EQ: What is Civics?
• Study of
EQ: What are the functions of
govts?
• Keep order – laws, courts
• Provide security – police, military
• Provide services – libraries, schools, etc.
EQ: What are the 3 Levels of Govt?
• National Govt. - (a.k.a. Federal)
• State Govt.- (like N.C.)
EQ: What are the 3 Branches of
Govt.?
• Judicial Branch: Interprets & applies laws
– Fed. Courts – State Courts
• Legislative Branch: Writes laws
– Fed.: Congress (Senate and House of Reps )
– State: General Assembly (Senate and House of Reps) – Local: City Council
• Executive Branch: Enforces laws
Aliens (Immigrants) in the U.S.
•All of today’s more than 310 million Americans are descended from
immigrants.
•On the back of every American coin, you’ll find the Latin words:
• E pluribus unum: “Out of many, one.”
"Oh God, I was sick. Everybody was
sick. I don't even want to remember anything about that old boat. One night I prayed to God that it would go down because the waves were washing over it. I was that sick, I didn't care if it went down or not. And everybody else was the same way."
• 14th Amdt: defines a U.S. citizen as
anyone “born or naturalized in the United States.”
EQ: Who are Americans?
• Born in the U.S.
– Even if your parents are not citizens
• Born outside U.S. & both parents are U.S. citizens
• Born outside U.S., but 1 parent is U.S. citizen who has lived in the U.S.
Naturalization Process
• 1. Sign declaration of intention with INS (Immigration and Naturalization Service)
• 2. Live in U.S. at least 7 years – continuously • 3. File for naturalization
Naturalization Cont’d.
• If a naturalized person has
children under the age of 18, they
automatically
White settlers felt that Chinese immigrants took jobs away from white men. In truth, the Chinese filled economic niches no white man wanted in manufacturing, farm labor, and
Aliens in the U.S. cont’d.
• The United States today restricts the number of immigrants who can enter the
country.
• Highest priority goes to relatives of U.S.
citizens and people with needed skills.
• The Immigration Act of 1990 emphasis has
shifted towards ”those who want to work and produce and
Illegal
Immigrants
• 11 million illegal
immigrants live in U.S. today
• Most come for work or to escape bad
conditions in their home country
• Illegal to hire them in U.S.
Legal Immigrants
• May have jobs, own property, attend public schools, pay taxes, etc.
• Cannot vote, hold office, serve on juries, or hold govt. jobs
Begin notes Thurs., Sept. 1
Diversity in America
• All Americans are immigrants or descendants of immigrants
• Tolerance of diversity is a civic
1st European Settlers
• Spanish settlers (1500s)
– Florida, California, the Southwest
• British (1600s)
– East Coast
– Created the 13 colonies that became the U.S.
• French (1600s)
– Canada
– Along the Mississippi River (New Orleans, etc.)
• Other Europeans from the Netherlands, Sweden, Ireland, Scotland, & Germany joined English
• A flood of immigrants arrived between 1860 and 1890, many from Denmark,
Norway, and Sweden.
• Another flood arrived between 1890 and 1924, mostly from central and eastern
African Immigrants
• Were among the
earliest immigrants to North America, but did not come willingly
• Slave trade brought them as workers to east coast of North America and Caribbean islands
• 600,000 Africans came to North
Population Growth in U.S.
• #1 reason: immigration
• #2: Childbirth rate (before industrialization)
First big pop. Shift (1800s)
• People moved from farms to cities
EQ: What are the Different
Types of Govt.?
• No two governments are alike.
• They are shaped by their country’s unique history, culture, politics, and economy.
• 2 Broad Categories of Govt’s:
– Authoritarian
Anarchy
• No govt.
Types of
Authoritarian
Govts.
All have:
– One person or small group run govt.
Monarchy
• Govt. ruled by king or queen
• Ruler inherits power through family & has unlimited authority
King Mswati of Swaziland is an absolute monarch
•Failure to investigate and prosecute those
responsible for torture and deaths in custody and abusive policing involving the use of excessive force •Denial of the rights of freedom of association and peaceful assembly to those perceived as government critics
•Undermining of the role of courts in protecting the rights of women and girls against forced marriages, including by members of the Royal Family
•Failure to protect women and girls against rape and other forms of sexual violence which has contributed to Swaziland having the highest HIV prevalence in the world
•Politically-motivated forced evictions without the right to effective legal redress, resulting in violation of the victims' rights to livelihood, shelter, education and health.
Saudi Arabia’s Absolute Monarch
Crown Prince Abdullah
• Bending under strong international pressure, Crown Prince Abdullah and his family, who have absolute power, are holding municipal elections – the people living in cities and towns get to elect city leaders
• Women may not vote or run for office, owing to “technical difficulties”: Most Saudi women don’t have the photo IDs needed to register; there aren’t enough female officials to register those who do; and men may not register women, because the sexes are forbidden to mingle in public.
• Worldwide, the royal family promotes an extreme form of Islam called Wahhabism, which considers all followers of other religions—even other
Muslims—“infidels.”
• In 2004, the U.S. State Department added Saudi Arabia to its list of nations in which religious
Types of Auth. Govts., Cont’d.
