COACH DANIEL’S GUIDE TO THE
EOC FOR CIVICS AND ECONOMICS
Goal #1 Foundations of the American Political System
1.01 1.04 Pre-Revolutionary America
The British North American Colonies were divided into the Northern, Middle, and Southern colonies.
Jamestown, Virginia, the first successful English colony, was founded in 1607. Most of the colonies were founded by religious dissenters. Those dissatisfied with the Church of England were called Pilgrims. They were followed by others called Puritans. And, Catholics founded the colony of Maryland. Most colonies tolerated different religious groups. Roger Williams, a Puritan dissenter, left Massachusetts and started the colony of Rhode Island. Quakers under William Penn founded Pennsylvania.
Northern colonies became centers for trade and manufacturing while the South relied on agriculture. Land ownership in the South was restricted to a few wealthy families.
Many workers in the colonies were indentured servants that had come to America by agreeing to work for a period of time to pay back those that had loaned them money for the passage. Slaves began to arrive (mostly in the South) in the 1620s and worked on plantations. These slaves were the property of their owners and by the 1680s the slave trade was thriving. That trade was called the Triangular Trade Route
Europe, Africa, and North America. The captured Africans were crammed onto ships for the Middle Passage.
The colonies existed under an economic system called mercantilism, countries should export more than they import in order to make money.
Colonies came in 4 types: joint-stock where investors paid shares for a chance to make a profit in the new colony, proprietary where one person owns the colony, royal where the king retains ownership and hires a governor to run things, and self-governing where the people were allowed to run it themselves. Virginia was the best known self-governing: run by the elected House of Burgesses.
In New England, land owning males held town meetings to vote on all matters. This was truly government by the consent of the governed. In the colony of Massachusetts Bay only church members has suffrage, could vote. Women and blacks could not vote in this period.
Religion was the dominant part of people’s lives. In the mid-1700s the First Great Awakening swept the colonies with religious leaders promoting a spiritual and moral rebirth.
Nationalism, a loyalty to the country, started to take hold in the colonies. In 1676, Nathaniel Bacon, a Virginia planter clashed with the governor, led a rebellion against the crown by burning Jamestown. This was the forerunner of the Revolution.
1.02, 1.03 The American Revolution
The Magna Carta limited the power of the King by granting some power to the nobles in 1215. English Common Law was based on customs and court decisions (precedents). In 1689, Parliament passed the British Bill of Rights which announced that people have certain rights just for being people.
Social Contract says that the government comes from the governed. The Pilgrims founded the Plymouth colony in 1620 based on the Mayflower Compact. This was followed by the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut. In Virginia, the House of Burgesses became the first representative body in the New World.
In New England, town meetings were the first form of direct democracy. A republic is a political system where the supreme power rests with the citizens. The founding fathers believed in majority rule, civil liberties, and limited government.
In the 1600s, the Brits passed the Navigation Acts allowing the colonies to only trade with the mother country. From the Navigation Acts until the mid-1700s, the British paid little attention to the colonies in a period known as Salutary Neglect. During this time the colonies enjoyed self government.
Between 1754 and 1763, the Brits and the French fought the French and Indian War. The colonies were then taxed to pay for the war. Salutary neglect was over. In the Proclamation of 1763, England prohibited the colonists from settling west of the Appalachian Mountains. Writs of Assistance were passed allowing the Brits to search people’s homes. Some argued that “taxation without representation is tyranny”.
The Stamp Act was passed in 1765 placing a tax on all materials printed on paper. The colonists were enraged. A group known as the Sons of Liberty formed to oppose the Crown. A Stamp Act Congress met to oppose the new law and petitioned the king. Parliament disagreed with the Stamp Act Congress by passing the Declaratory Act which said that the Brits could tax the colonies without consulting them.
The Quartering Act required colonists to provide housing for British soldiers.
