interest on those bonds. Money spent on the federal debt includes interest paid on bonds, plus the value of those bonds when they’re cashed in.
Pie chart showing the distribution of tax spending
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This chart shows where your tax dollars go.
During World War II, the federal debt was enormous. It was offset by drives to sell war bonds, or freedom bonds. Posters and other advertising methods encouraged people in the United States to purchase these bonds to help the cause of their country. Buying war bonds was considered a patriotic duty.
As you’ve already learned, the government is responsible for protecting and defending its citizens. The US government does this mainly through three organizations:
1. The police
2. The armed forces (military)
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3. Federal policing and intelligence agencies
Under the Constitution, the recruitment and training of civil police is under the control of the states. Because state constitutions and state laws vary, the laws police must enforce differ from state to state. State law enforcement is generally divided by jurisdiction. For example, state police cover an entire state, but local police operate within their proper jurisdictions, which are the established boundaries of their town or city.
County law enforcement is generally under a sheriff’s department. The officers in a sheriff’s department are called deputies .
The main duty of law enforcement officers is to uphold the law.
They’re trained, above all, in enforcement procedures. They must learn enough about the law to understand how it’s to be applied. For example, they must understand the laws of evidence to properly investigate and prepare a case for prosecution. They must learn to respect the right of citizens—including suspects. They must also learn a wide range of enforcement and investigative techniques. For example, law enforcement officers must be able to identify and restrict access to a crime scene. They must learn a police radio code for talking to central dispatchers. They must be well trained in the use of weapons and the conditions under which they’re to be used. They have to learn how to apprehend a suspect without the use of unnecessary force.
Photo of police officer
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aiming a gun
Police officers must learn how and when to use weapons.
All law enforcement officers must understand basic techniques for gathering evidence. However, specialists in gathering evidence are called detectives . (In sheriffs’ departments, they’re called investigators .) Detectives are trained in investigating crime scenes and interrogating suspects or witnesses. They’re crucial to gathering evidence that will lead to a prosecution.
Properly trained law enforcement officers are vital to civil order. Yet, especially in urban areas (cities), police work is stressful and difficult.
Enforcing the law often puts officers in harm’s way. Meanwhile, police are often first on the scene of an accident or domestic crisis. Often they’re called on to settle disputes, render immediate first aid, or even deliver a baby.
Photo of EMT assisting someone in need
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Police officers, firefighters, and other emergency providers must often work together.
Law enforcement services must often be coordinated with those of emergency medical teams and firefighters. The need to coordinate training and communications among emergency services has become increasingly evident. Someday, police departments, rescue squads, and firefighters may operate under a unified command structure.
The United States spends hundreds of billions of dollars each year on defense. Today, the United States is, by far, the most powerful nation on Earth. The armed services of the United States are provided for by the government. In some countries, however, the military is the government.
In some countries, a small group of military personnel may attempt to move in and take over the government. Sometimes these groups use military force. Sometimes they just infiltrate important government
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offices and oust control from those in power. Such an act is called a coup d’état (pronounced KOO day TAH). The term is a French expression that means a seizing of the state. According to Edward
Luttwak, author of Coup d’Etat: A Practical Handbook , any seizure of the government by extralegal tactics may be considered a coup.
The framers of our Constitution saw to it that the United States armed forces (military) are under civilian control. The commander in chief of the armed forces is the president of the United States, not a member of the military. The Department of Defense is a civil agency headed by a civilian secretary of defense. In other words, those in control of the armed forces aren’t part of those organizations. President Dwight D.
Eisenhower was a general in the army during World War II. However, when he became president of the United States, he no longer held that office in the military. As you remember from early in this study unit,
Eisenhower was leery of connections between the military and large corporations.
Photo of the Pentagon
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The Pentagon is like a city itself. The length of each outer wall is 921 feet. It has 19 escalators, 13 elevators,
284 restrooms, 691 drinking fountains, and
7,754 windows.
The Department of Defense has its headquarters in the Pentagon in
Arlington, Virginia. It’s one of the largest office buildings in the world.
