Intro to Government

“We have the best government that money can buy.” – Mark Twain

Why do people form governments?

What is a citizen? 1. How does one become a citizen in the

United States?o 2. If both of your parents are American citizens but you

are born outside of the United States are you considered a citizen?• What if only one of your parents is a citizen?• What if you are born in a territory of the U.S.?• What if you are adopted from another country by

parents who are U.S. citizens?o 3. When applying through legal means:

• How many years do you have to have lived in the U.S.?

• Do you have to be able to speak English?

Current Events 1. How does the news influences our

daily lives and the lives of others? 2. Why is it important to have

multiple viewpoints in the media?

Current Events Assignment

1. Due on Friday of each week (until May 9th) 2. 50 points total (10 for each week) 3. Missing weeks can NOT be made up 4. Must provide the source 6. Can be from any major news source.

o No blogs or opinionated sources.o No satirical news sources like The Oniono Be aware of news bias

7. Be prepared to discuss them in class.

MH370: Missing plane search ‘most challenging ever’

The Three Branches of Government

1. How does American Government work? 2. Who is in charge? 3. Who makes the laws? 4. How are laws decided to be fair or legal?

The Three Branches of Government

There are three branches of government in the U.S.o The Executive Brancho The Legislative Brancho The Judicial Branch

The Executive Branch This branch consists of:

o The Presidento The Vice Presidento Cabinet Members

This branch is in charge of:o Executing and enforcing the laws

created by Congress

The Executive Branch Powers of the Executive Branch:

o Commander in Chief of the militaryo Receive ambassadors and other public

ministerso Sign bills into laws.

The Legislative Branch This branch consists of:

o Congress• The House of Representatives ( 435

members )• The Senate ( 100 members )

This branch is in charge of:o Creating laws

Powers of the Legislative Branch:o Congress has the power to taxo Congress can declare war

The Judicial Branch This branch consists of:

o The Supreme Court ( 9 members) This branch is in charge of:

o Interpreting laws based off of the Constitution

The Judicial Branch Powers of the Judicial Branch:

o Judicial Review

Checks and Balances Why would our founding fathers want a

Separation of Powers in our government?

Scenarios 1. A Supreme Court justice dies. Who

would pick the new one? 2. Vice President Biden illegally smuggles

weapons to Iranian nationalists. Who would impeach him?

Congress wants to pass a new bill that would limit the pay role of the President. What could the President do to this?

Question of the Day 1. What makes a country a country?

o List as many examples as possible

What Makes A Country A Country?

Population (duh…) A population is the group of people who are

members or citizens of a state. Populations also have their own cultural

traditions, and they speak a common language or languages.

Territory A state’s territory is the area in which a state’s

rule applies. A state must have set boundaries. Territory can be acquired through various means:

o Territory can be gained through waro Through negotiationo Through sale

Sovereignty Sovereignty is the ability to rule absolutely

within a territory. When a state is considered sovereign it can

decide its own foreign and domestic policies. A sovereign state is not responsible to any other

authority

Government A government is the organization that controls

the actions and policies of a state.

So does it count? Amish Communities

Pennsylvania

The Vatican

The Cherokee Indian reservation

Government There are FOUR primary roles of government

Try to guess them on your own and we will discuss them as a class.

The Roles of Government

Make Laws

Aid or Assist Citizens

Protect the Country

Keep Order

Examples

Make Lawso Voting age of 18o Jobs need to pay

minimum wageo Freedom of speecho Speed limits

Aid or Assist Citizenso Retirement benefitso Highway systemso Schoolso Veterans hospitals

Protect the Countryo Navyo Armyo Air Forceo Marines

Keep Ordero Highway Patrolo Sheriffo Policeo FBI

Mini Quiz 1. A state can’t have less than 30,000 people

2. The boundaries of a territory can change

3. Sovereignty means you have to check with someone above you

4. Government only exists to keep order and provide security

5. The 50 states in the USA are not considered to be independent “states”

Someone’s Got to Be In Charge

There are lots of different governments in the world but one thing remains constant: Someone is in charge.

Brainstorm the different possible governments and types of leaders in the world and create a word web based off of the information you come up with.

Autocracy (Me, Myself, and I)

An autocracy is a government in which one person has all the power

Power is usually gained through birth or through power

There are two different types of autocracy:o A Monarchy o And a Dictatorship

Monarchyo Ruled by a king or a

queen (monarch)o Usually you have to be

born/married into the role o Previously, the majority

of monarchies used to hold all the power and had the final say in government.

o Currently, most monarchies are constitutional monarchies.

Dictatorshipo Usually come into

the role through birth or a power grab

o One person has absolute rule over a citizens lives

o One person has absolute rule over the actions and policies of the state

Something to consider…

Would you sacrifice free speech, freedom of religion, freedom of press and perhaps other freedoms in exchange for a secure standard of living that provided well?

Democracy (Power to the People!)

In a democracy, citizens hold the political power.

The citizens of a democracy decide on governmental policies and foreign affairs

Representative Democracyo Citizens elect

leaders to represent their own rights and interests in Government

o Citizens hold the ultimate power because they can vote new people into office

Direct Democracy

No representatives! Citizens directly

address and vote on the issues needed on local/state/national level

Would you rather? Would you rather have a representative

democracy or a direct democracy here in America?

Oligarchy (We, Ourselves, and Us)

An oligarchy is a small group or council of people who have all the power in government.o This can mean that only

a certain group of people based on things like social class, race, or political party can rule.

o OR it can mean just a few people actually rule the country

A junta (or a military junta) is a committee of military leaders that seize power for various reasons.

Theocracy (Religious Rule)

A theocracy is a government that recognizes a god or a divine being as the ultimate authority.

In a theocracy religious law is used to settle disputes.

A theocracy can ALSO be any other sort of government

Hassan Rouhani

Anarchy (Rule by None)

In an anarchy, nobody is in control (or everyone, depending on how you look at it)

Anarchy would be a way to describe the human state of existence before any governments developed, where people looked out for themselves

Anarchists believe they should be able to freely do as they please without being subject to any nation or government

Poster Assignment (Academic)

You and a partner are going to make a poster on a type of government that was discussed in class. Include the following on your poster:o The definition of the type of governmento A description of the leaders of this type of governmento A description of how power is passed to the next

leader/how the government makes decisionso An illustration that would accurately represent your

government You should make your poster colorful, creative

and neat. Writing must be legible, all words must be spelled correctly and all sentences must be complete and should vary in structure.

Poster Assignment (Advanced)

You and a partner are going to make a poster on a type of government that was discussed in class. Include the following on your poster.o An accurate description of the government itself.o A description of how power is passed to the next leader.o A description of how power is passed to the next

leader/how the government makes decisions.o The poster cannot contain any words. All the criteria

must be drawn. You should make your poster colorful, creative

and neat that would correctly represent your type of government.