POLS 1101 January 14 18 2013 Democracy rule by the people Pure democracy would only work in small groups It is nearly impossible to vote on every single issue Republic choose leaders and they govern Representative democracy We have regular elections so we can change people if necessary Articles of Confederation They were quickly put together while war was going on just to be able to have an army and to govern somewhat A lot of power was given to individual states National government had very little power o could not Make treaties Raise an army Collect taxes Regulate business o There was no President Federal court only legislation In 1787 delegates met to make amendments to the Articles of Confederation o They knew it was not working and decided a new government needed to be started o From now on there needed to be a balanced budget The group included important historical figures such as James Madison Ben Franklin Abraham Baldwin one of the UGA founders o They ended up forming a government that has lasted over 200 years The Preamble says to o Form a more perfect union there was not currently ant unity o Establish justice laws against crime o Insure domestic tranquility equality o Provide for the common defense protection against threats and attacks o Promote general welfare well being of people o Secure blessings of liberty POLS 1101 January 14 18 2013 In Federalist 51 Madison said ambition defeats ambition o Checks and balances needed to be put into place o Federalism state and federal government Constitution Analysis Madison did not say each branch would be equal just separate o Wanted to avoid a strong executive branch o Wanted a strong legislature that could overrule the executive when necessary The legislative power consists of the Senate and House of Representatives There was a dispute between small and large states for representation Large states wanted more representation for larger populations and smaller states said each state should have equal representation GREAT COMPROMISE o There would be a legislature with 2 parts House of Representatives The Peoples House Had representatives for each state by population GA has 13 Senate Represents the states Each state has 2 senators o The house of representatives were voted on and states appointed senators this later changed though Back then states were taxes not individuals How would people be counted for representation and taxation o south wanted slaves to count so they could have more representation thus more power o north said no o BUT when taxes came into play the roles switches South didn t want slaves to count and the north did Both the North and the South were o Being hypocritical o Acting in their own best interest The Compromise o All free people would be counted Article I Section 1 Section 2 The House chooses their leader the Speaker and has sole power of impeachment which is a two step process When a Federal Judge or President is impeached POLS 1101 January 14 18 2013 o Slaves would be counted as 3 5 of a person o This was for taxes and representation o This was later changed by the 14th amendment o Formal charges are brought about o There is a trial and 2 3 must agree We now choose our own Senators Vice President is the President of the Senate But he doesn t vote unless there is a tie o This is usually rare o VP really has no other formal power The President may not agree with Congress but cannot arrest a member of Congress if they are traveling to an event where they will be speaking or if they are speaking at that moment o Basically means a congressman cannot be arrested at any time in case the president just doesn t want that person to vote etc No taxation without representation It is the job of House of Representatives to come up with idea to raise taxes The President can sign a bill or veto it If vetoed it will be sent back to Congress Then 2 3 has to agree and it can be passed even if vetoed by the President Congress shall have the power then it lists expressed powers o Such as collecting taxes paying debts borrowing money etc They have the power to make laws that are needed to put these previous listed laws into effect not explicitly listed but these powers are implied If arrested a person has the right to know their charges habeus corpis Legislative Congress writes laws Section 3 Section 6 Section 7 Section 8 Section 9 Executive President and administration enforces laws POLS 1101 January 14 18 2013 Article II Section 1 Founders were fearful of a tyrant and favored a committee not a single leader Problem congress takes a while to make a decision o During crisis such as 9 11 we would need a quick decision to be made We will not elect the President directly o They feared direct voting because the people were uneducated This leads to the electoral college o Each state gets electors roughly based on populations and they choose the President o Electors number of representatives in Congress o GA 13 representatives 2 Senators so 15 electors The electors can not vote for 2 people from the same state o Ex George Bush and Dick Chaney were both from Texas o Chaney moved to another state just so he could be voted for o Cannot directly go against the Constitution but there are ways around it President of the Senate the VP opens all votes of electors and counts Originally the person with the most votes became President and the person who came in second was the Vice President This seemed fair until parties emerged In 1796 there was a competitive election between parties o John Adams was a Federalist and came in 1st place President o Thomas Jefferson a member of the Democratic Republicans party took 2nd place VP o It didn t take long to realize this was a bad system If the President is too sick dies etc the VP takes over If there is a vacancy in the VP position the President must appoint a new person who will be approved by the Congress The President always preserves protects and defends the Constitution POLS 1101 January 14 18 2013 Section II The Commander in Chief of the Army Navy and some state militias is the President Only Congress can declare war even though the President is in charge of the military o This is an ongoing conflict o Last time the Congress actually declared war was WWII o Vietnam was considered the Vietnam Conflict Era The US military is the most powerful in the world The President can make treaties but needs Congress approval The President can appoint judges to the Supreme Court but needs Senate