Week 2 types of govt etc
- 1. Types of Law Revealed Law = that which is found only in the Bible, given to us by revelation Laws of Nature (Natural Law) = revealed by God to us through our conscience and reason, an objective source of what is true as observed in the world around us – See Romans 1:19-20, 2:15
- 2. Types of Laws Municipal or Political Law = developed through legislation & enacted by civil govt; valid only as it conforms to Revealed & Natural Law. Includes Civil Law: deals w/ legal rights of private citizens Criminal Law: deals w/ crimes that are prosecuted by the govt Rules & Regulations Case Law = system of evolving law based on precedent-setting decisions of judges on a case-by-case basis or stare decisis ; includes Constitutional Law
- 3. Types of Law Common Law = the body of precedents based on Natural and Revealed Law set by judges over many years in England (and in many other places as well); began in the church & developed largely independent of govt although much of it has been incorporated into civil law over time Note: America adopted most of England's common law and was strongly influenced by Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England, which gave precedence to revealed & natural law. These are foundational concepts to our Constitution. What are the advantages of common law? p. 388 For more on this, see Richard Maybury's Whatever Happened to Justice.
- 4. Types of Government Popular Government: power resides w/ people
- 5. 1. Direct Democracy: Athens & NE town meetings Why are these rare today? 2. Indirect or Representative Democracy : peers elected to act on the people's behalf
- 6. 3. Republic: a state in which the supreme power rests in the people and their elected representatives or officers. Is there really a difference between # 2 and # 3? Is there any problem with majority rule? (p.33)
- 7. Types of Govt. Cont. Dictatorship: Power lies w/ ruling class w/o people's consent or even input (totalitarianism)
- 8. 1. Autocracy = rule by one person; Monarchy, Dictator, Warlord
- 9. 2. Oligarchy = rule by an elite group
- 10. Lord Acton: “Absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
- 11. Note: God is not elected; He is King of kings.
- 12. Anarchy: lack of government
- 13. Why does this never last?
- 14. Any comments on the video “What is America's True Form of Government”? Are there really only two types of govt?
- 15. Other Governmental Categories Unitary System v. Federalism
- 16. More on this later
- 18. Given that America is in the minority here, do you think we'd do better with a parliamentary system like most other representative democracies so that the executive & legislative branches would work more closely together? What is gridlock?
- 19. History of Democracy; BJ 4.1 Democracy = government by the people demos = people; kratos = authority or govt 5 th & 4 th Century Athens: First democracy What was their govt & society like? What happened to their democracy? Legacy: democratic elections & participation 5 th & 1 st Century Roman Republic How did their govt function? What happened to their republic? Legacy: Justinian's Code & Church Canon Law
- 20. Middle Ages & Renaissance Feudalism: How did it work? Italian city-state “republics” England: Magna Carta 1215 AD beginning of constitutional law; limited the king wrt nobles established due process to protect rights of the accused law of the land superior to the king English Bill of Rights 1689 Limited king's powers Expanded powers of Parliament & the people Established the beginning of democratic govt in England
- 21. A Brief History of Law Leading to U.S. Government Ten Commandments Hammurabi's Code, Babylon 1750BC Solon's Law, Athens 550 BC Twelve Tables, Rome 450 BC Corpus Juris Civilis, Justinian's Code, Rome 533 AD English common law Magna Carta 1215 English Bill of Rights 1689 U.S. Constitution 1789