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EQ: What is Civics?. Study of citizenship & govt. EQ: What are the functions of govts?. Keep order – laws, courts Provide security – police, military Provide services – libraries, schools, etc. Guide the community – manage economy, foreign relations, etc.
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EQ: What is Civics? • Study of citizenship & govt.
EQ: What are the functions of govts? • Keep order – laws, courts • Provide security – police, military • Provide services – libraries, schools, etc. • Guide the community – manage economy, foreign relations, etc.
EQ: What are the 3 Levels of Govt? • National Govt. - (a.k.a. Federal) • State Govt.- (like N.C.) • Local Govt. – county, city, town, etc.
EQ: What are the 3 Branches of Govt.? • Judicial Branch: Interprets & applies laws • Fed. Courts • State Courts • Legislative Branch: Writes laws • Fed.: Congress (Senate and House of Reps ) • State: General Assembly (Senate and House of Reps) • Local: City Council • Executive Branch: Enforces laws • Fed: president • State: governor • Local: mayor
Aliens (Immigrants) in the U.S. • All of today’s more than 310 million Americans are descended from immigrants. • On the back of every American coin, you’ll find the Latin words: • E pluribus unum: “Out of many, one.” "Oh God, I was sick. Everybody was sick. I don't even want to remember anything about that old boat. One night I prayed to God that it would go down because the waves were washing over it. I was that sick, I didn't care if it went down or not. And everybody else was the same way." -Bertha Devlin, an Irish immigrant in 1923
14th Amdt: defines a U.S. citizen as anyone “born or naturalized in the United States.” • Naturalization = legal process to become citizen
EQ: Who are Americans? • Born in the U.S. • Even if your parents are not citizens • Born outside U.S. & both parents are U.S. citizens • Born outside U.S., but 1 parent is U.S. citizen who has lived in the U.S. • Naturalized immigrants
Naturalization Process • 1. Sign declaration of intention with INS (Immigration and Naturalization Service) • 2. Live in U.S. at least 7 years – continuously • 3. File for naturalization • 4. Interview with INS • 5. Pass citizenship exam • 6. Take oath of allegiance • 7. Be 18 years old
Naturalization Cont’d. • If a naturalized person has children under the age of 18, they automatically become citizens too.
White settlers felt that Chinese immigrants took jobs away from white men. In truth, the Chinese filled economic niches no white man wanted in manufacturing, farm labor, and laundry. Nonetheless, Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act on May 6, 1882. "An Act to prohibit the coming of Chinese laborers into the United States" for 10 years, and the first major restriction on immigration to the United States. In 1904, Congress indefinitely extended these provisions with the Chinese Exclusion Extension Act.
Aliens in the U.S. cont’d. • The United States today restricts the number of immigrants who can enter the country. • Highest priority goes to relatives of U.S. citizens and people with needed skills. • The Immigration Act of 1990 emphasis has shifted towards ”those who want to work and produce and contribute”.
Illegal Immigrants • 11 million illegal immigrants live in U.S. today • Most come for work or to escape bad conditions in their home country • Illegal to hire them in U.S. • If caught, they are deported to home country
Legal Immigrants • May have jobs, own property, attend public schools, pay taxes, etc. • Cannot vote, hold office, serve on juries, or hold govt. jobs • Must carry I.D. cards at all times
Diversity in America • All Americans are immigrants or descendants of immigrants • Tolerance of diversity is a civic responsibility (something you should do)
1st European Settlers • Spanish settlers (1500s) • Florida, California, the Southwest • British (1600s) • East Coast • Created the 13 colonies that became the U.S. • French (1600s) • Canada • Along the Mississippi River (New Orleans, etc.) • Other Europeans from the Netherlands, Sweden, Ireland, Scotland, & Germany joined English colonists in late 1600s and 1700s
A flood of immigrants arrived between 1860 and 1890, many from Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. • Another flood arrived between 1890 and 1924, mostly from central and eastern Europe.
African Immigrants • Were among the earliest immigrants to North America, but did not come willingly • Slave trade brought them as workers to east coast of North America and Caribbean islands • 600,000 Africans came to North America as slaves between 1619 and 1808
Population Growth in U.S. • #1 reason: immigration • #2: Childbirth rate (before industrialization) • Today, Latin America accounts for the largest share of newcomers, followed by Asia.
