Government November Notes

Homework due 11/3 Read p 200-205 Pg 206 #4

• Q4) At the national level, public offices can be filled by election or appointment. Why do you think the Constitution does not provide for the presidency to be filled by appointment if the office becomes vacant?

• A4) I think that the Constitution does not provide for the presidency to be filled by appointment if the office becomes vacant because the vice president can replace the president. This vice president is appointed by the people indirectly who voted for the president. It would also be difficult to run a government without a president until they are voted into office. The 25th amendment addresses these matters. 

Homework due 11/4 Read p 211-223 Pg 223 # 3 and 5

• Q3) In what way are presidential appointments an example of the system of checks and balances?

• A3) Presidential appointments are an example of the system of checks and balances because once the individual is nominated, they must be examined by the senate committee, and then the senate holds a debate. They can be approved or rejected.

• Q5) Which branch of the government has often been charged with interpreting the proper extent of presidential powers? Give one example.

• A5) The Judicial branch or supreme court has often been charged with interpreting the proper extent of presidential powers. One example is the United States v. Nixon case where the court decided that the President cannot use the Executive Privilege if it prevents evidence from being heard for criminal hearings. Nixon resigned due to this.

Homework due 11/9/21 Read page 298-305 Pg 305 # 1,3 and 5

• Q1) Why did the Framers of the Constitution stipulate that federal judges be appointed, rather than elected, and serve for life?

• A1) The Framers of the Constitution stipulated that federal judges be appointed rather than elected, and serve for life so that the president can somewhat choose who they think would be able to help the nation. Judges are to make decisions based on the law, without facing the prospect of removal for issuing an unpopular decision. Put in another way, the Framers of our system believed that in a functioning democracy, the law would rule—not tyrants or popular opinion.

• Q3) What are the two general principles that determine whether the federal courts have jurisdiction over a case? Do you think these principles are broad enough? Why or why not?

• A3) The two general principles that determine whether the federal courts have jurisdiction over a case are that if the case has something to do with a specific subject matter or if one of the parties is the U.S. These are broad enough in my opinion because any of the subjects could be regarding the government that could need the supreme court. 

• Q5) Explain the difference between judicial restraint and judicial activism.

• A5) Judicial restraint is for people who take a narrow view of the power of the supreme court. Judicial activism is for people who take a broad view on the power of the supreme court.

Wendy Weber - Current Events HW due 11/10/21

Read any article, in any newspaper (in print or online) about government (Federal, State or local government). Summarize the article in a few paragraphs and be prepared to talk about it in class on Friday.

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/10/biden-to-sign-1-trillion-infrastructure-bill-on-monday.html

This article is about the federal government. It is about President Biden signing the infrastructure bill, which will be a total of 1 trillion dollars invested into American infrastructure and the betterment of the USA. This infrastructure bill has been the topic of discussion in congress for quite some time due to the large scale investment into the American economy. It has also come with a fair share of fear that it will cause inflation in the US. However Democratic representatives state that this bill will be able to ease supply chain disruption and prevent skyrocketing prices. 

It is stated that Biden will be signing this bill with the members of congress who worked to create it to improve tunnels, bridges, and roads. The White House states that he “will highlight how he is following through on his commitment to rebuild the middle class and the historic benefits the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal will deliver for American families.” This includes good paid jobs, transportation improvements, high speed internet, clean water, mass transit, clean energy, and investments into roads and bridges. 

Homework due 11/15/21 Read page 306-311 Pg 312 # 1, 2 and 3

• Q1) How does the power of the Supreme Court act as a check on the other branches of government?

• A1) The power of the Supreme court acts as a check on the other branches of government because the supreme court’s decisions are the supreme law of the land. They are able to determine constitutionality but only the supreme court can bind the entire one nation

• Q2) What sequence of events led to the Court hearing the case Marbury v. Madison?

• A2) The Court hearing the case Marbury v. Madison was caused by Madison withholding the commision for Marbury. Before Jefferson became the president of the US, he was supposed to have paid a commission to Marbury because he was a party Leader that was from Maryland. When he became the president, he had to instruct the secretary of state Madison not to pay the commission to him. Marbury brought it to the court to write a petition to have Madison pay the commission.

• Q3) Compare the Supreme Court’s original jurisdiction with its appellate jurisdiction.

• A3) Original jurisdiction is a court in which a case is first heard. Appellate jurisdiction is a court where a case is heard on appeal from a lower court.

Wendy Weber Homework- The Bill of Rights

Read the attached link. It includes the Bill of Rights and historical backstory for the Bill of Rights.

Answer the following questions:

1) What documents came before The Bill of Rights that would have influenced it. 

• The Bill of Rights was strongly influenced by the Virginia Declaration of Rights, written by George Mason. Other documents include English documents such as the Magna Carta, the Petition of Right, the English Bill of Rights, and the Massachusetts Body of Liberties.

2) Who is considered the author of the Bill of Rights?

• James Madison, then a member of the U.S. House of Representatives is considered the author of the Bill of Rights.  

3) What was missing from the Constitution that caused an almost immediate writing of the Bill of Rights? 

• The Constitution was missing a bill of rights that would place specific limits on government power. Federalists argued that the Constitution did not need a bill of rights, because the people and the states kept any powers not given to the federal government. Anti-Federalists held that a bill of rights was necessary to safeguard individual liberty.

4) If you could add one more Amendment to the Bill of Rights, the one most needed, what would it be?

• If I could add one more Amendment to the Bill of Rights, it would be the right to privacy. This amendment should include digital, body, correspondence, data, finance, identity, location, and territory. 

Wendy Weber: Homework- Current Events

Find an article about the current economic situation in the U.S. For instance: Inflation, supply chain issues, unemployment, worker shortages, etc. Write a short essay about the article. Include the name of the newspaper/ website, the author and the title of the article. The essay should answer the following questions: Who is the article about? What is the article about? Where was it written about? When (what time period) is it about? Why was it written?

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/17/one-solution-to-the-labor-shortage-teenagers.html

The article that I read was about the current economy and the worker shortage that is heavily influencing many different fields negatively and a possible solution to this issue. The website was on CNBC, and the author is Jessica Dickler. The title of the article is “One solution to the labor shortage: teenagers.” This article talks about how there is a major issue with a worker shortage currently in many fields. With many adults sorting out their options and switching career paths over the COVID quarantine, there has been an influx of restaurant and service workers. This article is analyzing the current work force and states that many more teenagers have decided to pick up side jobs. 

With the holiday season approaching, the worker shortage will be pushed to the limit without proper workers. A restaurant owner in Texas has raised the wages and began offering free food and flexible schedules in order to attract more younger workers. This has caused the unemployment rate among teenages to be at one of the lowest rates. Teenage employment has been increasing since they account for 13% of all retail workers which is higher than average of the employment around this season. Many stores have been offering new deals to encourage students to comfortably work and attend school. 

Now a whole 36% of all teens are part of the workforce. This article uses a restaurant in Texas as an example, but the statistics presented in this study are very broad and apply to the entire USA. The time period is current since the article was published on Wednesday, November 17th 2021. It was written to bring attention to the shift in workforce involved in retail and restaurant services. It also brings this to the attention of possibly more teenagers interested in working.