AMERICAN CIVICS

American Civics

The American population is undergoing a number of dramatic shifts. The U.S. population is becoming more diverse in terms of race. The growth in the Latino population, in particular, constitutes a huge part of this increased diversity. The Latino population is set to double its 1990 size by the year 2015.

The American population is getting older. The median age of the population will steadily increase from 34.0 in 1994 to 35.5 in 2000. This increasing median age is driven by the aging of the population born during the Baby Boom after World War II, from 1946-1964. As the Baby Boomers age, the median age of the American population will rise.

The American population growth rate is slowing. Despite the large increases in the number of persons in the population, the actual rate of population growth projected to decrease during the next six decades by about 50%, from 1.10 between 1990 and 1995 to 0.54 between 2040 and 2050. The decrease in the rate of growth is predominantly due to the aging of the population and, consequently, a dramatic increase in the number of deaths. From 2030 to 2050, the United States would grow more slowly than ever before in its history.

The United States must impose more control on immigration to the United States if it is to have a stable workforce and economy. More control, however, does not necessarily mean less immigration. More control means a more focused immigration policy, which promotes the entry of critical people that will help out the American economy and society. In regards to economics, the ideal immigration policy would actually admit more Latinos who can perform unskilled labor as well as skilled Asian professionals who can perform highly skilled, technical work. In regards to social policy, admitting more Latinos, who tend to have more children, will help offset the decrease in population which will result from the Baby Boomer generation dying off.

2)

According to the Constitution, the six goals of the national government are to form a more perfect union, establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty.

The goal of forming a perfect union arose because, at the time that the Constitution was drafted, the United States was a mere confederacy, composed of thirteen different states. The Constitution sought to turn this confederacy into a true union. A more perfect union had to have a powerful federal government with the ability, for example, to tax people of all states. The current national government fulfills this goal well as the federal government holds the highest powers in each domain of government. The national congress makes law, the U.S. President is responsible for enforcing the law, and the federal judiciary has final say in interpreting these laws.

The goal of establishing justice meant that the nation's laws apply equally to all. The current national government has a federal court system that has the final say in interpreting law. The federal court, particularly the Supreme Court, hears cases involving discrimination under law as well as the Constitutionality of certain laws passed by the national Congress. It is considered very effective as the United States is considered one of the most fair, just nations in the world.

The goal of ensuring domestic tranquility means maintaining law and order, or keeping the peace. The current national government has several agencies performing this task, including the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, and the National Guard. State and local governments are allowed to use their own police to enforce national laws within their own borders, but must defer to federal agencies when criminal activity crosses borders.

The goal of providing for the common defense means maintaining a military that can protect the union. The current national government fulfills this goal through the U.S. Army, Navy, Marines, and Air Force, the most formidable military in the world. Other federal agencies such as the CIA and the NSA also support this goal through gathering intelligence and influencing foreign states.

The goal of promoting the general welfare is self-explanatory. The current national government promotes the general welfare primarily through its power to tax and spend. This power is typically used by Congress to commission public works such as public roads, schools, and hospitals. It also includes programs such as financial aid, welfare, and funding for scientific research.

The goal of securing the blessings of liberty means ensuring that citizens may however they wish to, provided they observe the laws of the country and not impinge on the rights of others. This goal is demonstrated in the federal Bill of Rights, which protect citizens from intrusion by the Federal Government or by other individuals. The federal Supreme Court is tasked with upholding the Bill of Rights and the U.S. President may order the national guard to enforce the injunctions given by the Supreme Court.

3)

Bail is some form of property deposited or pledged to a court to persuade it to release a suspect from jail. The property is held by the court in order to ensure that the suspect, who is released from custody, does not flee the jurisdiction or fail to appear in court. The property is usually returned if the suspect returns to appear in court and complies with any other directions given by the court.

Bail is not unique to the United States. Bail is common practice in other common law countries, such as the United Kingdom or Canada. In fact, the American practice of bail originated in England during the medieval period. There, sheriffs originally possessed the authority to hold suspected criminals in custody and to release them in return for a deposit or payment of property.

The practice of bail is intimately connected with the doctrine of habeas corpus, that a person shall not be imprisoned without sufficient cause or evidence. The Habeas Corpus Act of 1679 proclaimed that "A magistrate shall discharge prisoners taking their recognizance…in any sum according to the Magistrate's discretion…" the English Bill of Rights of 1689 prohibited magistrates from setting excessive bail, as unreasonable bail of which the suspect is incapable of paying practically amounts to deprivation of liberty. Excessive bail is prohibited in the United States by the Eighth Amendment.

4)

Bicameral legislation is the rooted in the Constitutional doctrine of checks and balances and, more generally, in the classical notion of mixed government. The reasoning is that national interests will be better protected if laws were required to pass in two different chambers of the legislature, each of which is composed of different types of legislators. It is meant to protect minority interests from the tyranny of the majority.

