Rules without a relationship
leads to rebellion.
1.
2.
3.
4.
PLEASE FILL OUT THE
FOLLOWING
NAME
HOW DO YOU LEARN BEST?
WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS FOR
THIS CLASS?
3 INTERESTING THINGS
ABOUT YOU
Reasons People have success in my class.
 High Expectations
 Themselves and class
 Open Minded
 Live in the now with eye for future
 Talking (Participating)
 The people who talk the most, learn the most.
 Participating



Small group
Assignments
Large Group
 Positive Attitude
 Do Not Complain! Its annoying for everyone.
 If you think you can, your right. If you think you can’t you won’t.
 Responsible- Turn things in on time. Be accountable.
Government
Be able to define each
a. Government –
 The institution through which a society
makes and enforces its public policies.
b. Public policies –
 All of the many goals that a government
pursues in all of the many areas of human
affairs in which it is involved.
Chapter 1, Section 1
Civic Duty
WHAT ARE SOME
EXAMPLES OF A CITIZENS
CIVIC DUTY?
Agree or Disagree ?(Why?)
 One of the reasons people hate politics is that truth is rarely a
politician's objective. Election and power are.
Cal Thomas
 The largest party in America, by the way, is neither the Democrats nor
the Republicans. It's the party of non-voters.
Robert Reich
 In the United States, the majority undertakes to supply a multitude of
ready-made opinions for the use of individuals, who are thus relieved
from the necessity of forming opinions of their own.
Alexis de Tocqueville
 I think of a hero as someone who understands the degree of
responsibility that comes with his freedom.
Bob Dylan
 "No one is born a good citizen; no nation is born a
democracy. Rather, both are processes that continue to
evolve over a lifetime. Young people must be included
from birth. A society that cuts off from its youth severs its
lifeline."
-- Kofi Annan
 Write 1 page detailing the following


What skills are required of a good citizen?
Why does this country need great citizens?
 Format (1 page minimum)


Formal essay
Hand written
Powers of Government
 Each government has and exercises these 3
powers
 Legislative Power
 Executive Power
 Judicial Power
 What problems might a government run
into if it lacked one of these powers?
The State
 State- a body of people, living in a defined territory,
organized politically, with the power to make and
enforce laws.
 4 characteristics every state must have.
 Population
 Territory
 Sovereignty- has supreme and absolute power
within its own territory
 Government
Which are “States”? (Circle)
Population
Marshall
Schools
City of
Marshall
Minnesota
US
Territory
Sovereignty
Government
Governments can be classified by
three different standards:
(1) The geographic distribution of the governmental
power within the state(Nation).
(2) The relationship between the legislative
(lawmaking) and the executive (law-executing)
branches of the government
(3) Who can participate in the governing process. Who
has the power?
Chapter 1, Section 2
•Unitary
Unitary
Government
•Central Gov has
•all gov power
•A unitary government has
all powers held by a
single, central agency.
•Local or Regional Gov have very little power
Confederate Government
•A confederation is an alliance of independent states.
•Central Government has little power
Local or Regional Governments have most all
the power.
Federal Government
•A federal government is one
in which the powers of
government are divided
between a central
government and several
local governments.
•An authority superior to
•Central has
•some powers
both the central and local
governments makes this
division of power on a
geographic basis.
Regional/Local Governments have some powers
Chapter 1, Section 2
Who can participate in government?
 Democracy- when responsibility for the exercise of
the powers of government rests with a majority of
the people.
 Dictatorship- One person or small group of people
is responsible for exercising the powers of
government.
 Which are we?
Who Can Participate in Government?
 Democracy
1.
2.

