VHS+History+1+Foundations+of+Early+America

How has democracy evolved over time? • In what ways did the Declaration of Independence establish the foundation of American government? • Could the Constitution have been written without compromise? • Does state or federal government have a greater impact on our lives? • What were the effects of the Civil War and was it worth its costs? Was it inevitable?

This month we are going to discuss how Democracy has changed over time.

What does "democracy" mean?

A system of government in which power is vested in the people, who rule either directly or through freely elected representatives.

Does this sound like or government right now? Why or why not?

Believe it or not, democracy didn't start in the United States. 

The first democracy is said to have come about from Athens, Greece in 500 BC (about 2,200 years before the United States).

What does this have to do with us?

Almost 400 years ago (1620) a group of people sailed to (what we now call) the United States to have the freedom to practice their religion the way they wanted.





They sailed across the Atlantic ocean in a ship called the Mayflower and the voyage last for 2 months!! (Ask class) Have any of you ever been on a boat before? What was it like?



When the pilgrims landed, they meet the Indians who helped them learn how to survive on their own in the new world that they lived in. Also, more and more people from Great Britain and Europe began settling in this new world. These people were known as colonists.



As the colonists learned about their new world, they became more independent and found that the land they lived on provided everything they needed to survive.



As time went on, the colonists found that they didn't like living under the rule of the King of England (who ruled the country of England on the other side of the ocean).

If you were a colonists, would you want to be ruled or governed by someone who lived so far? Why?



In the late 1700s the colonists began to grow tired of living under the rule of England and wrote what is called The Declaration of Independence.



Some of the main points made by the colonists were • Men have unalienable Rights: Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

• Governments derive their authority from the consent of the people. “Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”

• When a government acts despotically, the people have a right and a duty to overthrow it. “But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.”

to be independent from Brittain

to have rights to happiness

and to stop heavy taxes

(play colonists videos)

Do you think this was hard for the colonists to do? Why? What kinds of things do you think they may have worried about if they rebelled against England? Do you think it was important for the colonists to declare independence? Why? Do you think the Declaration of Independence helped to establish the United States as a country? Do you think the rest of the world took us seriously?

Part 2:

(review part 1)

With the passing of the Revolutionary war, America started to establish itself as a nation and 3 branches of government were formed.

There are 3 branches of government to help ensure that no one branch holds too much power. Why do you think this is important?

Each branch can influence another branches decision about the laws being passed.
 * The president can veto laws passed by Congress.
 * Congress confirms or rejects the president's appointments and can remove the president from office in exceptional circumstances.
 * The justices of the Supreme Court, who can overturn unconstitutional laws, are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate.



The Legislative Branch works in the Capitol Building. The Legislative Branch is made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives.



For the Senate, there are two elected senators per state, totaling 100 senators. A senate term is six years and there's no limit to the number of terms an individual can serve.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13.0080003738403px;">With the House of Representatives, there are 435 elected representatives, which are divided among the 50 states in proportion to their total population. A representative serves a two-year term, and there's no limit to the number of terms an individual can serve.



The Executive Branch works in The White House and the main people who work there are the president,

(President Obama)



The Vice President (Vice President Joe Biden)



and the Cabinet (Obama Cabinet). <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13.0080003738403px;">Cabinet members serve as advisors to the president. They include the vice president and the heads of executive departments <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #595959; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13.0080003738403px;"> <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13.0080003738403px;">. Cabinet members are nominated by the president and must be approved by the Senate (with at least 51 votes).



This is the Supreme Court and where members of the Judicial Branch work. The Judicial Branch <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13.0080003738403px;">interprets the meaning of laws, applies laws to individual cases, and decides if laws violate the Constitution.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13.0080003738403px;">The Supreme Court is the highest court in the United States.



These are the Supreme Court Justices. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13.0080003738403px;">The justices of the Supreme Court are nominated by the president and must be approved by the Senate (with at least 51 votes). Congress decides the number of justices. Currently, there are nine. There is no fixed term for justices. They serve until their death, retirement, or removal in exceptional circumstances.

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Next week.... The Civil War!!

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