Our notion of bicameral legislation is influenced most heavily by the Government of the Roman Republic, which divided legislation between the aristocratic Senate and the various popular committees and councils. Bicameral legislation was also practiced in England to give representation to the country's different estates through the Aristocratic House of Lords and the Popular House of Commons. In the United States, the bicameral distinction is achieved by giving each chamber different rules of composition, term lengths, and voting rules, instead of different requirements for membership. Generally, one chamber should be popular, responsive, and flexible, while the other chamber is more insulated, aristocratic, and stable.

The House of Representatives represents the popular branch, as it has proportional representation, majority voting, and shorter term lengths. Proportional representation leads to a variable, but generally larger number of seats than the Senate and is meant to make the legislature responsive to shifts in population. Shorter term lengths are meant to make individual representatives accountable to their constituencies, thereby promoting the representation of popular interests.

The senate represents what would be known in other countries as the aristocratic branch. The Senate has a stable number of seats (100), longer term lengths, and stricter voting rules. These features are meant to prevent imprudent legislation by requiring the assent of a supermajority of senators who are better insulated from popular control through longer term lengths. Also, the equal apportionment of seats, with two per state, is meant to prevent the domination of government by larger states, which have larger representations in the House because of proportional representation.

5)

Handguns are an unnecessary source of violent crime and death in the United States today. Hand guns empower criminals through their use and sale and threaten our communities. The Second Amendment affords the right to bear arms for military purposes only. Today, hand guns are not possessed for the purposes of military use, but for the purposes of personal protection, a purpose which is not protected by the Constitution. It shall be illegal for any person to manufacture, possess, or transfer a handgun regardless of that person's intent in possessing it and whether it is loaded or unloaded.

This proposal, since it is not concerned with revenue or appropriation, can be introduced in either the House of Representatives or the Senate. Since it is easier to pass a bill in the House, it will be introduced in the House. The proposal must first be promoted to a sympathetic Representative in the House who has sufficient power and support in Congress.

This representative will introduce the bill while the House is in Session. The bill will then be assigned a number at referred to a standing committee, which studies the merits and deficiencies of the bill. Witnesses and experts will then be allowed to present their case for or against the bill for the education of the committee. The bill will then go to a mark-up session where committee members debate the bill's merits and may offer amendments or revisions. Committees may also amend the bill, but the full house holds the power to accept or reject committee amendments. After debate, the committee votes on whether to report the bill to the full house.

Once the bill reaches the floor of the House, representatives in support and in opposition debate the merits of the bill. The House then takes a vote, with majority approval sufficient to pass the bill. Once the bill is approved in the House, it is then sent to the Senate which may pass, reject, or amend it. The bill will become law when the House and the Senate agree to identical versions of the bill.

6)

The President, as the chief of the executive branch which is tasked with enforcing the laws of the United States, has special authority in regards to federal crimes. In this capacity as chief executive of the law enforcement branch, the President may order the capture, arrest, and trial of a person suspected of committing a certain federal crime.

The President also has the authority to alter the legal status of persons convicted of federal crimes. The President may pardon any individual convicted of a federal crime without Congressional approval unless the individual was impeached by Congress. The pardon will restore various legal rights lost as a result of the pardoned offense, such as liberty from imprisonment. However, the pardon does not reverse the conviction and pardoned criminals are still determined to have committed the crime.

The President may also commute the sentences of persons who have committed federal crimes and been convicted and sentenced for those crimes. This commutation of sentence can apply to any type of legal penalties, including imprisonment, fines, or mandatory probation. However, the commutation of sentence is most often applied in order to reduce or attenuate a person's term of imprisonment.

7)

Political parties serve a number of important purposes in the nation's current political system. Political parties help unite disparate political interests into a political coalition which can attract support from the popular electorate. Political parties usually declare a political ideology or governmental vision to attract popular support. This vision is usually supported by a written platform with specific political objectives and recommendations. This platform is, ostensibly, carried out by members of the party who have been elected to political office.

Political parties provide structure and predictability to the democratic process. Without political parties, there would be a jumble of individual politicians pursuing narrow political objectives. Political parties also provide efficiency to the democratic process by consolidating the political power of various interests, which would otherwise be forced to negotiate a particular position on each bill. Political parties can exist in a variety of systems, but the main systems are the one-party, two-party, and multi-party system.

Two-party systems, with two strong parties of nearly equal strength tend to be highly stable, as the voters have a clear alternative to go to if they are displeased by one party. Multi-party systems, in which there are more than two strong political parties, often prevent one party from winning a majority of votes. The only way government can function in such a deadlock is by two or more parties agreeing to work together, usually by forming a stable political coalition and/or voting blocs in the legislature. Thus, the coalescence of disparate interests into two parties which occurs before election in the U.S. two-party system, tends to occur after election in the United Kingdom multi-party system through negotiations between parties in the Parliament.

