McWain's Podcasts

Bill of Rights

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. McWain) — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 01:06:00 +0000

Bill ofRights

First 10 amendments to the Constitution
- Created as an attempt at ___________________ between the Federalists and the anti-Federalists
- Places strict limits on how the government can use its power over the people

1^st Amendment – Freedom of ___________________
Congress can't make any law about your religion, or stop you from practicing your religion, or keep you from saying whatever you want, or publishing whatever you want (like in a newspaper or a book). And Congress can't stop you from meeting peacefully for a demonstration to ask the government to change something.

Protectionsagainst the abuses of power

2^nd Amendment
- ___________________ and state militias
- Congress can't stop people from having and carrying weapons, because we need to be able to defend ourselves.
3^rd Amendment
- No soldiers in home (No ___________________)
- You don't have to let soldiers live in your house, except if there is a war, and even then only if Congress has passed a law about it.
4^th Amendment
- No unreasonable ______________________________________
- Nobody can search your body, or your house, or your papers and things, unless they can prove to a judge that they have a good reason to think you have committed a crime.

Protectionsfor the Accused

5^th Amendment
- Right to the ______________________________________ of Law
- You can't be tried for any serious crime without a Grand Jury meeting first to decide whether there's enough evidence for a trial. And if the jury decides you are innocent, the government can't try again with another jury. You don't have to say anything at your trial. You can't be killed, or put in jail, or fined, unless you were convicted of a crime by a jury. And the government can't take your house or your farm or anything that is yours, unless the government pays for it.

6^th Amendment
- Right to a _________________________ and a lawyer in Criminal cases
- If you're arrested, you have a right to have your trial quickly, and the government can't keep you in jail without trying you. The trial has to be public, so everyone knows what is happening. The case has to be decided by a jury of ordinary people from your area. You have the right to know what you are accused of, to see and hear the people who are witnesses against you, to have the government help you get witnesses on your side, and you have the right to a lawyer to help you.

7^th Amendment
- Right to a trial by jury in ___________________ cases
- You also have the right to a jury when it is a civil case (a law case between two people rather than between you and the government).

8^th Amendment
- No ___________________ or unusual ___________________
- The government can't make you pay more than is reasonable in bail or in fines, and the government can't order you to have cruel or unusual punishments (like torture) even if you are convicted of a crime.

Protectionsfor Other rights

9^th Amendment
- You have ___________________ than just the rights listed in the Bill of Rights
- Just because these are the rights that are listed in the Constitution doesn't mean that you don't have other rights too.

10 Amendment
- The powers not given to the National Government belong to the individual ___________________ or the People.
- Anything that the Constitution doesn't say about what Congress can do should be left up to the states, or to the people.

First Amendment Rights

First Amendment
- Allows for the open exchange of ___________________
- This is the ___________________ of American Society
- With out these freedoms the rest of the Constitution would be meaningless
Freedom of ___________________
- Based on the concept of ‘separation of the ___________________ and ___________________’
- Government may not favor one religion over another
- Government may not treat people differently because of religion
Freedom of ___________________
- Means you can say what is on your mind without the fear of ___________________
- Limits to free speech
  - You may not harm others
  - You may not yell ‘Fire!’ in a crowd if there isn’t really a fire
  - You may not ___________________
    - Tell lies to damage a persons reputation
  - You may not commit ___________________
    - Tell secrets about the government in order to damage the government
  - Extensions of free speech
    - Includes art, music, clothing
    - Has come to mean ‘freedom of expression’
Freedom of ___________________
- Originally included books, newspapers, magazines
- Today it includes radio, television, computer networks
- The ‘press’ cannot be banned
- Helps to create and understand a wide variety of ___________________
- Limits to free press
  - You may not harm others
  - You may not ___________________
    - Print lies to damage a persons reputation
Freedom of ___________________
- Allows people to join and meet in groups to discuss ideas
- Gives us the right to belong to any organization
- Must be ___________________
  - Parades, Political Rallies, Celebrations
- Government can determine where and when an assembly may take place
Freedom to ___________________ the Government
- Allows people the right to express their ideas to the government
- Opportunity to change ______________________________________
Limits to Freedoms
- You may not break the law
- No ___________________ conduct / ___________________ the peace
- Must balance the rights of ___________________
- Your freedom may not ___________________ on the freedom of others
- Rights of the ___________________ must come first
  
  http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/northamerica/after1500/government/billofrights.htm

The Preamble and Checks + Balances

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. McWain) — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 17:50:00 +0000

The Preamble and Checks and Balances

After the problems with representation were solved and after the delegates overcame the conflicts between the Northern and Southern states, the Convention got down to creating a proper constitution, a proper government.

