Introduction to Government Section 1. WHAT IS GOVERNMENT? Government is a system of political administration by which a city, county, state or nation.

Introduction to Government

Section 1

WHAT IS GOVERNMENT?

• Government is a system of political administration by which a city, county, state or nation is ruled. People give up certain rights in exchange for protection and services.

THE ROLES OF GOVERNMENT

• Without government life would be disorganized and chaotic. Governments offer citizens protection and services.

LAW & ORDER/JUSTICE

• Government makes and enforces laws that protect rights and protect citizens.

NATIONAL SECURITY

• Government provides defense against foreign and domestic threats. This includes the military and treaties.

SERVICES

• Government provides services that serve the public good. These are usually too costly for individuals or private businesses. Services include roads, sewers, police & fire protection and schools

THE PREAMBLE (a statement of purpose)

• We the people of the United states,– in order to form a more perfect union,– establish justice,– insure domestic tranquility,– provide for the common defense,– promote the general welfare,– and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and

our prosperity, – do ordain and establish this constitution for the

United States of America.

Introduction to Government

Section 2

TYPES OF GOVERNMENT

• There are several types of governments

MONARCHY

• A government in which power is hereditary.– ABSOLUTE MONARCHY: The leader has total

power. Most ancient kings had absolute power. Today there are few true absolute monarchies, Saudi Arabia is one.

– CONSTITUTIONAL MONARCHY: The leader’s power is constitutionally limited. Great Britain is a constitutional monarchy.

TOTALITARIAN

• This is a dictatorship. It differs from a monarchy in that totalitarian governments usually gain power though force. Examples include Adolph Hitler in Nazi Germany and Saddam Hussein of Iraq.

OLIGARCHY

• Government by a small faction of persons. This would include a country where only property owners or the wealthy rule

THEOCRACY

• A government where religion plays a dominant role. Laws much be based on religious beliefs. It comes from the Greek meaning “rule by god.” Many Islamic nations such as Iran are theocracies

DEMOCRACY

• A government ruled by the people. The ancient Greeks had the first direct democracy. By 509 BC the Romans established a republic. The United States is the first modern democracy.– PURE DEMOCRACY: Very rare, every citizen is

involved in every decision.– REPUBLIC: Citizens elect their leaders

Introduction to Government

Section 3

FROM COLONIES TO INDEPENDENCE

• The United States started out as 13 English colonies. Between the founding of Jamestown in 1607 and the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, America evolved into an independent nation.

THE ENGLISH TRADITION

• It is important to remember that the earliest settlers in America were English. Accordingly, they held the beliefs and culture of England. They considered themselves Englishmen. These early settlers hoped to better their lives, some economically and some religiously; they had little interest in establishing a new type of government.

THE MAGNA CHARTA (1215)• It created a limited monarchy.– For centuries monarchs ruled England with complete

authority. Instead of being citizens with rights, the people were subjects, subject to the monarch’s command.

– By the early 1200s English nobles had gained enough wealth to have great influence on the monarch.

– In 1215 they forced King John to sign the Magna Charta (the Great Charter) which listed rights that even the King could not take away.

– At first these rights were given only to noblemen, however, they were soon applied to everyone.

PARLIAMENT

• PARLIAMENT (1265) was established under the rule of Henry VIII as the English law making body. It governed along with the King.– Upper House: Comprised of lords and nobles, an

inherited position.– House of Commons: Elected by land-holding

citizens

THE ENGLISH BILL OF RIGHTS

• THE ENGLISH BILL OF RIGHTS (1689) was passed by Parliament. It expanded rights such as a fair trial, right to travel, petition and travel to all citizens.

COLONIAL AMERICA

• The 13 colonies were established over a period of 169 years. They were settled individually for different reasons. Due to the distance from England, they were more or less allowed to govern themselves

Jamestown

• Jamestown (1607) was the first permanent English colony in America. It was established as a trade center.

House of Burgesses

• In 1619, the House of Burgesses was established at Jamestown. This was the first representative assembly in America. 22 representatives were elected by the citizens and they governed along with an appointed governor

Plymouth

• Plymouth (1620) was established by Puritans to escape religious persecution. They had planned on traveling to Virginia, but landed in Massachusetts instead.– In 1620 the settlers in Plymouth used the Mayflower

compact as the basis of their laws. It allowed them to govern by majority rule.

– Although they used the democratic principle of majority rule. They created a Bible Commonwealth where all laws were to be based on the Bible. In effect, they created a theocracy.

Settlement of the Colonies• As other colonies were settled, they relied on charters

granted by the crown, a charter gave the settlers permission to establish a local government. In theory, England had final authority over the colonies, but in reality, the colonists tended to run their own local affairs

• In general, each colony was run by an elected assembly along with an appointed governor.