In terms of fairness to all interests, multi-party systems are the most fair because they enable the political representation of a broader array of interests than is typically possible in a two-party or one-party system. The two-party system is also capable of representing a broad array of political interests if such interests are amenable to either one of the two party's general political platform. However, the two-party system does not represent every political interest in the U.S. because there are also a number of minor political parties, or third parties, such as the Green party.

The one-party system is the least fair because it lacks an apparatus for excluded political interests to participate in the political process. This is exemplified in the governments of North Korea, Cuba, and the People's Republic of China, all of which are one-party Socialist Republics where citizens are often denied free of speech and action. Such parties are commonly considered to be dictatorships or totalitarian governments.

8)

The first reason is lack of education about American Civics. A large portion of the eligible voting population attained only high school education or less. Public high schools are notoriously ineffective at teaching American Civics and American history. Even undergraduate college education is deficient in teaching American Civics and one would not expect a graduate to understand bicameral legislation unless that person took an political science focused on American government, which is not a requirement at all universities. Individuals without sufficient knowledge of American Civics might not understand the significance of certain political developments and will not be motivated to influence these political developments through voting.

The second reason is popular distrust of the political process and of politicians in particular. There is a widespread and well-deserved stereotype of politicians as dishonest, corrupt, and self-interested. This is exemplified by the complaint of many eligible voters who refrain from voting because they do not see a candidate that they like.

The third reason is the belief by individuals that their vote will not make a difference in an election. This belief is reasonable considering the margin of victory in many elections, which can number in the millions. These individuals do not realize the basic principle of power in numbers. Nor do they realize the long-term effects of voting and not voting caused by the tendency of politicians to represent the interests of demographic segments who vote more.

The fourth reason is lack of technical knowledge on how to vote. This deficiency is exemplified by the failure of many eligible voters to register to vote. This problem tends to be more true for remote, disconnected, or disadvantaged segments of the eligible voting population.

The fifth reason is general apathy towards the political process. This is especially true among younger people and minorities. Many do not recognize the huge effect that the political process has on their own lives. Some of it, though, is due to a general distractedness with entertainment and leisure and a neglect of civic responsibility.

9)

Testimonials seek endorsements from famous or prominent figures to demonstrate the quality of a certain product, person, or position. The figures giving the endorsement, however, are often famous for talents or knowledge that have nothing to do with the subject that they are endorsing. For example, the Hollywood actor and martial artist Chuck Norris' support of Mike Huckabee during the 2008 Republican primary elections.

The bandwagon technique is an attempt to persuade the audience to adopt a particular position by claiming that every other person is adopting that position. An example of bandwagoning is when a commercial declares that "everyone else is doing….so why haven't you."

Glittering generalities is a technique used to influence people's thinking through words that sound great but have little actual meaning. They are also referred to as empty platitudes, especially by opponents. For example, the statement by George W. Bush in the 2004 election that he wanted to be re-elected so that he can "protect our country from those that seek to harm us."

Plain-Folks Appeal is a personality or posture adopted by politicians seeking popular support to demonstrate that they are similar to their audience and will represent their interests. It often involves the representation of oneself as a common man or a plain, "hardworking American" just like you. For example, Mitt Romney's recent claim in the 2012 Republican Primary's "that he knows how it feels to worry about getting a pink slip."

Card-stacking is a technique that uses facts in a way that favors a particular product, idea, or candidate. It is also known as selective coverage. For example, newspapers may give front-page attention to the activities of the candidate that they favor or endorse.

Name-calling is the use of an unpleasant label or description to attach a negative quality or value to a particular position. For example, the conservative claim that "Liberals love to engage in reckless spending."

10)

Initiatives are citizen-initiated proposals for legislation to be voted on by citizens themselves instead of their representatives in Congress. In the Initiative process, any citizen or organization may gather a predetermined number of signatures to qualify a measure for the ballot. The Initiative process exemplifies Direct Democracy because it allows citizens to vote directly on legislation instead of electing representatives to the legislature to vote on legislation.

Referendums are citizen-initiated proposals to repeal a specific act of legislation voted on by citizens themselves. In the Referendum process, a predetermined number of signatures qualifies a ballot measure repealing a specific act of the legislature. The Referendum process exemplifies Direct Democracy because it allows citizens to vote directly on the repeal of legislation instead of electing representatives to the legislature to vote on the repeal of legislation.

Recalls are citizen-initiated petitions to remove an elected official from office before the official's term has ended by recalling the official's election. The citizens vote directly during the recall election. The Recall process exemplifies Direct Democracy because it allows citizens to vote directly on the removal of an elected official instead of relying on elected representatives in the legislature to impeach the elected official, which is the default method of removal.

11)

1) the 6th Amendment gives the accused the right to an indictment by a grand jury. This procedure is meant to ensure that there is enough evidence to bring the person to trial. If the grand jury determines that the evidence is strong enough, the person is formally accused.

2) the 6th Amendment also gives the accused the right to a trial by an impartial jury. This right is protected through the court's supervision of the jury panel's selection and the practice of Voir Dire, where counsel may question potential jurors to expose bias and prevent biased jurors from entering the jury panel.