UNIT 1:FOUNDATIONS OF AMERICAN

GOVERNMENT

Coach East’s Civics & Economics4th block

Jamie Libow

Jenna McMains

Amy Steigerwalt

THE PURPOSE OF GOVERNMENT

Section I

PURPOSE OF GOVERNMENT

A. Government-the ruling authority for a community/society that has the power to make/enforce laws

B. Functions:1. keep order2. provide security3. provide public services

C. Levels1. Federal/National2. State3. Local

D. Branches1. legislative-makes laws2. executive-enforces laws3. judicial-interprets laws

PURPOSE OF GOVERNMENT, CTD.

E. Types of Democracy (government by the citizens/people)1. Direct-all citizens have a chance

to vote on every law/action2. Representative (Republic)-

citizens elect officials to make decisions on their behalf

F. Other Types of Governments

1. Monarchy-ruled by a king or queen, usually inherited power

2. Dictatorship/Autocracy/Totalitarian-ruled by one with the force of the military

3. Theocracy-ruled by religious leaders

4. Oligarchy-ruled a few

USA

ENGLISH POLITICAL

TRADITIONS

Section II

British Coat of Arms (current)

ENGLISH POLITICAL TRADITIONS

A. England’s government has historically been a monarchy (rule by king or queen)

B. King John I was forced to sign the Magna Carta “Great Charter” that established important rights that we still have today:

1. accused are guaranteed a trial by jury

2. accused are presumed innocent until proven guilty

3. all citizens are guaranteed justice

4. regardless of class status, all citizens had to follow the same laws and will be punished the same for breaking those laws

Magna Cartacreated: 1215

ENGLISH POLITICAL TRADITIONS, CTD.

C. Parliament:

1. originally they were the king’s advisors

2. during the Glorious Revolution, Parliament force the king out of power and named William & Mary as rulers (first time Parliament had more power than the king)

3. Parliament passed the English Bill of Rights which required Parliament officials to be elected and that no citizen would be subjected to cruel & unusual punishment

4. Parliament used the system of common laws (based on customs and precedents) to make decisions

British Coat of Arms1215 -1707

THE ENLIGHTENMENT

PERIOD

Section III

ENLIGHTENMENT PERIOD

A. This was the time that Europeans began to question traditional ideas about many areas, especially government and how it should be run

B. Philosopher John Locke helped pave the way for the American Revolution:

1. purpose of the government was to protect the natural rights (life, liberty, and property) of the citizens

2. believed in a social contract where citizens have to agree to give up some of their freedoms in exchange for the protection of their rights by the government

ENLIGHTENMENT PERIOD, CTD.

C. Other Important Philosophers:

1. Baron de Montesquieu-power of government should be divided into 3 branches

2. Jean-Jacques Rousseau-believed “all men are created equal”

3.Voltaire-believed government should not control religion and there should be a “separation of church & state”

THE ROAD TO AMERICAN

INDEPENDENCESection IV

ROAD TO AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE

A. Early Forms of Government in the Colonies

1. Mayflower Compact: established self government by written law in Plymouth Colony

2. House of Burgesses: first form of representative democracy set up in VA colony

B. the king forced the colonies to trade only with England, allowing England to become richer and more powerful (this was called mercantilism); eventually colonies started to trade with other countries and weren’t punished by the crown

ROAD TO AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE, CTD.C. The French & Indian War

1. late 1750s to early 1760s

2. Colonists & England fought France for ownership of land in America

3. Proclamation of 1763 said colonists could not settle land west of the Appalachian Mountains to avoid conflict with the Native Americans (colonists did not like this law)

D. The Stamp Act

1. all printed documents had to have a stamp (this was free before Stamp Act)

2. colonists responded by boycotting British goods and eventually it was repealed

3. Boston Massacre resulted as tension grew between the colonies & the crown; 5 colonists killed.

ROAD TO AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE, CTD.E. Boston Tea Party (1773)

1. Britain passed the Tea Act, placing tax on British tea

2. Sons of Liberty led revolt, dressing up as Mohawk Indians, boarding the British tea ships and dumping the tea into Boston Harbor

F. English Response to Tea Party: Intolerable Acts (1774)

1. said there would no trial by jury in the colonies

2. passed the Quartering Act which forced the colonists to feed & house British troops

3. blockaded Boston Harbor, resulting in hardships for Boston residents

ROAD TO AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE, CTD.

