Test #2

Today we took our second test. I LOVE MR SCHICK FOR LETTING US USE OUR BLOGS, or else i would've been screwed. I didn't study for the test which was bad on my part so i got out lucky on this one. I felt as though with the blogs I got a really good grade. Without them however i would've failed. Not even exaggerating. However, i do take time in my blogs just in case something like this were to happen, and thankfully it did. Sucks for the people who don't take time on their blogs. Once again I just want to say THANK YOU MR SCHICK. I think i got an A. There wasn't any problem that I think i got wrong or i wasn't sure about. Well maybe on the last page.

6-10 Amendments

The seventh Amendment is the jury on can have a trial in civil cases (if not too petty). The eighth Amendment is that the judge has to set reasonable bail and possible fines. SO the bail depends on the crime. The worse the crime the higher the bail so its harder to get them out. There cannot be cruel or unusual punishment. Meaning you're not going to get killed if you were drunk while driving since its not a major crime that results in death/execution. The ninth amendment is that people have their rights, even if they aren't listed in the Constitution. Mr. Schick said this wasn't an important one we had to remember and that it wouldn't be on the test. The tenth amendment is also that people have their rights. Its just like the ninth amendment.

First 6 Amendments

Article one is about the 5 freedoms which are freedom of religion, speech, press, right to assemble, right to petition the government. The second amendment is about the right to bear arms. The third is that you cannot quarter. The fourth is you cannot have unreasonable searches or seizures. The fifth is that you need to be invited by a Grand Jury for a capital or otherwise infamous crime. You cannot be tried twice even if evidence shows up after the first trial. You cannot self incriminate. The sixth is that you have the right to a speedy and public jury. Everyone is granted a lawyer no matter what.
Today Cross taught the class because he is really smart and i don't know how he does it.

5 Freedoms and North Korea

Today in Mr. Schicks class we talked about North Korea and the 5 freedoms. The 5 freedoms are: freedom of speech, press, right to assemble, religion, and right to petition the government. We talked about how North Korea was very strict and their leader has brainwashed the country. No one is allowed to leave or enter in North Korea. They admire their leader as like a god. It could even be the craziest thing like they got surgery and instead of thanking the doctor they go to their leader and thank him. I also heard that a man went to his leader and bought a gun telling him that he was going to kill as many Americans as he could with it. Their leader kills many Koreans within its own country if they do not like what he does. One time a person laid in front of his statue and was treated to be executed from the country. Someone also mentioned that they built a fake city to attract people and then took them captive.

Article Presentations Day 3

Article 4: This article is all about extradition. Extradition is when you are arrested for committing a crime and sent back to their original state. If a slave ran away they would have to be taken back to their owner. Congress has the authority to get rid of or make new regulations in every state. Section 4 is to protect every state.

Article 5: My Article.

Article 6: The U.S is responsible for its debts before and after the Constitution was made. You cannot be denied a position in office because of race or religion. Every state must go by the Constitution. No state law can over-ride the Constitution.

Article 7: Talks about the process used to ratify the Constitution. 9/13 states have to agree to make the law official.

Bill of Rights: 5 freedoms:
freedom of religion
freedom of speech
freedom of press
freedom to assemble
freedom to petition the government.

Articles Presentation Part 2

Today in class we talked about voting. We talked about how we all will be able to vote in the next presidential election. However i asked "If I don't pay attention to the elections, should I not vote?" The answer was that it is up to me and that he thinks I should pay attention to it because I live in America. We also talked about how the President only makes $400,000 a year. In my head i was thinking that a local anesthesiologist make almost that and does not have nearly as much power. We also talked about Article 3 in the Constitution. This article is all about the judicial branch and how the judicial system includes one Supreme Court. Big cases go to the Supreme Court. No one can override the Supreme Courts decisions. It consists of 9 justices and is the most powerful court in the United States of America. All judges serve lifelong terms. The only way they live the position is if they die, resign, or commit a federal crime. Treason is an example of a federal crime.

Article Presentations

Article 1 talks about the legislative branch. There is two houses of Congress which are the House or Representatives and the Senate. There are 435 people in the House of Representatives. There is 100 people in the Senate. The number of Congressmen depends on the population of the state. However, every single state has 2 senators. They have to get re-elected every 2 years. Senators are in office for 6 years. The Congress are the ones who are responsible for passing laws. It then goes to the President to be confirmed or appealed. If 2/3 of the Senate over ride the Presidents veto, the law is able to be passed. Congress can impose taxes and declare war.
Article 2 is all about the president. It states his power and duties. Each president has to take the oath on the Bible. It states that you have to protect, preserve, and defend the Constitution. They have to do the State of the Union each year. You can impeach a president.

Article 5 Day 2

Today in Western Civ, we continued to work on our Article project. We added Kp to our group. Today Mr. Schick was not here. Here is some more information on Article 5...Future generations can amend the Constitution if the society so requires it. Both the states and Congress have the power to initiate the amendment process. There are 27 Amendments. At least ⅔ of The House of Representatives and Senate must approve the amendment. The Amendments were made to protect the rights of the people. Article 5 is a single paragraphs telling how you can change or add to the U.S Constitution.   Article 5 of the US Constitution states that constitutional amendments have to be passed by a two-thirds majority in both houses of the legislature.The amendment must then be ratified by three-fourths of states. and then by the states. Alternative procedures are also provided, but these are rarely used.

