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person with the right to give orders and enforce rules
Authority
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group of officials who establish laws and carry out public policy
Government
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ability to cause others to behave as they might not otherwise if given a choice
Power
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being accepted as an authoritive figure, usually applied to laws or those in power
Legitimacy
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product or service available for all people to consume, whether they pay for it or not
Public Good
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the right to have supreme authority over a geographic area, a group of people, or oneself.
Sovereignty
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a government system in which a single ruler has the supreme power and is based on heredity or divine right. A monarchy has a clear line of succession in which the loyalty monarch as one united power. They have efficient ways to make and enforce decisions and policies.
Monarchy
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a government system in which all the decisions of the government are made by the citizens who meet together to vote by ballot for their policies. All the citizens have an equal say in all the public affairs, and the decisions usually have support all around.
Direct Democracy
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a government system in which public decisions are made by leaders elected by the citizens to represent their interests and govern a republic.
Representative Democracy
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a government system in which the citizens or voters elect lawmakers to represent them in legislature and a president to lead the government and the country as the head of the executive branch. President concerns on the citizens well-being and less on the political party concerns. Both the executive and the legislative keep each other from abusing of power.
Presidential Democracy
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a government system in which the power is divided between the national and regional governments. The federal system works well for large and diverse countries, it also gives the regional governments flexibility to meet all the needs with the different diverse groups.
Federal System
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an economic system that combines market forces with elements of a command economy.
Mixed Economy
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became a member of the Roman senate, and was part of the local nobility from the family. He believed that the people should have their rights. He wrote about civic virtue, the idea that people had a duty to participate in government and be morally responsible. He was against all the corrupt leaders and due to his lack of support, he was exiled from the Senate.
Cicero
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his parents were political activists, he built city states to protect from threats from the Persian Empire. He believed that all the citizens rich or poor had equal opportunity; rights. He introduced Athens to democracy.
Pericles
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was elected archbishop of Canterbury in 1207. He was a witness for the signing of the Magna Carta, he was one of the leaders who pushed for the Magna Carta to be signed.
Archbishop Stephen Langton
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studied science and history and became a lawyer. He inherited title from his uncle. He disapproved of the French lifestyle, and published the Persian Letters which criticized the french institutions. His famous work was the Spirit of the Laws which proposed that power be separated into 3 branches.
Baron de Montesquieu
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went to Trinity College in Oxford and studied constitutional law, in 1689 he was named part of the English Parliament. He established free elections, and the freedom of speech in Parliament. He drafted the English Bill of Rights.
John Somers
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he initially was a teacher but later became a lawyer. He defended Britain soldiers from the Boston Massacre and fought for independence. He wrote thoughts on Government in 1776, which became the framework for state constitutions. Believed in English tradition and rule of law.
John Adams
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graduated from college and became a doctor, he later became interested in religious freedom and rights of citizens. He believed there shouldn't be a monarchy and he pushed for democracy. He wanted to give a voice to the people and institute his natural rights; life, liberty, and rights to property.
John Locke
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he became a lawyer after college, and in 1768 he was elected to Virginia's house of Burgesses. He opposed Britain's rule over American colonies. He wanted equality for America after being unhappy with King George III's rule. He was part of the Declaration of Independence.
Thomas Jefferson
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the plan in which the government would have a bicameral, or two-house, legislature. The plan proposed that representation in both houses should be based on the population of each state.
Virginia Plan
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proposed a series of amendments to the Articles of Confederation. These changes would have created a more powerful national government with a unicameral, or one-house, legislature in which all the states would have equal representation.
New Jersey Plan
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known for resolving the issue of representation in Congress and allowed the convention to move forward. This compromise was made to create a bicameral legislature with a different form of representation in each house.
The Great Compromise
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a plan of government approved by Congress in 1777 to be used in all the states as the framework for the laws to be established in each state or area.
Articles of Confederation
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supporters of the ratification of the U.S. Constitution, who favored the creation of a strong federal government that shared power with the states.
Federalists
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opponents of ratification of the U.S. Constitution who favored the loose association of states established under the Articles of Confederation.
Anti-Federalists
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1) Preamble
-Introduction to the purpose of the government.
2) Articles (7)
-Sections/Divisions of the Constitution
3) Amendments (27)
-Changes to the Constitution
-#1-10 are The Bill of Rights
Structure of the Constitution
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Established the Key principle of Judicial Review and granted power to the Supreme Court to declare acts. In the end, the Court can overturn laws or government actions that do not comply with the Constitution.
Marbury v. Madison
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Case affirmed the Supremacy of the National Government over the states. The case revolved around the disputes of the National Bank and helped strengthen the National Government.
McCulloch v. Maryland
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Proved that no one, not even the President is above the law. It reaffirmed the rule of Law as a key principle of the American government.
