Civics
and Government
POLITICAL THOUGHT AND ACTION
The framers of the Constitution were inspired by ENLIGHTENMENT thought, including philosophers like JoHN LocKE, whose Second Treatise posited that people had NATURAL RIGHTS (the basis of the American rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness) and JEAN-JAcQUes ROUSSEAU, who believed in the rule of law and that democracy was essential to safeguard the rights of the individual. Other influences included MoNTESQUIEU, whose influential work The Spirit of the Laws articulated the separation of powers between legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government. THOMAS HoBBes established individual rights and equality, as well as the social contract in Leviathan. The theory of the SOCIAL CONTRACT posited that people would retain their rights but must consent to a government that would work to ensure their rights and protect them-CONSENT OF THE GOVERNED to relinquish their rights of self-defense to a protective government. The MAYFLOWER COMPACT of 1620 was the first example of consent by the governed to a government, following the escape of the persecuted Pilgrims from England.
In 1776, the Thirteen Colonies issued the DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE from England, becoming the United States of America. Based on Locke's philosophy of natural rights, the document stated Americans' belief in the equality of all men (women and those of non-European descent would not enjoy those rights until later). It also listed grievances with the British relating to abuses of Americans rights and lack of representation of their interests in the British government. Setting the stage for REPUBLICAN government, or REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY based on the social contract wherein the people democratically elect leaders to represent their interests, the Declaration of Independence became an important document in the Age of Revolution in the nineteenth century, and the basis for American political and cultural values.
Today, citizens' interests may be represented by political parties and interest groups. The major political parties are the DEMOCRATIC PARTY, which leans liberal, and the more conservative REPUBLICAN PARTY. The conservative base tends to be older, whiter, and Evangelical Protestant voters with traditional values who advocate for a smaller government and a society that is less influenced by laws and regulations. Liberals tend to be more racially diverse, less politically motivated by religious concerns, and more likely to show an interest in social welfare programs, such as health care reform under the Affordable Care Act.
INTEREST GROUPS are dedicated to a particular cause or goal. Individuals within the group may share a common cause, background, or traits. An interest group can be organized around race, religion, a goal, or cause. While interest groups may work for the election of a candidate, they do not put forth candidates or actively participate in the electoral process. Both Political Action Committees (PACs) and 527 groups exist to provide funding for political parties and politicians. These are fundraising organizations.PACs allow groups to fund elections and political campaigns outside of traditional campaign finance restrictions. For instance, corporations and labor unions are not allowed to directly donate to
campaigns, but PACs may donate to political parties and candidates. These donations are limited by federal law to relatively small amounts overall; however, groups may create multiple PACs.
Examples
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What did John Locke and Thomas Hobbes believe? How do their visions exist today?
John Locke believed in the natural rights of humans and in the social contract between the government and the people, in which the people would willingly give up some of these rights in exchange for government protection. For example, today in the U.S., we have police departments and permit them to temporarily detain people who may be breaking the law and posing a threat to the safety of others.
Why was the Mayflower Compact important?
The Mayflower Compact was the first example of consent by the governed in the early Americas, an example of the social contract in action.
THE CONSTITUTION
Federalism and States' Rights
Federalism and States' Rights
Following the American Revolution, dissent within the United States persisted over the degree to which the federal government should hold power. FEDEraLIsTs believed in a strong federal gov-ernment; ANTI-FEDERALISTS believed that STATES' RIGHTS should be paramount. The 1781 ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION created a weak central government; however, instability in the late eighteenth century made it clear that a stronger government was needed, leading to the CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION where the ConSTITUTION and BILL OF RIGHTS (the first ten amendments to the Constitution) were created. The document was finally ratified by all states in 1789.