With five stories above ground and more than 17 miles of corridors, it’s a city in itself.
Within the Pentagon are the offices of the secretary of defense and the members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, which consists of chiefs of staff for the army, navy, and air force. The marines are part of the
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navy. The general who serves as chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff reports directly to the secretary of defense. Today, the use of combined forces is basic to United States military operations. In a war, all of the branches of the military work together under a unified command.
The US military has divided the world into five military zones called commands:
Photo of soldiers, a fighter jet, and navy war ships
Each branch of the armed forces has a different set of talents it can offer to defend the country. Working together, the forces
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present an awesome front.
1. The European Command is responsible for most of Europe and parts of Asia and Africa.
2. The Central Command is responsible for the remaining portions of Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, Jordan, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan,
Pakistan, and several other countries in that area.
3. The Pacific Command encompasses the remainder of Asia and the Pacific Ocean.
4. The Southern Command looks after all of the nations south of
Mexico and also the Caribbean Basin.
5. The Northern Command is the newest command area. It covers
Canada, the United States, and Mexico. The Northern Command was created by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld in response to the war on terrorism and concerns for homeland security.
Officers for the armed forces of the United States are often graduates of military academies. The US Military Academy at West Point, New
York, trains officer-cadets for the army. The US Naval Academy at
Annapolis, Maryland, trains cadets for officers in the navy, and the
United States Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs, Colorado, prepares its cadets to be officers in the air force.
The US Coast Guard also serves military purposes. It may cut off illegal shipments of drugs and other contraband. During a war, it may
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serve as a coastal watch force. The Coast Guard is under the
Department of Transportation. Many of its duties, such as search and rescue, are nonmilitary. The Coast Guard Academy is in New London,
Connecticut.
Federal policing.
The federal government has several law enforcement agencies. Probably the most famous of these is the
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) . It was established in 1908 under the Department of Justice.
Photo of FBI agents examining a crime scene in the woods
FBI agents participate in a variety of activities. They act as the police and detectives for the federal government.
The FBI is, above all, a police agency. It does for the nation what police and detectives do for the states. However, the jurisdiction of the
FBI is defined by federal laws, not state laws. FBI agents investigate
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cases of espionage (spying), terrorism, subversive activities (attempts to overthrow the government), and sabotage (a civilian attempt to hinder a nation’s war effort)—all of which attack the United States government. The agency is also concerned with organized crime, white collar (corporate) crime, and drug law enforcement. Bank robbery and kidnapping are crimes in which federal and state jurisdictions overlap. In such cases, FBI agents work with state and local police.
State police normally handle many cases that occur within a particular state. However, when a criminal crosses a state line in an attempt to avoid prosecution, the FBI will get involved. Interstate flight to avoid prosecution is a federal offense.
Another agency of the Department of Justice is the Drug Enforcement
Agency (DEA) . The DEA chief reports to the director of the FBI. Since
1982, the FBI and the DEA have concurrent jurisdiction in pursuing the illegal narcotics trade. Finally the division of Alcohol, Tobacco, and
Firearms (ATF) pursues tax violations related to these three things.
ATF agents also search out and confiscate illegal firearms.
Two federal policing agencies that operate under the Department of
Homeland Security are the Secret Service and US Customs and
Border Protection . The Secret Service protects the president and other public officials. The Department of Homeland Security regulates and facilitates international trade, collects import duties, and enforces
U.S. regulations, including trade, customs, and immigration.
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Intelligence agencies.
Intelligence gathering is a part of all military operations. Intelligence officers and specialists are part of all combat operation units. Serving broader armed service needs are the Office of Naval Intelligence and the Army Security Agency . During World
War II, the need for a centralized intelligence organization became clear. The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was formed. After the war, this became the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) . The CIA director is appointed by the president and reports directly to the president. Technically, therefore, the CIA is an agency of the executive office of the president. Its budget and operations are secret.
Therefore, the CIA has more freedom of action than other government agencies.
