1. What is something about the Constitution that needs changing? How would you change it so that your change solves a problem, but doesn't another set of problems that are worse than the one you're trying to fix?
2. The first amendment gives Americans the right to ask the government to change something it's doing. What is the best way for a citizen to do that -- through his own representative(s), through the Presidency/Executive branch, or in federal court?
3. How has the "balance of power" between federal government, states, and individual citizens been tested in history? Does one of these power bases usually win?
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Constitution -- Amendments
U. S. CONSTITUTION
First Ten Amendments: Bill of Rights
1 – Religious neutrality, free speech, press, assembly, petition
2 – Guns
3 – No forcible housing of soldiers
4 – Search & seizure
5 – Due Process (Miranda rights, eminent domain)
6 – Fair trials in criminal courts
7 – Rules for civil cases
8 – Standardized punishments
9 & 10 – Everything not covered
13-15 – Civil War Amendments
13 – Slavery banned
14 – Citizenship defined, representation guaranteed, consequences for rebels and states
15 – Voting rights guaranteed
RIGHTS
18 – Prohibition
19 – Women's right to vote
21 – Prohibition repealed
24 – No poll taxes
26 – 18-year-olds get to vote
PROCEDURAL AMENDMENTS
11 – Jurisdiction of federal courts
12 – President and VP elected separately
16 – Income tax legalized
17 – Direct election of senators
20 – Presidential terms & succession
22 – Presidential term limits
23 – D.C. Electors
25 – Temporary Presidential Succession
27 – No Congressional pay raises
First Ten Amendments: Bill of Rights
1 – Religious neutrality, free speech, press, assembly, petition
2 – Guns
3 – No forcible housing of soldiers
4 – Search & seizure
5 – Due Process (Miranda rights, eminent domain)
6 – Fair trials in criminal courts
7 – Rules for civil cases
8 – Standardized punishments
9 & 10 – Everything not covered
13-15 – Civil War Amendments
13 – Slavery banned
14 – Citizenship defined, representation guaranteed, consequences for rebels and states
15 – Voting rights guaranteed
RIGHTS
18 – Prohibition
19 – Women's right to vote
21 – Prohibition repealed
24 – No poll taxes
26 – 18-year-olds get to vote
PROCEDURAL AMENDMENTS
11 – Jurisdiction of federal courts
12 – President and VP elected separately
16 – Income tax legalized
17 – Direct election of senators
20 – Presidential terms & succession
22 – Presidential term limits
23 – D.C. Electors
25 – Temporary Presidential Succession
27 – No Congressional pay raises
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Constitution, Part 2
Article 2 – The President
Minumum 35 years old
Natural-born citizen
Replaced by Vice President if needed
Elected by Electoral College
President – Powers & Duties
Command the military
Assign executive duties to secretaries
Give pardons for federal crimes
Execute laws passed by Congress
With Senate consent:
Make treaties (requires 2/3)
Appoint officers and judges
Can be removed from office by Congressional impeachment process
Article 3 – The Court System
Judges & Justices nominated by President, approved by Senate
Lifetime appointments with no salary reductions, provided “good behavior.”
With very few exceptions, hears cases on appeal.
Criminal trials must be by jury
Criminal trials must happen in the same state as the crime. Territorial crimes and federal crimes tried where Congress puts the court.
No punishing kids for parents' crimes.
“Checks & Balances” – Examples:
Congress gets to make laws, but President has to approve and Supreme Court can review.
A federal court can strike down any law it wants, but has no say over who gets to be a judge, or even how many judges there will be.
President makes foreign policy (wars, treaties, etc.), but Congress has to approve.
Article 4 – Relationship Between States
States must recognize other states' arrangements
Federal rights carry over state to state
States can't harbor other states' fugitives
No carving new states out of old states' territory without their permission and that of Congress.
Congress decides what makes a new state, but they must be a republic
Article 5 – Changing the Constitution
2/3 of both houses of Congress propose an amendment
3/4 of states ratify
Article 6 – Supremacy
The Constitution is the final word. If you want to be a state, you live with what it says until you can generate enough support to change it.
Everybody who gets a job under the Constitution must take an oath to work under its jurisdiction.
Nobody can be denied a properly-appointed Constitutional office because of religion.
Article 7 – Ratification
When 9 of 13 states ratify, the Constitution officially replaces the Articles of Confederation.
