1 / 42

Reviewing for Government Final: Democracy, Separation of Powers, and Interest Groups

This article reviews the fundamental principles of democracy, the concept of separation of powers, and the role of interest groups in shaping public policy. Learn about checks and balances, federalism, and the electoral college system. Understand the process of law-making and the importance of the Bill of Rights. Discover the impact of lobbying and propaganda in the political process.

kathygray
Download Presentation

Reviewing for Government Final: Democracy, Separation of Powers, and Interest Groups

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Aim: How do we review for our government final?

  2. Democracy: • Power of the government rests within the people.

  3. Popular Sovereignty: People hold the final authority or power in the government

  4. Separation of Powers: Division of the national government into three branches, each with its own powers and responsibilities

  5. Checks and Balances: Means by which each branch of the national government is able to check, or control, the power of the other two branches

  6. Third Parties • Any political party that is not one of the main two (not Democrat or Republican) • Their goal is to bring attention to their issues. • Their issues are often adopted/borrowed by the two major parties. • Examples: Green, Independent, Reform, Libertarian

  7. Political Parties • Group of people who seek to control government through winning elections and holding public office • They formed around certain political, economic and social ideas.

  8. Federalism: Division of power between the national government and the state governments

  9. Legislative Branch • Congress (Senate and House of Representatives) • Makes laws, declares war, collect taxes, coin money • Checks on Executive: override veto, impeach and remove President, Senate approves treaties and presidential appointments • Checks on Judicial: creates courts, Senate approves or rejects judges

  10. Executive Branch • President, Vice President, Cabinet • Enforces laws, makes treaties, appoints ambassadors • Checks on Legislative: veto legislation, recommend legislation • Checks on Judicial: President appoints Supreme Court justices

  11. Judicial Branch • Supreme Court (9 justices) • Interprets laws • Checks on Legislative: may declare laws unconstitutional • Checks on Executive: may declare executive actions unconstitutional

  12. Judicial Review: Power of Supreme Court to declare a law unconstitutional "Do you ever have one of those days when everything seems unconstitutional?"

  13. Interest Groups • Private organizations whose members share certain views and work to shape public policy • They are different than political parties because they don’t try to elect a candidate to office.

  14. Divided Government: When the President and Congress are different political parties “CONGRESS PROPOSES TIMELINE FOR TROOP WITHDRAWAL” “BUSH VETOES CONGRESSIONAL PROPOSAL”

  15. Electoral College • Group chosen in each state and D.C. every four years to make a formal selection of the President a. Winner take all: For each state, the candidate with the most popular votes receives all the electoral votes for the state

  16. Electoral Votes:California = 55 Texas = 34 • California - Let’s say 100,000 people voted Democrat and 75,000 voted Republican. The Democrat gets all electoral votes. • Texas - Lets say 150,000 voted Republican and 50,000 voted Democrat. The Republican gets all electoral votes. Who wins the popular vote? Who wins the electoral vote? 55 34 (225,000 to 150,000) ( to ) 55 34

  17. Alternatives: • Proportional: after popular vote in each state, candidate receives a percent of the electoral votes in accordance with the percent of the popular vote • Popular vote: Eliminate electoral college and whoever wins the popular vote wins the election

  18. Lets say a state has 50 electoral votes. If 250 people (50%) voted for the Republican Party, 200 (40%) voted for the Democratic Party and 50 (10%) voted for Green Party, how would the 50 electoral votes be distributed? 25 electoral votes would go to the Republicans 20 electoral votes would go to the Democrats 5 electoral votes would go to the Green Party

  19. Law • How a bill becomes law: 1. proposed by either House or Senate, 2. passes through both houses, 3. presented to president to be signed (can veto it) • Criminal law: crimes against public • Civil law: disputes between individuals

  20. Bill of Rights • 1st amendment: freedom of speech, religion, press, assembly, petition • 2nd amendment: right to bear arms • 3rd amendment: no quartering of soldiers • 4th amendment: privacy, protection from unreasonable search and seizure • 5th amendment: no double jeopardy, due process, cannot be a witness against yourself, government cannot take property without fair compensation

  21. Bill of Rights • 6th amendment: Right to a speedy trial, fair jury, informed of accusation, lawyer, witnesses • 7th amendment: Right to trial by jury in civil court cases • 8th amendment: No cruel and unusual punishment • 9th amendment: You have other rights that are not in the Constitution • 10th amendment: Powers not specifically given to federal government are reserved to the States (people)

  22. Lobbying • Group pressures on the political process • Contact officials with information on their cause (e-mails, letters, postcards, phone calls, etc.)

  23. Propaganda • Technique of persuasion aimed at influencing individual or group behaviors to create a certain belief • Techniques: Name calling, glittering generalities, testimonial, bandwagon, plain folks

  24. Spoiler Role • Even though 3rd parties don’t win elections, they take votes away from the two main candidates • Example: Ross Perot took votes away from Bush in 1992 and Clinton won election

  25. Ideological Parties • Based on a particular set of beliefs

  26. Single-Issue Parties • Focus on only one public-policy matter

  27. Splinter Party • Have split away from one of the two major parties • Progressive Party or “Bull Moose” (split from Rep.) • American Independent Party (split from Dem.) • Most form around strong personalities

  28. Economic Protest Parties • Rooted in periods of economic discontent -Greenback Party (1870s-1880s) – appealed to struggling farmers -Populists – public ownership of certain businesses

  29. Public Opinion • Collection of the views of many different people • Measured through polls: devices that attempt to collect information by asking questions (surveys) e.g. Gallup Poll

  30. Glittering Generalities • They mean different things to different people • They are broad and vague statements with positive connotations • “Strength”, “democracy”, “patriotism”, “freedom”, “in defense of democracy”

  31. Campaign Finance Reform • Attempt to change the involvement of money in campaigns • Increased amount of hard money from $1000 to $2000 from any individual to a candidate

  32. Voting • Very low voter turn-out • About 50% in presidential elections • Apathy, vote doesn’t count, satisfied, etc.

  33. Plain Folks • Speakers attempt to convince their audience that they and their ideas, are “of the people” • America’s recent presidents have all been millionaires, but they have gone to great lengths to present themselves as ordinary citizens

  34. Bandwagon • First used in Zachary Taylor’s campaign… “jump on the bandwagon” • The basic theme of the Bandwagon appeal is that “everyone else is doing it, and so should you” • Appeals to the desire to follow the crowd

  35. Name Calling • Links a person, or idea, to a negative symbol • Wants audience to reject the person or idea on the basis of this symbol • Examples… Commie, Fascist, Pig, Yuppie, Bum, Terrorist

  36. Testimonial • Endorsed by a celebrity

  37. Examples • Bill Clinton ate at McDonalds, went jogging, and confessed a fondness for trashy spy novels • George Bush Sr. hated broccoli and loved to fish • Ronald Reagan was often photographed chopping wood • Jimmy Carter presented himself as a humble peanut farmer from Georgia

  38. Patriot Act: law signed by Bush October 26, 2001 that limits civil liberties with the intention of protecting future terror attacks • Renewed by President Obama

  39. USA Patriot Act “Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism” Act

  40. Provision 213 – Sneak and Peak Searches • Authorizes “surreptitious search warrants and seizures upon a showing of reasonable necessity” • Owner of property does not have to be told about searches of phone records

  41. Some “other purposes” • Using act to investigate viewing of child pornography • Using act to investigate alleged potential drug traffickers • Using act to investigate alleged potential money-laundering activities

More Related