The Preamble, or _________________________, to the new Constitution is perfect statement of purpose..._________________________ sentence. It also reflects the frustrations with the conditions in the country under the Articles of Confederation. It reads...

We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish _________________________, insure domestic _________________________, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our _________________________, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

The notion of _________________________ the powers of the government heavily influenced the writing of the Constitution. The new government would consist of three different branches with different powers. Each branch was also given abilities to control or override the actions of the other branches, again to ensure that no one part of the government could gain too much power.

Article 1 of the Constitution deals with the Legislative Branch or _________________________...

The Framers of the Constitution wanted a Congress with enumerated, or _________________________, powers. But, they were smart people. They knew that they could not possibly know everything that Congress would need the power to do. So, they built in some general powers to to deal with _________________________ situations.

The Enumerated Powers of Congress include the ability to...

impose and collect _________________________
borrow money
regulate trade between foreign countries and between the states
make money
declare _________________________
raise and support a _________________________

The General Powers of Congress include...

The General Welfare Clause – to provide for the common defense and the general welfare of the United States.

Basically, this means that Congress has the power to make laws to benefit the people in order to make sure everyone is _________________________ and has the best possible life.

The Necessary and Proper Clause, or the _________________________ clause – make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying out the other powers that the Constitution gave the Congress

In other words, Congress has the power to create laws that make it easier to exercise the laws that are listed in the Constitution.

These general powers did cause some disputes because they could possibly lead to the ability to gain more power.

Checks on Congress - In the most general terms Congress makes the laws.

The Executive Branch has the power to review and reject, or _________________________, laws.
The Judicial Branch also has the power to review laws and can declare laws unconstitutional, or in _________________________ of the Constitution

Article 2 of the Constitution deals with the Executive Branch

The list of Executive powers is short. They include the ability to...

carry out and _________________________ laws
make treaties with foreign countries
appoint certain government officials
act as __________________________________________________ of the military
veto laws passed by Congress

Checks on the Executive

The president can appoint people to important government jobs but Congress has the power to _________________________ and even reject the appointment.

This makes it harder to put friends in positions to make things easier for the president.

Congress can reject treaties.
Congress does have the power to override vetoed laws, but it is difficult.
The House of Representatives can _________________________ the president, put him on trial.

Article 3 of the Constitution deals with the Judicial Branch

The Judicial Branch was needed to...

Decide disputes between _________________________ governments
Decide disputes between citizens of different states
Decide disputes between the _________________________ government and the states or the citizens

The Framers of the Constitution found it difficult to agree on the exact powers to be given to the Judicial Branch

Article 3 contains the following information and ideas...

Judges should be _________________________, not elected so they don't have to deal with the influence of political pressure
Judges keep their job for _________________________ so they can make important decisions without the fear of upsetting somebody and losing their job.
Judges can be impeached for bad behavior
The Supreme Court had to power to declare laws unconstitutional based on the _________________________ Clause in Article 6 of Constitution.