Minumum 35 years old
Natural-born citizen
Replaced by Vice President if needed
Elected by Electoral College
President – Powers & Duties
Command the military
Assign executive duties to secretaries
Give pardons for federal crimes
Execute laws passed by Congress
With Senate consent:
Make treaties (requires 2/3)
Appoint officers and judges
Can be removed from office by Congressional impeachment process
Article 3 – The Court System
Judges & Justices nominated by President, approved by Senate
Lifetime appointments with no salary reductions, provided “good behavior.”
With very few exceptions, hears cases on appeal.
Criminal trials must be by jury
Criminal trials must happen in the same state as the crime. Territorial crimes and federal crimes tried where Congress puts the court.
No punishing kids for parents' crimes.
“Checks & Balances” – Examples:
Congress gets to make laws, but President has to approve and Supreme Court can review.
A federal court can strike down any law it wants, but has no say over who gets to be a judge, or even how many judges there will be.
President makes foreign policy (wars, treaties, etc.), but Congress has to approve.
Article 4 – Relationship Between States
States must recognize other states' arrangements
Federal rights carry over state to state
States can't harbor other states' fugitives
No carving new states out of old states' territory without their permission and that of Congress.
Congress decides what makes a new state, but they must be a republic
Article 5 – Changing the Constitution
2/3 of both houses of Congress propose an amendment
3/4 of states ratify
Article 6 – Supremacy
The Constitution is the final word. If you want to be a state, you live with what it says until you can generate enough support to change it.
Everybody who gets a job under the Constitution must take an oath to work under its jurisdiction.
Nobody can be denied a properly-appointed Constitutional office because of religion.
Article 7 – Ratification
When 9 of 13 states ratify, the Constitution officially replaces the Articles of Confederation.
Constitution Notes
U. S. CONSTITUTION
Preamble – Tells why the Constitution was written
Articles (7) – Set up the structure of the government
Amendments (27) – Address issues that have come up as people have lived under the Constitution
PREAMBLE
Solve problems with the Articles of Confederation:
“Every state for itself.”
Different “inalienable rights” in different places
Basic foreign policy functions
ARTICLE 1 -- LEGISTLATURE
House of Representatives – One man, one vote
Senate – Equal representation for each state
Job: Write and pass laws.
Generally, majority rules with Presidential approval, 2/3 to override veto.
Powers of Congress:
Tax
Borrow Money
Spend Money
Declare war
Remove criminals from office
Regulate commerce between states (money, post offices, patents, courts, etc.)
Running the capital
Whatever else they decide they need to do.
Congress can't:
Change laws after the fact
Make something illegal only for certain people
Tax exports
Suspend the right to be seen in court
Spend money without accounting for it
Grant titles of nobility
Because there is now a Congress, states can't:
Declare war
Enter into separate treaties with foreign countries
Print their own currency
Tax imports separately
Tax imports from other states
Do anything Congress can't do either
Preamble – Tells why the Constitution was written
Articles (7) – Set up the structure of the government
Amendments (27) – Address issues that have come up as people have lived under the Constitution
PREAMBLE
Solve problems with the Articles of Confederation:
“Every state for itself.”
Different “inalienable rights” in different places
Basic foreign policy functions
ARTICLE 1 -- LEGISTLATURE
House of Representatives – One man, one vote
Senate – Equal representation for each state
Job: Write and pass laws.
Generally, majority rules with Presidential approval, 2/3 to override veto.
Powers of Congress:
Tax
Borrow Money
Spend Money
Declare war
Remove criminals from office
Regulate commerce between states (money, post offices, patents, courts, etc.)
Running the capital
Whatever else they decide they need to do.
Congress can't:
Change laws after the fact
Make something illegal only for certain people
Tax exports
Suspend the right to be seen in court
Spend money without accounting for it
Grant titles of nobility
Because there is now a Congress, states can't:
Declare war
Enter into separate treaties with foreign countries
Print their own currency
Tax imports separately
Tax imports from other states
Do anything Congress can't do either
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Questions From John Adams Movie
1. If you were John Adams, would you have taken the case?
2. If you were on the jury, would you have convicted the soldiers?
3. Adams argued that America was a country ruled by laws instead of by people. Is he right? Who is in charge, the people who make and enforce the laws, or the laws themselves?
2. If you were on the jury, would you have convicted the soldiers?
3. Adams argued that America was a country ruled by laws instead of by people. Is he right? Who is in charge, the people who make and enforce the laws, or the laws themselves?
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Hobbes vs. Locke
Thomas Hobbes:
- People are basically evil.
- Because of that, God puts kings in power to keep order.
- We need someone in authority to settle religious disagreements for us.