• Most Americans accepted this system and were content. They still considered themselves to be Englishmen, having basic English rights.

• From the beginning, colonists in America expressed interest in some form of self-rule. The town meeting was the backbone of many early colonies

BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY

• Beginning with Jamestown, the American colonists considered themselves Englishmen. They tended to be content with English political institutions.

MERCANTILISM

• MERCANTILISM guided the British colonial polices. The British government believed that most decisions should be an attempt to improve the nation’s economy. Accordingly, colonies existed to serve the mother country.

• Even though the American colonies belonged to Britain, the great distance between America and Britain forced Britain to allow the colonies some degree of self-rule.

THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR (1754-1763)

• England found herself at war with France. – In America, the conflict centered around control of the Ohio

River Valley, an area where both French and English settled.– When England won the war in 1763 the French withdrew and

England had control of most of North America.– Unfortunately for Britain, the victory came with a price. The

war resulted in a huge debt and control of this territory was extremely costly.

– Since England’s colonial policy was based on mercantilism, they had no choice but to increase revenues from the American colonies.

– This meant the Americans were now being placed under more British regulations and paying higher taxes.

“NO TAXATION WITHOUT REPRE-SENTATION”

• Most American believed that the new English taxes were illegal.

• The English tradition was that people could only be taxed by their elected representatives.

• Although the Americans were British citizens, they were not allowed to vote for Parliament. Since the taxes were levied by Parliament, many Americans considered the taxes to be illegal.

• Britain claimed that the colonists had “Virtual Representation.” That is every member of Parliament represented all citizens, even those who couldn’t vote.

Response by the Colonists

• With no political clout, the Americans could only protest, boycott British-made goods, and try to convince others that they need to stand up against Britain.

• The Committees of Correspondence was established in 1773 to help the colonies work together against Britain.

• Many wrote newspaper articles and editorials to sway public opinion.

Common Sense

• Thomas Paine published Common Sense in 1776 where he challenged the logic in an entire continent being governed from 4,000 miles away

Introduction to Government

Section 4

DECLARING INDEPENDENCE

• After a couple of years of trying to convince the British government that there rights as Englishmen were being violated, the Americans began to arm themselves and prepare for war.

American War for Independence • The American war for Independence begun with the

Battles of Lexington and Concord in 1775. However, the psychological separation from Britain had deeper roots. An evolving independence may have begun as early as 1607 with the founding of Jamestown.– Time: 169 years passed between the founding of

Jamestown and the Declaration of Independence. These weren’t the same people.

– Physical Separation Isolation Self-Rule, Americans resented being governed by a “foreign power.”

– Differing Experiences Alienation, life wasn’t the same in America as in England. Accordingly, it was difficult to relate to English thinking.

Declaration of Independence

• In 1776 the delegates of the Second Con-tinental Congress voted for independence. Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin, and John Adams were members of the committee to write the actual document. The Declaration of Independence was written to:– announce separation from Britain.– explain and justify the separation.– to gain more American and foreign support for

the separation.

THE BEGINNINGS OF U.S. GOVERNMENT

• Once independence was declared, the next step was to create some form of government. At the time of the Revolution each state considered itself to be an independent country. Therefore each state created its own constitution, or plan of government that would define the government’s power and guarantee citizens’ rights.

THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION

• Although the states united in opposing England, they were still 13 separate governments. It is safe to say that they had a general dislike for a strong central government. Also, the states disagreed on how the government should operate.

THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION

• Accordingly, a confederation seemed to be the answer. A confederation is an alliance of independent states. The states were supreme.

• In 1777, after long and heated debate, the Continental the Articles of Confederation became the first constitution of the United States.

• Each state would have one vote in the national legislature and there would be no executive or judicial branches. This reflected their fear of strong central power

POWERS GRANTED THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT

• pass laws with a 2/3 majority vote (9 of 13)• declare war and peace• raise an army (volunteer only)• make treaties and regulate Indian affairs• borrow money• regulate weights and measurements• establish a postal service

LIMITATIONS TO THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT

• no chief executive (president)• no national court system• couldn’t levy taxes (could only request money)• regulate trade (business)• couldn’t settle disputes among the states• no power of enforcement, could force states to

obey laws• amendments could only be made with a

unanimous vote of all 13 states

A LACK OF STABILITY

• As the central government had few powers, the new nation continued to limp along. The economy worsened and it appeared the new nation might now survive.

• Without the power to tax, it was impossible to pay off the war debts. The inability to regulate trade made it impossible for the government to help business. A shaky economy was creating a dangerous situation.

SHAYS’ REBELLION (1786)

• In an attempt to pay war debts Massachusetts sharply raised taxes on land.