• Dictatorship – Rule by one person (or
small group of people) who have complete control over the nation and its people
Totalitarian Govt.’s
• Govt. regulates nearly every aspect of public and private life of citizens
Under Stalin’s rule – 60 million “dissidents” sent to their deaths
Hitler – 6 million Jews – many millions more dead in combat
Totalitarian Govts. Cont’d.
Kim Jung-Il (North Korea)
•The Ministry of People’s Security places spies in
workplaces and neighborhoods to inform on anyone who criticizes the regime, even at home.
•All radios and TV sets are fixed to receive only government stations.
•Disloyalty to Kim Jong Il and his late father, Kim Il Sung, is a punishable crime: Offenses include allowing pictures of either leader to gather dust or be torn or folded.
•The population is divided into “loyalty groups.” One-third belong to the “hostile class.” These people
receive the worst jobs and housing and may not live in the capital, Pyongyang.
Dictatorship
Fidel Castro of Cuba
• Modern-day dictator
Raul Castro, Fidel’s brother
Communist Govt.’s
• China, Cuba
• Central govt. makes all economic
decisions.
China
• CPC Chairman Hu Jintao
•Some 250,000 Chinese are
serving sentences in “re-education and labor camps.”
•China executes more people than all other nations combined, often for nonviolent crimes.
•The death penalty can be given for burglary, embezzlement,
counterfeiting, bribery or killing a panda.
•Hu’s government controls all
media and Internet use. Defense lawyers who argue too vigorously for clients’ rights may be
disbarred or imprisoned.
Constitutional Monarchy
• A.K.A. Limited Monarchy
• Power of the monarch is limited by a
constitution and laws.Luxembourg, a Constitutional Monarchy under a system of
Autocracy
• One person holds unlimited power in the govt. Alexander III ,
Russian Tzar 1881 to 1894
•2 Types:
•Monarchical autocracy
•Traditional absolute monarchies with a hereditary crown.
•Republican autocracy
•Single absolute leader who is not a monarch and does not belong to a hereditary dynasty
•Usually military dictatorships or one-party states (but not all
Plan for Thurs., Jan. 29
• 1) Quick Review of Yesterday’s Notes
• 2) Notes on Types of Governments
Write the following at the top of
your page for today’s notes:
Theocracy
Govt. where religion or faith plays a dominant role in govt.
Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
Oligarchy
• Most political
power rests with a small segment of society
• Usually those w/ most wealth, military strength, political influence, a certain race,
etc. Until the end of apartheid, South Africa was an oligarchy – the white
Democratic
Govt.’s
• Ruled by
Parliamentary Democracy
• People elect the reps in Parliament
• Members of
Parliament elect the Prime Minister
– Prime Minister is kind of like the president of U.S., but he’s a member of the Parliament
Former Brit P.M. Tony Blair
Current Brit P.M. Gordon Brown - head of govt.
Advantage of parliamentary system
Parliament = House of Commons +
House of Lords
• HOC = Main lawmaking body of Parl. – elected by the people every 5 years
– Prime Minister always chosen from HOC
Republicanism
• Representative govt. in which no leaders
inherit office
– Elected to
What is a Representative
Democracy?
• Voters choose a smaller group to represent them
– They write & pass laws on behalf of the people
• Source of govt. power = the people
• Majority Rule:
Basics of American Democracy
• Rule of Law
– All citizens must obey the laws (even the president)
• Limited Govt.
– The govt. can only do what the people say it can do
• Individual Rights
American Democracy Basics,
Cont’d.
• Consent of the governed
– Citizens allow govt. to govern them
• Representative Govt.
Fri., Jan. 30
• Quick Review of Notes so far
• Notes – Citizenship in U.S.
• Turn in Dr. Seuss Books by end of period
• Work on Test 1 Study Guides
Plan for Mon., Feb. 2
• Quick Review of Notes from Friday
• Notes – Self-Government in the Colonies
• Work on Colonial Self-Government Timeline
• Work on Test 1 Study Guide
Group Assignment –
• I will assign each of you to a group.• Work with your group members to write a citizenship exam consisting of 20
questions you think every United States citizen should be able to answer.
• When you are finished, groups will
Ch. 2 Obj.’s – Roots of
American Democracy
• 2.1: Explain British legal influences on the American colonies
• 2.2: Analyze the colonists’ path to independence
England’s Early Govt.
• Magna Carta
– Document that protected privileges of nobles and upheld their authority
– Granted certain rights to all landowners – King could not take away these rights
English Parliament
• 1st English legislature – made laws• By 1300s, Parliament mainly in charge of govt., not the king
• Glorious Revolution (1688)– Parliament became more powerful than the King
– Parliament gave King James the boot and invited his daughter Mary (and her husband, William) to rule instead
King James deposed by Parliament
Common Law
• Unwritten Laws
• Precedent – previous cases that judges looked at to decide another case
• New court decisions are based on
English Ideas of Govt. in
American Colonies
• Virginia House of Burgesses - 1st colonial govt.
– Established a representative democracy
– 2 reps from each county met with the colony’s governor and council (appointed by the king)
– King granted the Virginia Company right to govern itself in 1607, then took that right away in 1624
Remains
uncovered
in
Mayflower Compact
• Pilgrims’ written plan for govt.
– Compact = agreement
– Established a direct democracy
• One man = One vote
– Majority rule
Protection of the Colonies
Why Did Colonists Govern
Themselves?
• England was too far away
