Colonial Charters Before the Revolution, when the states were
just colonies, their colonial charters served as the constitutions.
These charters were granted by the King. They also said that all of
the colonists had the rights of a regular British citizen. The
colonists also came from the tradition of the Magna Carta, which
was a document that limited the power of the King, and the English
Bill of Rights, which gave individuals rights in England.
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Limited Government Our United States government, under the
Constitution, is a limited government. Limited Government means
that the government is not free to do whatever it wants. It must
follow a set of laws. A limited government works best because it
prevents the government from infringing on peoples rights. This
idea was accepted after the Magna Carta limited the Kings rule.
Before the Magna Carta, the King had unlimited rule.
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UNLIMITED LIMITED
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Separation of Powers In the United States government, there are
three branches: executive (President), legislative (Congress), and
judicial (Courts). Separation of powers means that each branch of
government shares governmental authority. For example, the
President can NOT make laws. Only Congress can make laws.
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Checks and Balances The Founding Fathers were afraid of one
branch becoming too powerful. To prevent this, a system of checks
and balances was included in the Constitution. One example of a
check is the Presidents veto power. If Congress passes a law that
he President does not agree with, he can veto the bill. Once the
bill is vetoed, there must be a 2/3 majority in the House and
Senate to override the veto and pass the law.
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Federalism The United States government uses a system called
Federalism. Federalism means that there are two different
government levels: the states and the federal (aka central or
national) government. There are some powers that ONLY the central
government has, while there are some that ONLY the states have.
Furthermore, there are some powers that are shared between the
states and national government.
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Delegated Powers The powers that are meant for the federal
government ONLY are delegated powers. For example: only the federal
government can start a war. South Carolina does not have the power
to start a war with another country. D elegated Fe D eral
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Reserved Powers Powers that are meant only for the states are
called reserved powers. For example: only states have the power to
run the public schools. Re S erved S tates
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Concurrent Powers Powers that are shared between the federal
government and the state governments are called concurrent powers.
For example: building roads and bridges, raising taxes
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Electoral College The Founding Fathers feared the rule of the
masses. In other words, they were afraid that uneducated people
would vote a president into office who was not qualified. To
prevent this, they set up the Electoral College. The Electoral
College is a body of delegates that meets every four years solely
to elect the president. Originally, the Electoral College was meant
to change the outcome of an election if there was need to. But that
has never happened. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcX5Hcxh83M
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Impeachment Impeachment means that the president can be charged
with wrongdoing by the House of Representatives if he is suspected
of treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors. If he
is charged, he stands trial in the Senate. If they find him guilty,
he is removed from office. To be IMPEACHED does NOT necessarily
mean that the president will be removed from office. Bill Clinton
was impeached.
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BILL CLINTON ANDREW JOHNSON
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Adding Amendments Under the Articles of Confederation, it took
ALL of the states agreeing before the government could be changed.
The new constitution would make it easier to fix any unforeseen
problems because only of the states had to agree for the
Constitution to be amended (9 out of 13).
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First Ten Amendments to the Constitution
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The Bill of Rights The First Amendment Freedom of religion,
speech, the press, and petitioning the government. The Second
Amendment Guarantees Americans the right to own weapons without
fear of interference with the government. The Third Amendment Says
the government cannot force US citizens to quarter federal troops.
The Fourth Amendment Protects citizens from being arrested for no
reason. Protects citizens from unreasonable searches and seizures.
The Fifth Amendment Guarantees that citizens may not be imprisoned
or have their property taken from the government without due
process. The Fifth Amendment also says that defendants do not have
to testify against themselves in court. This is called
self-incrimination. Places limits on eminent domain, which is the
governments power to take property that it needs. Also protects
citizens against double jeopardy.
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The Bill of Rights The Sixth Amendment Guarantees citizens the
right to a public and speedy trial by jury. Also guarantees the
right to legal representation (a lawyer). The Seventh Amendment
Extends the right to have a lawyer to civil cases as well. Civil
cases are when a person sues another person for money. The Eighth
Amendment Prohibits the government from imposing excessive bail or
fines. It also prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. The Ninth
Amendment Says that there are other rights that people have that
are not specifically stated in the Bill of Rights. The Tenth
Amendment Says that any powers not specifically given to the
federal government are given to the states or to individuals.
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Judiciary Act of 1789 The Constitution was vague about what
powers the judiciary had. So in response, Congress passed the
Judiciary Act of 1789, which set up the federal courts system. At
first, the Supreme Court and the federal courts were very weak.
They really had no influence over the government.
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Revolution of 1800 George Washington and John Adams were the
first two presidents. Both were Federalists. Because of the Alien
and Sedition Acts, voters were upset with the Federalist Party. So,
the Democratic-Republicans won the Election of 1800 and Thomas
Jefferson became president. So, power switched from one party to
another in America without a single shot being fired. This has been
called the Revolution of 1800.
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Midnight Judges Remember: the President of the United States is
who appoints judges to the federal courts and the Supreme Court. So
just before leaving office, Adams appointed many judges to the new
federal courts. These judges were appointed just one or two days
before his presidency was over. Because of this, they were called
the midnight judges.
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USHC 1.7 Summarize the expansion of the power of the national
government as a result of Supreme Court decisions under Chief
Justice John Marshall, such as the establishment of judicial review
in Marbury v. Madison and the impact of political party affiliation
on the Court.
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After their devastating defeat in the Election of 1800,
doomsday was quickly approaching for John Adams and the Federalist
Party.
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ELECTIONSUCCESSORS TERM 1801 In a lame duck session, the
outgoing Congress meets and passes laws before the newly-elected
members of Congress can take their seats.
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The judicial power of the United States, shall be vested in one
Supreme Court, and in such inferior courts as the Congress may from
time to time ordain and establish. From Article III, Section 1
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Lame Duck SessionLame Duck Sixteen new federal circuit judges
Sixteen federal judges with life tenure would be able to undermine
Jefferson and the Republicans from the bench.
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Federalist Secretary of State (Adams Administration) Chief
Justice of the Supreme Court Midnight Appointment John Marshall
Chief Justice
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William Marbury (Midnight Judge) James Madison (Secretary of
State) (1803)
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The judiciary, from the nature of its functions, will always be
the least dangerous to the political rights of the Constitution...
From The Federalist No. 78
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(1803) John Marshall Chief Justice Marshalls Dilemma
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(1803) John Marshall Chief Justice Marshalls Decision
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Marshall: The Supreme Court can declare laws to be
unconstitutional. (in this case, a federal law passed by Congress)
John Marshall Chief Justice
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Marbury v. Madison (1803) As the new President, Jefferson
refused to deliver the commission (order) which created the new
judgeships. This meant that the new judges did not get the job that
was promised to them by John Adams. One of the judges, William
Marbury, asked the Supreme Court to issue an order to require
Thomas Jefferson to deliver the commission. In Marbury vs. Madison
(1803), the Supreme Court stated that the new judges had the right
to their new jobs in the federal court. But, it also said that the
Supreme Court did not have the right to force the President to
allow them to have their jobs.
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The importance of Marbury v. Madison is that it set up the
principal of judicial review. Judicial review means that the courts
have the power to declare acts of Congress or state legislatures
unconstitutional. This meant that the Supreme Court became a very
strong branch of government after this ruling. The Chief Justice of
the Supreme Court during this case was John Marshall. The cases
that John Marshall ruled on became known as The Marshall Court.
John Marshall strengthened the role of the Supreme Court. Marbury
v. Madison (1803)