Social studies Unit 1

Lesson 1: The U.S Government

The Articles of Confederation:

• The original U.S government

• Was so bad that it only lasted for a decade

• The structure of the Articles of the Confederation:

  • The government was composed of a group of delegates

  • 1 Vote per state; each state only received 1 delegate

  • There was no president

  • In order to make decisions, 9 out of the 13 states would have to agree

• The powers of the articles: Declare War, print money, and establish treaties and activities with foreign governments.

• What the articles lacked: It could not collect Taxes, it couldn’t enforce the treaties it made, and it couldn’t keep foreign trades stable.

• Shay’s Rebellion led to the end of The Articles of Confederation and the new form of government, The Constitution

The Founding Fathers:

• Wealthy

• College Educated

• About 40% were war veterans

• All shared a strong desire for a stronger national government

• Supported a government with state representatives, and 3 branches of government that use checks and balances and acts on popular sovereignty

• Concerned about too much tyranny in the government, and a government too weak to stop too much tyranny in the citizens

• In the Constitution, they failed to address: Slavery, problems in the Second Amendment, and new technological advancements at the time

Drafting the Constitution:

• The states disagreed about state representation, because larger states with larger populations felt that it was unfair for lesser populated, smaller states to have equal representation and “say” as them in the government

• The disagreement led to both the New Jersey Plan and Virginia Plan being enacted

• The Virginia Plan

  • A Two house system

  • Representation in both houses based on population

  • It benefitted larger states, especially those with more slaves

• The New Jersey Plan

  • One house system

  • Equal representation for each state

  • Benefitted smaller states and those with fewer slaves

• The end result: Connecticut/Great Compromise

  • A 2 part legislature

  • An upper house → Senate; equal representation

  • A lower house → House of Representatives; based on population

  • Work for the greater good

  • Later symbolized willingness to come together in times of difficulty

• The government structure that was chosen: The government with 3 branches: Executive, Legislative, and Judicial

• The purpose of the electoral college: To have higher-educated people elect a president that they saw as a better candidate; despite them being in the minority of voters

The Constitution:

• Powers:

  • Federalism’s design: To limit the power of the government and give most government powers to the individual states

  • Popular Sovereignty: The government’s powers lie in the hands of the people with their ability to vote for representatives and candidates

  • Limited Government: The powers of the government and its officers are limited by the Constitution; and the fact that no one is above the law

  • Separation of Powers: The splitting of the government’s powers between the 3 branches of government: The Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches; it prevents the abuse of government power and Checks and Balances

  • Checks and Balances: Each branch can “check” the other branches, which prevents abuse of power or rights in the government

  • Judicial Review: The Supreme Court has the ability to see if laws are constitutional

• The 3 branches:
  Executive Branch:

Who it includes: The President, Vice-President, and Departments

Term of service: Presidents serve 4 year terms

Its powers include:

1. The power to overrule any new bills of law.

2. The power to appoint any new judge or officials.

Legislative Branch:

Who it includes: The Senate and House of Representatives.

Term of services: The members of the House serve 2 years per term, and the members of the Senate serve 6 years per term.

Its powers include:

1. The power to pass all Federal Laws.

2. Can vote to accuse the president of a crime tried by a trail of the House.

Judicial Branch:

Who it includes: Officials in the supreme court
Term of service: Supreme Court members serve life terms

Its powers include: 

1. The power to state that any law or act from the Executive Branch goes against the Constitution.

2. The power to take place in Federal Court cases and interpret the Nation’s laws in that case.

The Bill of Rights:

• The first 10 amendments of the Constitution

• Added to protect citizens from abuse from the government

• Doesn’t include the powers of the federal government

The Bill of Rights’ amendments:

1. Congress can’t make any laws prohibiting religious establishments, freedom of speech of press, peaceful protest and assembly, and people from petitioning for a correct change in the government. 

2. A properly supplied and trained military which protects the states; and the right for people to have weapons and firearms in their homes. 

3. No military soldiers shall ever be stationed in a house without consent from the owner, but he or she may by legal approval.

4. No unreasonable searches or seizes of a person’s property without probable cause, reasonable suspicion, or a search or seize warrant.

5. For a crime, a person must be tried by a jury of peers; no person should be set up in a potential danger of losing their lives; forced to be a witness against themself in a trial; convicted without proper legal processes; and private property cannot be taken for public use without fair compensation.

6. In a criminal prosecution, the accused person gets to have a right to a speedy and public trial by a jury of the state, informal of the reasons for his or her accusal, getting witnesses in his or her favor, and having the right to a public defender.

7. If a crime exceeds a value of $20, then a trial by jury isn’t required, and any court can look at the case.

8. No cruel or unusual punishments.

9. The way that rights in the Constitution are numbered doesn’t negatively affect or negate those rights.

10.  Governmental powers not specifically belonging to the government are preserved to the states and/or citizens.

Amending the Constitution:

The Amendment Process:

1. Proposal:

Proposal by a convention of states 

Proposal by Congress.

