What Is Government?

Chapter 1 Section 1Chapter 1 Section 122 33

Government is the institution through which a society makes and enforces its public policies.

SSCG7 The student will describe how thoughtful and effective

participation in civic life is characterized by obeying the

law, paying taxes, serving on a jury, participating in the

political process, performing public service, registering for military duty, being informed

about current issues, and respecting differing opinions.

Essential Question(s):

• What does it mean to be a citizen?

• What are citizen rights/duties/responsibilities?

TEST TODAY!!

• Take out notes/handouts/study guide and begin reviewing for your test.

(10 mins)

• SLO tomorrow!

EQ: What is Civics?

• Study of citizenship & govt.

EQ: What are the functions of govts?

• Keep order – laws, courts

• Provide security – police, military

• Provide services – libraries, schools, etc.

• Guide the community – manage economy, foreign relations, etc.

EQ: What are the 3 Levels of Govt?

• National Govt. - (a.k.a. Federal)

• State Govt.- (like N.C.)

• Local Govt. – county, city, town, etc.

EQ: What are the 3 Branches of Govt.?

• Judicial Branch: Interprets & applies laws– Fed. Courts– State Courts

• Legislative Branch: Writes laws– Fed.: Congress (Senate and House of Reps )– State: General Assembly (Senate and House of Reps)

– Local: City Council

• Executive Branch: Enforces laws– Fed: president– State: governor– Local: mayor

U.S. Citizenship

Aliens (Immigrants) in the U.S.

•All of today’s more than 310 million Americans are descended from immigrants.

•On the back of every American coin, you’ll find the Latin words:

• E pluribus unum: “Out of many, one.”

"Oh God, I was sick. Everybody was sick. I don't even want to remember anything about that old boat. One night I prayed to God that it would go down because the waves were washing over it. I was that sick, I didn't care if it went down or not. And everybody else was the same way."-Bertha Devlin, an Irish immigrant in 1923

• 14th Amdt: defines a U.S. citizen as anyone “born or naturalized in the United States.”• Naturalization = legal process to become citizen

EQ: Who are Americans?

• Born in the U.S.– Even if your parents are not citizens

• Born outside U.S. & both parents are U.S. citizens

• Born outside U.S., but 1 parent is U.S. citizen who has lived in the U.S.

• Naturalized immigrants

Naturalization Process• 1. Sign declaration of intention with INS (Immigration and Naturalization Service)

• 2. Live in U.S. at least 7 years – continuously

• 3. File for naturalization

• 4. Interview with INS

• 5. Pass citizenship exam

• 6. Take oath of allegiance

• 7. Be 18 years old

Naturalization Cont’d.

• If a naturalized person has children under the age of 18, they automatically become citizens too.

White settlers felt that Chinese immigrants took jobs away from white men. In truth, the Chinese filled economic niches no white man wanted in manufacturing, farm labor, and laundry. Nonetheless, Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act on May 6, 1882. "An Act to prohibit the coming of Chinese laborers into the United States" for 10 years, and the first major restriction on immigration to the United States.  In 1904, Congress indefinitely  extended these provisions with the Chinese Exclusion Extension Act.

Aliens in the U.S. cont’d.• The United States today restricts the number of immigrants who can enter the country.

• Highest priority goes to relatives of U.S. citizens and people with needed skills.

• The Immigration Act of 1990 emphasis has shifted towards ”those who want to work and produce and contribute”.

Illegal Immigrants • 11 million illegal immigrants live in U.S. today

• Most come for work or to escape bad conditions in their home country

• Illegal to hire them in U.S.

• If caught, they are deported to home country

Legal Immigrants

• May have jobs, own property, attend public schools, pay taxes, etc.

• Cannot vote, hold office, serve on juries, or hold govt. jobs

• Must carry I.D. cards at all times

Begin notes Thurs., Sept. 1

• 1st, 3rd period

Diversity in America

• All Americans are immigrants or descendants of immigrants

• Tolerance of diversity is a civic responsibility (something you should do)

1st European Settlers

• Spanish settlers (1500s)– Florida, California, the Southwest

• British (1600s)– East Coast– Created the 13 colonies that became the U.S.

• French (1600s)– Canada– Along the Mississippi River (New Orleans, etc.)

• Other Europeans from the Netherlands, Sweden, Ireland, Scotland, & Germany joined English colonists in late 1600s and 1700s

• A flood of immigrants arrived between 1860 and 1890, many from Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.

• Another flood arrived between 1890 and 1924, mostly from central and eastern Europe.

African Immigrants• Were among the earliest immigrants to North America, but did not come willingly

• Slave trade brought them as workers to east coast of North America and Caribbean islands

• 600,000 Africans came to North America as slaves between 1619 and 1808

Population Growth in U.S.

