21 st Century Skills: Civic Literacy

1. 21st Century Skills: Civic Literacy

2. Forms of Government

3. Forms of Government • Definition of Government • An institution that a group of people create to make and enforce laws. • Democracy vs. Dictatorship • Democracy: all political power belongs to the people • Dictatorship: only one person or small group holds all the political power…usually very strict. • Different Forms of Democracy • Direct Democracy: the people make laws themselves • Representative Democracy: people elect a small group of people to do the work of the government

4. Forms of Government • Monarchy- Supreme power in the hands of a monarch (king or queen) who reigns over the country/territory. It is usually for life and is inherited. • Oligarchy- A government in which control is in the hands of a small group of individuals whose authority is based on wealth, power or specialty. • Anarchy-No authority, political disorder due to absence of government

5. Early American Government

6. American Government Origins • History with Great Britain • Charter: Document that gave the American colonist some limited ability to rule themselves. • The American colonies became upset with Great Britain for many reasons: taxes, presence of GB soldiers, etc • By 1775: Revolutionary War had begun • 2nd Continental Congress • Second Continental Congress: Representatives from each of the 13 colonies met to protest GB • Declaration of Independence: • Approved by the 2nd Continental Congress of July 4, 1776. • Told the rest of the world that we would be independent from Great Britain (also listed all the bad things that GB had done to us)

9. Revolutionary War Time • Revolutionary War • Great Britain surrendered on October 19th, 1781 • American was an independent country! • Articles of Confederation • Loose union of the 13 states. • Problems with the Articles of Confederations • No leader • One Branch • All states began to do their own thing • It became obvious that a new government was needed

11. Creating the Constitution

12. Creating our Constitution • Early Plans for Representation • Virginia Plan: Representation would be based on each states population (more people = more representatives) • New Jersey Plan: Representation would be based on equality (each state gets the same number of reps) • Great Compromise (Connecticut Compromise) • Senate: All states have 2 senators • House of Representatives: States with more people get more representatives (Iowa has 4, California has 53)

14. Passing the Constitution • Passing the Constitution • Ratify: Term that meant to approve or pass the constitution • Federalist: People that supported the constitution • Anti-Federalist: People that did not support passing the constitution. Anti-Federalist feared that the federal government had too much power…wanted a Bill of Rights • Ratification • By 1790, all 13 states had voted to ratify constitution • George Washington was elected as our first president

16. Basic Principles of our Constitution • Limited Government • Government only has the powers that the people give it • Government officials must obey the law • Separation of Powers • 3 Branches of Government: Executive (President), Legislative (Congress) and Judicial (Supreme Court) • Checks and Balances • Each branch has ways to limit the power of other branches. (Veto, etc) • Judicial Review • Courts decide whether laws violate the Constitution • Federalism • Division of Powers between National and State Governments

18. Changing the Constitution

19. Early Changes to the Constitution • Amendments • How we change the Constitution • Bill of Rights: First 10 amendments of the Constitution that protected the rights of the people • An amendment must be approved by 2/3 of both the House of Representatives and Senate. • An amendment must then be approved by 3/4 of the States. • We have had a total of 27 amendments that have been ratified.

21. Notable Bill of Rights • First Amendment: Personal Freedoms • Freedom of Speech • Does not give people the option to say or write something that is false and hateful. • Freedom of Press • Government can censor things that are “obscene” • Freedom of Religion • Separation of Church and State…government can not favor one religion over another • People can also worship any religion that they want • Freedom of Assembly • Meeting to share opinions • Freedom of Petition

24. Notable Bill of Rights • 2ndAmendment: Right to Keep and Bear Arms • Meant to protect state militia’s (armies) • Does not mean that American’s can own weapons without any restrictions from the government. • Each state creates its own laws on how to deal with gun ownership • 4th Amendment: Unreasonable Search/Seizure • For police to search you they need to have a search warrant. To get a search warrant they have to have probable cause. • Police can seize things that are in plain view without a search warrant. • A person can be arrested without a warrant if the police have probable cause. • Police must get a warrant before they spy on people

27. Notable Bill of Rights • 5th Amendment: Due Process • Government can not take away anyone’s life, liberty, or property without due process • Due Process: government must follow procedures and act fairly when dealing with crimes. • Flow Chart on Page 129 • Miranda Rule: Read the rights of the accused person • Pleading the 5th: Don’t say anything to incriminate

30. Other Notable Amendments • 13th Amendment • Outlawed Slavery in the USA • 14th Amendment: Civil Rights Amendment • Guaranteed freedoms from state governments • All people born or naturalized in the USA become citizens and are protected by the laws • 15th Amendment: • No one can be kept from voting because of race • 19th Amendment • Allowed women the right to vote

35. Civil Rights

36. Civil Rights Terms • Discrimination • Treating certain groups differently than others • Segregation • Separating groups from one another • Immigration • When people move from one country to live permanently in another country • 14th Amendment: • No state shall deny any person the equal protection of the law

40. Civil Rights Legislation • Supreme Court Decisions • Plessy v. Ferguson (1896): Separate but equal facilities were constitutional if equal. Led to separation of blacks and whites throughout America (especially the South). • Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954): Separate schools were unconstitutional . Began the end of legal segregation in America. • Civil Rights Leaders • Martin Luther King Jr.: Leader of the Civil Rights Movement • Civil Rights Act (Law)of 1964: • Everyone, regardless of race, color, religion, or national origin is free to use public places.

45. Citizenship • Citizen: • A person who receives protection from the government • How to become a citizen? • Birth: anyone born in the United States is a citizen or born to one American parent anywhere in the world • Naturalization: Process to become a legal citizen • Apply, test, hearing • Illegal Aliens • People living in the United States without proper documentation.

48. Legislative, Executive, Judicial Branches of Government

50. Congress: House of Representative and Senate Legislative Branch