Representative Democracy (Republican
Democracy)- a small group of persons, chosen
by the people to act as their representatives,
expresses the popular will
Direct Democracy- The will of the people is
translated into public policy directly, by the
people themselves, in mass meetings.
Which do we use most often in the United
States? Why?
Who Can Participate in Government?
 Dictatorship
Autocracy- single person holds unlimited
political power
2. Oligarchy- power to rule is held by a small self
appointed elite
1.
Forms of Government
Marshall Schools?
Chapter 1, Section 2
Vocabulary Assignment
 Definition
 Sentence
 Picture on the backside










Unitary government
Federal government
Confederate government
Parliamentary government
Presidential government
Representative Democracy
Direct democracy
Dictatorship
Autocracy
Oligarchy
What Would You Rather Have?
 "The penalty good men pay
for indifference to public affairs,
is to be ruled by evil men."
 Dictatorship or Democracy?
 Who was Plato?
Greek Philosopher- Learned under Socrates
 Plato challenged the idea that a democracy is the best form of
government. He wrote about an ideal state with an ideal form of
government. He called this imaginary place utopia.

 What is utopia?
Plato terms
 Temperance moderation of action thought or feeling
 Habitual moderation of the actions, thoughts or passions
 Restraint
 Eugenics
 A science that deals with the improvement (as by control of
human mating) of hereditary traits or qualities.
 Technocracy Management of society by technical experts
 Technocrat- technical expert put in charge of society
Plato’s Utopia
 Guardians/Philosopher Kings




Lovers of wisdom
Skilled in academic areas
Do not wish to govern
Can not seek material possessions while in office
 The Warriors



Warrior Class
Courage
Sacrifice for the state
 The Workers



Lovers of money (Yankees fans- Maxwell )
Perform trades and jobs necessary for the state
Workers would not wish to move up the ladder
Foundations of American Constitutional
Democracy
The American concept of democracy rests on these
basic notions.
1. Worth of the individual


Each individual, no matter what his or her station in life, is a
separate and distinct being.
At various times, the welfare of one or a few individuals is
subordinated to the interests of the many in a democracy.
Come up with 3 examples of this from our democracy.
Foundations of Democracy
 Equality of all Persons
 What does this mean?
1.
Equality of opportunity
2.
Equality before the law
Have we met this standard in our democracy?
Foundations of Democracy
 Majority Rule, Minority Rights
 Democracy argues that a majority of people will be right, more
often than they will be wrong, and that the majority will also be
right more often than will any one person or small group.
Do you agree with this premise?

What are the rights of the minority?
Foundations of Democracy
 Necessity of Compromise
 Why is compromise essential in a functioning, effective
democracy?
 Individual Freedom
 How much individual freedom can a democracy have(Where
should the line be drawn?
 “The right to swing my fist ends where the other man’s nose
begins” Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes
Democracy and the Free Enterprise System
 Free Enterprise System (Free Market, Capitalism)-
Goods are owned by individuals rather than
government. Prices are dictated in the market place.
 Are a democracy and a free enterprise system the
same?

Do they have to go together?
 Does America have a free market system?
Government and the Free Enterprise System
 Mixed Economy- economy in which private
enterprise exists in combination with a considerable
amount of government regulation and “promotion”.
 Journal-What are some examples of government
involvement in the economy?

Come up with 15 of them
 Government’s participation in the economy serves a
two fold purpose


Protect the public
Preserve private enterprise
How much is too much?
 What are some benefits of government intervention in our
economy?
 What are some possible dangers of government involvement
in the economy?

What can go wrong?
“The sailors throng about the captain, begging and
praying him to commit the helm to them; and if at
any time they do not prevail, but others are
preferred to them, they kill the others or throw them
overboard, and having first chained up the noble
captain’s senses with drink or some narcotic drug,
they mutiny and take possession of the ship”
Budget Deficit and National Debt
 Budget Deficit 2009- $1,420,000,000,000.00
 National Debt- $16,000,000,000,000.00 (roughly)
 What are the consequences?
 Increase in interest rates for government borrowing
 Larger portions of yearly budget going towards interest
payments
Option 2: Other Program Cuts
Yearly Budget Breakdown, Assuming No Tax Hikes
or Budget Deficits
Spending as a % of the Federal Budget
100%
90%
80%
All Other
Programs
70%
60%
Social Security,
Medicare,
Medicaid, and
Net Interest on
Pre-2006 Debt
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
2006
2011
2016
2021
2026
Fiscal Year
2031
2036
2041
CSPAN (Senate Budget Committee Hearing on
the National Debt)
 http://www.c-span.org/Events/Senate-Budget-
Cmte-Hearing-on-the-National-Debt/15914-1/
 Record the following
 Who is speaking and what are their credentials?
Member of the Senate or the House of Representatives or do they
have some other position?
 If they are a politician, are they a Republican or a Democrat?



