1. Warm Up
All governments must have legitimacy to rule. In other words, the people must believe that their government has the right to make public policy. Answer the following questions to begin to think about other approaches rulers and leaders use to gain legitimacy in the eyes of the people.
In your school, how does a candidate for student council or a team captain gain legitimacy?
In the United States, how does the President gain legitimacy to govern?
How do you think a ruler would gain legitimacy in a dictatorial form of government?

2. Thursday, September 7, 2017
Objective: Students will be able to explain major political ideas in history, including the laws of nature and nature's God, unalienable rights, divine right of kings, social contract theory, and the rights of resistance to illegitimate government.
Purpose: Knowing about the major ideas that led to the creation of our government will emphasize what the most important concepts are about American democracy.

3. During the Roman republic, Plebeians (commoners) were part of the legislative assembly. What kind of power was available to Roman Plebians?

4. Magna Carta
King John of England was waging wars and levying high taxes on the people and the nobility
1215: the king was forced by nobles to sign the document
Contents: guaranteed the right to trial by jury and due process
Significance: the king’s power was not absolute

5. King John reluctantly signed the Magna Carta, thereby limiting his own power. Centuries later, many ideas from the Magna Carta influenced America’s founding documents.

6. Petition of Right
In 1625, Charles I inherited the throne of England. Like his father, Charles behaved like an absolute monarch
By 1628, however, his need to raise taxes forced Charles to summon Parliament
Petition of Right: prohibited the king from raising taxes without Parliament’s consent or from jailing anyone without legal justification (due process)
Before voting any funds, Parliament insisted that Charles sign the Petition of Right

7. English Bill of Rights Prohibited a standing army during peacetime
Monarch must exercise their power with the consent of Parliament
Legal Rights
Right to a fair trial
Freedom from cruel and unusual punishment

8. Enlightenment Philosophers
John Locke
Claimed that all people were born with natural rights
Governments were legitimate when they had the approval of the people
If the people lost trust in their government, they had the right to change their government

9. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundations on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

10. Enlightenment Philosophers
Montesquieu
Separation of powers/checks and balances
Voltaire
Freedom of religion and human progress
William Blackstone
Common Law: legal decisions should be made based on similar decisions in the past

11. Warm Up
If you were to describe democracy to someone who didn't have a basic concept of government, what would you say? What are its most important elements? What examples of how it works would you explain?

13. What should governments do?
Democracy is one form of government.
How does democracy help determine what the government should do? (Remember, democracy exists because people want it.)
In order for democracy to survive, certain principles must be agreed upon
In the United States, we have five concepts that form the backbone of our government system, which provides guidance in determining what to do.

14. Concepts in Democracy
Recognition of the fundamental worth and dignity of every person and who they are as an individual
Respect for the equality of all persons
Faith in majority rule and an insistence upon minority rights
Acceptance of the necessity of compromise
Insistence upon the widest possible degree of individual freedom

16. Responsibilities, Duties, and Obligations of Citizenship
Being a "Good Citizen" (obeying the law)
Paying taxes
Voting in elections and staying informed
Serving in the armed forces
All citizens are responsible to serve the public good

17. A New, Unique System
The United States was established based on constitutionalism (the idea that the basic principles and laws of a government should be organized and administered through compliance with a written or unwritten constitution)
It was also the first modern republic (a government with elected representatives serving at the will of the people)
The American system operates under the rule of law (all citizens, including those in the government, are subject to the law)

18. The English settlers brought ideas about government with them to North America. How is representative government practiced in the United States today?

19. Features of American Government
Ordered Government
Government regulates affairs among people
Government maintains order and predictability
Popular Sovereignty
The people are the source of political power

20. Features of American Government
Limited Government
Government is restricted in what it may do
Every individual has certain rights that the government cannot take away
Representative Government
The opinions of the public influence the positions of politicians