Week 4: "I'm Just a Bill..."

This week, we talked a bit about the vision our founding fathers had for our new government. They believed that in order for the power to truly belong to the people,

  • they could not allow the government to have power to do anything the people themselves couldn't do,
  • legislative power could not be transferred or delegated,
  • laws that would violate the laws of God would be null and void, and
  • the law could not be used to destroy equality and justice.
We haven't always been so great at sticking to these principles in our 246-year history, but when you're working out a brand-new system that's never been tried anywhere else, you're bound to make a few mistakes!

We also learned all about the legislative (from the Latin legis, meaning law) process as found in Article 1 Section 7 of the U.S. Constitution. It seems like a pretty tedious process, with lots of hoops to jump through, but the founders designed it that way, to make sure it wouldn't be too easy for Congress to make a bunch of capricious laws and regulations. The government has kind of found a way around the legislative process, though, by giving regulatory authority to federal agencies staffed by unelected officials who do not represent the people they are supposed to serve. You'll find in the weeks to come that our government today is quite a different animal than what our founders envisioned all those years ago. The good news is that the more you know and understand about our nation's founding, the better prepared you will be as future leaders to set things right again.  

Here are a couple of videos to remind you about what we learned in class:



ASSIGNMENTS:

READING: Finish Fifty-Five Fathers. Our book discussion will be next week, led by SARAH and BRAEDEN. Remember to bring some written notes to share if you want treats!

WRITING: What powers do average citizens (even kids) have in making new laws? Think about your rights as a citizen and how they can play a role in one's power to make laws.

CONSTITUTION JOURNAL: Article 1, Section 8

DEVOTIONAL: NOAH

***I'd like to host a pizza and movie night on March 18th so we can all watch A More Perfect Union. I'll send out a confirmation within the next week.


CANDY TRIVIA:

How many U.S. representatives do we have in Congress from Washington state?




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