The CIA has two main purposes. First, it gathers and analyzes intelligence through worldwide media tracking, such as watching international television and monitoring websites. The CIA also gathers information through covert surveillance, which may involve informants or field agents, with high-altitude spy plane photography, and with orbital satellite image gathering. Most intelligence, however, comes from such things as electronic bugging.
Covert means secret, hidden, or not openly shown.
Second, the agency carries out covert special operations. These operations are generally under the direction of the president and the members of the National Security Council. Covert operations may include military-style special operations. They may also include covert
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interventions into the affairs of foreign states. CIA field agents serve both information gathering and covert operations purposes. Some are spies and others are special operations specialists. CIA agents are present in nearly all foreign countries.
Working closely with the CIA is the National Security Agency (NSA) .
Like the CIA, the NSA was a spin-off from the original OSS. The organization specializes in cryptanalysis , the process of looking for patterns in coded or encrypted messages. Cryptanalysis depends on enormously powerful computers to perform these searches. A codebreaking operation in World War II was able to break the German
Enigma code. This allowed the allies to track the positions of German
U-boats and win the Battle of the Atlantic.
Modern media allows candidates to reach millions of people. For that reason, a very large portion of campaign spending is on media.
Television time claims the largest amount of campaign media dollars.
But large amounts are also spent on radio and print ads. Since 1960, a highlight of campaigns has been nationally televised candidate debates. A 1960 television debate between John Kennedy and
Richard Nixon turned out to be very important in turning voter opinion in Kennedy’s favor. The debate was revealing. Most people who only listened to the debate felt Nixon had won. People who actually watched the debate were sure Kennedy had won.
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From that time forward, it has been important for candidates to be what public relations people call mediagenic . A person is mediagenic if he or she comes across well in media—particularly television. Public relations techniques have become a big part of campaigns. Therefore, appearance has become terribly important in wooing voters.
Critics have their doubts about this trend. For example, Abraham
Lincoln was magnetic and persuasive as a speaker. But he wasn’t what you would call handsome. In fact, his physical appearance was the constant subject of vicious editorial cartoons from his opponents.
Yet, most feel Lincoln was among America’s greatest presidents.
Franklin Roosevelt was stricken with polio as a young man. Therefore, he did a lot of his campaigning from the back of a special railway car that helped conceal his condition. He served his four terms as president from a wheelchair. Even so, his leadership through the
Great Depression and World War II was brilliant and effective. These two examples raise an interesting question. Would either Abraham
Lincoln or Franklin Roosevelt be elected in this new age of television and mass media?
The media is a powerful institution. Millions of people get their political information from newspapers, millions more from television, and millions more from the Web. Thomas Jefferson observed that a free press is at the heart of democracy. People who are uninformed can’t participate intelligently in the democratic process.
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Through the years, people in power have used media properly and appropriately. The Federalist Papers were published in newspapers before the Constitution was accepted. Through them, many
Americans received good information on what was necessary to form a new nation. Roosevelt’s fireside chats on radio kept Americans informed during the Great Depression and World War II. Modern media permits presidential press conferences and addresses to be seen and heard by millions of people.
Sometimes politicians try to control information handled by the media.
And sometimes the media reporting is biased to reflect personal opinions or the opinions of the company they work for. Some ways in which this can be accomplished are spin, faulty rhetoric (political rhetoric) , and misinformation . When these processes are used, the democratic process suffers.
Political spin.
Political spin is putting potentially negative facts in a favorable light. It involves explaining an event or a program in such a way as to advance a particular political platform. Political spin is common in campaign ads. It’s also common in political speeches. For example, suppose a politician is proposing a tax increase. The politician explains that the increase will mean only $200 more a year for families. This figure, however, is just an average based on the total number of taxpayers. In fact, some families will pay a lot more than the $200. The politician is putting spin on the proposal to make it appear in a favorable light.
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Political rhetoric.
