佳木斯大学：《思想道德修养与法律基础》课程教学资源（PPT课件讲稿）课程绪论

Why was Congress Created? founders feared tyrannical rulers founders also had experienced the weakness of the congress under the Articles of Confederation bicameralism attempts to balance the power among large and small states

Who Is Eligible to Run for office there are few eligibility requirements to run for most U.S. offices President must be a natural born citizen must be 35 years old must be a resident of the country for 14 years before inauguration Vice President must be a natural born citizen must be 35 years old

Defining Interest Groups and Political Parties What is an Interest Group? an organized group of individuals who share common goals or objectives who attempt to influence policymakers in all three branches of government, and at all levels What is a political party?

Defining Public Opinion Public Opinion-the- aggregate of individual attitudes or beliefs shared by some portion of the adult population -Consensus opinions-when there is general agreement among the citizenry on an issue - Divisive opinionswhen- public opinion is polarized between two quite different positions

Civil rights all rights rooted in the Fourteenth Amendments guarantee of equal protection under the law what the government must do to ensure equal protection what the government must do to ensure freedom from discrimination

Civil Liberties versus civil Rights civil liberties involve restraining the government's action against individuals civil rights are rights all individuals share as provided for in the 14th amendment, which guarantees equal protection under the law

Three Systems of Government Unitary System-centralized government in which local governments exercise only those powers given to them by the central government Confederal System -consists of a league of independent states, each having essentially sovereign power Federal system-power is divided by a written constitution between a central government and

The Colonial Background Jamestown-representative- assembly Plymouth- social contract with consent of the governed

What is Foreign policy? ~ nation's' external goals and techniques and strategies used to achieve them American foreign policy includes national security policy, which is policy designed to protect the independence and the political and economic integrity of the United States