Test Review

I did well on my test. I got a 92%. I thought the test was really easy. I did really good on the multiple choice part but I  bombed the last essay. I had no clue what it was about and I don't remember learning about it at all sooo. However I aced the Paul revere question because I know the poem like the back of my hand. I'm still really confused about the last essay question about the Declaration of Independence.  I think the last question was unfair because we didn't learn 3 distinct sections of the Declaration of Independence we just talked about little parts of it.

Article 5

Today in class we talked about electoral votes. We learned that the state of Wyoming only has 2 electoral votes whereas the state of California has 55. However, Wyomings votes impact the election more then California does. We also did group projects about the Articles in the Constitution. The article I was assigned was article number 5. This article is all about single paragraph telling how you can change or add to the U.S Constitution. The only way that changes can be made to the Constitution, is if new amendments are added to it; no other clause or forms of change can take place, apart from this, when the government, or any one party is attempting to make new rules or amend the Constitution.

Constitutional Convention

April 19, 1775- Revolutionary war begins
July 4, 1776- Declaration of Independence
1777- Articles of Confederation was written
1781- Articles of Confederation is ratified
October 19, 1781- Revolutionary War fighting ends
1783- Treaty of Paris is signed
May 1787- the Constitutional Convention

The Constitutional Convention: 55 delegates meet in Philadelphia. GeorgeWashington presided. The prominent delegates were James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and Benjamin Franklin. The discussions were top secret. The objective of this meeting was to design a new government.

First Decision: Two Houses in Congress: In the senate they wanted each state to have the same number of votes. In the House of Representatives the votes are determined by the number of people in the state.

The Northerners said that slaves were property and they shouldn't count. The Southerners thought the opposite. They came up with the 3/5 compromise where slaves counted as 3/5 of a person.

Separation of Powers: 3 Branches
Legislative- senate, House of Representatives
Executive- president
Judicial- Supreme court and other federal courts

Preamble and 7 Articles

Preamble: 
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.     
It is the opening statement in the constitution. the preamble explains the reasons why the Framers of the Constitution made our government a republic.

7 Articles:
legislative-to make laws, it is split into two different chambers – the House of Representatives and the Senate.It also has the power to check and balance the other two federal branches.

executive-This branch of the government manages the day-to-day operations of government through various federal departments and agencies, such as the Department of Treasury. At the head of this branch is the nationally elected President of the United States.-

judicial-Article III outlines the powers of the federal court system. Determines that the court of last resort is the US Supreme Court and that the US Congress has the power to determine the size and scope of those courts below it. All judges are appointed for life unless they resign due to bad behavior  Those facing charges are to be tried and judged by a jury of their peers. 

The states-This article defines the relationship between the states and the federal government.

Amendment-Future generations can amend the Constitution if the society so requires it. Both the states and Congress have the power to initiate the amendment process.

Debts, Supremacy, Oaths-the US Constitution, and all laws made from it are the ‘supreme Law of the Land’, and all officials, whether members of the state legislatures, Congress, judiciary or the Executive have to swear an oath to the Constitution.

Ratification- all those people who signed the Constitution, representing the original 13 states.

Building a New Government 1780-1800

In class we learned about the second continental congress and the Articles of Confederation. The articles of confederation was written in 1777 by colonial leaders. It was ratified in 1781 and was Americas first constitution. It provided a framework for for the new nation to do "nation things". The good that came from the A O C was it named the country the United States, it established a diplomacy, and set up trade with other nations. The problems with the A O C was the states thought they were their own countries. They didn't want to be under one federal government because they just left the British. They decided that each state would be pat of "Congress of Confederation" and everyone would be able to vote. US expenses would be paid by the individual states and the bigger and richer states would pay more. Debt couldn't be paid because Congress wouldn't collect taxes. Each state operated independently. They all printed their own money. There was no court to settle disputes between states. Britain had to cut off trade so the US had to find new trading partners. Alexander Hamilton wants a national bank. Thomas Jefferson wants the states to handle themselves.

Today in western civ we were told to look up the Articles of Confederation, the constitution, and the Bill of Rights. 

Articles of Confederation: An agreement between all 13 states in the US that served as its first constitution. It was the first written constitution of the US. It was written during the Revolutionary war. It was written to give the colonies some sense of a unified government. Became affective on March 1, 1781.The Articles of Confederation gave Congress the power to govern foreign affairs, conduct war and regulate currency; however, in reality these powers were sharply limited because Congress had no authority to enforce its requests to the states for money or troops.

Constitution: All laws come from the Constitution. Was completed on September 17, 1787. The Constitution is the second of the three Charters of Freedom along with the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of rights, with later amendments. The U.S. Constitution established America’s national government and fundamental laws, and guaranteed certain basic rights for its citizens. George Washington was the first to sign the document. Of the 55 delegates, a total of 39 signed

Bill of Rights: 10 amendments guaranteeing basic individual protections such as freedom of speech and religion–became part of the Constitution in 1791. To date, there have been a total of 27 constitutional amendments. On September 25, 1789, Congress adopted 12 of the amendments and sent them to the states for ratification. Ten of these amendments, known collectively as the Bill of Rights, were ratified and became part of the Constitution on December 10, 1791. The Bill of Rights guarantees individuals certain basic protections as citizens, including freedom of speech, religion and the press; the right to bear and keep arms; the right to peaceably assemble; protection from unreasonable search and seizure; and the right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury.