Sunday, December 12, 2010

Government Final: Study Guide!!!!

What did you learn this semester? 
People You Should Know
  1. The monarch
  2. The president
  3. Parliament
  4. Daniel Shays
  5. The Senate (powers)
  6. Congressmen (powers)
  7. James Madison
  8. Wesberry and Sanders

Chapter One: Foundations of Government
  1. What are the different types of governments?
  2. Compare the European Union to the Confederal System.
  3. How would you describe a successful government?
  4. What are the central functions of government?
  5. List the typical values held by the U.S. Government?

Chapter Two: Terms to Know
  1. Declaration of Independence
  2. Great Compromise
  3. Federalist papers
  4. Magna Carta
  5. Articles of Confederation
  6. Bicameral Governments
  7. Which states ratified the constitution?

Chapter Three:__________
  1. Congress’s powers
  2. Powers of the Senate
  3. Supremacy Clause
  4. Which Amendments protect people’s rights not specifically in the constitution?
  5. How are the powers in our government divided? Which body holds the “power to pursue”?
  6. What were the objectives stated by the framers of the Constitution?
  7. When was the Constitution ratified?
  8. Which governmental branch has the right to amend the Constitution?

Chapter Four:__________
  1. Full faith and Credit Clause
  2. Extradition of criminals
  3. Federal mandates
  4. Why do large universities have access to federally owned land?
  5. Describe the differences between the following powers: concurrent, reserved, inherent, and expressed.
  6. How many different types of law are there?  Name them. How are they different?

Chapter Five:___________
  1. Impeachment trials
  2. Elastic Clause
  3. House of Representatives
  4. Habeas corpus
  5. How are congressional districts determined?

Chapter seven: The President
  1. War Powers Act
  2. Presidential Pardon
  3. Qualifications
  4. Nomination process
  5. 22nd Amendment
  6. What role do citizens play in voting for the President and Vice President?
  7. How can the president affect congressional actions?
  8. What are the powers of Congress?

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Congress: Do they represent the average american?


Two of congress's chief responsibilities are representation and lawmaking. Describe the ways in which these two responsibilities might conflict with one another.

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Electing a President

Living Presidents-Can you name them all? 
Other than the requirements stipulated in the constitution, what characteristics should the president of the United States posses?

Monday, November 8, 2010

A person's life is at stake!

October 4, 1994 
Gas chamber is ruled cruel and unusual punishment and therefore unconstitutional. Lethal injection is now sole the method of execution.

Does the Death Penalty violate an individuals constitutional rights? Should legislation be passed to get rid of capital punishment in California? 

Sunday, October 3, 2010

Tinker Test


TINKER v. DES MOINES SCHOOL DIST., 393 U.S. 503 (1969)

393 U.S. 503
TINKER ET AL. v. DES MOINES INDEPENDENT COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT ET AL.
CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT.
No. 21.
Argued November 12, 1968.
Decided February 24, 1969. 
Petitioners, three public school pupils in Des Moines, Iowa, were suspended from school for wearing black armbands to protest the Government's policy in Vietnam. They sought nominal damages and an injunction against a regulation that the respondents had promulgated banning the wearing of armbands. The District Court dismissed the complaint on the ground that the regulation was within the Board's power, despite the absence of any finding of substantial interference with the conduct of school activities. The Court of Appeals, sitting en banc, affirmed by an equally divided court. Held:
    1. In wearing armbands, the petitioners were quiet and passive. They were not disruptive and did not impinge upon the rights of others. In these circumstances, their conduct was within the protection of the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment and the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth. Pp. 505-506.
    2. First Amendment rights are available to teachers and students, subject to application in light of the special characteristics of the school environment. Pp. 506-507.
    3. A prohibition against expression of opinion, without any evidence that the rule is necessary to avoid substantial interference with school discipline or the rights of others, is not permissible under the First and Fourteenth Amendments. Pp. 507-514.(http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=393&invol=503).

NOW THAT YOU ARE MADE AWARE OF STUDENT'S RIGHTS UNDER THE FIRST AMENDMENT, WHAT NATIONAL ISSUE COULD STUDENTS AT LHS PROTEST AGAINST? HOW SHOULD THEY PROVE  THEIR SOLIDARITY FOR THE CAUSE AT SCHOOL


Sunday, September 26, 2010

The Constitution: A LIVING DOCUMENT



How would you change the Constitution? Here are some changes made in the past 200 years, and some changes for the future.
You may have heard the U.S. Constitution called "a living document." Though it may seem like a dry piece of paper to you, it really is designed to live and grow as the nation grows.
Even the Founding Fathers knew it might have to change with the times. Article Five of the Constitution spells it out: "The Congress, whenever two-thirds of both Houses [the House and the Senate] shall deem it necessary, shall propose amendments to this Constitution . . ." States were also given a chance to propose changes, or amendments. Three-fourths of the states have to approve the amendment for it to become law.
In the past 200 years, the Constitution has been amended 27 times. The 13th Amendment, in 1865, forever banned the practice of slavery. The 15th Amendment, in 1870, gave all citizens the right to vote, regardless of their race.
Americans have added laws only to take them back. In 1919, the 18th Amendment was passed. It banned the making and selling of alcohol. But it was impossible to get all people to stop drinking. Many people felt the government had no right to make laws about their private habits. So in 1933, the 21st Amendment was adopted. It repealed, or canceled, the 18th Amendment.
The nation may need amendments in the future. For example, advances in technology may change the way we communicate. Someday, we may be able to vote from our own homes, hooked into central computers through our TV sets. And what if we are able to live in space? We may need new laws to govern space life.


What kind of laws do you think we will need in the future?

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Constitutional Convention

Constitutional Convention

The United States Constitutional Convention took place from May 25 to September 17, 1787, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to address problems in governing the United States of America, which had been operating under the Articles of Confederation following independence from Great Britain.

Imagine that you have been asked to a LHS Handbook Convention today to revise the LINCOLN HIGH SCHOOL HANDBOOK, Describe a suggestion you would make?
(wwww.lincolnhigh.org-state the page, issue being address, and revision suggestion)

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Promoting the Public Good

"I"m not sure?"
Should citizens who witness a crime and fail to report it be held accountable? If you were a witness to a crime and you did not report it or provide event information to the authorities, you can go be cited or given prison time...It that promoting the public good? 

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Government V. the People

Supreme Court Justices 2009

Propostition 8 (or the California Marriage Protection Act) was a ballot proposition and constitutional amendment passed in the November 2008, state elections. The measure added a new provision, Section 7.5 of the Declaration of Rights, to the California Constitution, which provides that "only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California."-wikipedia

Proposition 8 passed in November 2008 by majority vote. Should the Supreme Court have the right to overturn Californian’s majority vote? Does the potential of this Federal court over ruling lessen the importance of the popular vote?  

Thursday, August 19, 2010

testing one, two, three

Is this working? If you are a senior at lincoln and your goal is to rock the red, then say Blogger!