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In the United States, our government is the system of power
that acts on behalf of its people. The U.S. government was
designed to serve the American people. Our government
protects our rights and preserves our freedoms.
Governments are set up to make and enforce laws. In this
section, we will look at the basic types of governments in
the world, yet the main emphasis will be placed on the
understanding our American government system.
Based upon your understanding of the reading, answer the following questions:
3. What type of government do you think is represented in the picture (limited or unlimited) and why?
5. Do you know of any governments now or in history that had unlimited power?
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_____________________________ Originally a legitimate military office in the Roman
Republic, the dictator was given his powers by the Senate.
The dictator had absolute power, but for a limited time.
Based upon your understanding of the reading, answer the following questions:
1. Where did the original meaning of the term Dictatorship come from?
3. Why do you think that some dictators call themselves presidents? Why not just call themselves kings?
5. Why do you think that some people have called George Bush and his cabinet dictators?
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_____________________________ Many people think that dictators, in certain cases, can be a good
thing. Because one of the advantages of a dictatorship/absolute
monarchy is the ability to quickly get things done, there have been
instances when dictators have done great amounts of good for the
poor and downtrodden in society. These types of dictators are
referred to as “Benevolent Dictators”. Benevolent is a word that
means “good”. A benevolent dictator, for example, may focus
government priorities on matters of public importance, such as
healthcare, education, population control, or general city
infrastructure. He or she may be committed to peaceful relations,
rather than wars or invasions of other states, and may even allow
for some democratic decision-making to exist, such as through
public referendums.
Based upon your understanding of the reading, answer the following questions:
1. If someone thinks there is such thing as a good dictator, what do they call that person?
2. How is this good dictator supposedly different than that of a bad or evil dictator?
3. Who are some Dictators who have been called “Benevolent Dictators” in the past?
The Bill of Rights is the name for the first 10 amendments to the United States Constitution, which limited the power
of the federal government and guaranteed citizens of the United States certain rights. The amendments were written in
1789 by James Madison, and were based on important ideas about personal rights.. The Bill of Rights went into effect
in 1791, when 3/4 of the states agreed that they were fair. Originally, the Bill of Rights had 12 different amendments,
but the first two were not passed by enough states. The second amendment that was omitted was eventually added to
the Constitution in 1992. It is now the 27th Amendment to the Constitution, and deals with pay changes for the
government.
Based upon your understanding of the reading, answer the following questions:
1. What do you think the artist of this cartoon thinks about George Bush?
5. What rights are you thankful that you have as an American citizen?
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Supported by members of the popular party, Zenger's New-York Weekly JOURNAL continued to publish articles
critical of the royal governor. Finally, Cosby issued a proclamation condemning the newspaper's "divers scandalous,
virulent, false and seditious reflections." On Sunday, November 17, 1734 Zenger was arrested and charged with
seditious libel. Libel is defined as a false and malicious publication printed for the purpose of defaming a living
person
After more than eight months in prison, Zenger went to trial defended by illustrious Philadelphia lawyer Andrew
Hamilton. The case was now a cause celebre with public interest at fever-pitch. Rebuffed repeatedly by Chief
Justice Delancey during the trial, Hamilton decided to plead his client's case directly to the jury. After the arguments
for both sides were finished, the jury was retired, only to return shortly with a verdict of not guilty.
List a few things that you see in this picture.
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Based upon your understanding of the reading, answer the following questions:
1. Why is John Peter Zenger considered to be an early advocate for a free press?
2. What is the definition of libel? Did Zenger’s writings meet that definition?
3. Do you think this case influenced the First Amendment? If so why or why not?
4. Can you think of any times when the government should stop a newspaper from printing something?
5. Do you think that the United States truly has a free press?
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The framers of the U.S. Constitution were concerned that European history
might repeat itself in the new world. They wanted to avoid the continual wars
motivated by religious hatred that had decimated many countries within
Europe. They decided that a church/state separation was their best assurance
that the U.S. would remain relatively free of inter-religious strife. Many
commentators feel that over two centuries of relative religious peace in the
U.S. have shown that they were right.
In 1789, the first of ten amendments were written to the Federal Constitution;
they have since been known as the Bill of Rights.
The First Amendment reads:
Based upon your understanding of the reading, answer the following questions:
1. What are the two religious freedom clauses called?
2. The reading says that the first amendment does not promise absolute freedom of religion. What do you
think this means?
3. Why did the framers of the constitution want freedom of religion written into the constitution?
4. What is the significance of freedom of religion being the first freedom listed within the first
amendment?
5. What do you think the artist is trying to say with this picture?
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They maintain that bans on the sale of certain types of weapons have not proved effective in reducing violent crime, and that
proposals for stricter background checks at gun shows are designed to eliminate gun shows themselves. Some gun
manufacturers have volunteered support for safety locks, but the NRA has criticized safety locks for placing an undue burden on
gun manufacturers without a proven benefit to the public.
