UNIT III



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UNIT II

FOUNDATIONS OF AMERICAN GOVERNMENT

Lesson 5

What are the three branches of government? How does the Constitution limit the power of the government?

S.S.7.C.3.3 Illustrate the structure and function (three branches of government established in Articles I, II, and III with corresponding powers) of government in the United States as established in the Constitution

S.S.7.C.3.4 Identify the relationship and division of powers between the federal government and state governments

S.S.7.C.3.8 Analyze the structure, functions, and processes of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches

S.S.7.C.3.9 Illustrate the law making process at the local, state, and federal levels

Source

Adapted from lessons and resources found at and newshour/extra

Overview

The purpose of this activity is to help students understand the role of the legislative branch in making the law, the executive branch in enforcing the law, and the judicial branch in interpreting the law.

Objectives

• Students will develop a basic understanding of the three branches of government and what they do.

• Students will develop a basic understanding of how the three branches of government interact with each other.

• Students will use critical thinking skills to apply their understanding to various scenarios that illustrate how laws are made and interpreted.

Time

• One 50 minute class period

Passport Vocabulary

• Limited Government

o A system restricted to protecting natural rights that does not interfere with other aspects of life.

• Separation of Powers

o The division of powers among the different three branches of government (legislative, executive and judicial).

• Checks and Balances

o The distribution and balancing of power among different branches of government so that no one branch is able to dominate the others.

Strategies

• Cooperative learning

• Discussion

Materials

• “Check That Power” Pictures – to be pasted on the popsicle sticks (see Word file with this lesson)

• Popsicle sticks

• Copies of “Check That Power ” Student Matrix, 1 per student (see below)

• Copies of “Checks and Balances” Handout, 1 per student (see Word file with this lesson)

Activities:

1. Students will complete the “Checks and Balances” student handout with direct instruction and explanation from the teacher. See Teacher Content for answer key.

2. Divide the students in to teams of 3-4.

3. Distribute “Check That Power” game paddles and “Check That Power” Student Handout.

4. Have students review and discuss the 10 scenarios using their Checks and Balances chart. They will need to determine which branch of government has the power to Stop or Check the action that is stated.

5. After about 10 minutes of deliberation within the groups, the teacher will go through each scenario, and the groups will need to raise the paddle signifying what they believe to be the correct answer.

6. Plan for time in between each scenario for class discussion or elaboration.

7. After all of the scenarios are reviewed, have the groups complete the “Debrief” questions at the bottom of their Matrix.

8. Once this is done, debrief together as a class.

CHECK THAT POWER

Directions: Read each of the following scenarios and determine which branch of government has the power to “Check that Action”.

|SCENARIO |WHO CAN CHECK THAT POWER? |

| |Legislative |Executive |Judicial |

| | | | |

|Congress passes a law outlawing the word “please”. | | | |

| | | | |

|The President negotiates a treaty to give up all of the U.S. military bases in Europe to Russia. | | | |

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|A Supreme Court Justice accepts a bribe. | | | |

| | | | |

|The President uses the FBI to investigate a candidate who is planning to run against him in the next | | | |

|election. | | | |

| | | | |

|Congress passes a law requiring public school basketball teams to pray before games. | | | |

| | | | |

|A Supreme Court Justice starts acting erratically demanding acorns for payment and requested wood | | | |

|siding for his desk. | | | |

| | | | |

|The President sends troops to attack Brazil because of a bad banana crop. | | | |

| | | | |

|President nominates his kids to cabinet positions. | | | |

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|The President decides that he wants to buy Cuba from Castro. | | | |

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|Congress passes a law stating that pants are “optional” during the State of the Union address. | | | |

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DEBRIEF QUESTIONS:

1. Which branch of government has the most power? Explain why. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. Which branch of government has the least amount of power? Explain why. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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TEACHER CONTENT KNOWLEDGE RESOURCE

UNIT II

FOUNDATIONS OF AMERICAN GOVERNMENT

Lesson 5

What are the three branches of government? How does the Constitution limit the power of the government?

S.S.7.C.3.3 Illustrate the structure and function (three branches of government established in Articles I, II, and III with corresponding powers) of government in the United States as established in the Constitution

S.S.7.C.3.4 Identify the relationship and division of powers between the federal government and state governments

S.S.7.C.3.8 Analyze the structure, functions, and processes of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches

S.S.7.C.3.9 Illustrate the law making process at the local, state, and federal levels

Passport Vocabulary

• Limited Government

o A system restricted to protecting natural rights that does not interfere with other aspects of life.

• Separation of Powers

o The division of powers among the different three branches of government (legislative, executive and judicial).

• Checks and Balances

o The distribution and balancing of power among different branches of government so that no one branch is able to dominate the others.

This document addresses the following issues:

1. John Locke, limited government and natural rights

2. Baron de Montesquieu, separation of powers and checks and balances

3. Separation of powers and checks and balances (graphic)

1. Limited government and natural rights

The founding fathers were deeply concerned about government abusing its power. It was reasoned that when a government abused its power it deprived the citizens of their liberty. As liberty was a fundamental God given right assurances had to be put in place to protect the people from government abusing its power.

The founding fathers consulted the works of many political philosophers when they developed government structures that protected the people from government abusing its powers. One of the most influential works was John Locke’s Second Treatise of Civil Government (1690).