Summarize what each speaker says.
Do you think that members of Congress have knowledge of our
long term budget problems?
Reflection Questions
 Our long term issues regarding our budget are
common knowledge among our politicians.

If members of Congress agree that something needs to be
done, why won’t they take action to solve our long term budget
problems?

In your opinion, What would need to happen for Congress to
be willing to take action on this issue?

If Plato were speaking at the hearing what might he say?
What would he suggest we do in order to come up with a solution
to our budget problems?
 What would he say about our system of govt.?


Define
 Limited government
 Representative government
 Ordered government

Describe how each of the three Landmark English
Documents may have shaped our government.
 Magna Carta
 Petition of Right
 English Bill of Rights
Describe the three types of government in the English
colonies.
 What were the common features of the first state
constitutions?

Ordered Government- They created local
governments, based on those they had known in
England
 Limited Government- Colonists brought with them
the idea that government is not all powerful.

 Government is restricted in what it may do, and each
individual has certain rights that government cannot take
away.


Representative Government- Idea that government
should serve the will of the people.
These three ideas can be traced back to the following
landmark documents in English history.



The Magna Carta- Signed by King John in
1215
Included fundamental rights such as trial by
jury and due process of law, and protection
against the arbitrary taking of life, liberty and
property.
The Magna Carta established the principle
that the power of the monarchy was not
absolute.

The Magna Carta was respected by some
monarchs and ignored by others for 400 years.

Petition of Right-



(1628)signed by King Charles I,
the petition of right limited the Kings power in several
ways.
Document demanded that the king no longer imprison
or otherwise punish any person except by the lawful
judgment of their peers, or by the law of the land.
No martial law (rule by military) in time of peace.
Homeowners no longer required to shelter king’s troops
without their consent.




English Bill of Rights- 1688
Stated that King and Queen could not
suspend law or execute law without
consenting parliament.
Could not spend money for use of the crown
without the consent of parliament.
It also states such rights as right to a fair trial,
freedom from excessive bail and from cruel
and unusual punishment.

Under direct control of the crown
 New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New York, New
Jersey, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina,
Georgia (8 total)
 Executive and legislature named by King

Land could be settled and governed as the
proprietor (owner chose).
 Government much like royal colonies except
under proprietor’s control rather than the king.
 Maryland Pennsylvania Deleware



Large degree of freedom from the king
Power held by white male property owners
Connecticut, Rhode Island

Colonists enjoyed a great degree of
independence pre 1760’

This begins to change
 Stamp act of 1765
 Many hated policies dealing with taxes and trade
regulation


First Continental Congress 1774
Second Continental Congress 1775











Constitution
Articles of Confederation
Limited Government
Representative Government
Unicameral
Bicameral
Popular Sovereignty
House of Representatives
Senate
Federalists
Anti-Federalists


Articles of Confederation was the first
attempt to establish a lasting government for
the new nation
Which do you think had more power under
the Articles of Confederation?
◦ The regional colonial governments
◦ The central government

Why?




Congress was the sole body created.
◦ Unicameral (1 house)- made up of delegates
chosen yearly by the states in whatever way their
legislatures might direct.
Each state had one vote in congress no
matter its population or wealth.
No executive or judicial branch
Congress could make war and peace, send
and receive ambassadors, make treaties,
borrow money, set up a money system,
establish military, settle disputes among the
states.

Article of Confederation had critical
weaknesses
◦ Congress did not have the power to tax
 Why is this a problem?
◦ Congress did not have the power to regulate
trade between the states.
 Trade wars between states (Why is this a problem?)
◦ Congress lacked power to make states obey the
Articles of Confederation or the laws it made.
 Congress needed consent of 9 of the 13 states to
exercise powers.
◦ Articles could be amended only with the approval
of all 13 state legislatures.