In 1773, the Boston Tea Party took place dumping British tea into Boston Harbor. The Brits responded by passing the Intolerable Acts further punishing the colonies. These acts moved the colonists closer to rebellion. Thomas Paine argued for independence in Common Sense. In 1754, the Albany Plan of Union
tried to unite the colonies for protection against the Indians. In 1776, the Second Continental Congress passed the Declaration of Independence as written by Thomas Jefferson declaring that the colonies had become an independent country.
1.05 The Articles of Confederation
The first national congress was established, but was too weak to handle the problems of the country:
couldn’t regulate commerce, couldn’t collect taxes, or raise an army. The Articles did some good:
ratified the treaty ending the war and the Northwest Ordinance that provided for westward expansion.
How could we create a stronger national government? The New Jersey Plan: 3 branches of government including a congress based on equal representation for the states. The Virginia Plan: 3 branches with a congress based on proportional representation (the number of representatives based on population).
Neither plan was adopted. Delegates met in Philadelphia to find a solution. The solution was the Great Compromise, also known as the Connecticut Compromise, which provided for 2 houses. One based on population (House) and the other based on equal representation (Senate). The 3/5 Compromise allowed for slaves to be counted as 3/5 of a free person for arriving at a state’s population. The Bill of Rights was added to protect the individual freedoms.
1.06, 1.07 Philosophical Foundations
The convention was divided into 2 groups: The Federalists led by Hamilton that wanted a strong federal government and the Anti-Federalists led by Jefferson that wanted the states to remain strong. Hamilton’s group wanted a “loose” interpretation of the Constitution to allow for greater power for the national government. Jefferson’s group wanted a “strict” interpretation that would be restrictive on the national government.
The two groups did compromise in order to create the Constitution. A government with 3 branches:
legislative, executive, and judicial. Each of these branches would have “checks and balances” over the other two. The Constitution was ratified by the states in 1787 and George Washington was elected president in 1788.
The Bill of Rights guaranteed personal liberties.
#1 Basic freedoms of speech, religion, assembly, petition, and press
#2 Right to keep and bear arms
#3 No quartering of troops
#4 No unreasonable searches and seizures
#5 Rights of the accused including: due process; no self incrimination; double jeopardy
#6 Speedy and public trial
#7 Trial by jury.
#8 No excessive bail or unusual punishments
#9 Rights saved for the people
#10 Powers reserved for the states
1.08 American System of Government
Types of government include:
dictatorship – one man rule; anarchy – no government;
totalitarianism – governments holding absolute power; monarchy – ruled by a king or queen;
limited monarchy – king or queen with a parliament; theocracy – religious rule;
oligarchy – a government led by a few; aristocracy – led by the elite class;
democracy – government of the people; republic – a government from the people;
federalism – a government with the federal government being stronger than the state or local governments.
Goal #2 Democracy in America
2.01 The Constitution
The American government is described best in the Preamble: form a more perfect Union, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty.
The Constitution is based on popular sovereignty (power of the people) and limited government. There are enumerated powers given specifically to the federal government and reserved powers retained by the states. The elastic clause gives Congress the flexibility to “make all laws necessary and proper” through implied powers which are not written into the document. Expressed powers are granted by the Constitution while Delegated powers are specifically assigned to the federal government.
The Supremacy clause gives the federal government authority over state and local laws.
The federal government is divided into 3 branches: legislative, executive, and judicial. Each of the branches exercises checks and balances on the other two. This system keeps one branch from overpowering the other two.
2.02, 2.03 The Three Branches
The rule of law implies that authority is in the laws and not in people.
The Legislative Branch consists of the House and the Senate. The House consists of 435 representatives that serve 2 year terms. The Senate consists of 100 senators with 2 from each state elected to 6 year terms.
The House is presided over by the Speaker of the House as elected by the majority party. The Vice President serves as President of the Senate when he is there. Majority and minority leaders are selected by their respective parties.
The major function of Congress is to introduce bills and turn those bills into laws. But, bills can be vetoed by the president. But,…..Congress can override vetoes with a 2/3 majority vote.