The word rhetoric originally referred to the art of effective oral or written argument. Today, popular use of the word has changed its meaning. The word rhetoric as it’s used today often refers to empty arguments based on emotion rather than reason. Suppose a politician makes this statement: “My plan for public education will open the future for America’s children.” This is an empty argument or proposition because it doesn’t refer to facts. Instead, it appeals to emotions. The plan in question may or may not “open the future for
America’s children.” Also, the politician presents no facts to explain what kind of future the plan will open. However, the statement may make the listeners beam with feel-good emotions. In fact, that’s often the point of both spin and political rhetoric.
Modern advertising techniques depend on putting a spin on facts and appealing to emotions. The problem is that these same techniques are applied to campaign ads and political campaign speeches. The trick is to think about what you hear. Remember that feelings aren’t facts and that facts should be judged by reason. A politician’s dramatic television ad may make you laugh a little or cry a little. Even so, you don’t have to believe everything it says.
Misinformation.
Misinformation amounts to telling lies or withholding the truth. At their worst, spin and political rhetoric are misinformation.
In the political process, misinformation is the most serious abuse of media by people in power. Political misinformation is often found in so-called attack ads. A candidate in a television ad may stare solemnly into the camera and declare, “A vote for my opponent will be
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a vote for higher taxes.” In fact, the opponent in question may be running on a platform that has nothing to do with raising taxes. This is an instance of misinformation.
Propaganda is a term often used in reference to the spreading of information by politicians. People often misuse the word propaganda to mean lies or misinformation. That may be true, but not always.
Simply put, propaganda is information (false or true) that’s published in some way for the purpose of controlling or changing the attitudes or opinions of others.
The main person to craft American foreign policy has historically been the president and occasionally a strong secretary of state. Here are some well-known examples.
Thomas Jefferson made the decision to buy the Louisiana
Purchase from Napoleon of France.
James Monroe established the Monroe Doctrine, which became a foundation for the foreign policy of the United States. Basically, the Monroe Doctrine stated that the American continents were closed to any future European colonization. Europeans weren’t to interfere with governments in America and the United States wouldn’t interfere in European affairs.
William Seward, secretary of state for both Abraham Lincoln and
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Andrew Johnson, was mainly responsible for purchasing Alaska from Russia in 1867.
After World War II, President Harry S. Truman endorsed the
Economic Recovery Act (ERA) first proposed by his secretary of state, George Catlett Marshall. The Marshall Plan poured billions of dollars into Germany and Western Europe to reestablish economic health and build democratic states. It turned out to be a good plan.
In Japan, General Douglas MacArthur took a unique role in
American foreign policy. He became the absolute governor of
Nippon (a Japanese name for Japan). Under his rule, Japan adopted a constitutional monarchy. The nation was totally disarmed. Democratic reforms gave women the right to vote and workers the right to organize. Japan was remade. MacArthur’s case is unique: truly, no American military commander ever had such power over American foreign policy—before or since.
Illustration of the state of Alaska and description of how the land was purchased
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Historically, the United States has had two opposing points of view about foreign policy.
Early leaders like George Washington warned against becoming entangled with foreign alliances. This policy is called isolationism .
There are two very large oceans on both sides of the United States.
Many Americans have felt that foreign matters were for foreigners.
What goes on in France or China is of no concern in Iowa. Americans strongly resisted getting involved in World War I. The war started in
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1914, and the United States didn’t get into the act until 1917. Another period of isolationism followed World War I. When Hitler rose to power in Europe in the 1930s, most Americans wanted no part of the matter.
It took the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, to get Americans stirred to arms.
On the opposite side of isolationism is the view that the United States must defend its foreign interests, especially in trade. America has always been a trading nation. New England clipper ships were crossing the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans as other Americans declared they wanted no part of foreign entanglements. American trading ships visited ports from the Mediterranean to the China Sea. In time, trading interests led to new American policies. The government acted to support the opening of new foreign markets for American goods.
Figure describing the Four Freedoms
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Since the other major powers were trying to support their own foreign markets, conflicts of interest began, which led to imperialism .
Imperialism is a foreign policy aimed at controlling foreign trade by holding colonies and defending them against other foreign powers.
