Forms of Government A. Classifying Governments  1. No two governments are exactly alike.  2. Governments are classified in order to analyze them.

B. Geographic Distribution of Power. 1. Unitary Government- Power is held in a single central agency. (Great Britain) 2. Federal Government- Powers are divided between a central government and several local governments. (United States) 3. Confederate Government- The central government has limited power with the most important authority reserved for the member states. (Confederate States of America)

Forms of Government Unitary -Great Britain Federal-United States

C. Relationship between the Legislative and Executive Branches. 1. Presidential Government- Executive and Legislative branches are independent and co-equal. (United States) 2. Parliamentary Government- Some members of the Executive branch are also members of the Legislative branch. (Canada)

D. The Number who can Participate 1. Dictatorship- Participation in Government is limited to the individual or group that rules. (China, Cuba) 2. Democracy- The people hold the power and give consent to the government to rule. (United States, Mexico, France)

Political Heritage How did the United States develop the type of government we have today? Because of our political heritage!

Political Heritage Of all the European countries with colonies in the Americas, only the British allowed their colonists to have some form of self-government.

From the very beginning the people of the English colonies in North America had experience governing themselves, so when they win their independence they know how to govern their new country.

Roots of American Government  Greeks- Direct Democracy  Romans- Representative Government  England- The Magna Carta (limited power)and English Bill of Rights (gave basic rights to the people)  John Locke- Protection of natural rights by government. (life, liberty, and property)  Montesquieu- The separation of power to prevent tyranny.

The Constitution The Six Basic Principles A.Popular Sovereignty- Government can only govern with the consent of the governed. Power comes from the people. B.Limited Government- Government can only do those things that Constitution has given it the power to do. The rule of law.

C. Separation of Powers- The constitution distributes the powers of the National Government among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. D. Checks and Balances- Each branch is subject to a number of constitutional restraints by the other branches. E. Judicial Review- Through the landmark case “Marbury v. Madison “, the judicial branch possesses the power to determine the Constitutionality of an action of the government. F. Federalism- Federalism is the division of power between a central government and several regional governments.

CHANGING THE CONSTITUTION Formal Amendments Article V of the Constitution set two methods for proposing and two methods for ratification of amendments to the Constitution. 1.An amendment may be proposed by 2/3’s vote in each house of Congress, and must be approved by 3/4’s of the state legislatures. (38 states must approve) (26 of 27 amendments added this way) 2. An amendment may be proposed by 2/3’s vote in both house of congress, and then ratified by conventions called for that purpose in 3/4’s of the states. ( 1933 repeal of the 18 th Amendment)

Changing the Constitution Proposals for amendments take place on the federal level and are ratified on the state level. Once a state approves an amendment, that states’ action is final and unchangeable. If a state rejects a proposed amendment, that state is not forever bound by its vote. (A state can change its no vote to a yes vote)

More than 10,000 joint resolutions calling for amendments to the Constitution have been proposed in Congress since Only thirty- three have been sent to the states, and only twenty-seven have been ratified. The first ten amendments were proposed by both houses of Congress in 1789 and finally ratified in (The Bill of Rights )

Informal Amendments The Informal Amendment process takes place in five separate ways. I.Basic Legislation a. Passage of basic legislation by the Congress. b. Brief provision in the Constitution has let Congress fill in those areas. (purposely left skeletal) Ex. Judiciary Act of 1789.

II.Executive Action- a. The manner in which a President uses his/her power. Ex. Several Presidents have sent troops to fight in other countries without a declaration of war by the Congress. (Korea, Vietnam) III. Court Decisions- How the courts interpret and apply the meaning of the Constitution. Ex. Brown v. Board of Ed of Topeka Kansas (overturned separate but equal laws.)

IV. Party Practices- a. The activities of political parties over the years. Ex. Started Presidential nominating conventions, and the organization of Congress. b. No mention of political parties in the Constitution. V. Custom- Unwritten ways of operating the various functions of government. Ex. The heads of Executive dept. make up the Cabinet