C H A P T E R 1 Constitutional Principles

1. AP GOVERNMENT Mrs. Papish C H A P T E R 1Constitutional Principles

2. Government and the State • What Is Government? • Government is the institution through which a society makes and enforces its public policies.

4. Four Characteristics of the State

5. Origins of Government • The Force Theory • The force theory states that one person or a small group took control of an area and forced all within it to submit to that person’s or group’s rule.

6. The Evolutionary Theory • The evolutionary theory argues that the state evolved naturally out of the early family.

7. The Divine Right Theory • The theory of divine right holds that God created the state and that God gives those of royal birth a “divine right” to rule.

8. The Social Contract Theory • The social contract theory argues that the state arose out of a voluntary act of free people. • John Locke’s “Second Treatise on Government”

9. The Purpose of Government The main purposes of government are described in the Preamble of the Constitution of the United States:

10. Forms of Government • How can we classify governments? • How are systems of government defined in terms of who can participate? • How is power distributed within a state? • How are governments defined by the relationship between the legislative and executive branches?

11. Democracy • In a democracy, supreme political authority rests with the people. • A direct democracy exists where the will of the people is translated into law directly by the people themselves • In an indirect democracy, a small group of persons, chosen by the people to act as their representatives, expresses the popular will.

12. Dictatorship • A dictatorship exists where those who rule cannot be held responsible to the will of the people. An autocracyis a government in which a single person holds unlimited political power.

13. Classification by Geographic Distribution of Power Unitary Government • A unitary government has all powers held by a single, central agency. Confederate Government • A confederation is an alliance of independent states.

14. A Federal System Federal Government • A federal governmentis one in which the powers of government are divided between a central government and several local governments.

15. Classification by the Relationship Between Legislative and Executive Branches

16. Basic Concepts of Democracy • What are the foundations of democracy? • What are the connections between democracy and the free enterprise system?

17. Basic Concepts of Government • The English colonists in America brought with them three main concepts: • The need for an ordered social system, or government. • The idea of limited government, that is, that government should not be all-powerful. • The concept of representative government—a government that serves the will of the people.

18. Origins of American Government

19. Our Political Beginnings • What basic concepts of government were held by American colonists? • Which important English documents have had the most influence on our government? • How were the governments of the thirteen colonies organized?

20. Important English Documents • The way our government works today can be traced to important documents in history

21. Magna Charta Trial by Jury Due Process Private Property

22. The English Bill of Rights 4. No Cruel Punishment 5. No unusual fines, excessive bail 6.Right to bear arms 7. Right to Petition

23. The Virginia Bill of Rights 8.No unreasonable search or seizure 9. Freedom of Speech 10. Press 11. Religion

24. The Thirteen Colonies

25. There were three types of colonies: royal, proprietary, and charter. • The royal colonies were ruled directly by the English monarchy. • The King granted land to people in North America, who then formed proprietary colonies. • The charter colonies were mostly self-governed, and their charters were granted to the colonists

26. The Coming of Independence • What were Britain’s colonial policies and how did the colonists react to them? • What were the outcomes of the First and Second Continental Congresses? • How did American independence come about, and what were its effects?

27. King George III: Great Britain

28. British Colonial Policies • Until the mid-1700s, the colonies were allowed a great deal of freedom in their governments by the English monarchy. • In 1760, King George III imposed new taxes and laws on the colonists. • The colonists started a confederation, proposed an annual congress, and began to rebel.

29. Growing Colonial Unity • Early Attempts • In 1643, several New England settlements formed the New England Confederation. • A confederation is a joining of several groups for a common purpose.

30. The Albany Plan • In 1754, Benjamin Franklin proposed the Albany Plan of Union, in which an annual congress of delegates (representatives) from each of the 13 colonies would be formed.

31. The Stamp Act Congress • In 1765, a group of colonies sent delegates to the Stamp Act Congress in New York. • These delegates prepared the Declaration of Rights and Grievances against British policies and sent it to the king.

32. The Continental Congresses • The colonists sent a Declaration of Rights to King George III. • The delegates urged each of the colonies to refuse all trade with England until British tax and trade regulations were repealed, or recalled.

33. Second Continental Congress • In 1775, each of the 13 colonies sent representatives to this gathering in Philadelphia. • The Second Continental Congress served as the first government of the United States from 1776 to 1781.

34. American Independence • On July 4, 1776, the Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence.

35. Between 1776 and 1777, most of the States adopted constitutions instead of charters.

36. The Critical Period • What were the Articles of Confederation? • Why were the 1780s a critical period in United States history? • What did America do to create a stronger government in the 1780s?

37. The Articles of Confederation • The Articles of Confederation established “a firm league of friendship” among the States.

38. Articles of Confederation

39. Powers Congress was given the power to declare war, deal with national finance issues, and settle disputes among the States. Obligations The States promised to obey Congress, and to respect the laws of the other States. Most other powers were retained by each State.

40. A Call for a Stronger Government • Representatives from Maryland and Virginia met at Mount Vernon, Virginia, in 1785 to discuss trade issues.

41. The meeting was so successful that the Virginia General Assembly requested a meeting of all thirteen States, which eventually became the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia.

43. Creating the Constitution • Who were the Framers of the Constitution? • What were the differences between the Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan? • What were some of the compromises on which the Constitutional Convention agreed? • What sources did the delegates draw on and how did they react when they completed the Constitution?

44. Framers of the Constitution

45. Different Constitutional Plans The Virginia Plan • Three branches of government • Bicameral legislature • “National Executive” and “National Judiciary”

46. The New Jersey Plan • Unicameral Congress • Equal representation for States of different sizes • More than one federal executive

47. Influences on the new Constitution • The Framers were familiar with the political writings of their time, such as works by Jean Jacques Rousseau and John Locke. • They also were seasoned, variously, by the Second Continental Congress, the Articles of Confederation and experiences with their own State governments.

48. Reactions • When the Constitution was complete, the Framers’ opinions of their work varied. Some were disappointed, like George Mason of Virginia, who opposed the Constitution until his death in 1792.

49. Most agreed with Ben Franklin’s thoughts when he said, • “From such an assembly [of fallible men] can a perfect production be expected? It…astonishes me, Sir, to find this system approaching so near to perfection as it does…”

50. Ratifying the Constitution • Who were the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists? • How long did the ratification of the Constitution take? • What happened after its ratification?