UNIT 4: STATES ‘N STUFF

THE STUDENT WILL BE ABLE TO…  Understand different divisions of power throughout the world and specifically the U.S. government system.

WHAT YOU LEARNED YESTERDAY  In yesterday’s video you learned how different governments may divide up their control/power, or oversee their sovereignty of an area.

WHAT YOU NEED TO TAKE AWAY….  Think of the spectrum he talked about yesterday as the background that you should understand to know some of the sub-areas.  In modern times the major trend has been towards the left; representative state or multi-party state/direct democracy.  In these areas of representative state/multi-party you get:  Federal state: Type of government that gives local political units (states or provinces) a measure of power.  Unitary state: allocate most of the power to a strong central government.  Confederation of states: Loose grouping of states for a common purpose.

EXAMPLES  Federal States  U.S.  Canada  Germany  Australia  Switzerland  India  Unitary States (Most countries are)  France  Sweden  United Kingdom  Yes, other parts have devolution, but it was granted by the Parliament  Chad  China  Japan  Confederations  A lot are historic  13 colonies

CHANGING SCALE…..  The U.S. is a Federal State  The Federal Government (think Washington D.C.) shares powers with the U.S. states (Think state legislature, governor, etc.)  The Federal Government wins out over the state government.  The Federal Government, because it’s so powerful is intentionally divided into three areas of power.  Executive (President)  Legislative (Senate & House of Representatives)  Judiciary (Supreme Court)  They all have checks and balances on each-other, like rock, paper, scissors.

YOUTUBE.CO M/WATCH?V=0 BF3CWYCXXW YOUTUBE.CO M/WATCH?V=0 BF3CWYCXXW (SEPARATION OF POWERS AND CHECKS AND BALANCES) 8:30

WHY WE CARE…  It’s good to know how our government works, even minimally, so you can understand how geography plays a role in the government.  Remember, we’re focused on geography, or the distribution of things.  The electoral college is how geography influence the election of a president; which is based on population.  Gerrymandering is based on how lines/boundaries are drawn, and population.

W.YOUTUBE. COM/WATCH? V=OUS9MM8 XBBW W.YOUTUBE. COM/WATCH? V=OUS9MM8 XBBW (ELECTORAL COLLEGE 4:45)

ATCH?V=7WC42HGLA4K&INDEX=1 3&LIST=PLQS5OHHASS_TF9MG- MQLIE7FQQ1- FZOQC&FEATURE=IV&SRC_VID=O US9MM8XBBW&ANNOTATION_ID =ANNOTATION_ ATCH?V=7WC42HGLA4K&INDEX=1 3&LIST=PLQS5OHHASS_TF9MG- MQLIE7FQQ1- FZOQC&FEATURE=IV&SRC_VID=O US9MM8XBBW&ANNOTATION_ID =ANNOTATION_ PROBLEMS WITH ELECTORAL COLLEGE 6:30

WATCH?V=MKY11UJB9AY WATCH?V=MKY11UJB9AY GERRYMANDERING EXPLAINED 5:30

SCALE….KEEPING NARROWING IT DOWN…  There are actually lots of layers of government  Federal  State  County/Municipal  City/Township  Homeowners Association  Once you get below the state level it gets a little hazy because the size of the area will determine what type of government  Sometimes there is just a county government or municipal government  The main point is that local services are provided locally

 Aside from this video being magical, it is based in Canada.  Provinces are the same as states.  Municipal can be seen as the city  We, like them, have different shared responsibility over roads. YOUTUBE.CO M/WATCH?V=A VE3OSR5W-0 YOUTUBE.CO M/WATCH?V=A VE3OSR5W-0 4:30

NOW…REVERSE THE SCALE…GO MACRO  Above individual countries, they sometimes form groups, which are Supranational Organizations  Must be THREE or more states who unite for mutual benefit  A country joining a supranational organization give up some sovereignty or rights  The more authority a supranational organization has, the more powerful it is; the less, it becomes less effective.  The power that the supranational organization gets is based off of what a country is willing to give it.  The U.N. is fairly weak, countries don’t give it much authority over their internal workings.  The European Union is one of the most powerful supranational organizations

 Don’t get overly caught up in the pure awesome of this video. The things they are talking about apply to ALL supranational organizations.  Pay attention to the benefits gained from being a member of this organization.  Protection, Trade, Exchange Ideas, and Cultural elements.  Obstacles to supranationalism are also discussed; they’re at the end with ways to work together. COM/WATCH?V=AIQHQN- NDQC COM/WATCH?V=AIQHQN- NDQC ASEAN 6:21 IT SHOULD BE NOTED, THIS IS MS. SCHMIDT’S FAVORITE VIDEO OF ALL TIME.

 Members give up a lot to join the EU.  They give up say over some trade laws  They give up say over currency (most countries except Great Britain)  In exchange they help one another with trade and increase their GDP OM/WATCH?V=O37YJBFRRF G OM/WATCH?V=O37YJBFRRF G EUROPEAN UNION 5:50

 In groups look up the following Supranational Organizations.  Identify: What does the NAME STAND FOR?  What countries are members?  What is it that they “do?”  Example: North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)  U.S., Albania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Rep, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey, and U.K.  A “political and military alliance.” SUPRANATIONAL GROUPS TO KNOW