First big pop. Shift (1800s) • People moved from farms to cities • New factories needed workers
EQ: What are the Different Types of Govt.? • No two governments are alike. • They are shaped by their country’s unique history, culture, politics, and economy. • 2 Broad Categories of Govt’s: • Authoritarian • Democratic
Anarchy • No govt. • No laws
Types of Authoritarian Govts. All have: • One person or small group run govt. • Leader(s) not accountable to the people
Monarchy • Govt. ruled by king or queen King Louis the 14th of England
Absolute Monarch • Ruler inherits power through family & has unlimited authority • Failure to investigate and prosecute those responsible for torture and deaths in custody and abusive policing involving the use of excessive force • Denial of the rights of freedom of association and peaceful assembly to those perceived as government critics • Undermining of the role of courts in protecting the rights of women and girls against forced marriages, including by members of the Royal Family • Failure to protect women and girls against rape and other forms of sexual violence which has contributed to Swaziland having the highest HIV prevalence in the world • Politically-motivated forced evictions without the right to effective legal redress, resulting in violation of the victims' rights to livelihood, shelter, education and health. King Mswati of Swaziland is an absolute monarch
Saudi Arabia’s Absolute Monarch Crown Prince Abdullah • Bending under strong international pressure, Crown Prince Abdullah and his family, who have absolute power, are holding municipal elections – the people living in cities and towns get to elect city leaders • Women may not vote or run for office, owing to “technical difficulties”: Most Saudi women don’t have the photo IDs needed to register; there aren’t enough female officials to register those who do; and men may not register women, because the sexes are forbidden to mingle in public. • Worldwide, the royal family promotes an extreme form of Islam called Wahhabism, which considers all followers of other religions—even other Muslims—“infidels.” • In 2004, the U.S. State Department added Saudi Arabia to its list of nations in which religious liberty is severely violated.
Types of Auth. Govts., Cont’d. • Dictatorship – Rule by one person (or small group of people) who have complete control over the nation and its people Augusto Pinochet, former dictator of Chile
Totalitarian Govt.’s • Govt. regulates nearly every aspect of public and private life of citizens Under Stalin’s rule – 60 million “dissidents” sent to their deaths Hitler – 6 million Jews – many millions more dead in combat Mussolini, fascist dictator of Italy during WWII
Totalitarian Govts. Cont’d. • North Korea: Present-day totalitarian regime
Kim Jung-Il (North Korea) • The Ministry of People’s Security places spies in workplaces and neighborhoods to inform on anyone who criticizes the regime, even at home. • All radios and TV sets are fixed to receive only government stations. • Disloyalty to Kim Jong Il and his late father, Kim Il Sung, is a punishable crime: Offenses include allowing pictures of either leader to gather dust or be torn or folded. • The population is divided into “loyalty groups.” One-third belong to the “hostile class.” These people receive the worst jobs and housing and may not live in the capital, Pyongyang. • Below the hostiles are the estimated 250,000 held in prison camps, some for crimes allegedly committed by relatives. Executions often are performed in public.
Dictatorship • Govt. controlled by one person or small group of people
Fidel Castro of Cuba • Modern-day dictator Fidel Castro, dictator of Cuba Raul Castro, Fidel’s brother
Communist Govt.’s • China, Cuba • Central govt. makes all economic decisions. • People do not decide who will govern them.
Some 250,000 Chinese are serving sentences in “re-education and labor camps.” • China executes more people than all other nations combined, often for nonviolent crimes. • The death penalty can be given for burglary, embezzlement, counterfeiting, bribery or killing a panda. • Hu’s government controls all media and Internet use. Defense lawyers who argue too vigorously for clients’ rights may be disbarred or imprisoned. • If minorities (such as Tibetans) speak out for autonomy, they’re labeled “terrorists,” imprisoned and tortured. China • CPC Chairman Hu Jintao
Constitutional Monarchy • A.K.A. Limited Monarchy • Power of the monarch is limited by a constitution and laws. Luxembourg, a Constitutional Monarchy under a system of Parliamentary Democracy
Autocracy • One person holds unlimited power in the govt. Alexander III , Russian Tzar 1881 to 1894 • 2 Types: • Monarchical autocracy • Traditional absolute monarchies with a hereditary crown. • Republican autocracy • Single absolute leader who is not a monarch and does not belong to a hereditary dynasty • Usually military dictatorships or one-party states (but not all military dictatorships and one-party states are autocratic; some are oligarchies).
Theocracy Govt. where religion or faith plays a dominant role in govt. Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Iranian Religious Laws
Oligarchy • Most political power rests with a small segment of society • Usually those w/ most wealth, military strength, political influence, a certain race, etc. Until the end of apartheid, South Africa was an oligarchy – the white Afrikaners (20% of the population) were the only citizens who could vote. In effect, they controlled the other 80% of (non-white) South Africans
Democratic Govt.’s • Ruled by the people, not a single leader
About 2/3 of all countries in the world have democratic govt.’s
Parliamentary Democracy • People elect the reps in Parliament • Members of Parliament elect the Prime Minister • Prime Minister is kind of like the president of U.S., but he’s a member of the Parliament Former Brit P.M. Tony Blair Current Brit P.M. Gordon Brown - head of govt. Queen of Engl. = NOT head of govt.