- In order to function properly, a society needs a religious framework everybody can agree on.
- People are basically good.
- Because of that, governments only have the right to exist when good people allow them to.
- When a Christian is in power, he should tolerate those who disagree with him, because some day someone else will be in power.
- In order to function properly, society needs to trust its members to be good and do good and only put as many limits on freedom as are necessary to protect the freedom of others.
- "The Laws of Nature and Nature's God entitle [people] to separate and equal station . . . among the powers of the Earth." -- People are basically good, but have a Creator they are accountable to for that goodness.
- "We hold these truths to be self-evident" -- There are truths that are beyond dispute.
- "All men are Created" -- Whether through the people or through kings, ultimately all government derives from God.
- "Equal" -- Either we're as good as the king, or the king is as bad as the rest of us.
- "They are endowed by their Creator" -- See above
- "Unalienable rights" -- The rights of the people to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness supersede the right of the king to be in power, even if that right also came from God.
- If the evils of the king can be tolerated, they should be. Don't change a government just because you disagree on a point of opinion that doesn't measurably impact your life.
- If the evils of a king actually hurt people, the people have both the right and the duty to throw him out.
- "We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity" -- We want to trust that the British government is made of good people, but the evidence is to the contrary.
- Since Locke and Hobbes are virtual opposites, do you have to take one side or the other, or can you blend them together?
- Can you have an orderly society if agents of the state inject their religious opinions into their duties? Can you have an orderly society if they don't?
- Does government exist to create an environment to let good people do as much good as they can, or is its primary purpose to stop people from being evil? And can a government ever fight evil if it is made of evil people?
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Battles You Should Know
YORKTOWN – October, 1781
Last major battle of the Revolutionary War
France cut off Cornwallis' escape route
Washington led American and French troops in a siege operation
After the surrender, the British parliament switched parties and voted to end military operations in America, even though they still controlled several major cities.
ALAMO – March, 1836
Mexican army destroys a garrison of Texans and their American allies.
After the defeat, American volunteers rallied to the Texan cause, eventually winning Texas independence from Mexico.
GETTYSBURG – July, 1863
Confederate invasion of Pennsylvania, designed to force Union troops to defend home territory and ease the siege of Vicksburg, MS.
Union victory convinced Britain and France not to enter the war on the Confederate side.
Confederacy “plays defense” the rest of the war.
PEARL HARBOR – December, 1941
Japan simultaneously declares war and bombs the US Pacific fleet.
Brought the US into World War II by virtue of Japan's alliance with Germany and Italy.
D-DAY – June, 1944
US and Allied forces invade France from the sea.
Failure to repel thee? invasion was the beginning of the end for Nazi Germany.
9/11 – September, 2001
19 terrorists hijack 4 American commercial planes and crash them, destroying the World Trade Center and damaging the Pentagon.
Attacks trigger first major US military response to Al-Qaeda terror network.
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
1. Of the 6 battles on this list, which one was the most important for the US to win?
2. Is there a battle that isn't on the list that made a bigger impact on American History?
3. What was the biggest mistake made by the losing side in a battle that they should have seen ahead of time?
Last major battle of the Revolutionary War
France cut off Cornwallis' escape route
Washington led American and French troops in a siege operation
After the surrender, the British parliament switched parties and voted to end military operations in America, even though they still controlled several major cities.
ALAMO – March, 1836
Mexican army destroys a garrison of Texans and their American allies.
After the defeat, American volunteers rallied to the Texan cause, eventually winning Texas independence from Mexico.
GETTYSBURG – July, 1863
Confederate invasion of Pennsylvania, designed to force Union troops to defend home territory and ease the siege of Vicksburg, MS.
Union victory convinced Britain and France not to enter the war on the Confederate side.
Confederacy “plays defense” the rest of the war.
PEARL HARBOR – December, 1941
Japan simultaneously declares war and bombs the US Pacific fleet.
Brought the US into World War II by virtue of Japan's alliance with Germany and Italy.
D-DAY – June, 1944
US and Allied forces invade France from the sea.
Failure to repel thee? invasion was the beginning of the end for Nazi Germany.
9/11 – September, 2001
19 terrorists hijack 4 American commercial planes and crash them, destroying the World Trade Center and damaging the Pentagon.
Attacks trigger first major US military response to Al-Qaeda terror network.
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
1. Of the 6 battles on this list, which one was the most important for the US to win?
2. Is there a battle that isn't on the list that made a bigger impact on American History?
3. What was the biggest mistake made by the losing side in a battle that they should have seen ahead of time?
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