The powerful nations struggled to gain the upper hand in the control of world trade. The leader in all this was Great Britain. The British Empire stretched across the globe. On the other hand, imperialism of the
United States was limited. Even so, after the Spanish American War
(1898), it occupied territories from Cuba, to Hawaii, to the Philippines.
Eventually, America’s Pacific territories threatened Japanese interests. This eventually led to the attack on Pearl Harbor.
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The foreign policy of the United States has mostly been shaped by world events. For example, World War II made the United States into a dominant world power. The Marshall Plan went into effect. American postwar foreign policy was aimed at creating democratic allies from former enemies. By 1947, it was clear that the Soviet Union (Union of
Soviet Socialist Republics, USSR) and the United States were the world’s two superpowers. Winston Churchill declared that an “iron curtain” had descended across Europe. He meant that the democratic states of Western Europe were cut off from Soviet puppet states in
Eastern Europe. Soviet nuclear and conventional military might threatened the free world. In response, the United States was active in forming the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) , which created a unified military force for the defense of Western Europe.
Before World War I, it was said that the sun never set on the British
Empire. In fact, that was literally true. British colonies included
Canada, New Zealand, and Australia. The British flag flew in the far
Pacific, in India, over many African states, and all around the globe.
American foreign policy during the Cold War (1947–1989) had two aims—deterrence (using the credible threat of retaliation to avoid an enemy attack) and containment (the practice of keeping something from spreading). The deterrence policy depended on mutual assured destruction (MAD) . Mutual assured destruction refers to a situation in which two opposing sides have nuclear weapons. If one side uses the weapons on the other, the second side would answer back by doing the same. Both sides would, in effect, be destroyed.
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As an example of this, consider the situation of the United States and the Soviet Union in the 1960s. Both nations possessed thermonuclear
(hydrogen) bombs. Both nations had them ready to fire at a moment’s notice. Had war started, you probably wouldn’t be reading this study unit right now. The industrialized world would have been destroyed.
In October of 1962, the world came very close to such an encounter.
American spy planes spotted Soviet missiles in Cuba—just 90 miles off American shores. Then, Cuba was under the communist dictatorship of Fidel Castro. At that time, the Soviet Premier, Nikita
Khrushchev, was pouring support and arms into Cuba. The Joint
Chiefs of Staff wanted President John Kennedy to invade Cuba. He resisted their efforts to convince him to do so. Instead, he crafted a masterful plan. He set up a naval quarantine around Cuba. He didn’t call it a blockade. Under international law, a blockade would have been an act of war. Then, behind the scenes, Kennedy negotiated with Khrushchev through the Soviet foreign minister in Washington.
Kennedy secretly agreed to remove American nuclear missiles from
Turkey—a NATO ally. In return, Khrushchev agreed to remove the missiles from Cuba. Everybody began to breathe again.
Photo of a missile and description of the Cuban Missile Crisis
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The containment part of the American foreign policy had to do with preventing Russia from expanding her territories. Containment had two components:
1. Open conflicts
2. A long war involving intelligence and covert (hidden) operations
Two major wars were fought to contain the Russians. The Korean War
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broke out in 1950 while Harry Truman was president. Troops from communist North Korea invaded South Korea. For the first time, a
United Nations war coalition was formed. It was dominated by the
United States, but troops from many nations, including Australia, New
Zealand, Great Britain, and Turkey, participated. The Korean War had no clear outcome. Late in the war, Communist Chinese troops entered the conflict on the side of North Korea. China also had support from the Soviet Union. Truman decided against letting the war spread further by using nuclear weapons. The conflict was settled with an uneasy treaty that divided the two Koreas at the 38th parallel of latitude. American armed forces remain in South Korea to this day.
The second war was an effort to keep communist North Vietnam from overrunning South Vietnam. Once again, communist China supported the North under its leader, Ho Chi Minh. The brutal Vietnam War cost more than 50,000 American lives and more than 2,000,000 lives of
Vietnamese soldiers and civilians. American forces won all the major battles, but not the war. In 1973, American troops were withdrawn from a hopeless struggle.
