In this section you will find files on each of topics on the Government of the USA. Use the 'drop down' menu to view each theme and test yourself after each section. If you want to submit any queries or answers to the extension questions you can use the link on the contact page. Each examined topic is covered in bite-sized 'tutorials' with test yourself/extension exercises at the end of each section. The topics covered are: the US Constitution; Congress; the President; and the Supreme Court.
There are also some useful PowerPoints on this page below.
Exam hint: At the heart of the American system of government, and therefore this unit, is the US Constitution of 1787. The unit explores how the constitution has influenced each of the branches of government and how those branches interrelate (or don't). It is therefore difficult to approach a 30 mark essay until the whole unit has been covered. For example, in examining the role of the President, it is necessary to understand the President's relationship with Congress and the Supreme Court, as well as the constitutional constraints on the presidency. Each topic of this unit is therefore of relevance to other topics.
Examiners also like to see recent examples (eg of landmark cases, or the use of executive orders by the president, or partisan voting in Congress, etc).
Introduction: the birth of the United States of America
The American War of Independence (known in the United States as the American Revolutionary War), which lasted seven years (1775-1783), began over the issue of 'taxation without representation' (in parliament). James Otis claimed "Taxation without representation is tyranny!" Protests about taxation resulted in the famous Boston Tea Party in 1773, in which a shipment of tea (a taxable commodity) was tipped into Boston harbour. Events escalated into a war between the Continental Army (fighting for independence for the 13 colonies) and Britain. In 1776 the Continental Congress formally voted for independence and, on 4th July, issued a Declaration of Independence. After the siege of Yorktown in 1781, in which the French provided significant naval assistance to the Continentals, the tide of the war turned against the British. The British Parliament voted to end hostilities in 1782 and, in 1783, the Treaty of Paris brought the war to an end. The statue of liberty was a gift from the French (a large replica of one that is in Paris) as a symbol of America independence. However, initially the 13 newly-independent colonies did not seek to form a United States. Instead the Continental Army (essentially a militia, rather than a standing army) was disbanded and the soldiers went back to their farms in their separate States. It wasn't until 1787 that representatives of the 13 States (the 55 so-called 'Founding Fathers' or 'Framers of the Constitution') came together at the Philadelphia Convention to forge the Constitution of the United States and to establish the format of the United States system of government that still exists today.
The Bill of Rights (1791)
The Bill of Rights was written in 1791 by James Madison and comprises the first 10 Amendments of the US Constitution. Its significance lies partly in the fact that not all of the newly-independent States wanted to join the United States of America. Smaller states feared that any system of federal (national) government would be dominated by the larger states (and they had just fought a war to avoid tyrannical oppression). In fact, Rhode Island, one of the smallest of the 13 original states, refused to send a delegate to the Philadelphia Convention. The Bill of Rights guaranteed the rights and freedom of citizens of the smaller states. Indeed, the 10th Amendment reserves all rights not delegated to the federal government for the States. This allowed the reluctant smaller states to sign the constitution, knowing now that the rights of their citizens were guaranteed in the constitution.
The American War of Independence (known in the United States as the American Revolutionary War), which lasted seven years (1775-1783), began over the issue of 'taxation without representation' (in parliament). James Otis claimed "Taxation without representation is tyranny!" Protests about taxation resulted in the famous Boston Tea Party in 1773, in which a shipment of tea (a taxable commodity) was tipped into Boston harbour. Events escalated into a war between the Continental Army (fighting for independence for the 13 colonies) and Britain. In 1776 the Continental Congress formally voted for independence and, on 4th July, issued a Declaration of Independence. After the siege of Yorktown in 1781, in which the French provided significant naval assistance to the Continentals, the tide of the war turned against the British. The British Parliament voted to end hostilities in 1782 and, in 1783, the Treaty of Paris brought the war to an end. The statue of liberty was a gift from the French (a large replica of one that is in Paris) as a symbol of America independence. However, initially the 13 newly-independent colonies did not seek to form a United States. Instead the Continental Army (essentially a militia, rather than a standing army) was disbanded and the soldiers went back to their farms in their separate States. It wasn't until 1787 that representatives of the 13 States (the 55 so-called 'Founding Fathers' or 'Framers of the Constitution') came together at the Philadelphia Convention to forge the Constitution of the United States and to establish the format of the United States system of government that still exists today.
The Bill of Rights (1791)
The Bill of Rights was written in 1791 by James Madison and comprises the first 10 Amendments of the US Constitution. Its significance lies partly in the fact that not all of the newly-independent States wanted to join the United States of America. Smaller states feared that any system of federal (national) government would be dominated by the larger states (and they had just fought a war to avoid tyrannical oppression). In fact, Rhode Island, one of the smallest of the 13 original states, refused to send a delegate to the Philadelphia Convention. The Bill of Rights guaranteed the rights and freedom of citizens of the smaller states. Indeed, the 10th Amendment reserves all rights not delegated to the federal government for the States. This allowed the reluctant smaller states to sign the constitution, knowing now that the rights of their citizens were guaranteed in the constitution.
usa_political_culture.ppt | |
File Size: | 167 kb |
File Type: | ppt |
federalism_and_the_us_constitution.pptx | |
File Size: | 172 kb |
File Type: | pptx |
congress.ppt | |
File Size: | 341 kb |
File Type: | ppt |
congress_checks___balances.pptx | |
File Size: | 48 kb |
File Type: | pptx |
the_vice_president.pptx | |
File Size: | 646 kb |
File Type: | pptx |
the_us_supreme_court_and_federalism.pptx | |
File Size: | 626 kb |
File Type: | pptx |