Based upon your understanding of the reading, answer the following questions:
1. What does the 2nd amendment guarantee?
Based upon your understanding of the reading, answer the following questions:
1. What is the joke in the picture?
2. Briefly explain the two different sides in the 2nd amendment interpretation debate.
4. Do you think that the 2nd amendment should apply to individual citizens?
on the number of guns a person can buy and raising the age limit for gun ownership.
Gun rights groups, led by the National Rifle Association, argue that these and other proposals infringe on the constitutional
rights of law-abiding citizens. They maintain that bans on the sale of certain types of weapons have not proved effective in
reducing violent crime, and that proposals for stricter background checks at gun shows are designed to eliminate gun
shows themselves. Some gun manufacturers have volunteered support for safety locks, but the NRA has criticized safety
locks for placing an undue burden on gun manufacturers without a proven benefit to the public.
Based upon your understanding of the reading, answer the following questions:
1. What is taking place in the picture
4. What kind of incidents do gun control advocates point to in order to make their arguments?
Though in this system of a "separation of powers" each branch operates independently of the others. However, there are built in
"checks and balances" to prevent tyrannous concentration of power in any one branch and to protect the rights and liberties of citizens.
For example, the President can veto bills approved by Congress and the President nominates individuals to serve in the Federal
judiciary; the Supreme Court can declare a law enacted by Congress or an action by the President unconstitutional; and Congress can
impeach the President and Federal court justices and judges.
Based upon your understanding of the reading, answer the following questions:
1. Why did the framers of the Constitution want a “separation of powers?”
3. List the 3 articles of the constitution and what power they give to the government.
5. List one thing that each branch can do to another branch to check its power.
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Anchored by the first three articles of the Constitution,
Congress (legislative), the presidency (executive) and the
judiciary (judicial) make up our three branches of
government.
For example, congressional authority to enact laws can be checked by an executive veto, which in turn can be overridden by a two-
thirds majority vote in both houses; the President serves as commander-in-chief, but only the Congress has the authority to raise and
support an army, and to declare war; the President has the power to appoint all federal judges, ambassadors, and other high government
officials, but all appointments must be affirmed by the Senate; and the Supreme Court has final authority to strike down both legislative
and presidential acts as unconstitutional. This balancing of power is intended to ensure that no one branch grows too powerful and
dominates the national government.
List a few things that you see in this picture.
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Based upon your understanding of the reading, answer the following questions:
1. Which articles of the constitution explain which branches we’ll have in our government?
2. What are two reasons the constitution has power divided among the three branches?
When it became clear that the Constitution would not pass without it, he drafted the Bill of Rights.
Madison believed the new government was “the work of many heads and many hands.” History, however, has made
him famous as the “Father of the Constitution.”
Based upon your understanding of the reading, answer the following questions:
2. How did Madison’s physical disposition and his mental disposition differ?
3. What system did Madison propose at the convention that his borrowed from Montesquieu?
4. What does this quote of Madison’s mean? “Liberty may be endangered by the abuses of liberty as well as by
the abuses of power,”
5. What do you think that the cartoon is trying to say about the Bill of Rights?
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_____________________________ If your congressperson thinks that your idea has a good chance of becoming a law,
then he or she promises to sponsor it. This means that he or she will support it and
speak out in favor of it, in Congress and in public. Once your idea has support from
a member of Congress, it's on the fast track to success.
First, your congressperson introduces your idea as a bill. The bill is sent to the right
committee. The members of the committee discuss the bill and then vote on it. If
they approve it, then the bill goes to the full house of Congress.
So, your bill has been approved by the Agriculture Committee. It goes to the full
House. All 435 members of the House discuss it, debate it, and then vote on it. One
more than half of the members have to approve it. In the House, this is 218. If they
approve it, then the bill goes to the other house of Congress, the Senate. If the
House doesn't approve the bill, they may either send it back to the committee it
came from or abandon it.
Now, let's say that your bill has passed the House. It now goes to the Senate, first to
the right committee. In the Senate, this is the Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry
Committee. Then, the process repeats. This committee discusses it, then votes on it.
If they approve of the bill, then it goes to the full Senate. All 100 Senators discuss
it, debate it, then vote on it. If 51 Senators vote in favor of the bill, then it passes
and goes to the President to sign.
If the President signs the bill, it becomes a law. If he doesn't like it, he can veto it and send it back to Congress. Both houses of Congress
then have three choices:
For this last thing to happen, they need to have two-thirds of the members of both houses vote to override. In the Senate, this is 67. In the
House, this is 290. If either house fails to get to that number, then the President's veto stands and the bill will not become a law.
Good news for you: The Senate passed your bill, and the President has signed it. Your bill is now a law.
Based upon your understanding of the reading, answer the following questions:
1. How many members are there in the House of Representatives?
2. After a Bill is approved in the house that came up with it, where does it then go?
3. What is one thing that congress can do if the president refuses to sign a bill into law?
4. Why do you think that the founding fathers made it difficult for a bill to become law? What purpose
does this serve?