Both houses operate under a committee system and a seniority system which gives power to those that have served the longest.
Bills are introduced by a member….assigned to a committee for review….if approved in committee moves back to the whole body for debate….if approved by that body it moves to the other body….when both bodies approve the bill it goes to the President for his signature.
Legislators may prevent a bill from coming up for a vote by using the tactic called “filibuster” where someone talks and talks and talks delaying a vote on a bill. Filibustering can be stopped by a cloture vote which requires a 3/5 vote.
Congress has other duties not connected to passing bills. Impeachment (removing a government official), censure (a vote of disapproval for misconduct).
The Congress may not make some laws. There can be no laws interfering with writs of habeas corpus, which says that no one may be held without due process. There can be no laws issuing a bill of attainder, where a person is punished without a trial. And Congress may make no ex post facto laws, laws made after a crime is committed.
The Executive Branch is headed by the president. The president has several roles: chief executive of the nation, commander in chief of the armed forces, head of state and chief diplomat, and leader of his party.
The president delivers the State of the Union address to Congress each year. He also may issue executive orders that carry the weight of law.
The Judicial Branch consists of a network of courts headed up by the nine member Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court: has original jurisdiction in some cases which means it is the first court to hear a certain type of case, has appellate jurisdiction to review cases from the lower courts, concurrent jurisdiction which shares authority with lower courts, and exclusive jurisdiction which gives authority solely to the Supreme Court. Judicial review allows the Supreme Court to declare laws unconstitutional.
2.04 Amending the Constitution
Amendments are additions to the document. There have been 27 amendments over the 217 years.
Any amendment requires congressional action of 2/3 vote, and approval ¾ of the state legislatures.
The first 10 amendments are the Bill of Rights. Others include: #13 abolishing slavery, #14 granting citizenship to all Americans, #19 giving women the right to vote, #22 limits the president to 2 terms, and #25 defining presidential succession.
2.05 Testing the Constitution Through Cases
The Marshall Court….
Marbury vs. Madison…..established the rule of judicial review.
McCullough vs. Maryland…..power of the federal government over the states.
Gibbons vs. Ogden…..power of the federal government to regulate commerce.
Cases dealing with race:
Plessy vs. Ferguson…..principle of “separate, but equal”
Brown vs. Board of Education…..overturned Plessy “separate, but equal is not equal”.
Swann vs. CMS….. busing of students may be used to combat segregation.
Korematsu vs. US….. due process can be denied in a time of national emergency.
2.06 Rights of the Individual
The Supreme Court is the highest judicial authority in the land. It is the final word on all laws.
Cases protecting individual rights:
Texas vs. Johnson…..burning the American flag is protected as free speech.
Engel vs. Vitale….. prayer in schools was banned.
Gideon vs. Wainright…..the right to legal representation to those accused of a crime.
Miranda vs. Arizona…..rights at the time of arrest like “right to remain silent”.
Tinker vs. Des Moines Schools…..students have the right to voice their opinions.
New Jersey vs. TLO…..students may have reasonable searches of their bags and lockers.
Bakke vs. California…..reverse discrimination, affirmative action is OK, but no quotas.
2.07 Federalism Today
Power is divided between the States and the Federal government. Many argue the role of the states in making and enforcing laws.
There must be “separation of church and state” the government can not create a religion or prohibit a person from worshipping as he/she pleases.
The underlying principle of the American system of government is “majority rules/minority rights”.
2.08, 2.09 Taxation and Government
The government has a national budget which details how the government will spend its’ money. Revenue is the amount of money taken in by the government. A balanced budget spends the same amount it takes in through revenues. Deficit spending occurs when the government spends more than it brings in. A surplus occurs when the government brings in more revenue than it spends.
Most governmental revenues come through income taxes which takes a percentage of each person’s income. In the USA we have a progressive income tax which takes a larger percentage out of earnings as earnings increase. Ie.. the more you make the higher percentage you pay.