Unit 1

UNIT ONE: PHILOSOPHICAL & HISTORICAL FOUNDATIONS OF THE AMERICAN POLITICAL SYSTEM

LESSON ONE:

What did the Founding Fathers think about Constitutional Government?

TERMS:CONSTITUTION

LIMITED GOVERNMENT CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT PARLIAMENT DEMOCRACY REPUBLIC



UNWRITTEN CONSTITUTION WRITTEN CONSTITUTION FORMS OF GOVERNMENT

The Student will be able to . . .  Describe

the diverse features of the early American colonies and state and their populations  Explain what the Founders learned about government from history and their firsthand experiences with government  Describe the forms of constitutional governments  Evaluate, take and defend positions on the sources that should be consulted if a new constitution for the United Sates were being written today  Defend: Are the Founders’ concerns about abuse of government power still valid today?

CHARACTERISTICS OF COLONIAL AMERICA 

Size  



Diverse Background   



Puritans to Quakers Economic Reasons (poor to rich) Different Languages (English, Dutch, French, Germany)

Social/Political Cultures 



The colonies were bigger than England & Scotland More than 1,000 miles from north to south of colonies

Huge estates to family farms (slavery in every colony)

Mostly Rural/Trade people

HOW DID THE FOUNDING FATHERS LEARN ABOUT GOVERNMENT? 

Greece and Rome  Aristotle,   



Those who govern must be wise Government should help people learn about and perform their civic and moral duties Democracies begin well, but usually end in tyranny

Hobbes and Locke  Hobbes 



– “State of Nature”

Live in conflict/violent. Choose to set up a state to create order out of chaos

 Locke



Cicero

– “Social Contract”

Government should protect “life, liberty and estate”

100 Years of self-government  Local

self-government existed with a remote authority

WHAT DID THE FOUNDERS LEARN? 1.

Government should be the servant, not the master, of the people

2.

A fundamental higher law, or CONSTITUTION should limit government

FORMS OF GOVERNMENT TO CHOOSE FROM 

Every “STATE” must perform 3 functions:  1.

Deliberate about what is to be done and decide what public policy should be 

 2.

Perform an executive function 

 3.

Legislative Function: Deliberating on and Enacting Law Carry out Public Policy

Carry Out a Judicial Function 

Interpretation of law are managed and applied to every day life

ARISTOTLE’S TYPES OF GOVERNMENT Rule of

Right Form

Corrupt Form

ONE

Monarchy

Tyranny

FEW

Aristocracy

Oligarchy

MANY

Polity

Democracy

(mixed constitution)

(when poor take over from the ruling group)

MIXED CONSTITUTIONS 

Polybius: A mix of the types of government  Rule 

of One; Rule of a Few; Rule of the Many

England  



The Monarchy Parliament  House of Lords  House of Commons

The Colonies  

The Monarchy Elected Representatives

WHAT IS A CONSTITUTION? 

A plan that sets forth the structure and powers of government  The

power of each instrument of government  How the constitution can be changed 

Most constitutions are written out  Only

3 current democracies DO NOT have a single written out format of their government 



England, Israel and New Zealand

Limited Government  Restraints

on governmental powers

HIGHER LAW 

The Founding Fathers saw the Constitution as “Higher Law” 1. It sets forth the basic rights of citizens  2. It establishes the responsibility of the government to protect those rights  3. It establishes limitations on how those in government may use their power with regard to citizens’ rights and responsibilities, the distribution of resources, and the control or management of conflict  4. It can be changed only with the consent of the citizens and according to established and well-known procedures 

LESSON REVIEW Get in your STUDY GROUPS  Discuss and answer the “Reviewing and Using the Lesson” questions on page 10  Each group must be ready to present the answer to a specific question, citing the book, to the class 

STUDY GROUPS  Group

1ST PERIOD

One: Tanner, Ari, Mikel, Keziah  Group Two: Jacob, Patricia, Joseph, Ryan  Group Three: Brittney, Nadia, Nick, Rene  Group Four: Danielle, Drew, Jordan, Michael  Group Five: Kyle, Montoya, Katrina, Emma  Group Six: Garrett, Quinn, Scott, Nathan

STUDY GROUPS:  Group

4TH PERIOD

One: Mariah, Meghan, Catherine  Group Two: Bridgett, Ashley, Rosamaria  Group Three: Joel, Adam, David  Group Four: Kori, Brett, Jeffrey  Group Five: Alex, Matt, Taylor, Mercedes  Group Six: Amanda, Alexis, Kristi

LESSON ONE: REVIEW 

 

   

Identify at least three characteristics of the British colonies What important lessons did the founding generation learn from political theory and political history? What is the difference between “LIMITED” and “UNLIMITED” government? Do you think the difference is important? Why or Why Not? What is a “CONSTITUTION?” What is a mixed constitution? Explain the advantages and disadvantages of this type of government? Why is a constitution considered a higher law, and what are the major characteristics of a higher law? According to Aristotle, what are the differences between right and corrupt forms of government?