• #1 reason: immigration

• #2: Childbirth rate (before industrialization)

• Today, Latin America accounts for the largest share of newcomers, followed by Asia.

First big pop. Shift (1800s)

• People moved from farms to cities – New factories needed workers

EQ: What are the Different Types of Govt.?

• No two governments are alike. • They are shaped by their country’s unique history, culture, politics, and economy.

•2 Broad Categories of Govt’s:

–Authoritarian

–Democratic

Anarchy

• No govt.

• No laws

Types of Authoritarian Govts.

All have:– One person or small group run govt.

– Leader(s) not accountable to the people

Monarchy

• Govt. ruled by king or queen

King Louis the 14th of England

• Ruler inherits power through family & has unlimited authority

King Mswati of Swaziland is an absolute monarch

•Failure to investigate and prosecute those responsible for torture and deaths in custody and abusive policing involving the use of excessive force

•Denial of the rights of freedom of association and peaceful assembly to those perceived as government critics

•Undermining of the role of courts in protecting the rights of women and girls against forced marriages, including by members of the Royal Family

•Failure to protect women and girls against rape and other forms of sexual violence which has contributed to Swaziland having the highest HIV prevalence in the world

•Politically-motivated forced evictions without the right to effective legal redress, resulting in violation of the victims' rights to livelihood, shelter, education and health.

Absolute Monarch

Saudi Arabia’s Absolute Monarch

Crown Prince Abdullah• Bending under strong international

pressure, Crown Prince Abdullah and his family, who have absolute power, are holding municipal elections – the people living in cities and towns get to elect city leaders

• Women may not vote or run for office, owing to “technical difficulties”: Most Saudi women don’t have the photo IDs needed to register; there aren’t enough female officials to register those who do; and men may not register women, because the sexes are forbidden to mingle in public.

• Worldwide, the royal family promotes an extreme form of Islam called Wahhabism, which considers all followers of other religions—even other Muslims—“infidels.”

• In 2004, the U.S. State Department added Saudi Arabia to its list of nations in which religious liberty is severely violated.

Types of Auth. Govts., Cont’d.

• Dictatorship – Rule by one person (or small group of people) who have complete control over the nation and its people

Augusto Pinochet, former dictator of Chile

Totalitarian Govt.’s

• Govt. regulates nearly every aspect of public and private life of citizens

Under Stalin’s rule – 60 million “dissidents” sent to their deaths

Hitler – 6 million Jews – many millions more dead in combat

Mussolini, fascist dictator of Italy during WWII

Totalitarian Govts. Cont’d.

• North Korea: Present-day totalitarian regime

Kim Jung-Il (North Korea)

•The Ministry of People’s Security places spies in workplaces and neighborhoods to inform on anyone who criticizes the regime, even at home.

•All radios and TV sets are fixed to receive only government stations.

•Disloyalty to Kim Jong Il and his late father, Kim Il Sung, is a punishable crime: Offenses include allowing pictures of either leader to gather dust or be torn or folded.

•The population is divided into “loyalty groups.” One-third belong to the “hostile class.” These people receive the worst jobs and housing and may not live in the capital, Pyongyang.

•Below the hostiles are the estimated 250,000 held in prison camps, some for crimes allegedly committed by relatives. Executions often are performed in public.

Dictatorship

• Govt. controlled by one person or small group of people

Fidel Castro of Cuba

• Modern-day dictator

Raul Castro, Fidel’s brother

Fidel Castro, dictator of Cuba

Communist Govt.’s• China, Cuba

• Central govt. makes all economic decisions.

• People do not decide who will govern them.

China• CPC Chairman Hu Jintao

•Some 250,000 Chinese are serving sentences in “re-education and labor camps.”

•China executes more people than all other nations combined, often for nonviolent crimes.

•The death penalty can be given for burglary, embezzlement, counterfeiting, bribery or killing a panda.

•Hu’s government controls all media and Internet use. Defense lawyers who argue too vigorously for clients’ rights may be disbarred or imprisoned.

•If minorities (such as Tibetans) speak out for autonomy, they’re labeled “terrorists,” imprisoned and tortured.

Constitutional Monarchy

• A.K.A. Limited Monarchy

• Power of the monarch is limited by a constitution and laws.

Luxembourg, a Constitutional Monarchy under a system of Parliamentary Democracy

Autocracy• One person holds unlimited power in the govt.Alexander III ,

Russian Tzar 1881 to 1894

•2 Types:

•Monarchical autocracy

•Traditional absolute monarchies with a hereditary crown.

•Republican autocracy

•Single absolute leader who is not a monarch and does not belong to a hereditary dynasty

•Usually military dictatorships or one-party states (but not all military dictatorships and one-party states are autocratic; some are oligarchies).