Containment policy also involved a long, deadly struggle between
American and Soviet covert forces. Both superpowers tried to undermine the influence of the other. Secret and not-so-secret operations were carried out in many places. The two main underground antagonists were the Soviet KGB and the CIA of the
United States. Intelligence agencies from Great Britain and Israel also played a part. There were many covert operations to sway
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governments into the American or the Soviet sphere of influence. For example, the Soviet Union supplied aid and weapons to Egypt, Libya,
Angola, and Cuba, along with many Southeast Asian states. The CIA intervened in Iran, Iraq, and in various Central American and South
American nations.
The Soviet Union began to collapse in 1989. In large measure, this collapse was due to the foreign policy of President Ronald Reagan.
He borrowed heavily to build American military power. The Soviet economy couldn’t match these expenditures. The last Soviet Premier,
Mikhail Gorbachev, initiated political reforms to lead the USSR away from being a police state. He and Reagan met four times to negotiate new relations between their countries. But Gorbachev’s new political openness opened the floodgates in his country. Oppressed people under Soviet rule rose up to claim liberty. The nations of Eastern
Europe, led by Poland, claimed independence. By 1991, a new
Russian Republic was formed. Some former Soviet republics, such as
Ukraine and Belarus, became independent. Others formed part of the new Russian Republic.
Photo of President Ronald Reagan
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Since 1991, the foreign policy of the United States has been uncertain. The United States is now the world’s only superpower. It spends more on weapons and defense than the next five major military powers combined. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, some political leaders have wanted the United States to stay out of world conflicts as much as possible. Others have wanted the United
States to shape world affairs. It was the old isolationist versus foreign interests dispute.
Then came the attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. Since that day, American foreign policy has focused on a war against international terrorism. American political leaders who want the United States to shape and control world affairs
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have gained the upper hand. Since September 11, United States forces have invaded Afghanistan. The corrupt Taliban regime was overthrown. The Taliban was in alliance with al-Qaida , a group which had been under the lead of a wealthy Saudi Arabian national, Osama bin Laden. It was al-Qaida that planned and carried out the 9-11 attacks. Osama Bin Laden was killed during a United States operation in Pakistan on May 2, 2011. The international al-Qaida network still exists and remains opposed to all Western political and economic interests. However, al-Qaida is only one of a number of terrorist groups operating across the globe. Terrorist organizations now threaten civil order in just about every nation you can mention.
As part of the war on terrorism, the United States has been involved in what’s called nation building . Some political leaders feel that nation building isn’t good foreign policy. They fear a new era of American imperialism. However, efforts were made to reshape Afghanistan and
Iraq into democratic and capitalist states. The outcome desired by the
United States for Iraq is in grave doubt as the terrorist organization
ISIS threatens stability. In Afghanistan the Taliban still carries out attacks and fights against the government, which is supported by the
United States.
Illustration of the Great Seal
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The Great Seal of the United
States was designed by
Benjamin Franklin, John
Adams, and Thomas Jefferson.
The Great Seal of the United States was designed in 1776. On the front is a bald eagle, the national bird of the United States. The bird is holding an olive branch in one claw and arrows in the other. These symbolize the power of peace (olive branch) and war (arrows). On the eagle is a shield with 13 stripes, one for each of the original colonies.
Above the bird is the inscription E Pluribus Unum , which means “out of many one.”
On the back of the Great Seal are two Latin inscriptions. One is Annuit
Coeptis , which appears directly above the eye of Providence.
According to the United States State Department, this phrase should be translated “He [God, or the eye of Providence] has favored our undertakings.” The second inscription is Novus Ordo Seclorum , which means “a new order of the ages.” The founding fathers and others at the time realized that they were trying to establish a new kind of nation. It would be like no other ever conceived.
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At the Constitutional Convention, Ben Franklin spoke to all those who were assembled. Perhaps you remember this from a previous unit. He said that there were parts of the Constitution with which he didn’t agree. He also said the Constitution would be a blessing to the people if the new government was wisely administered. But he also spoke a dark warning. This government may fail, he said. If it does, it will be because of the corruption of the people. Franklin was a very wise man. He understood that the great American experiment must contend with human nature. Ultimately, if this is to be a nation of, by, and for the people, it’s in our hands. It’s in your hands.
