Constitution Basics The Constitution, the document drafted more than 200 years ago, is what directs and structures our government. The Constitution is the supreme law of the land and is as essential to our way of life as the Bible is to Christians and Jews and the Koran is to Muslims. The State vs The Nation State refers to a defined territory of land with an organized and sovereign government Sovereignty = authority o Authority needs to be supreme and absolute o Sovereignty can be consolidated by one, spread out among groups, or placed in the hands of the population Nation refers to a large body of people with similar characteristics, history, culture, language, customs, etc. State = Land, Nation = People Power Theories Where does it come from and does it make a difference? Where the power comes from makes a difference Evolutionary Theory power evolves as a part of the group who determine the best form of leadership (ex: Biblical stories, Indian tribes not all are same) Divine Right political power is bestowed by a higher authority (i.e. God or an all-powerful being), generally coupled with a belief that the state was created by divine power Force Theory When people in an area are brought under control of a person or group whose authority is forced upon them (i.e. an area conquered in war) Social Contract Theory social contract: people give up part of their freedom to the government so that the government can rule and keep order Social Contract Theory is unique because power is from the people and can be taken back by the people Power Structure Theories How will the power be carried out or organized? Republic representative style of government, a person represents an area and those who live in the area and is directly responsible to the people for their authority (Rome) Democracy decisions are made by those that are able to participate and vote (Athens) o Direct democracy people govern themselves by direct vote o Representative democracy People elect representatives to vote for them on a larger level Autocracy Rule by one monarchies, totalitarian governments, no shared power Oligarchy Rule by a few, religious or communist led countries
United States Democratic Republic: delegates are elected to represent specific areas by a direct vote of the eligible populace Government System Theories Will power be shared or consolidated? Unitary System key government powers re given to the national/central government Federal System power is split between the national government and smaller units (ex: United States federal govt and state governments) Constitutional Governments a constitution (written plan for government structure) is adopted, agreed to by the population, and power is clarified and restricted by the document The United States is a federal system that is determined by a constitution Economic Theories How will your country determine what to do with its money and goods? Capitalism freedom of choice, individual economic incentive, competition among businesses, little government oversight Socialism government owns basic means of production, determines use of resources, distributes products and wages, provides social services, split government and business control Communism government controls and owns all means of production, determines distribution of goods and wages, controls all major services, little to no private control The United States is a hybrid system but, more often than not, referred to as capitalist but there is SOME government control over business The Government Recipe Government is to maintain social order, provide public services, provide national security, make economic decisions A government needs a structure and economic theory to go together Determine how it is ruled religion, Constitution, rule of law, by authoritative decree, shared power or unitary Foundations in America Under British crown constitutional monarchy, shared power with Parliament, king ruled in an autocratic manner, Americans were represented by an Englishman with little to no idea of colonists concerns, felt that we were being abused by paying for a war that we didn t want and that the taxing was unjust because we did not have a direct say in the taxation Revolutionary War Americans separate from Britain, outcome of war severs all government structure and states are left to figure out power and economics, each state acts as a nation Article of Confederation Weak, designed as a loose agreement to unify 13 nation-states, can t keep states united because of no enforcement of laws, little unifying aspects (ex: no common currency)
