Government and Civics

Government and Civics

Grade 7Mr. [email protected]

What we will learn in Government and Civics this year

• The United States Constitution

• The three branches of government (Executive, Judicial, Legislative)

• Rights and responsibilities of citizens in civics, politics, and government

• The function of local, state, and federal government

• The legislative process

• How the constitution has met the needs of changing times through the Amendment process

• The Bill of Rights

• Technology, media, and current events

• How people become United States citizens

• Compare and contrast democratic and authoritarian/totalitarian systems of government

Q: When was the US Constitution ratified?

Q: How many sections or articles are in the Constitution?

Q: What are the first ten amendments called?

Q: How many total amendments are there?

Q:How many members are in the House of Representatives?

Q:How many members are in the US Senate?

Q:How many electoral votes does a candidate need to win the presidency?

Q: Who is our representative in the House of Representatives?

Q: Who are our US Senators?

Q: Who is the Governor of New Jersey?

Q: Who is the Mayor of Demarest?

What do you know?

Q: When was the US Constitution ratified?

A: June 21, 1788 (NH 9th state to ratify—minimum requirement for ratification met) **Rhode Island is the last state to ratify on May 29, 1790

Q: How many sections or articles are in the Constitution?

A: Seven

Q: What are the first ten Amendments called?

A: Bill of Rights

Q: How many total amendments are there?

A: Twenty-seven

Q:How many members are in the House of Representatives?

A: 435

What do you know?

Q:How many members are in the US Senate?

A: 100

Q:How many electoral votes does a candidate need to win the presidency?

A: 270

Q: Who is our representative in the House of Representatives?

A: Scott Garrett (R)

Q: Who are our US Senators?

A: Bob Menendez (D) & Jeff Chiesa (R)

Q: Who is the Governor of New Jersey?

A: Chris Christie (R)

Q: Who is the Mayor of Demarest?

A: Ray Cywinski (R)

• Syria’s Leader is Bashar al-Assad…he has ruled since 2000…his father Hafez al-Assad ruled from 1970-2000

• There is a civil war that has been going on in Syria since 2011 when people began protesting government leaders

• March 2011--groups of teens are arrested for writing political graffiti…dozens of people are killed during government crackdown

• The violence has been criticized by the United States and many other countries

• Many countries impose bans on importing Syrian oil while others impose sanctions (for example trade sanctions)

• Many Syrians have been killed or displaced (evacuated/relocated)

The Civil War in Syria

• Approximately 100,000 killed so far (UN estimate)

• Approximately 2,000,000 displaced refugees (UN estimate)

• In August 2013. UN weapons inspectors go to Syria to investigate the Syrian governments use of chemical weapons against its citizens

• August 30, 2013—US Secretary of State John Kerry says that US Intelligence information found that 1,429 people were killed (including at least 426 children) in a chemical attack in Syria a week earlier

• Russia proposes that Syria should give up their chemical weapons

The Civil War in Syria

The Constitution Now that’s interesting…

• Was ratified on June 21, 1788….the minimum number of states necessary to ratify (9) ratified the document --Congress receives NH vote results in July

• More than 11,000 amendments have been introduced in Congress. Thirty-three amendments have gone on to the states for ratification and twenty-seven have received the necessary approval from the states to be ratified

• Constitution Day is September 17th—the day the framers signed the document

• When the Constitution was signed there were about 4 million people in the US…today there are over 300 million

• When it came time for the states to ratify the Constitution, the lack of any bill of rights was the primary sticking point

The Constitution

State Date Order Votes For Votes Against

Delaware Dec 7, 1787 1 30 0Pennsylvania Dec 12, 1787 2 46 23New Jersey Dec 18, 1787 3 38 0Georgia Jan 2, 17884 26 0Connecticut Jan 9, 1788 5 128 40Massachusetts Feb 6, 1788 6 187 168Maryland Apr 28, 1788 7 63 11South Carolina May 23, 1788 8 149 73New Hampshire June 21, 1788 9 57 47Virginia June 25, 1788 10 89 79New York July 26, 1788 11 30 27North Carolina Nov 21, 1789 12 194 77Rhode Island May 29, 1790 13 34 32

The Constitution The Constitution is divided into three parts:

1. The Preamble—an opening statement or introduction to the goals of the document

2. The Articles—main body which is broken into seven (7)basic principles

3. The Bill of Rights—the first ten amendments to the Constitution

The Constitution The Preamble is an opening statement or introduction which states the goals of the document.

The Constitution We the People and all that other stuff….what does it all mean?

We the People In order to form a more perfect Union

Establish justice

Insure domestic tranquility

Provide for the common defense

Promote general welfare

Secure the blessings of Liberty

The Constitution We the People and all that other stuff….what does it all mean?

