The Last Word: Assignment 8 for Friday

AP Government and Politics Unit 1

Video: Thinking Like a Political Scientist IA_1/polisci/presidency/Seg4_Constitution_v2.html 2.4

 Popular Sovereignty – power to govern belongs to the people, gov’t based on the consent of governed;  Where does this idea come from?  Separation of Powers – division of gov’t between branches: executive, legislative and judicial  Origin of this idea?  Checks and Balances – a system where separate branches of government have some authority over others, can limit their activities  Limited Government – gov’t is not all-powerful, and it does only what citizens allow  Federalism – division of power between central government and individual states

 Montesquieu credited with the original theory Excerpt from The Spirit of the Laws  “In every government there are three types of power; the legislative (lawmaking); the executive (law-enforcing), and the judiciary (law- interpreting).  When the legislative and executive powers are united in the same person, there can be no liberty; since the monarch could enact tyrannical laws, and execute them in a tyrannical manner.  Again, there is no liberty if the power of judging is not separated from the legislative and executive powers. If it were joined with the legislative power, the liberty of the people would be exposed to arbitrary control, for the judge would then also be the legislator. If it were joined to the executive power, the judge might behave with all the violence of an oppressor.  There would be an end of every thing were the same man, or the same body (whether of the nobles or of the people) to exercise those three powers: that of enacting laws, that of executing these laws, and that of judging the crimes of individuals.”

 Although the separation of powers in the US Constitution is often unquestioned, there are some who believe this arrangement should be changed in light of modern circumstances and needs.

The Last Word: Assignment 8; complete Federalist reading and questions for tomorrow

 What is the current problem with the separation of powers in the US? Why is this the case?  Summarize the proposal Advantages Disadvantages Support/opposition

The Last Word: Assignment 9 for Tuesday The Agriculture Department says that starting this fall, schools can stop feeding students a common ammonia-treated ground beef filler that critics have described as “pink slime.” Made by grinding together connective tissue and beef scraps normally destined for dog food and rendering, so-called “finely-textured lean beef trimmings” are then treated with ammonia hydroxide, a process that kills pathogens such as salmonella and E. coli.

 Madison addresses the “separation of powers” in the Constitution in each of these essays. What is his argument that in fact a “blended” separation of powers is more desirable than a “distinct” separation?  Each will have some control over the others, and can check them How does the phrase, “Ambition must be made to counteract ambition” apply to this argument?

“If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself. A dependence on the people is, no doubt, the primary control on the government; but experience has taught mankind the necessity of auxiliary precautions.”