55 delegates met from all the states but
Rhode Island.
Convention was originally to revise the
articles of confederation.
Later the purpose of the Philadelphia
Convention shifted to drafting a new
constitution.

Political Cartoons-
◦ Need to be persuasive
 Can outline positive aspects of your chosen plan and/or negative
aspects of the opposing plan.
◦ Pictures need to be creative, colorful and need to take up the
entire page!
◦ You need to explain how your arguments are made through the
symbolism in your cartoon (On the back side).

Speeches
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦

4 paragraphs in length
Highlights positive aspects of your plan
Highlights negative characteristics of opposing plan
Should be persuasive
Speech should be delivered in a serious manner
You need to make sure to highlight issues that were of
primary concern during this debate!


Why were the colonies unable to agree on
either the Virginia Plan or New Jersey Plan?
Can you think of any compromises that could
be made, in order to make a plan that could
satisfy the different colonies?


1 house or 2 houses in the legislature
(congress)
Should representation be based on
population or financial contributions like in
the Virginia plan, or should representation be
equal among the states like in the New Jersey
Plan?






Huge conflict over representation
Conflict settled by creating two houses
One house with representation equal in each
state (senate)
Second house with representation determined
by population (house of representatives)
This settled the conventions most serious
dispute, and was pivotal to the writing of the
Constitution.
Often referred to as “Great Compromise”

Delegates came from 12 different states with
varying geographic and economic terms.
◦ Delegates often reflected the interests of their states.

Compromises were needed in making many
decisions regarding the details within the
constitution.
◦
◦
◦
◦

How will the president be selected?
How will treaties be made?
How will our national courts be structured?
Slavery (Representation?)
However, they agreed on the overriding
principles of the constitution.

Federalists- support ratification of the
constitution.
◦ James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, John
Adams

Anti-Federalists- opposition to ratification
◦ Sam Adams, Patrick Henry, John Hancock
 “I look upon that paper as the most fatal plan that
could possibly be conceived to enslave a free people”
Patrick Henry

Federalists
◦ Stressed weaknesses of Articles.
◦ Difficulties could only be overcome by a stronger
central govt. (constitution)

Anti-federalists
◦ 2 biggest complaints
 Loss of state sovereignty
 Lack of a bill of rights
 No basic guarantee of basic rights and liberties.
Constitutions should consist only of general provisions;
the reason is that they must necessarily be permanent,
and that they cannot calculate for the possible change of
things.
Alexander Hamilton

In groups of 4,
◦ Look over the constitution (Pg. 760)
◦ List what you believe to be the basic principles of
the constitution.
 What is the governments purpose?
 What type of government does it establish?
 How is power divided?
 Who has power?
 What types of government values/principles are
instilled in the new system?
1.
Give examples of how each likely
impacted/influenced our system of government.
A. Landmark English Documents
A. Magna Carta
B. Petition of Right
C. English Bill of Rights
2.
Under the Articles of Confederation, which had
more power
A. Central or Local Govt.?
3.
4.
5.
What were the major problems the colonies had
under the Articles of Confederation?
What were the primary conflicts between the
Virginia Plan and New Jersey Plan proposals for a
new system of Govt.?
Explain how the two sides compromised in order
to come up with an agreed upon plan.


Popular Sovereignty- In the US, all political
power resides in the people. The people are
sovereign. Government can govern only with
the consent of the governed.
Limited Government◦ “A democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where
fifty-one percent of the people may take away the
rights of the other forty-nine.” Thomas Jefferson
◦ Government must act in a “constitutional way”.
Government must obey the Rule of Law.

Separation of Powers- The Constitution of the United
States distributes power among Congress (Legislative
Branch), The President (Executive Branch), and the courts
(Judicial Branch).
◦ Go through the constitution and search for the powers possessed
by each branch of Govt.

Checks and Balances- Three branches are not completely
independent of one another. Each branches power is
constrained by constitutional checks by the other
branches.
◦ http://www.cyberlearningworld.com/lessons/civics/checksandbalances/interactive_checks_
and_balances_flow_chart.htm

Judicial Review- essential part of checks and balances.
Power of courts to determine whether what the
government does is constitutional.