The Constitution and the Bill of Rights
The U.S. Constitution is a single document CODIFYING the foundational laws of the country. It provides for a FEDERAL GOVERNMENT but one that is based on POPULAR SOVEREIGNTY, SEPARATION OF POWERS, LIMITED GOVERNMENT, and CHECKS AND BALANCES in order to protect from federal overreach. Popular sovereignty, in the tradition of John Locke, meant that government can only exist with the consent of the governed. One important example of protection of that consent in the Constitution is HABEAS CORPUS, according to which the government cannot detain a person indefinitely without charges. The three articles of the Constitution laid out a framework for a limited federal government, including a separation of powers between the LEGISLATIVE (Article I), EXECUTIVE (Article II), and JUDICIAL (Article III) BRANCHES. Each of these branches has the ability to check, or limit, the powers of the others. Powers held by more than one branch of government are called CONCURRENT powers.
The first ten amendments to the Constitution are known as the BiLL OF RIGHTS. A concession to the anti-Federalists who feared that the Constitution still provided for too strong a federal govern-ment, the Bill of Rights clarifies and guarantees specific rights of Americans. Some examples include: the FIRST AMENDMENT, which safeguards freedom of speech, religion, and the right to assembly; the controversial SECOND AMENDMENT, which guarantees the right to bear arms (sometimes interpreted to mean with restrictions); the FOURTH AMENDMENT, protecting Americans from unreasonable search and seizure; the FIFTH AMENDMENT, protecting one from double jeopardy or testifying against oneself in a court of law; the SIXTH AMENDMENT, guaranteeing the right to a speedy and public trial; the EIGHTH AMENDMENT, protecting against cruel and unusual punishment; and the TENTH AMENDMENT, stipulating that any powers not specifically articulated in the Constitution or prohibited by the states are left to the states or to the people themselves.
The Constitution can also be further amended. Important amendments throughout history have included the THIRtEENTh AMENDMENT, prohibiting slavery; the FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT, which defined citizenship, granting it to former slaves; the FIFTEENTH AMENDMENT, guaranteeing African-American men the right to vote; the NINETEENTH AMENDMENT, which gave women the right to vote; the EIGHTEENTH and TWENTIETH AMENDMENTS, which prohibited the sale of alcohol and then overturned Prohibition, respectively; and the TWeNTY-FOURTH AMENDMENT, which forbade a poll tax, which had been used to deny African Americans the right to vote.
Examples
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How does the Constitution protect from federal overreach? Provide details.
The Constitution's three articles created three branches of government: the legislative, the executive, and the judicial. This separation of powers provides for a system of checks and balances, which lets each branch limit the powers of the others, helping prevent federal overreach.
Moreover, the Bill of Rights specifically stipulates certain rights that Americans are always entitled to, and the Tenth Amendment ensures that anything not specified should be determined by the state or the people themselves.
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Why was the Bill of Rights important to the anti-Federalists?
The Bill of Rights made it clear that there are certain specific rights to which Americans are entitled. More detailed and specific than the Constitution, the Bill of Rights guarantees Americans the rights to free speech,
protection from abuses of power like cruel punishment or secret trials, and more. Ensuring that certain rights were specifically mentioned in the Constitution would help protect them from any movements by the federal government to eliminate them.
THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
Legislative Branch
In early American history, disagreement over the nature of the federal government persisted between the very different states. The VIRGINIA PLAN proposed a federal legislature based on state population size-a boon for that large state. The NEw JERSEY PLAN, in contrast, proposed a federal legislature made up of equal representation from each state, benefitting the smaller states. The resulting GREAT COMPROMISE created a BICAMERAL LEGISLATURE, with a HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES whose size was based on state popula-tion. To determine population, states arrived at the THREE-FIFTHS COMPROMISE, which counted slaves as three-fifths of a person, even though they could not vote and did not have the same rights as other Americans. The Senate would be composed of two represen-tatives, or SENATORS, from each state, regardless of its size. Today there are 435 members of the House and one-hundred senators (two for every state).