• Local courts threatened to sell farms of farmers who couldn’t pay their taxes.

• In 1786 Daniel Shays, lead a revolt against the state’s courts and led a rebellion of disgruntled farmers.

• Massachusetts had to use it own militia to stop the revolt, Congress had no power to help.

• Although it was quickly put down, many started to fear the government was too weak to prevent future uprising.

• Newspapers quickly spread word on the revolt.• George Washington wrote “The Confederation appears to

me to be little more than a shadow without substance.”

Introduction to Government

Section 5

THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION

• By 1787, most believed that something had to be done to establish the powers needed to stabilize the new government. Delegates from all states except Rhode Island met in Philadelphia with the intention of amending the Articles of Confederation.

• Within a few days the delegates agreed that it was best to scrap the Articles and create a new constitution.

AREAS OF AGREEMENT• Most agreed that the new national government must

be stronger and that there must be safe guards to prevent the abuse of power.– The new government must be a republic.– Power should be separated between three branches:

legislative, executive, and judicial. – In addition, power should be divided between the states

and national government. Most agreed that the new government be a republic with elected leaders.

– It must be able to regulate trade and settle disputes.– A strong executive and national court system was needed.– Without the power to tax, the government would be

useless.

A PACKAGE OF COMPROMISES

• Although some general agreement was found, strong differences of opinions emerge. The two major areas of disagreement were representation and slavery

THE VIRGINIA PLAN • THE VIRGINIA PLAN (Large State Plan) was based on the work of James

Madison (proposed by Edmund Ran-dolph). Representation in Congress would be population based. Larger states would have more representation than smaller states. The smaller states opposed this. They feared being overwhelmed by the larger states.

THE NEW JERSERY PLAN • THE NEW JERSERY PLAN (Small State Plan) was offered by William

Patterson. All states would have equal representation.

THE GREAT COMPROMISE

• THE GREAT COMPROMISE was proposed by Roger Sherman. This combined the Virginia and New Jersey Plans.– The House of Representatives would have

population based representation.– The Senate would have equal representation.– A bill must pass both houses to become law. This

would protect the smaller states from being controlled by the larger states. Smaller states could kill a bill in the Senate.

SLAVERY• They did not deal with determining if slavery was to be legal, just how to count

it.– Southern states wanted to include slaves in determining repre-sentation in the House of

Representatives.• 1 rep per 5,000• Citizens = 40,000• Slaves = 10,000• Population = 50,000 • Reps = 10

– Northern states wanted no slaves to be counted.• 1 rep per 5,000• Citizens = 40,000• Slaves = 10,000 (none would count)• Population = 40,000• Reps = 8

– THE THREE-FIFTHS COMPRO-MISE: Slaves would could as 3/5 in determining population.• 1 rep per 5,0000• Citizens = 40,000• Slaves = 10,000 (6,000 count)• Population = 45,000• Reps = 9

Introduction to Government

Section 6

BATTLE FOR RATIFICATION

• As soon as the Constitution was completed it was sent to the states to be ratified. It would become the new government when 9 states approved it. Of course, there was a division of opinion

FEDERALISTS

• THE FEDERALISTS argued that the new government would provide the power needed for stability. – Their leaders included Alexander Hamilton, James

Madison, and John Jay.– They were well organized and wrote a series of

articles known as the Federalist Papers defending the new constitution.

ANTI-FEDERALISTS

• THE ANTI-FEDERALISTS believed that the Constitution gave too much power to the national government at the expense of the individual states.– Their leaders included Patrick Henry and Thomas

Jefferson.– They were troubled by the fact that there was no

bill of rights to protect citizens

Ratification

• Following a Federalist promise to use the amendment process to add a bill of rights once the Constitution was ratified, Virginia ratified it and the new government went into effect in 1788.

A SYSTEM OF FEDERALISM

• Recalling how the 13 states considered themselves to be independent nations, it stands to reason that power would be divided between the states and the central, national or federal government. This is known as federalism, the division of power between the states and federal government. (chart on page102) They also agreed that power should be divided between the states and central government.

DELEGATED (Enumerated) POWERS

• DELEGATED (Enumerated) POWERS are those given to the central government (see Art. I, Sec. 8, pages 112-113/Sec. 9 define powers denied to the central government). These powers include: maintain an army and navy, declare war, coin money, and regulate trade between states and with foreign nations

RESERVED POWERS

• These are powers maintained by the states. They are not spelled out, according to the 10th Amendment; states can do anything that is not denied them or violates the Constitution. These powers include: conduct elections, establish schools, regulate business within a state, establish local governments, regulate marriages, and grant licenses

CONCURRENT POWERS

• These are powers shared by the states and central government. These include: make and enforce laws, establish courts, borrow money, levy taxes, build roads, and provide for safety