United States v. Nixon
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Override presidential vetoes, approve or reject presidential appointments and treaties, and impeach and try the President in the Executive Branch. Also approve or reject nominations of federal judges, create lower courts, and remove judges through impeachment in the Judicial Branch.
Congress can...
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must be residents of the state in which they are elected, must meet the minimum age requirement 25 for the House and 30 for the Senate, and myst be a citizen of the U.S. for 7 years for the house and 9 for the Senate.
Formal Qualifications
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race, gender, education and occupation.
Informal Qualifications
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Powers of______include; levy and collect taxes, to borrow money, to regulate interstate and foreign commerce, coin money and declare war.
Congress Powers
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The public often votes for the names they recognize and not so much the new candidates.
Why do Legislators get reelected?
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represent the interests and demands of their communities and at the same time rely on their own decisions and judgement to make the right choices for legislation.
What do Legislators do?
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-It is sent to a clerk of the Senate or the House.
-It is assigned a # and a letter of Origin (HR or S)
Step 1: Legislation is Introduced
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-The bill is assigned to a committee that specializes in that area
Step 2: House Committee Assignment
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-Both the Opponents and Proponents get 30 min to argue their point
-A vote is taken to see who wants the bill to pass (majority of members present must agree)
Step 3: House Debate and Vote
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-Bill is introduced to the Senate by the Senator and is voted on.
-The bill is sent to a committee based on the subject.
Step 4: Senate Introduction and Committee Assignment
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-The bill needs to be approved by 51 members of the Senate, and 217 of the House.
-Speakers are given unlimited amount of time to argue their point.
-If the Bill passes, it is sent to another chamber of Congress
Step 5: Senate Debate and Vote
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-If the Committee cannot come to an agreement then the bill dies.
-Both chambers must approve the conference report.
Step 6: Congress Committee Action/Final Congressional Approval
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-The President must approve a Bill in order to become a Law
- He has ten days to sign it or veto it
-If it is not signed, it is returned to both chambers.
Step 7: President's Approval
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-If Bill is Vetoed by President, then it goes back to the drawing board but it still has a chance of being a law.
-Congress can make it a Bill if they override the veto by voting.
Step 8: President Vetos/Overriding a Veto
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-35 years old
-Natural Born Citizen
-Resident for at least 14 years
Formal Qualifications for President
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-White male from upper or middle class
-Most commonly former senators or governors
-Moderate political beliefs
Informal Qualifications for President
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-Voters cast ballots for electors.
Tuesday after 1st Monday in November
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Winning electors in each state meet to cast their votes
Monday after 2nd Wednesday in December
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Congress counts electoral votes.
January 6th
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Candidate receiving majority of electoral votes is sworn in as president.
January 20th
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The total number of Electoral Votes is determined by...
# of representatives + 2 senators = Total Electoral Votes
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_____ is the number of votes available to candidates.
538
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_____is the minimum of electoral votes a candidate must receive.
270
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the votes are given per district and not as a whole state. (Maine and Nebraska)
Congressional District Method
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Whoever wins the most popular votes takes all the electoral votes from the state.
Winner-Take-All
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a president can win more popular votes but less electoral votes and lose the election.
Criticism
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8 Roles of the President
- -Chief Citizen
- -Chief of Party
- -Chief Diplomat
- -Commander in Chief
- -Chief Policymaker
- -Chief of State
- -Chief Executive
- -Chief Manager of the Economy
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deals with interstate and international commerce issues, issues involving treaties and foreign nations and disputes involving citizens of other nations.
Federal Jurisdiction
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that deals with crimes punishable by state law, traffic violations, divorce and child custody battles.
State Jurisdiction
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the court has the authority to review decisions made in lower courts
Appellate Jurisdiction
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a court has the authority to hear a case for the first time, before it appears in any other court.
Original Jurisdiction
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the U.S. Constitution is interpreted with a literal approach in which the exact words of the document are used
Strict Construction
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the U.S. Constitution is intrepreted with a more flexible approach because they take into account the current conditions in society.
Loose Construction
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the principle that judicial review should be used sparingly, especially in dealing with controversial issues
Judicial Restraint
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the principle that the Supreme Court should use its power of judicial review to over-turn bad precedents and promote socially desirable goals.
Judicial Activism
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a document issued by the Supreme Court that states the reasons for its decision is determined by the majority of justices
Majority opinion
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a document issued by the Supreme Court justices who disagree with a Court decision, stating the reasons for their dissent
Dissenting opinion
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a document issued by the Supreme Court justices who agree with a Court decision, but for different reasons than those expressed in the majority opinion.
Concurring opinion
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a criminal offense, less serious than a felony and punishable by fine or short jail sentence.
Misdemeanor
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more serious crimes that are punished with extended prison time or even death sentences.
Felonies
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unreasonable searches, they have the right to an attorney and the right to remain silent to avoid self-incrimination and they have the right to an attorney if being suspected for a crime.
The rights of the accused
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