The LEGISLATIVE BRANCH of government, or CONGRESS, is responsible for creating laws. Elected directly by the people, representatives write legislation, or laws. These ideas are proposed in the form of BILLs, which require a congressional sponsor. American citizens can also write bills but need their representative to sponsor them. The bill goes to the relevant congressional COMMITTEE for study and debate; if released, it's voted on by the House. If it passes the vote (by SIMPLE MAJORITY), it then moves on to the Senate, where it once again goes to committee, and if it passes, goes to the Senate for a vote, passing again by majority. Once the bill is voted on and approved by the House and Senate, it goes to a final CONFERENCE COMMITTEE of both House and Senate members to iron out any differences over the bill. Finally, it moves to the president, who can sign it into law or VETO it within ten days. However, Congress has the power to oVERRIDE a presidential veto, which requires a TWO-THIRDS VOTE in both the House and the Senate. This is one part of the SYSTEM OF CHECKS AND BALANCES. Congress also has the power to declare war; however, in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, it has voted to authorize the president to decide whether to take military action in several conflicts.
Executive Branch
Like the members of Congress, the PRESIDENT is elected by the people; however, this process occurs through the ELECTORAL COLLEGE. In voting for president, the voters are actually voting for their candidates group of electors. The electors correspond to a state's members in its congressional delegation; counting the District of Columbia, there are a total of 538. A candidate needs 270 electors to win the presidency.
The executive branch is responsible for government administration and enforcing the law. The president is the HEAD OF STATE and the COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF of the armed forces. He or she chooses a CABINeT and the heads of federal agencies to implement and enforce the laws created by Congress. Presidential powers include: the power to SIGN TREATIES (although they must be ratified by the Senate); to approve or veto legislation; to issue EXECUTIVE ORDERS; and to offer PARDONS for federal crimes. The VICE PRESIDENT also acts as the president of the Senate but can only vote in case of a tie. Next in line of succession should the president be killed or incapacitated, the vice president can also have an important advisory role to the president and take on a role in policy.
The heads of fifteen executive departments compose the CABINET. These departments manage the day-to-day operations of the federal government. They are the Department of Agriculture; the Department of Commerce; the Department of Defense; the Department of Education; the Department of Energy; the Department of Health and Human Services; the Department of Homeland Security; the Department of Housing and Urban Development; the Department of the Interior; the Department of Justice; the Department of Labor; the Department of State; the Department of Transportation; the Department of the Treasury; and the Department of Veterans Affairs. These departments control federal agencies as diverse as the Food and Drug Administration, the FBI, the Fair Housing Administration, and the Armed Services.
Judiciary
The role of the JUDICIARY is to interpret the law created by the legislative branch and enforced by the executive branch. In this way, it acts as part of the system of checks and balances on the power of the government, limiting the power of the other branches. Unlike the other two branches, members of the judicial branch, including the SUPREME COURT and other federal courts, are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate, not directly elected by the
people. Some important Supreme Court cases included MARBURY v. MADISON, which established JUDICIAL REVIEW, giving the Supreme Court the ability to declare acts of Congress unconstitutional; McCULLOCH v. MARYLAND, strengthening federalism by giving Congress more authority to take action not explicitly stated in the Constitution; GIBBONS V. OGDEN, where the Court ruled that Congress had the sole right to regulate interstate commerce; Scott v. SANFORD, which ruled that African Americans, whether enslaved or free, did not have rights as American citizens; PLESSY V. FERGUSON, which upheld segregation; BROWN V. BOARD OF EDUCATION, which struck down segregation; and RoE v. WADE, which struck down federal restrictions on abortion.
Examples
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Explain the Bill of Rights.
The Bill of Rights consists of the first ten amendments of the Constitution. While the Constitution provides for a system of checks and balances between the three branches of government in an effort to safeguard democracy, the Bill of Rights ensures specific rights enjoyed by Americans like freedom of speech.
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Provide some examples of the system of checks and balances.
The president can veto bills passed by Congress, but Congress can override a presidential veto. Congress can pass laws that the president can approve, but the Supreme Court can strike them down.