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American Government

American Government. Chapter Two The Constitution. Early Compacts of Government. The Mayflower Compact- adult males onboard the Mayflower declared themselves to be “a civil body politick” Individual colonies made their own charters

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American Government

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  1. American Government Chapter Two The Constitution

  2. Early Compacts of Government • The Mayflower Compact- adult males onboard the Mayflower declared themselves to be “a civil body politick” • Individual colonies made their own charters • Once war with Britain became inevitable, the colonies formed a Continental Congress • Declaration of Independence- asserted the right of the colonists to form a new government

  3. Declaration is so important because: • It established that all people have natural rights • Government became an institution established by the people through a social contract • For the first time, a new government was made legitimate in the eyes of the people it governed as well as being recognized by other nations

  4. The Articles of Confederation • Ratified in 1781 • Established a central governing body, the Congress of the Confederation • Congress was a unicameral legislature • The Congress would have a president, but there would be no official president of the nation • Had the power to regulate foreign affairs, establish currency (See Table 2-1 on page 38) • But this government was weak: it lacked money and adequate bureaucracy to enforce its decisions

  5. The Constitution • Constitutional Convention met in 1787 • Delegates were learned white males with property • Lots of debate from the beginning • Bicameral (Virginia Plan- the bigger the population, the more representatives) or unicameral (New Jersey Plan- every state had equal representation)?

  6. The Great Compromise • There would be: • A bicameral legislature in which the lower body (House of Representatives) would be given representatives based on population (3/5 compromise) • And the upper body (Senate) would have two elected members from each state

  7. Separation of Powers • 3 branches of government are outlined in the Constitution • Legislative: House of Representatives and Senate who makes the laws • Executive: President and Cabinet who enforce the laws • Judicial: Supreme Court who interprets the laws

  8. Checks and Balances • Each branch of the government can check the actions of the others • No one branch should become too powerful (in theory) • What are some examples of checks and balances? • Veto power, declarations of unconstitutionality, Congressional oversight of appointments are a few examples • See Figure 2-2 on page 44

  9. Federal System • A system of government in which power is divided between a central government and regional governments • The states have their own powers and the federal government has its own powers • The federal government is supreme over states, but states still have rights (which lead in part to the American Civil War) • The American government was the world’s first federal system • Not without controversy: Federalists v. Anti-Federalists (how much power should the central government be given?) This is STILL a major issue in American politics!

  10. The Bill of Rights • The first ten amendments to the Constitution • The Constitution had already outlined the government, now it needed to protect the fundamental rights of the individuals it governed • What are these rights?

  11. New Amendments • More than 11,000 amendments have been proposed but only 27 have been ratified • How do amendments become ratified? They must pass both houses of Congress with a 2/3 vote and then be approved by 3/4 of the states (this is the usual method, but Figure 2-3 on page 52 shows all the methods)

  12. Other terms to know • Executive Agreement- an international agreement between heads of state that does not require legislative approval • Judicial Review- the power of the Supreme Court to declare laws unconstitutional • Executive Order- a rule issued by the president that has the effect of law

  13. What issues today are constitutional issues? • Anything that explicitly calls into question the Bill of Rights (i.e. mandated prayer or the teaching of evolution in public schools) • Ability of any one branch of power to claim more power (i.e. the Patriot Act as a significant expansion of executive powers) • These issues tend to be the most hotly debated and personal topics in American politics (i.e. abortion, immigration, women’s, minority, and disabled rights, etc.)

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