 “We have the best government that money can buy.” – Mark Twain

 1. How does one become a citizen in the United States? o 2. If both of your parents are American citizens but you are born outside of the United States are you considered a citizen? What if only one of your parents is a citizen? What if you are born in a territory of the U.S.? What if you are adopted from another country by parents who are U.S. citizens? o 3. When applying through legal means: How many years do you have to have lived in the U.S.? Do you have to be able to speak English?

 1. How does the news influences our daily lives and the lives of others?  2. Why is it important to have multiple viewpoints in the media?

 1. Due on Friday of each week (until May 9 th )  points total (10 for each week)  3. Missing weeks can NOT be made up  4. Must provide the source  6. Can be from any major news source. o No blogs or opinionated sources. o No satirical news sources like The Onion o Be aware of news bias  7. Be prepared to discuss them in class.

MH370: Missing plane search ‘most challenging ever’

 1. How does American Government work?  2. Who is in charge?  3. Who makes the laws?  4. How are laws decided to be fair or legal?

 There are three branches of government in the U.S. o The Executive Branch o The Legislative Branch o The Judicial Branch

 This branch consists of: o The President o The Vice President o Cabinet Members  This branch is in charge of: o Executing and enforcing the laws created by Congress

 Powers of the Executive Branch: o Commander in Chief of the military o Receive ambassadors and other public ministers o Sign bills into laws.

 This branch consists of: o Congress The House of Representatives ( 435 members ) The Senate ( 100 members )  This branch is in charge of: o Creating laws

 Powers of the Legislative Branch: o Congress has the power to tax o Congress can declare war

 This branch consists of: o The Supreme Court ( 9 members)  This branch is in charge of: o Interpreting laws based off of the Constitution

 Powers of the Judicial Branch: o Judicial Review

 Why would our founding fathers want a Separation of Powers in our government?

 1. A Supreme Court justice dies. Who would pick the new one?  2. Vice President Biden illegally smuggles weapons to Iranian nationalists. Who would impeach him?  Congress wants to pass a new bill that would limit the pay role of the President. What could the President do to this?

 1. What makes a country a country? o List as many examples as possible

 A population is the group of people who are members or citizens of a state.  Populations also have their own cultural traditions, and they speak a common language or languages.

 A state’s territory is the area in which a state’s rule applies.  A state must have set boundaries.  Territory can be acquired through various means: o Territory can be gained through war o Through negotiation o Through sale

 Sovereignty is the ability to rule absolutely within a territory.  When a state is considered sovereign it can decide its own foreign and domestic policies.  A sovereign state is not responsible to any other authority

 A government is the organization that controls the actions and policies of a state.

 Amish Communities  Pennsylvania  The Vatican  The Cherokee Indian reservation

 There are FOUR primary roles of government  Try to guess them on your own and we will discuss them as a class.

 Make Laws  Aid or Assist Citizens  Protect the Country  Keep Order

 Make Laws o Voting age of 18 o Jobs need to pay minimum wage o Freedom of speech o Speed limits  Aid or Assist Citizens o Retirement benefits o Highway systems o Schools o Veterans hospitals  Protect the Country o Navy o Army o Air Force o Marines  Keep Order o Highway Patrol o Sheriff o Police o FBI

 1. A state can’t have less than 30,000 people  2. The boundaries of a territory can change  3. Sovereignty means you have to check with someone above you  4. Government only exists to keep order and provide security  5. The 50 states in the USA are not considered to be independent “states”

 There are lots of different governments in the world but one thing remains constant: Someone is in charge.  Brainstorm the different possible governments and types of leaders in the world and create a word web based off of the information you come up with.

 An autocracy is a government in which one person has all the power  Power is usually gained through birth or through power  There are two different types of autocracy: o A Monarchy o And a Dictatorship

 Monarchy o Ruled by a king or a queen (monarch) o Usually you have to be born/married into the role o Previously, the majority of monarchies used to hold all the power and had the final say in government. o Currently, most monarchies are constitutional monarchies.

 Dictatorship o Usually come into the role through birth or a power grab o One person has absolute rule over a citizens lives o One person has absolute rule over the actions and policies of the state

 Would you sacrifice free speech, freedom of religion, freedom of press and perhaps other freedoms in exchange for a secure standard of living that provided well?

 In a democracy, citizens hold the political power.  The citizens of a democracy decide on governmental policies and foreign affairs

 Representative Democracy o Citizens elect leaders to represent their own rights and interests in Government o Citizens hold the ultimate power because they can vote new people into office

 Direct Democracy  No representatives!  Citizens directly address and vote on the issues needed on local/state/national level

 Would you rather have a representative democracy or a direct democracy here in America?

 An oligarchy is a small group or council of people who have all the power in government. o This can mean that only a certain group of people based on things like social class, race, or political party can rule. o OR it can mean just a few people actually rule the country

 A junta (or a military junta) is a committee of military leaders that seize power for various reasons.

 A theocracy is a government that recognizes a god or a divine being as the ultimate authority.  In a theocracy religious law is used to settle disputes.  A theocracy can ALSO be any other sort of government Hassan Rouhani

 In an anarchy, nobody is in control (or everyone, depending on how you look at it)  Anarchy would be a way to describe the human state of existence before any governments developed, where people looked out for themselves  Anarchists believe they should be able to freely do as they please without being subject to any nation or government

 You and a partner are going to make a poster on a type of government that was discussed in class. Include the following on your poster: o The definition of the type of government o A description of the leaders of this type of government o A description of how power is passed to the next leader/how the government makes decisions o An illustration that would accurately represent your government  You should make your poster colorful, creative and neat. Writing must be legible, all words must be spelled correctly and all sentences must be complete and should vary in structure.

 You and a partner are going to make a poster on a type of government that was discussed in class. Include the following on your poster. o An accurate description of the government itself. o A description of how power is passed to the next leader. o A description of how power is passed to the next leader/how the government makes decisions. o The poster cannot contain any words. All the criteria must be drawn.  You should make your poster colorful, creative and neat that would correctly represent your type of government.