We the People We AmericansIn order to form a more perfect Union In order to create a more unified nationEstablish justiceCreate a fair and unified system to settle legal disputes

Insure domestic tranquilityCreate peace and orderProvide for the common defenseProvide a military to protect against foreign attackPromote general welfareTo provide for the well-being of all its citizens

Secure the blessings of LibertyPromote freedom

The Constitution The Seven Principles

1. Popular Sovereignty-People have the right to alter or abolish the government

2. Limited Government-The government has only the powers that the Constitution gives it

3. Separation of power-The government is divided into three branches

4. Checks and balances-Each branch of the government has the power to limit the power of the other two

5. Federalism-Division of power between the national and state government

6. Republicanism-Citizens elect representatives to carry out their will

7. Individual Rights-Freedom of speech, religion, and trial

The Constitution The Articles and Amendments

• There are seven (7) sections or articles which establish the framework for our government.

• The constitution can also be changed or amended whenever there might be a need.

• The first ten (10) amendments are called the Bill of Rights and were added in 1791.

• In total there have been twenty-seven (27) amendments to the Constitution.

The Constitution

Legislative Branch Executive Branch Judicial Branch

Senate President Supreme Court

House of Vice President Other FederalRepresentatives Courts

Cabinet

The Constitution

The Seven Articles of the Constitution

Article 1: Legislative Branch: The United States Congress makes the laws for the United States. Congress is made up of two parts, called “Houses”, the House of Representatives (435 members) and the Senate (100 members).

Article 2: Executive Branch: the President, Vice-President, Cabinet, and Departments under the Cabinet Secretaries carry out the laws made by Congress.

Article 3: Judicial Branch: the Supreme Court decides court cases according to the US Constitution. The courts under the Supreme Court, decide criminal and civil court cases according to the correct federal, state, and local laws.

Article 4: States’ powers: States have the power to make and carry out their own laws. State laws that are related to the people and problems of their area. States respect other states laws and work together with other states to fix regional problems.

The Constitution

The Seven Articles of the Constitution

Article 5: Amendments: The Constitution can be changed. New amendments can be added to the Constitution with the approval by a two-thirds vote in each part of Congress (67 in Senate/281 in House) and three-fourths vote by the states (38).

Article 6: Federal Powers: The Constitution and federal laws are higher than state and local laws. All laws must agree with the Constitution.

Article 7: Ratification: The Constitution was presented to George Washington and the men at the Constitutional Convention on September 17, 1787. Representatives from twelve out of the thirteen original states signed the Constitution. From September 1787 to July 1788, the states meet, talk about, and finally voted to approve the Constitution.

The Constitution

The Legislative Branch

• The Legislative Branch is made up of the House of Representatives and the Senate.

• The House of Representatives has 435 members and is based on population. Representatives serve two year terms.

• The house is led by the “Speaker of the House”, who is a very powerful figure in the government.

• The Speaker is 3rd in succession to the presidency (Pres./VP/Speaker/Pres. Pro Tempore of Senate).

• To be a representative you must be at least 25 years old, be resident of a state and a citizen for 7 years.

The Constitution

The Legislative Branch

• The Senate has 100 members or Senators (2 from each state).

• Senators serve six year terms and are led by the Vice President of the US who also casts a vote if there is a tie. The VP does not take part in Senate debates.

• To be a Senator, you must be at least 30 years old, be a resident of the state, and be a citizen for 9 years.

The Constitution

The Legislative Branch

Who represents us?In the senate

Senators: Bob Menendez (D), Jeff Chiesa (R)

In the House

Congressman: Scott Garrett (R)

The Constitution

The Legislative Branch

The Powers of Congress• To make laws

• Coin money

• Collect taxes and borrow money

• Fix weights and measures

• Declare war

• Ratify treaties

• “make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying out its specific duties” (the elastic clause)

The Constitution

The Executive Branch

• The Executive Branch is comprised of the President, Vice President, and the Cabinet.

The President is responsible for:

• Carrying out the nations laws

• Serving as commander in chief (leader of the armed forces)

• Suggesting laws to congress and calling special sessions

• Directing foreign policy/make treaties

• Vetoing or signing laws

• The President is elected to a four year term (needs 270 electoral votes to win presidency) and can only be elected to two terms (8 total years)

The Constitution

The Executive Branch

Electoral Votes by State

The Constitution

The Judicial Branch

The Judicial Branch has lower and higher courts on the federal level:

• District Court (Federal trial court)-Handles civil/criminal cases, juries render verdicts based on evidence, judge ensures a fair trial.

• Court of Appeals-Hears appeals of cases that come from district court, reviews decisions of district courts to decide if the lower court judges interpreted and applied the law correctly.

• Supreme Court-Top of the American judicial system, made up of Chief Justice (John G. Roberts Jr.) and eight associate judges

--Justices are appointed by Pres., but are approved by Congress and serve for life

--Supreme Court is the final place for a decision

--Greatest power of the Supreme Court is to interpret the law and the Constitution….interprets the Constitutionality of laws…are the laws “legal” under the constitution

The Constitution

So…Mr. Cole, what do I need to know for the quiz?

• The Preamble—what does it do?/mean?• The Seven Principles of the Constitution—

Popular Sovereignty, limited government, separation of power, checks and balances, federalism, republicanism, and individual rights

• The Seven Articles of the Constitution—What do the articles do?

• The Three Branches of Government—Legislative, Executive, Judicial...and what they do