2. Ratification:

   1. Ratification by State Conventions.

   2. Ratification by State Legislators.

3. Informal Amendments:

   1. The way the Constitution is interpreted is changed.

   2. When something in the Constitution is changed because of changes in society.

   3. When something in the Constitution is changed through a Judicial Branch ruling.

• Jefferson’s Opinions:

1. Each generation is as independent as the last, and therefore has a right to choose what form of government that it desires.

2. Just mentioning the governmental powers is useless, and Americans should perfect the Constitution by adding the amendments that help enforce governmental powers.

3. The Constitution still has its defects no matter what anyone else says, and that it will remain in the hands of every generation who will continuously perfect it.

4. It is good for America that it can easily assemble officials and philosophers to easily fix the Constitution when it is found to be defective in any way.

5. People must be happy with what the Constitution gives, but should be ready to fix the Constitution when needed.

• Madison’s Opinions:

1. If changes start to be made to the Constitution, then there’s a chance that those changes won’t stop, endangering the safety of everything, even the government.

2. If any changes are to be made to the Constitution, then they should be made to ensure the safety of the rights of American citizens.

3. He won’t propose any amendments, even if they aren’t something that he wants to happen, or even if a majority of citizens approve.

Important Vocabulary:

• Impeached: When Congress accuses a president of doing something illegal and takes them to court over it.

Other:

• Anti-Federalists feared that the government would become tyrannical and controlling, ignoring the citizens wants and rights, especially if it was biased towards the wealthy, and it wouldn’t pay attention to the citizens

• Additional amendments:
  

Lesson 2: Politics

Political Socialization:

• Political Socialization begins at home, and is mostly influenced by your parents or the people you’re around the most.

• Political Socialization is mostly determined by someone’s family and background, their school, their community, their peers, and news and media.

• Most Americans don’t have very strong opinions about politics

• Most Moderates(Centrists) don’t tend to vote

• Activists are more likely to vote during elections

• Liberals(Or Democrats) tend to be women, diverse, Atheists, High School Education, and are mostly residing in coastal-urban areas

• Conservatives(Or Republicans) tend to be Men, white, College educated, higher incomes, religious, and live in Southern-rural areas

• A person can become a lot like the people they’re spending time with, about the average of 5 people are.

What are political parties:

• An organized bunch of people or group of people with common ideas of they want society to be

• The goal of political parties is to get members into office in order to make, enforce, or interpret laws which may help the party achieve its goals

• Parties are trying to influence other parties so that the influenced party may take some aspects of the influencing party

Role of political parties:

• To nominate candidates

• To propose new policies

• To organize and inform voters; and organize campaigns and elections related to the party

• As someone goes up and up in the tiers of politics they’re in, the more and more they increase their influence

Party platforms:

Additional Notes:

• 43% or more of Americans don’t believe that neither Democrats or Republicans represent what they want

• A while ago, people used to be diversely spread Left and Right, but now, the diversity is being lost, and most people are Centrists

• The Republican party is moving more towards the Right

• The Democratic party is moving more towards the Left

• Political parties are NOT:

  • Sports Teams

  • Only one person, there are multiple people in these parties

  • All powerful, the citizens elect these members

Single-party Systems:

• One singular governmental party

• China, North Korea, Cuba, Vietnam, Eritrea, Laos

• Complete control by the elected of the party

• There’s a fairly stable and quick decision making process

• Not ideal for citizens and voters

Multi-party Systems:

• More than 2 governmental parties

• Mexico, India, Switzerland

• Greater amounts of choices and options for the citizens

• Coalitions

  • When a group of parties comes together to get things done

  • Has a broader political ideology scale

• Slightly inefficient

Two-party Systems:

• 2 governmental parties

• United States

Lesson 3: Elections

How do you run for office:

• Age requirements

  • House of Representatives: Minimum 25 years old

  • Senate: Minimum 30 years old

  • President: Minimum 35 years old

• Citizenship requirements: Must be born in the U.S

• Process of elections

  • You must declare your candidacy

  • File with the F.E.C(Federal Election Commission)

• Party nominees face against each other during elections

• Styled, Primaries Vs. Coccusses:

Primaries:

• Primaries are public events in which voters come to a certain area and cast votes for the candidate they vote for, and then leave

Coucussess:

• Cocussess are public votes in public areas where people go to public areas and stand on a side of a room according to the candidate they support; after some debating, people can choose to switch sides; and in the end the number of people per side are counted, and the candidate’s side with the majority wins

Voting Methods:

• Larger parties have at least 2 Primaries and Caucuses held in every state.

• Delegates:

  • A person who represents a political body or candidate in a political convention or event.