Federalism- The division of power amongst the
central government and several local
governments.
◦ Central Government/Federal Government (Washington
DC)
◦ Local Governments/State Governments
◦ The constitution divides the powers among the two.
 Look at the constitution and tell me which powers are given
to the state and which are given to the federal (central)
government.

Colonists fight to gain freedom from a strong
central government
 Articles of Confederation featured a weak central
government.
 The Constitution was a compromise.










Rule of law
veto
Ratify
Partisan
bipartisan
Checks and Balances
Judicial Review
Separation of Powers
Constitutionalism
Popular Sovereignty


Federalism- a system of government in which
a written constitution divides the powers of
government on a territorial basis between the
central and regional governments.
In our system of government, the constitution
grants certain powers of government to the
states and certain powers to the federal
(central) government.



Exclusive powers- powers granted to the
federal government by the constitution.
These powers can be exercised by the
national government alone.
Concurrent powers- powers exercised by the
state and national government.
Reserved powers- powers not granted to the
national government but not denied to the
states.

United States Constitution
◦ Acts of Congress and Treaties
 State Constitutions
 State statutes
 City and County Charters and Ordinances

Supreme Court is umpire of federal system
◦ One of its chief duties is to apply the Supremacy
Clause to the conflicts that the dual system of
government produces.
◦ Explain why we are a federal
government.
◦ Define
 Concurrent powers
 Exclusive powers
 Reserved powers
 Give me an example of each
◦ What is the Supremacy Clause?
 Why is it an essential part of our
government system?

You will be split into one of the three
branches
Each branch will have a role in the simulation

Problem

◦ The American people have spoken. 80 percent of
Americans polled, state that they believe that
internet content needs to be censored, and that
govt. needs to take action.
◦ Each branch will have a role in creating a govt.
censoring system (for the internet).

Each pair of representatives must write a bill proposal.

The final bill must include:
◦ Get your ideas for what should be censored and how it could be
done on paper!
◦ Once all members have done this you will meet as a group and
discuss ideas for the final bill
◦ Opening paragraph establishing the purpose of the bill
◦ Bullet points laying out what will be censored
 Language?
 Content?
◦ A paragraph explaining how it should be censored (made illegal,
censoring agency etc……?)
◦ Final Paragraph summarizing why this bill is good for the
American People.
◦ Once the bill is finalized Congress will vote on it.


You made a campaign promise that you
would clean up the content on the internet in
order to provide a safe internet for everyone!
Must provide suggestions regarding
◦ What should be censored
◦ How it should be censored
◦ Need to call meeting with members of congress in
order to layout your suggestions in detail.


Must be ready to veto the bill or pass it.
Must prepare a press release on decision and
read it in class.



Must research the constitution and its
amendments in order to determine if the
internet censorship bill could possibly be
unconstitutional.
Must be ready to ask congress questions
regarding the constitutionality of the bill.
10 questions that might help determine the
constitutionality of the bill




List powers exercised by each branch of Govt.
during this simulation.
Give examples of how each branch could have
checked the other branches power in this
simulation.
Explain the influence that checks and balances
had on each branch of Govt.
Do you think that one branch of Govt. has more
power than the others, or do you think that
power is divided equally among the three
branches?
◦ Give an explanation for your answer!

Methods for proposal
◦ Proposed by Congress by a 2/3 majority vote in
both houses
◦ Proposed at a national convention called by
Congress when requested by 2/3 (34) of state
legislatures (has never happened)

Methods for ratification
◦ Ratified by state legislatures in ¾ of the states (38)
◦ Ratified by conventions held in ¾ of the states (38)
 21st amendment only one