Key Points and Links
READING ASSIGNMENT
Most of the money that goes to the federal government comes from personal income taxes and payroll taxes.
An excise tax is a tax imposed on the manufacture, sale, or consumption of a commodity or service. The government uses excise taxes to support highways, airports, and airways.
Money received by the federal government goes to entitlement programs, defense, welfare, and interest on the federal debt.
The US government protects and defends its citizens through the police, the armed forces, and other government police and intelligence agencies.
The Department of Defense is housed in the Pentagon in
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Washington, DC.
An important policing agency of the federal government is the
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is a federal agency responsible for gathering intelligence and carrying out covert special operations.
Media reporting may reflect opinions through the use of spin, faulty rhetoric, and misinformation.
Propaganda is information (false or true) that’s published in some way for the purpose of controlling or changing the attitudes or opinions of others.
The main person to craft American foreign policy has historically been the president and occasionally a strong secretary of state.
George Washington and other early leaders wanted the United
States to avoid becoming entangled with foreign alliances, a policy known as isolationism.
Imperialism is a foreign policy aimed at controlling foreign trade by holding colonies and defending them against other foreign powers.
Since the September 11, 2001 attacks, American foreign policy has focused on a war against international terrorism.
Revenue Sources for Federal Government (www.taxpolicycenter.
org/briefing-book/background/numbers/revenue.cfm)
Real Time Information on US Debt (www.usdebtclock.org/)
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US Department of Defense (www.defense.gov/)
US State Department (www.state.gov/)
Discover More: All About the Money
Based on what you've read, answer the following questions.
1. What are excise taxes ?
2. What are the two main sources of income for the federal government?
3. How does the government spend the nondefense discretionary part of the federal budget?
4. What are entitlements ?
Discover More Answer Key:
Discover More: All About the Money
1. Excise taxes are federal or state taxes placed on commodities such as alcohol, tobacco, and gasoline. 2. The two main sources of revenue for the federal government are personal income taxes and social insurance taxes. 3. The federal government spends its money on a wide variety of programs and services. Discretionary spending is the part of the budget that goes through the appropriations process each year. 4. Government entitlements are welfare programs paid for by taxes or by government borrowing. Examples are Social Security,
Medicare, and Medicaid.
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Self-Check
1. Which one of the following is a requirement when becoming a US citizen?
a. You must have a basic knowledge of the history and government of the United States.
b. You must be under the age of 18.
c. You must live in the United States for at least one year.
d. You must be married.
2. Which one of the following is someone who authorizes another to act as agent?
a. Interest Group
b. Reference Librarian
c. Conscientious Objector
d. Constituent
3. In which one of the following states do you not have to register to vote?
a. New Hampshire
b. North Carolina
c. New Mexico
d. North Dakota
4. Who is credited with creating the mascot, or symbol, for both the
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Republican and Democratic parties?
a. Daniel Nast
b. Thomas Pane
c. James Madison
d. Thomas Nast
5. The earliest primaries are held in which two states?
a. Maine and New Hampshire
b. New Hampshire and Iowa
c. New Jersey and Iowa
d. Ohio and New Hampshire
6. Which one of the following is the largest industries today?
a. Farming
b. Media
c. The automobile industry
d. Banking and financial services
7. Which one of the following taxes goes toward 80 percent of the money given to the federal government?
a. Local Taxes
b. State Taxes
c. Property Taxes
d. Personal Income Taxes
8. The US military has divided the world into five military zones called
a. territories.
b. commands.
c. regions.
d. areas.
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9. What is it called when the media puts a potentially negative facts in a favorable light?
a. Political spin
b. Political rhetoric
c. Misinformation
d. Propaganda
10. Which one of the following is a foreign policy aimed at controlling foreign trade by holding colonies and defending them against other foreign powers?
a. Isolationism
b. Imperialism
c. Absolutism
d. Federalism
Self-Check Answer Key
1. You must have a basic knowledge of the history and government of the United States.
Explanation: To become a United States citizen you must meet certain qualifications. Here are just a few of those requirements: -
After you receive your green card, you must live in the United
States for at least five years. - You must be of good moral character. That generally means you shouldn’t have a criminal record of any kind. - You must have a basic knowledge of simple
English. - You must be at least 18 years old. - You must have a basic knowledge of the history and government of the United
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States.
