Social Studies Ch 7 Lesson 4 Notes

Local Government in California

What does local government do for its citizens?

A. Services that local governments provide:
2 types of local gov't : city and county
California Constitution (plan for a system of gov't) originally written in 1849, revised for 30 years, and finished in 1879
2 forms of city gov't in CA:
A. Council-manager form (most cities use) :
1. voters elect a city council
2. City council appoints a mayor and hire a
city manager
B. Mayor-council form:
1. voters elect the mayor and city council
members
i. mayor - executive branch: makes sure laws are
 carried out & hires people to run city departments
ii. city council - legislative branch: make
  laws and collect taxes


Local Governments Provide Services

more than 3/4 of CA citizens live in cities
Cities have police and fire departments some have health and parks departments

Public works department takes care of day to day needs: trash collection, street sweeping and repair, clean water
Taxes pay for city workers and services the gov't provides for citizens

County Government
highest level of local gov't, 58 counties in CA
county seat - city or town where county gov't offices are located
county board of supervisors elected by citizens & discuss and solve problems that affect the county

Social Studies Ch 7 Lesson 3 Quiz Study Guide

Vocabulary : President, appoint, Supreme Court, capitol, legislative, executive, judicial, Congress


Questions:
What are the 3 branches of the United States government?
Who are some workers that provide services through government?
How do representatives from California take part in the federal government?
Who is in charge of California’s executive branch? 
What 2 groups make up California’s legislative branch?
What is the name of the highest court in California?
How many justices are in the United States Supreme Court? 

Social Studies Chapter 7 Lesson 1 & 2

 Vocabulary: cooperate, law, consequence, mayor, elect, citizen, court, judge, rights, amendment, Bill of Rights, representative, majority rule, minority rights


Capitol building - where the Senate & House of Representatives meet (Legislative Branch)
- Senate: made up of Senators, elected every 6 years, 2 for every state
- House of Representatives: made up of representatives (congressman/congresswoman), elected every 2 years, # of representatives depends on the population of each state, head of the house is called the Speaker
Supreme Court - Judicial Branch made up of 9 justices, appointed by the President & approved by the Senate, they are appointed for life
President - Executive Branch - lives in the White House


Lesson 1: Rules & Laws
people need to cooperate to keep their community safe

cooperate: work together
laws: rules that a community makes
consequence: what happens because of what a person does
some consequences for breaking the law include fines/paying money, going to jail, community service hours, getting hurt

Community Government
the government members meet to talk about problems and decide how to solve them
mayor: a community leader
citizens: people who live in and belong to a community
elect: to choose a person to serve in a government position by voting
Court: a place where a judge makes decisions about a law
Judges: people from the community who are chosen to work as leaders in the court
they decide if someone breaks a law & they choose the consequences, judges must be fair & treat everyone the same way


Lesson 2: The United States Constitution

Why is the Constitution important?
1. It describes how our national government
works - in Washington D.C. - 3 branches
laws from Britain were unfair they fought the Revolutionary War, Constitution approved in 1789
2. The Bill of Rights describes rights and freedoms.
George Mason's idea
James Madison wrote them
10 original amendments, but more have been added since then

-all of the other laws in our country are based on the Constitution
- our government has 3 branches and no part of the government has all the power - we call that "checks and balances"
- citizens elect representatives who work for us to be our voice in the government
-majority rule: whatever gets the most votes wins
- minority rights: the smaller group (the thing that has less votes for it) still gets to keep its rights

Social Studies Ch 6 Study Guide

We will complete & correct this page in class tomorrow, but here are the study guide questions if you'd like to start studying today!

Vocabulary words: technology, entrepreneur, industry, port, invention, heritage, private property

What kind of map shows where people live?

What is the Big Four?

Which business was important in San Jose before World War 2?

What do Domingo Ghirardelli and Levi Strauss have in common?

Who lived in the Santa Clara Valley before the Spanish?

What did many Chinese railroad workers do after the finished working on the transcontinental railroad?

What are the terms past, present, future, century, decade, and generation related to?

Answer the following questions in complete sentences.

1. What improvements were made to the city of San Jose in the 1860s? 
2. How has industry changed in California since the 1850s?