“A democracy is nothing more than mob rule,
where fifty-one percent of the people may take
away the rights of the other forty-nine.” Thomas
Jefferson
How does our process of amending the
constitution lend itself to the ideas of democracy
and popular sovereignty?
Our process of amending is more difficult than
making a national law, which requires only a
simple majority.
◦ Why make the amending process so much more difficult?
The Political Spectrum
Where do you stand?
What is a Continuum?
• A person’s views on the issues help
determine where they fall on the political
spectrum.
• The labels used on the spectrum are not
pure categories, but they make up a
continuum, or value line, and citizens and
politicians fall somewhere on that line
depending on what they believe.
Factors That Determine
Placement
• Two major factors shape political views.
• The first is how much change a person is willing
to have within their society and government.
• The second deals with how much government
involvement in the economy a person calls for.
Political Labels
• To see where you stand, you would have to figure
out where you stand on a number of social
(people-related), economic (money-related), and
political (governmental) issues.
• First you need definitions of the terms radical,
liberal, conservative, and reactionary.
What is a Radical?
•
•
Seen as being on the far left
of the political spectrum,
radicals call for widesweeping rapid change in the
basic structure of the
political, social, or economic
system.
They may be willing to resort
to extreme methods to bring
about change, including the
use of violence and
revolution.
V.I. Lenin: Mastermind
of the Russian
Revolution and Father
of the Soviet Union
What is a Liberal?
• Economic Liberal
– Those who believe
government should do more
to assist people who have
difficulty meeting their
economic needs on their
own.
• Social (cultural) Liberal
– Those who believe it is not
government’s role to protect
traditional values at the
expense of unconventional
or new values
•
Former Speaker of the House
Nancy Pelosi (D-California)
Liberals reject violent Revolution as
a way of achieving change.
What is a Moderate?
• Moderates may share
viewpoints with both liberals
and conservatives.
• They are seen as tolerant of
other people’s views, and
they do not hold extreme
views of their own.
• They advocate a “go-slow”
or “wait-and-see” approach
to social or political change.
Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-CT) is
generally seen as a moderate.
What is a Conservative?
• People who hold conservative
ideals favor keeping things the
way they are or maintaining the
status quo.
• Social conservative• Economic conservative
– Govt. should have less involvement
in the economy
• They feel that Govt. should promote
social values
John Boehner (R-Ohio) New Speaker of
the House (House majority leader)
• the less government there is, the
better.
• They agree with Jefferson’s view
that “the best government
governs least.”
What is a Reactionary?
Hitler’s Mein Kampf is a typical
reactionary manifesto
• Sitting on the far right of the
ideological spectrum,
reactionaries want to go back
to the way things were—the
“good ol’ days.”
Often reactionaries are willing
to use extreme methods, such
as repressive use of
government power, to achieve
their goals.
• The term “reactionary is
generally negative. A positive
way to say the same thing is
“arch-conservative.”
Factors that influence public
opinion
• Family
– Lays the foundations
• The school
– How does a school impact people?
• Mass Media
– Which type of media do you choose to get information
from?
• Peer Groups
• Opinion Leaders
– Examples?
• Historic Events
– How can historic events change public opinion?
Section 3 Chapter 8
The Mass Media
• What is the role of mass media in our society?
• Are all media sources created equal?
– Explain
• What makes a source of media more credible than
others?
– List all types of media you can think of
• Which sources of media are the best? Explain
• Do you believe that mass media has a major
influence on peoples opinions today?
Media Bias
• What is media bias?
• to cause partiality or favoritism in;
influence unfairly
– a particular tendency or inclination, esp. one
that prevents unprejudiced consideration of a
question; prejudice.
• Do we have bias in our political media?
– Examples?
Clips
• Record where each source of media would
fall on the spectrum. Explain why you put
them where you did.
• What is the impact of media bias on our
society?
• Who is to blame for media bias?
• Reflect on your original answer’
– Do you believe the media has a great impact on
public opinion?
Read Chapter 8 Section 1 and
Section 3
• Section 1 Assessment- Questions 1-6 (6pts)
• Section 3 Assessment- Questions 1-6 (6pts)
– Don’t forget, Vocabulary Assignment due on
Tuesday (10 points)
Vocabulary Assignment
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Liberal
Conservative
Moderate
Reactionary
Radical
Libertarian
populist
• Federalism
• Republic (Republican
Government)