Plan for Thurs., Jan. 29

• 1) Quick Review of Yesterday’s Notes

• 2) Notes on Types of Governments

• 3) Work on Dr. Seuss Project and/or Test 1 Study Guides

Write the following at the top of your page for

today’s notes:

• Test 1 Lecture Notes – Thurs., Jan. 29

TheocracyGovt. where religion or faith plays a dominant role in govt.

Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

Iranian Religious Laws

Oligarchy

• Most political power rests with a small segment of society

• Usually those w/ most wealth, military strength, political influence, a certain race, etc.

Until the end of apartheid, South Africa was an oligarchy – the white Afrikaners (20% of the population) were the only citizens who could vote. In effect, they controlled the other 80% of (non-white) South Africans

Democratic Govt.’s

• Ruled by the people, not a single leader

• About 2/3 of all countries in the world have democratic govt.’s

Parliamentary Democracy

• People elect the reps in Parliament

• Members of Parliament elect the Prime Minister– Prime Minister is kind of like the president of U.S., but he’s a member of the Parliament

Former Brit P.M. Tony Blair

Current Brit P.M. Gordon Brown - head of govt.

Queen of Engl. = NOT head of govt.

Advantage of parliamentary system

• Unity betw. legislature and executive branches.

Parliament = House of Commons + House of Lords

• HOC = Main lawmaking body of Parl. – elected by the people every 5 years – Prime Minister always chosen from HOC

• HOL = Upper house of Parl. – appointed by the Queen

Republicanism

• Representative govt. in which no leaders inherit office

– Elected to office by the voters

What is a Representative Democracy?

• Voters choose a smaller group to represent them– They write & pass laws on behalf of the people

• Source of govt. power = the people

• Majority Rule:– Govt. will do what the MOST of the people want it to do

Basics of American Democracy

• Rule of Law– All citizens must obey the laws (even the president)

• Limited Govt.– The govt. can only do what the people say it can do

• Individual Rights– Rights the govt. cannot take from any person

American Democracy Basics, Cont’d.

• Consent of the governed– Citizens allow govt. to govern them

• Representative Govt.– People elect govt. officials to make laws & govern on their behalf

Fri., Jan. 30

• Quick Review of Notes so far

• Notes – Citizenship in U.S.

• Turn in Dr. Seuss Books by end of period

• Work on Test 1 Study Guides

• Test 1 Lecture Notes – Fri., Jan. 30

Plan for Mon., Feb. 2

• Quick Review of Notes from Friday

• Notes – Self-Government in the Colonies

• Work on Colonial Self-Government Timeline

• Work on Test 1 Study Guide

• Test 1 Lecture Notes for Mon., Feb. 2

Group Assignment –

• I will assign each of you to a group.

• Work with your group members to write a citizenship exam consisting of 20 questions you think every United States citizen should be able to answer.

• When you are finished, groups will exchange tests and try to answer the questions correctly.

Ch. 2 Obj.’s – Roots of American Democracy

• 2.1: Explain British legal influences on the American colonies

• 2.2: Analyze the colonists’ path to independence

• 2.3: Describe the first federal govt.

England’s Early Govt.

• Magna Carta– Document that protected privileges of nobles and upheld their authority

– Granted certain rights to all landowners – King could not take away these rights•Equal treatment under the law, trial by jury of peers, even King was subject to the law

English Parliament• 1st English legislature – made laws

• By 1300s, Parliament mainly in charge of govt., not the king

• Glorious Revolution (1688)– Parliament became more powerful than the King

– Parliament gave King James the boot and invited his daughter Mary (and her husband, William) to rule instead

• King William and Queen Mary

King James deposed by Parliament

King William and Queen Mary take over the throne upon invitation

by Parliament

Common Law

• Unwritten Laws

• Precedent – previous cases that judges looked at to decide another case

• New court decisions are based on previous court decisions, not on laws made by a legislature

English Ideas of Govt. in American Colonies

• Virginia House of Burgesses - 1st colonial govt.

– Established a representative democracy

– 2 reps from each county met with the colony’s governor and council (appointed by the king)

– King granted the Virginia Company right to govern itself in 1607, then took that right away in 1624

– King Charles appointed a royal governor and council to govern the colony

Jamestown, Virginia: 1st permanent English settlement in America

Jamestown Settlement

Remains uncovered

in Jamestown

Mayflower Compact

• Pilgrims’ written plan for govt.

– Compact = agreement

– Established a direct democracy•One man = One vote

– Majority rule

– Settled in area now called Mass.

Protection of the Colonies

• Colonists relied on each other, not the Brit. Govt., for protection

Why Did Colonists Govern Themselves?

• England was too far away

• The king was busy waging wars in Europe