Philadelphia Convention

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. McWain) — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 17:45:00 +0000

The Convention

Congress starts the process

Representatives (____________________) from the states met in Philadelphia.
The plan was to ____________________ the Articles of Confederation

Fifty five (white) men

Most were fairly ____________________
Most played important roles in the ____________________
Some were rich, most were not, ____________________ was poor
George Washington – most ____________________ and honored man in the country, was convinced we needed a stronger ____________________ government
James Madison – called “____________________ of the Constitution”, brought the ____________________ Plan to the convention (a plan for a stronger national government.)
Benjamin Franklin – one of the most respected men in America, primary role was encouraging ____________________, supported important ____________________

Americans not at the convention

Thomas Jefferson and Paine were in France
John Adams was in England
Patrick Henry ____________________ to attend. He suspected the delegates might try to create a powerful national government, which he was against.
No ____________________
No free ____________________ men
No poor ____________________
No delegates from ____________________

Convention begins

George Washington elected president of the convention
There were ____________________ problems with the Articles.
Began working on a new ____________________ without congress’ approval.
Decided to keep everything ____________________

Wanted to feel free to express their ____________________
Did not want people outside the convention to ____________________ the discussions.
Did not want people to know about any of the ____________________ inside the convention

Each state would have ____________________ vote at the convention
Basic Ideas about government

Constitutional government – ____________________ power
Protect basic ____________________ and promote ____________________ welfare
Strong ____________________ government
Republican government with elected ____________________
Separation of ____________________, checks and balances to prevent ____________________ of power.

Representation

Conflict

Population was an issue
Small Population States wanted…

Each state should have ____________________ representation
____________________Plan – one house of Congress with equal representation

Large Population States wanted…

____________________ Representation – States with more people should have more votes
____________________ Plan – two houses of Congress with proportional representation

Great Compromise

____________________ Compromise – Ben Franklin
Congress – Two Houses

House of ____________________

Proportional Representation
____________________ Bills (laws)

Senate

____________________ Representation
____________________ or ____________________ Bills
(later allowed to amend bills)

Large states got greater influence in creating bills
Small states got equal influence in approving bills

Northern and Southern Conflict

Between the states

South

Agriculture Economy
____________________ labor
Trade with ____________________

North

____________________ economy

Farmers, fishermen, merchants, bankers, ____________________, shipping

____________________ labor
____________________ with Great Britain over ____________________ and manufacturing

Protective Tariffs

Tariffs – ____________________ on products imported from other nations (increase the price of other nations products)
Northern Position

Tariffs allowed American businesses to ____________________ with England and to prosper (grow)
Americans would buy the American product because the English product would cost ____________________

Southern Position

Tariffs would ____________________ the price of manufactured goods from Europe.
Tariffs would unfairly ____________________ the North
England might place tariffs on the South’s agricultural products (make it ____________________ for the South to sell their goods).

Slavery

Many Framers (not farmers) were against Slavery
South ____________________ on slavery as workers and considered slaves personal ____________________
Three Southern states refused to be a part of the new nation if slavery was banned
The North needed all of the states to join the ____________________

Compromises

Congress got the power to place tariffs on imports, control trade.
National government would not ____________________ with slave trade until 1808.
Each slave was to count as ____________________of a person when deciding on representation in the House of Reps.
Fugitive slaves found in the North must be ____________________ to their owners.

Shay's Rebellion

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. McWain) — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 17:44:00 +0000

Shay's Rebellion: Frustrations and Importance

Why was the rebellion important?

Financial troubles in 1786

_______________________ failed, _______________________ suffered, people were in debt
Soldiers who had fought in the Revolution still hadn't been _______________________
_______________________ could not control the country
People were worried

Farmers

Prices were _______________________
Often could not pay their _______________________
Many lost farms and homes
Some went to _______________________
Felt that the state was not _______________________ their interests

Shay's Rebellion

Farmers were fed up
Farmers closed down the _______________________ where their cases were being heard in an attempt to keep the state from taking their farms
News spread and courts in neighboring towns and states were closed down

The Rebellion Spreads

In January of 1787, Daniel Shay's led 2000 rebels to raid a ______________________________________________ (where guns and ammunition are stored)
The _______________________ government had been unable to control the rebels
How could the country exist if it could not maintain ______________________________________________?

How did Shay's Rebellion force people to examine the weaknesses of the national government?

Trade Problems

In January of 1786, there was supposed to be a meeting in _______________________ to discuss the problems
Only _______________________ states showed up
No decisions could be made
General _______________________ (unhappiness) led to _______________________ (Shay's Rebellion)
Delegates asked Congress for a convention of all states
Invitations were sent to all states for a convention in _______________________ to revise the _____________________________________________________________________