Power and Authority of Government
Overview
In the last unit, we looked at the branches and levels of government. In this session, you will know how power, authority, and responsibility are distributed, shared and limited through federalism.
This unit has been designed to instruct you on the limited power of government. Constitutional balances and checks were put into place to prevent the abuse of power in our government. Limited governments have established restraints on their powers, restraints such as laws and free and periodic elections.
The opposite is unlimited government, in which those who govern are free to use their power as they choose, unrestrained by laws or elections. Tyranny, autocracy, dictatorship, and totalitarianism are other words to describe unlimited government. In a constitutional government, the powers of the person or group controlling the government are limited by a set of laws and customs called a constitution.
Introduction
In this session, you will...
- Read background text on the evolution of Federalism and complete a worksheet
- Take notes on a Powerpoint and video on the concept of Federalism
- Take a brief quiz to demonstrate your understanding of the Federalism Powerpoint and video
- Analyze the Constitution to understand the balance of power and authority exercised by national and state governments
- Analyze the Constitution to evaluate the legislative and executive actions in the war in Iraq
Vocabulary
These
are words you need to know that are relevant to the content of this
session. Think about what they mean as you go through this session.
Words to know:
- autocracy
- common good
- constitution
- republic
- delegated powers
- democracy
- dictatorship
- tyranny
You should be able to clearly define them by the time you complete this session.
If necessary, search the web dictionary to find the definitions.
Federalism Worksheet
Read:
The division of power between teenagers and parents is similar to the division of power between the states and the federal government. This division of government power is known as federalism. Federalism is a system of government in which a written constitution divides power between a central government and regional or sub-divisional governments. Read the following text on Federalism, The Articles of Confederation, and The Constitution and answer the worksheet questions provided.
Respond:
Federalism Worksheet
Submit your work via your Brady Gmail account.
Federalism Notes
As you watch the American Government Roots of Federalism video and read through the Federalism Powerpoint, think about the following questions: What are the 6 Basic Principles of our government? What is federalism? Why was it necessary? Take notes using this template.
My suggestion? Print the blank document and WRITE your notes by hand (Studies have shown that a students' understanding of the readings increase significantly when doing so). If you choose to do this, I will have an inbox in room 317 where you can submit your work.
Before viewing, you may want to watch this tutorial on completing a notetaking assignment.
Click on "Cornell Notes" for an example of how to take them.Cornell Notes Grading Rubric :
-
Does not the standard = At least one section appears incomplete
Federalism Quiz
Now that you have a better understanding of Federalism, take the Federalism Quiz to demonstrate your understanding.
Respond:
When you are done with the quiz, complete a Screen Shot of your results and submit it via your Brady Gmail account.
Here is a tutorial on taking screen shots of your quiz results to submit to your teacher:
Normally, you press the button 'print screen' (next to F12) and you go to Microsoft Word, create a new document and click paste (or Ctrl+v). You can cut out the parts you don't want. Pressing ALT + Print Scrn takes only the active window.
Federalism Questions
You will:
Understand the balance of power that is at the heart of our federalist system
Evaluate which level of government -- state or national -- should have authority over social and legal issues
Resources:
Look on the US Constitution website to help you find answers.
Respond:
Complete the federalism assessment worksheet, "Who Should Decide What?" and submit it via your Brady Gmail account.
War Making: Executive and Legislative Powers
The recent war in Iraq has precipitated a nationwide debate on a longstanding Constitutional and political question: What are the roles and responsibilities of the executive and legislative branches in making war? In the course of this lesson, you will examine the constitutional sources of this debate.
Read:
Read the handouts, which have the articles related to war-making powers. Note: These handouts are located in the "American Government" box in room 317.
- Handout 1 - Article 1 - The Legislative Branch
- Handout 2 - Article 2 - The Executive Branch
Research:
Compare the powers of each branch and write down your findings.
Respond:
Summarize the war making powers of each branch from Handout 1 and 2 (1-2 paragraphs 100 words or more).
Submit your work as a Word Document via your Brady Gmail account.
Did I Submit It?
Now that you have a better understanding about the concept of Federalism, let's make sure that you completed all the assignments in this session before moving on to the final session of this unit.
√ I submitted it!
- U2S4 -Federalism worksheet
- U2S4 -Federalism Notes
- U2S4 -Federalism Quiz
- U2S4 -Who Should Decide What? worksheet
- U2S4 -War-Making Powers summary
Are you done? Let's move on to the last session for this unit!