Shays Rebellion Economic debts by the states lead to high taxation, farmers lose property because they can t pay the new taxes, rebellion put down but social effect was great, need for reform evident Constitution Annapolis Convention determines reforms must be needed, delegates (representatives) from states agree to meet in secret in Philadelphia to draft changes to Articles, Philadelphia produces world s first constitution for government - document outlining our government Basics of the Constitution The Constitution replaced the Articles of Confederation The Constitutional Convention took place from May 25, 1787-September 17, 1787 The Convention met in Philadelphia James Madison is considered to be the Father of the Constitution 9 out of 13 states were needed to ratify the Constitution to overturn the Articles of Confederation New Hampshire was the ninth state to ratify the Constitution, making it go in effect on June 21, 1788 Preamble Rhode Island o Only state not to send delegates to Convention o Became the last state to ratify on May 29, 1790. The Constitution is split into 3 parts o 1) Preamble o 2) Articles o 3) Amendments States the reasons for the Constitution Declares government comes from the people We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union Articles There are seven articles to the Constitution Article 1 Legislative Branch Congress House of Representatives and Senate o Elastic Clause allows Congress to pass all laws necessary and proper to the function of the United States Article 2 Executive Branch President, Vice President, Cabinet, Departments of Cabinet members Article 3 Judicial Branch Supreme Court
Article 4 Relations Among the States Article 5 Amending Process Article 6 National Supremacy Article 7 Ratification of the Constitution Amendments There are 27 amendments to the Constitution The first ten are known as the Bill of Rights In order to propose an amendment: o 2/3 of both houses of Congress must propose and pass amendment o 2/3 of the states can call for a convention to propose the amendment o After the amendment is proposed, ¾ of the states must accept it to become law Federalism Federalism the division of power among the national and state governments National Government State Government County Government City Government When someone says federal government or feds, they mean the national government The state governments have a complete executive branch, legislative branch, and judicial branch that mirrors the national government The Three Branches Executive Branch o Job: Enforce laws o Who Comprises the Branch? President Vice President, Cabinet, White House Staff, Executive Office of the President Departments of cabinet members: Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Labor, State, Treasury, Justice (Attorney General), Transportation, Veterans Affairs, Other cabinet level officers o Presidential Requirements: 35 years or older Natural born citizen Lived in the US for 14 years o President serves 4 year terms and can serve up to two consecutive terms Legislative Branch o Job: Make laws o Who comprises the branch? 2 houses of Congress: House of Representatives and Senate, Representatives
2 year terms unlimited terms based on population of state currently, for about every 710,000 people a state has, they get a representative, changes with census every 10 years 435 total Utah Representatives: Rob Bishop, Mia Love, Jason Chaffetz, Chris Stewart Speaker of the House of Representatives o Leader of the House of Representatives o Becomes president if President and Vice President die o Current SOHR Paul Ryan (R) Senators 6 year terms unlimited terms 2 per state, 100 total Vice President is the leader of the Senate President pro tempore leads when VP is unavailable Orrin Hatch (R) Current President pro tempore Utah Senators Orrin Hatch, Mike Lee Judicial Branch o Job: Interpret laws o Who makes up the branch? Supreme Court and All Other Federal Courts 9 justices Justices nominated by President, confirmed by Senate Life tenures until death or retirement Final authority on all items of legal matters Chief Justice John G. Roberts o Federal Courts 13 appellate courts 94 district courts Specialty courts bankruptcy court, Court for Veteran Affairs, Tax Court, etc. Separation of Powers and Checks and Balances Separation of Powers o Each branch of government has its own responsibilities and powers o Given to prevent one person or branch from holding complete and absolute power Balance of Power: Check and Balances o In order to keep things fair and from one branch gaining too much power o The Constitution calls for a system of checks, or ways to make sure the other branches are doing their jobs and not infringing on another branch s power
President Nominate justices for courts, enforce court orders, recommend legislation to Congress, veto bills passed by Congress, implement laws passed by Congress Congress Can create lower courts, decide number of judges, set districts the courts cover, can impeach judges, determine judicial salaries, pass laws over executive agencies, override presidential vetoes, can impeach president Supreme Court Interprets Congressional laws and what they mean, can declare acts of Congress unconstitutional, can declare presidential acts unconstitutional, can determine if president is enforcing laws made by Congress. Slavery One of the most contested arguments of the Convention Presented two issues: o Economic Issue South was wealthier than the North, largely because of slave labor helping to produce raw materials North did not like slavery and fought to abolish the practice Decided the importation of slaves could continue until 1808, after which it would be outlawed forever o Representational Issue If all the slaves were counted, the South would control Congress The North did not want slaves counted as people give North advantage in Congress 3/5 Compromise 3/5 of all slaves in a state would count towards the state s population