• Super Delegates:

  • A very important person who represents presidential candidates who is properly treated 

Special Interests:

• Lobbyists: People who have money

• PACs:

  • Short for Political Action Committee

  • Usually represent business ideologies and interests

  • They work with their supporting candidate

  • They donate money to candidates and parties

  • Spends $5,000 to candidates and $15,000 to parties

• Super PACs: 

  • Same as a regular PAC, with some differences

  • They don’t work with their supporting candidates; mostly independently run ads

  • Run by wealthy businesses and/or individuals

  • They have no spending limit

• 501c4s:

  • A Non-profit and “social welfare” organization

  • Often set up specifically for political events and situations

  • Independent from its supporting candidates; they can’t coordinate with him or her

  • Independently running ads

  • They can donate to Super PACs

  • They don’t have to report their donors

  • They either can only spend 49.99% of their budget; or they have no spending limit

• Dark Money: 

  • Money raised for the sole purpose of influencing elections in the favor of some candidate or party

  • Most commonly given out and/or used by Lobbyists or Super PACs

Electoral College:

• The group of 538 people who get to vote to decide who is elected as president

• There are 538 Electoral Votes; and a candidate needs at least 270 to win

• In order for a candidate to receive electoral votes, they must win at least one more than half of a corresponding state votes

• The Electoral College system: 

  • Electoral votes aren’t from citizens but rather from entire states 

  • Every state is given a base of 3 Electoral Votes

  • Votes are unfairly and unevenly distributed between states due to the way it’s set up in the Constitution

  • The Electoral College DOES NOT make candidates see smaller state

• Many Americans believe that this system is unfair and outdated

• (Maine and Nebraska have split districts and are the only states who can Split their Electoral Votes)

Social Studies Project Slides:

Franklin D. Roosevelt:

• Born 1/30/1882

• He attended Harvard

• He married his cousin Eleanor Roosevelt; they had 5 children

• He was the assistant secretary in the navy

• He campaigned for Vice President

• He was diagnosed with Polio, which caused him to lose use of both legs

• He was elected governor of New York during the Great Depression, after he ran for president in 1932

• He had to restore faith in the government

• Approved the New Deal Program, which would provide jobs and reduce unemployment

• He commonly used radio

• He served 4 terms(16 years), and was the only president to ever serve more than 2 terms

• In the 1932 presidential election, he won all but 6 states

• He attempted to grow the Supreme Court but failed

• He was the President during WWII, he contributed to the creation of the United Nations(UN)

• Died in 1945

• After his death, his Vice President Truman took over

John F. Kennedy

• Born 1/9/1913 in Massachusetts

• He was the youngest president to serve

• He graduated from Harvard

• He served in the Navy

• He was elected to the senate

• He opposed Richard Nixon in the first television debate

• During the Cold War, he focused on that and battling the Soviet Union

• He appealed to the racist white southerners and African Americans 

• Got endorsed by Martin Luther King Jr. This helped increase African American votes

• He lowered taxes and increased the minimum wage

• He fought for human and civil rights; approving of the Civil Rights act of 1963, which ended segregation

• In the Bay of Pigs invasion he attempted to overthrow the Cuban president 

• He established the Peace Corps: A Government agency that sends soldiers to countries in aid

• The Cuban missile crisis increased his popularity

• He was assassinated in 1963

Ronald W. Reagan

• Born 2/6/1911 in Illinois

• In poverty, especially among minorities continued

• Initially a Democrat, he switched to a Republican

• Elected Canadian governor in 1966, reelected in 1970 

• Won with an electoral landslide due to poor economic conditions

• He was reelected in 1984, and he won all but one state

• Reaganomics, he reduced taxes on wealthy, and he cut funding for social programs

• Increased military spending, beliving “peace through strength”

• He reduced inflation

• The national debt increased dramatically

• He expanded medicare

• The Reagan doctrine: An anti-communist opposition to Soviet Union

• Faced Democratic majority in Congress, which limited his ability to pass some legislation

• A persuasive speaker, he was able to work with some Democrats despite being on the opposition

• An assassination attempt in on him 1981

• He passed largest tax cuts in US History

• The Iran-Contra affair caused controversy about presidential authority and international relations; it absolutely ruined his relationship with Congress

• He influenced future conservative philosophy about reducing regulations, cutting taxes, and strong military

• He was remembered as great communicator, a strong public speaker, with steady approval ratings

Ulysses S. Grant

• Born 4/27/1822

• His mother secretly signed him up for West Point as a way for him to get out of his family’s tanning business

• At West Point he became a very good soldier

• In 1847 he was drafted into the Mexican-American War

• He married Julia Dent

• He was appointed chief of the Union Army in the Civil War; he accept the surrender of the Confederates

• He won in the presidential election with a massive majority due to his popularity from the Civil War

• He ratified acts to help the civil rights of African Americans

• He established policies to force Native Americans into white society

• He had a number of scandals during his presidency which left him impeached and unfavored

• He was viewed as a weak and indecisive president and a bad politician; he’s mostly remembered for his work in the military

• He died of Throat Cancer

• He is on the $50 Bill.