Reference: Section 4.1
2. Constituent
Explanation: A constituent is someone who authorizes another to act as agent. In government, the people are the constituents of their elected officials.
Reference: Section 4.1
3. North Dakota
Explanation: You must meet four basic requirements to vote: -
You must be at least 18 years old. - You must be a citizen of the
United States. - You must have resided in a state for a certain period of time. Usually, that’s 30 days or more. - In every state except North Dakota, you must register to vote.
Reference: Section 4.1
4. Thomas Nast
Explanation: Thomas Nast, a cartoonist, is credited with creating the mascot, or symbol, for both the Republican and Democratic parties. In 1874, he depicted a Republican issue as an elephant.
At the same time, he depicted the opposition to this issue as a donkey. The symbols have stuck to this day.
Reference: Section 4.2
5. New Hampshire and Iowa
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Explanation: The earliest primaries are held in New Hampshire and Iowa, so they often get a lot of attention.
Reference: Section 4.2
6. Media
Explanation: One of the largest industries today is the media.
Media includes all the ways of storing and transferring information. Newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations, movie producers, and the Internet are media.
Reference: Section 4.2
7. Personal Income Taxes
Explanation: In fact, 80 percent of the money that goes to the federal government comes from two sources: - Personal income taxes - Payroll taxes
Reference: Section 4.3
8. commands.
Explanation: The US military has divided the world into five military zones called commands.
Reference: Section 4.3
9. Political spin
Explanation: Political spin is putting potentially negative facts in a favorable light. It involves explaining an event or a program in such a way as to advance a particular political platform. Political
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spin is common in campaign ads.
Reference: Section 4.3
10. Imperialism
Explanation: Imperialism is a foreign policy aimed at controlling foreign trade by holding colonies and defending them against other foreign powers.
Reference: Section 4.3
Flash Cards
1. Term: Due Process
Definition: Fair treatment by both the courts and the police
2. Term: Naturalization
Definition: A legal process by which a person becomes a citizen of the United States
3. Term: Duty
Definition: A moral or legal obligation
4. Term: Jury Duty
Definition: The legal obligation to serve on a jury when called to do so
5. Term: Conscientious Objector
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Definition: Someone who refuses to fight in the military based on religious or moral principles
6. Term: Interest Group
Definition: A voluntary association that seeks to publicly promote and create advantages for its cause
7. Term: Constituent
Definition: Someone who authorizes another to act as agent
8. Term: Motor-Voter Laws
Definition: Laws that allow people to register to vote when they get their driver’s licenses or have them renewed
9. Term: C-Span
Definition: A nationwide television network that broadcasts things like the Senate and House sessions
10. Term: Political Party
Definition: A group of people who have the same political views and agendas
11. Term: Candidate
Definition: A person who is seeking nomination to an office
12. Term: Monopoly
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Definition: When one company controls the entire market for a particular good or service
13. Term: Revenue
Definition: The income a government receives (such as from taxes) for public use
14. Term: Excise Tax
Definition: A tax imposed on the manufacture, sale, or consumption of a commodity or service
15. Term: Covert
Definition: Secret, hidden, or not openly shown
16. Term: Propaganda
Definition: A term often used in reference to the spreading of information by politicians
17. Term: Imperialism
Definition: A foreign policy aimed at controlling foreign trade by holding colonies and defending them against other foreign powers
18. Term: Open Primary
Definition: Election in which voters can vote for any candidate
19. Term: Party Platform
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Definition: The goals and plans of a political party
20. Term: National Labor Relations Board
Definition: Oversees labor-management disputes
21. Term: Lobbyists
Definition: Professionals hired by interest groups to help them in their causes
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