Vocabulary
Unicameral – one house – legislative branch
Bicameral – two houses – legislative branch
Segregation – separation of races. In NC, this deals mostly with
blacks and whites after the Civil War to the 1960s.
Census – official population account to show population shifts
Commute – reduce a sentence. A power of the NC governor
Ordinances – local laws
Incorporate – to receive a state charter, officially recognizing the
government of the locality.
Municipality – either a city, town, or village in NC
Charter – basic rules for a municipality
Annexation – process of bringing unincorporated land into a
municipality.
North Carolina History
“First in Freedom”
 First Provincial Congress (August 1774) – elected people to
the Continental Congress
 Mecklenburg Declaration (May 1775) – citizens of
Mecklenburg County stated that the only lawful
government was the provincial government, not the
British.
 Halifax Resolves (April 12, 1776) – NC was the first state to
call for complete independence from Britain.
 Sent 3 delegates to the 2nd Continental Congress
 Did not ratify Constitution until 1789 when Bill of Right
added
North Carolina History cont.
Three Constitutions in NC’s history
 Very small number compared to other states
1st – Constitution of 1776
 Very similar to the US Constitution
 1835 Changes
Voters now allowed to elect governor, approve or reject constitutional
amendments
 Took away rights of free men of African and Indian decent

2nd – Constitution of 1868
 All Confederate states had to create new Constitution after Civil War
 Slavery abolished, all men over 21 could vote
3rd – Constitution of 1971
 All elections free, freedom of speech, equal protection of laws
Suffrage in North Carolina
After Civil War, next 2 decades African Americans got
to vote.
 Hiram Revels – 1st African American to vote
By 1900, General Assembly set up discrimination test to
keep minorities (Blacks and Indians) from voting
Women fought for suffrage (voting) in NC, but to no
success until the 19th amendment in 1920
Voting Requirements:
 Citizen
 18 years old by the next General Election
 Lived in voting precinct for 30 days
 Not serving felony sentence
 Registered to vote
Legislative Branch
The Legislative Branch of North Carolina’s state
government is called the General Assembly
Makes two types of laws:
 Statutes – apply to everyone in the state
 Local or Specific laws – just to certain areas in the state
Major power deals with finances. How much to spend
and how much to tax?
Legislative Oversight – review of government
operations
The NC General Assembly
SENATE
HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES

50 Members

120 Members

Presiding Officer:
Lieutenant Governor

Presiding Officer:
Speaker of the House

Elected Chamber
Leader:
President Pro Tempore

Elected Chamber
Leader:
Speaker of the House
Executive Branch of North Carolina State
Government
4 year terms, 2 consecutive – can come back for
another 2 after a 4 year
Must be 30 years old, US citizen for 5 years, lived in NC
for 2 years
Lt. Governor elected also. Must meet governor
qualifications. Head of the NC Senate.
Council of the State – 8 state agencies, people elected
to these 4 year positions, unlimited
Offices of the Council -
Governor
Pat McCrory
Lieutenant
Governor
Dan Forest
Elected Officials
Comm. Of
Agriculture
State
Treasurer
Superintendent
of Public
Instruction
Secretary of
State
Attorney
General
Secretary of
Labor
Commissioner of
Insurance
State Auditor
Supreme Court
Court of
Appeals
Superior Court
District Court
Other
Court
Officials
State Government
Each state has its own constitution.
All states have three branches of government.
Voters ratify amendments in all states except for
Delaware.
All states have bicameral legislatures except for
Nebraska.
Each state must accept the validity of all other
state laws and contracts (Full faith and Credit).
Extradition: Governor orders a suspect to be
returned to the state where the crime was
committed.
Executive Branch
Led by a governor.
In most states a person must be 30 years old, US
citizen, and a resident of the state for five years.
Serve a four year term.
Recall: An election where voters can remove state
officials.
Lieutenant Governor: Takes over for the governor and
is head of the state senate.
Powers of the Governor
Chief Executive, Chief Legislator, Judicial Leader,
Commander in Chief, Party leader, Ceremonial leader.
As judicial leader a governor can:
 Commute: Reduce a sentence.
 Parole: Early release from prison.
 Can offer pardons and reprieves.
Executive Officials
Most officials are elected by voters.
There are many different departments led by a
secretary.
Legislative Branch
State is divided into districts.
Reynolds vs. Sims (1964): All election districts
must be equal in population. “Each person one
vote”.
Apportionment: Distribution of seats according to
population.
Legislators must be US citizens, live in the district,
and meet an age requirement. Fairly low pay.
Legislative process is the same as the national level.
Judicial Branch
Misdemeanors: Minor crimes handled by lower
courts.
Felonies: Serious crimes handled by higher courts.
Trial courts: Use juries. Judge decides
punishment.
Appellate courts: Panel of judges. Appellate
jurisdiction.
State Supreme Court: Highest level.
Plea Bargain: Defendant pleads guilty for a
reduced sentence.
County Government
Local governments are established by state governments.
Charter: Plan that explains the power of a local
government.
All counties provide services for their citizens.
County board has legislative powers.
Ordinance: Law passed by a county board.
Provide law enforcement, set up hospitals, improve
transportation, and set up public libraries.
Collect revenue through property tax and sales tax.
Have executive power to enforce laws (Inspectors).
County Officials
Sheriff: Law enforcement. Keeps peace and manages
the jail.
District attorney: Investigates crime and prosecutes in
court.
Coroner: Establishes the cause of death.
County clerk: Keeps official records.
Assessor: Determines the value of property for tax
purposes.
Town
Governments
Some counties are divided into towns.
In the northeast, town government is more
important than county.
Town govt. began in New England as a form of
direct democracy.
Other northern states divided into smaller units
called townships.
In the Midwest, townships were established during
expansion by Congress.
Village Government
Smallest unit of local government.
A group must get permission from the state.
Villages have a board and an executive elected by the
voters.
Special Districts
Provides a solution for a single issue or provide a
service.
An elected board runs the district.
User fees: Rates paid for services.
City Government
Must get a charter from the state government.
Home rule: Allows cities to write their own charters.
Crime, medical problems, drug abuse, and
homelessness are problems.
Ward: Voting district in a city.
Mayor-Council Government
Separate legislative (city council) and executive
(mayor) branches.
There are strong and weak mayor plans.
City Council – City Manager
Voters elect a city council.
City manager runs the city. Appointed by the city
council.
Commission Government
Began in Galveston, Texas in 1901 after a natural
disaster.
Separate departments led by a commissioner. The
commission has executive and legislative powers.
Community Problems
Public Policy: Decision that effect people. They
can come from lawmakers, citizens, interest
groups, and the media.
Must plan for the future. Involves educated
guessing.
Short term: Decisions effecting the next few years.
Long term: Decisions effecting the next fifty years.
Must have priorities and evaluate resources.
Communities develop a master plan of goals.
Zoning
A zoning board decides what land will be used for.
Different zones for residential, business, and public
land.
Provides a map for the community.
Financing
Taxes: Sales, property and income.
User fees: Fares paid for the use of services.
Bond: Borrow the money and pay it back later.
Education and Housing
Education is the most expensive service provided
by state and local governments.
Magnet school: Students focus on a particular field
of study.
Vouchers: Help parents send children to private
schools.
Urban renewal: Re-building old neighborhoods.
The government provides low income housing.
Shortages and Pollution
Many places have shortages on power and water.
Conservation: Using less of our resources.
Disposing of garbage is a problem (landfills).
Recycling: Using old materials to produce new ones.
Federalism
National government shares power with the states.
This gives Americans freedom to provide for their
own needs.
The main reason is sectional differences.
Types of Power:
 Enumerated: Powers given to the national government.
Can be expressed or implied (Elastic clause).
 Reserved: Powers given to the state governments.
 Concurrent: Powers shared between national and state.
Federal Aid to the States
Spending is roughly related to population of the state
(from census numbers)
Additional demographic questions to find out where
children are located (education), minorities (grants for
minorities), and population density (highways)
New Federalism
Recently shift of some programs/authority for decision-
making on the implementation of the programs back to
the state and local governments.
Started with President Nixon and continued with
President Reagan
Types of Aid
Categorical Grants – funds for some specific closely
defined purpose.
 Like money for school lunches
 Usually have strings attached
Block Grants – funds for much more broadly
defined purposes
 Fewer strings attached, more freedom for state/local to
decide how to spend money
Project Grants – funds for specific organizations or
governmental bodies
 For research, job training programs, etc.
Fiscal Federalism
Most interactions between national and state
government involve monetary considerations
 Fiscal Federalism
 Carrot and Stick Approach
 Unfunded Mandates
 Coercive Federalism

South Dakota v. Dole
Understanding Federalism
Advantages for Democracy Disadvantages for
Democracy
 Increases access
 States have different
to government
levels of service
 Local problems can
 Local interest can
counteract national
be solved locally
interests
 Hard for political
 Too many levels of
parties or interest groups
government and too
much money
to dominate all politics
Understanding Federalism
cont.
Federalism and the Scope of Government
What should the scope of national government be
relative to the states?
National power increased with industrialization,
expansion of individual rights, and social services
Most problems require resources afforded to the
national, not state governments
Summary of Federalism
Federalism is a governmental system in which
power is shared between central government and
the 50 state governments.
The US has moved from dual to cooperative
federalism; fiscal federalism to new federalism.
Federalism leads to both advantages and
disadvantages to democracy.
Most interactions today have a monetary
component.
There are still struggles and conflicts over power
sharing in this relationship.