John Locke (1632-1704) was a British political philosopher who wrote extensively on the relationship between government and the society. It was Locke’s view that there was a social contract between the government and society in a civil government. This civil government was based on natural law, which are fundamentally tied to natural rights.

According to Locke, men lived in a “state of nature” which meant that one is allowed to conduct one’s life as one best sees fit free from the interference of others. There is no government in a state of nature, and people are assumed to be equally responsible for protecting each others’ “life, health, liberty and possessions”. The laws by which people lived were derived from God, and these laws included the notion that people were forbidden from harming one another. Thus, the state of nature is a state of liberty where persons are free to pursue their own interests provided that in doing so they do not harm one another.

Still, it is not uncommon for property disputes to arise. Under the state of nature there is no government to appeal one’s grievances against a person who stole property or liberty (i.e. making a person a slave). Under the law of nature, men are allowed to defend their lives and their property, which includes the right to kill others who threaten their property or liberty. This meant that there was no civil authority to settle disputes, and put the community at risk for an outbreak of war due to the lack of a civil government.

According to Locke, civil governments were established for the sake of protecting property. Because of the state of nature and law of nature from which civil governments were derived, a contract between the government and the governed had to be in place in order for that government to be legitimate. Property is the basis for Locke’s argument for both a social contract and civil government because it is the protection of that property (property protection extends to a person so that one has dominion over their own bodies) that compels men to choose a civil government and abandon the notion of living in a state of nature. The social contract is a voluntary agreement between the people and the government.

These ideas show that people are born with God given (natural) rights that are protected by civil governments. Governments are created to protect that which belongs to the people. However, governments are limited in their regulation of human behavior to the extent to which the people themselves believe does not infringe on their God given freedoms. The people enter into a social contract voluntarily provided that the government is formed in a way that respects natural rights and is derived from the consent of the governed.

2. Baron de Montesquieu, separation of powers and checks and balances

The U.S. Constitution is organized around a separation of powers system that utilizes checks and balances. The power to legislative, enforce and adjudicate are separated into three different branches of government. These branches may not function with complete independence. The founding fathers feared that branches functioning independently might still abuse their power. Thus, while there are separate branches of government, each vested with specific powers, this does not mean that each branch operates without some level of oversight from the one or both other branches.

Charles de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu (1689-1755) was a French political philosopher whose written works on the theory of separation of powers and checks and balances had a strong influence on the founding fathers. His 1748 work, The Spirit of the Laws (French: “L’Esprit des Lois”) was originally published anonymously and received high praise outside France, especially in Britain. Montesquieu argued that “government should be set up so that no man need be afraid of another”, which was well received by the founding fathers, particularly James Madison, who believed that a clearly defined and balanced separation of powers system that utilized checks and balances would provide a stable foundation for the new government.

Montesquieu argued that government should be created to accommodate separate branches of government with equal but different powers. This way, power would not be concentrated with one individual or group of individuals. Liberty was threatened if power became concentrated in one place; thus, no branch of government could threaten the freedom of the people.

The U.S. Constitution reflects Montesquieu’s views on separation of powers and checks and balances in the following ways:

|Legislative |Executive |Judicial |

|Makes all laws. |Preserves, protects and defends the |Determines which jurisdiction any given |

| |Constitution |case falls under |

|Controls all the money; taxes, borrows, and|Faithfully executes the laws of the United |Judges when a law is unconstitutional |

|sets the budget (with exception of |States | |

|inappropriate spending by central bank). | | |

|Has sole power to declare war. |Executes the instructions of Congress |Has the responsibility to administer |

| | |Constitutional law and to apply it to |

| | |constitutional disputes |

|Oversees, investigates, and makes the rules|May veto laws but the veto may be |Determines the disposition of prisoners |

|for the government and its officers. |overridden by Congress by a 2/3 majority. | |

|Appoints the heads of the executive branch.|Executes the spending authorized by |May legally compel testimony and the |

| |Congress |production of evidence as the law provides |

|Confirms federal judicial appointments. |Executes the instructions of Congress when |Judges and competently administers uniform |

| |it declares war or makes rules for the |policies via the appeals process, but gives|

| |military |discretion in individual cases to low-level|

| |Declares states of emergency and publishes |judges. (The amount of discretion depends |

| |regulations and executive orders |upon the standard of review, determined by |

| | |the type of case in question.) |

|Ratifies treaties. |Appoints judges with the advice and consent|Oversees and administers members of the |

| |of the Senate |judiciary |

|Originates cases of impeachment |President and Vice-President can be |Is subject to impeachment by Congress |

| |impeached and removed from office by | |

| |Congress | |

| |Has the power to grant pardons for crimes | |

| |against the United States | |

3. Separation of powers and checks and balances (graphics):

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REFERENCES

Ashcraft, Richard. Locke's Two Treatises of Government. Boston, MA: Unwin Hyman, 1987.

Dunn, John. The Political Thought of John Locke. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1969.

Laslett, Peter. "The English Revolution and Locke's 'Two Treatises of Government'." The Cambridge Historical Journal 12: 1, 1956. Pp. 40–55.

Laslett, Peter. "Introduction.", Two Treatises of Government. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988.

Spurlin, Paul M. Montesquieu in America, 1760-1801. New York, NY: Octagon Books, 1961.

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