Who has the POWER? Our System of Government If it is true that “power corrupts” then power must be carefully guarded. The framers of the United States Constitution separated or divided power so that no one person or section of the government had too much. POWER In this lesson, the blue ball represents power. When the thirteen colonies revolted and no They decided to longer accepted the do both. They power or rule of the King of England, they had a formed a central decision to make: government, but 1. Each individual colony (now states) have power they gave it very for themselves, or 2. Form a central little power. government that will have power over all of them. The Articles of Confederation essentially created the United States of America. Learn more about its weaknesses at https://www.history.com/topics /early-us/articles-of- confederation This first attempt to form a working government revealed a lot of problems so the 13 states called for a Constitutional Convention 13 States where they could address the weaknesses. POWER Central Government Try to find out which one of the 13 states did not attend the Constitutional Convention and why not. https://www.history.com/to pics/united-states- constitution/constitution In the Constitution, the states gave more power to the central government but kept some power for themselves as states. They also decided that some powers would be shared. The idea of separating or sometimes sharing power between a central (national) government and the states is federalism. 13 States Central Government POWER POWER The Federalist Papers attempted to convince people to accept this new form of government. https://www.history.com/to pics/early-us/federalist- papers The Constitution gives some powers to the national government, shares some powers between the states and the national government, and leaves the rest of the power to the states (10th amendment). Look at the images and try to discover who gets what power? Which one is shared? Central 13 States Government POWER POWER Even after dividing the power between the national government and the states, the framers of the constitution divided power again National by creating three parts or branches of the national government. Think Government of it like cutting a cake into three pieces. Those three “slices” are: POWER Legislative branch Executive branch Judicial branch Executive Legislative Judicial Each branch has different responsibilities (powers). Look at the diagram and discover one example for each branch. For a simple explanation of the three branches (or slices) and more detail about each one, go to https://www.usa.gov/branc hes-of-government Notice that the national legislature is further divided into two chambers (bicameral): the House of representatives and the Senate. Executive House of Representatives Legislative Senate Judicial The bicameral (2 chambers) design evolved from # based on Executive lengthy debates about power. The original 13 population states included both large and small. Some had large populations, and some had very small House of populations. The large states wanted Representatives representatives in Congress based on Legislative population but the small wanted equal Senate Judicial representation. # same for each state So, the 13 states compromised by creating two chambers. The number of representatives in the House of Representatives reflects each state’s percentage of the nation’s population. So the larger states have more representation or more power in the House of Representatives. However, each state gets 2 Senators regardless of the population of the state. So, each state has the same power in the Senate. Each branch has different responsibilities (powers) but they still must work together. Each branch is empowered to limit and control (checks and balances) the others in different areas of responsibilities. For example, 1. Legislative: Congress needs both chambers, the House of Representatives and the Senate to agree before a Bill (proposal for a new law) is passed to the President. 2. Executive: The President has the power to sign a Bill which makes it a law or to veto (reject) a bill returning it to Congress and requiring a 2/3 majority from both chambers to override the veto. 3. Judicial: Once a Bill becomes a law it can be challenged in court and the Supreme Court can declare it unconstitutional. The law is cancelled unless it is rewritten (#1) and signed by the President (#2) See the history and details of Also, check out this famous the check and balance (even if it is for kids) system in our government. Schoolhouse Rock video https://www.history.com/to https://www.youtube.com/ pics/us-government/checks- watch?v=Otbml6WIQPo and-balances Summary: The United States system of government ensures that power is separated between the national government and the states (federalism). It divides the national government into 3 branches and gives to each checks and balances over the others. Even the legislative branch is divided into 2 chambers with the House of Representatives giving more power to populous states and the Senate giving equal power to the smaller states. But who really has the # based on Executive population House of Representatives Legislative Senate Judicial # same for each state Who really has the The answer is in the first 3 words of the Constitution, the people have the power. The idea of the people ruling is called popular sovereignty. So instead of a King or Queen (monarchy or one ruler) or a few people ruling (oligarchy), in our country the people rule (democracy). But we are not a pure or direct democracy… But we are not a pure or direct democracy because the people don’t vote on everything. Instead we select representatives and they vote in our place. For example, the people don’t normally vote on laws. Instead they vote for the members of Congress (Representatives and Senators) and they vote for the President. This type of government system is called representative democracy. The United States system of government is very careful with power and the Constitution created a government that divided, shared and contained checks and balances on power. Even though people elected many of the government officials, representatives from a few of the original 13 sates wanted greater protections for individual liberties. These first 10 amendments (changes or additions) to the Constitution are called the Bill of Rights. The first Amendment contains 5 important rights for the people. Congress shall make no law freedom of religion respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free freedom of speech exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; freedom of the press or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to right to assemble petition the Government for a redress of grievances. right to petition The power of the people is expressed primarily through voting. So the right to vote has been a controversial subject in US history. There are 4 amendments regarding voting. 15th Amendment “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” The 15th Amendment was added after the Civil War and gave all men over 21 years, regardless of race, the right to vote. Learn more about the history of the 15th Amendment at https://www.history.com/to pics/black-history/fifteenth- amendment 19th Amendment “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.” Many women expected to get the right to vote as well. The Women’s Suffrage Movement finally won the right to vote (suffrage) in 1920 with the 19th Amendment. Learn more about the history of the 19th Amendment at https://www.history.com/to pics/womens-history/19th- amendment-1 24 Amendment The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other election for President or Vice President, for electors for President or Vice President, or for Senator or Representative in Congress, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State by reason of failure to pay poll tax or other tax. Not only does the Constitution grant people the right to vote, it also protects that right from being taken away. The 24 Amendment forbids any government, national or state, to restrict voting because of failure to pay taxes. Therefore, protecting voting rights for the poor. 26th Amendment “The right of citizens of the United States, who are 18 years of age or older, to vote, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any state on account of age.” Men and women of any race had the right to vote once they reached 21 years. But 18-year-old men were being drafted to go to war. So the 26th Amendment lowered the voting age to 18. Learn more about the history of the 19th Amendment at https://www.history.com/to pics/united-states- constitution/the-26th- amendment.