G. 1st Continental Congress (1774) in Philadelphia:

1. all colonies but GA represented

2. colonists met to address Intolerable Acts

3. sent King George III the Declaration of Rights & Grievances asking him to repeal acts, marking the first time colonists acted against the crown

4. King George responded with more violence at the Battles of Lexington & Concord, defeating the colonials at both places

H. 2nd Continental Congress (1776) in Massachusetts:

1. all colonies sent representatives

2. colonists were split 50-50 on the issue of independence

3. Thomas Paine wrote Common Sense, calling for independence from England

4. after much debate, delegates decided to send a declaration for King George & England

ROAD TO AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE, CTD.I. Declaration of

Independence (1776)1. Thomas Jefferson was the main writer, basing ideas off of Enlightenment Philosophers2. delegates listed 27 complaints against England3. Jefferson stated it was not only a right to become independent, but a responsibility to do so4. led to American Revolutionary War

THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION

Section V

CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION

A. Problems Facing the US1. heavy debt from Revolutionary War2. federal government had no power to tax, so states placed heavy taxes on citizens, causing many businesses to fail

B. Articles of Confederation (1st form of Government after Revolutionary War)1. created loose alliance of states2. had a unicameral (one house) Congress with each state getting one vote3. had no executive or judicial branch

CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION, CTD.

C. Problems with the Articles of Confederation: 1. each state had 1 vote regardless of size or population2. no power to tax3. cannot regulate foreign or interstate trade4. no executive branch to enforce rules5. no judicial branch to settle disputes6. unanimous vote was need to amend the A of C7. 9/13 states were required to pass laws

CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION, CTD.D. Shay’s Rebellion

1. farmer who lost his land and organized an army to prevent other farmers from losing land

2. government had a hard time stopping this rebellion

3. this led the US to realize they needed a stronger centralized government, leading to the Constitutional Convention

E. Constitutional Convention (1787)

1. delegates have decided to amend the Articles of Confederation or scrap it and start over

2. George Washington (Commander of Continental Army) presided over Convention

3. James Madison recorded notes on the proceedings

4. needed to decide if they wanted to make one large state with a central government or set up a federal system (power divided between central government & states)

CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION, CTD.

Proposed by James Madison

Supported by states with larger populations

Thought representation in government should be based on population

Government should be made up of 3 branches

Federal government should have expanded powers

Proposed by William Patterson

Supported by smaller states

Thought there should be equal representation in Congress

Called for the Federal Executive to be made up of more than one person

Judicial branch should have one court

Have a unicameral legislature

1. Virginia Plan

2. New Jersey Plan

Set up a bicameral legislature

Senate would have equal representation

House of Representatives would have representation based on population

Most important compromise of convention

Great Compromise

(CT Compromise)+ =

F & G

H. Other Compromises: 3/5: slave states wanted to count slaves as part of the population for

representation in Congress; decided they could count 3/5 slaves as population as long as they agreed to pay 3/5 more in taxes and the slave trade could not be interfered w/ for 20 years

Trade & Commerce: northern states wanted federal government to regulate trade, southern states did not for fear of taxing cash crops and fear of eliminating slavery; decided that federal government could regulate trade, but could not

Electoral College: Constitution writers did not trust common citizens to elect the president; decided to create Electoral College where state legislatures chose electors to meet together and select a president

CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION, CTD.

CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION, CTD.

I. Ratification (Approval) of the Constitution:

1. 9/13 states (~3/4) had to ratify Constitution before it went into effect

2. Anti-Federalists-did not support ratification (Patrick Henry, John Hancock, Sam Adams); said federal government will be too strong and took too much power from states (no guarantees of basic liberties of citizens)

3. Federalists-supported ratification (James Madison, Alexander Hamilton); wrote Federalist Papers supporting stronger central government; promised to add a Bill of Rights if Anti-Federalists ratified Constitution

4. Constitution went into effect when New Hampshire became the 9th state to ratify it (June 21, 1788). NC ratified it on November 1, 1789, & Rhode Island was the last state to ratify it.

5. Constitution could only be amended (changed) by a vote of the states