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35 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Theories of Government
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Elitist Theory- a small segment of the society dominated by the wealthy property owners who control the institutions of government
Pluralist- different groups workin together through compromise Majoritarian- also called direct democracy, a majority vote that determines policy usually in the form of referendum or initiative |
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Initiative and Referendum
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Initiatives and referendums are key components of direct democracy that are among the political reforms that came about during the progressive era
Initiatives are citizen-led proposals that get on the ballot after a certain number of signatures are obtained on a petition Legislative referendums appear on the ballot after the legislature votes to place a proposal on the ballot Twenty-four states allow initiatives and referendums Can be challenged in courts like any other legislative acts. Ex. Prohibition of gay marriages, legalization of marijuana |
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Declaration of Independence
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1776
Ideas taken from Locke, Rousseau, and Montesquieu Locke's principles include natural rights, life, liberty, and property and the consent of the governed Offers a new philosophy of gov. that includes "unalienable rights" that leads to a limited gov proposed by Montesquieu Creates a rationale for breaking away from England in a series of grievances such as tax without rep. and the quartering of soldiers in houses. |
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Articles of Confederation
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1781-1789
State governments stronger then Central Gov. No Chief Executive One house of congress had power to declare war, sign treaties but no power to levy revenues (impose taxes) No national court system One state, one vote- larger states at the mercy of smaller states States could impose tariffs on each other and could print money Significant achievement was passage of the Northwest Ordinance in 1787 (Eliminated Slavery in the new north-western territory) Change required unanimous vote |
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Shay's Rebellion
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1786-1787
Daniel Shays was a veteran of the American Revolution and a farmer who found himself in debt He led an insurrection against the Massachusetts gov after his farm was put up for auction because he was unable to pay taxes Because of the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation, the national gov could not respond to this uprising. Shays' army was defeated by the state militia after a year |
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Constitutional Convention Compromises
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1787
Convention called to initially AMEND the Articles of Confederation Delegates came up with two major compromises that resulted in the adoption of a new Constitution. Great Compromise established a bicameral legislature. It was called the Connecticut Plan. It Merged the New Jersey PLan, which advocated a single chamber, with equal representation and the Virginia Plan that favored a single chamber based on population. The Three-Fifths Compromise settled the issue of slave representation. Three-fifths of the slaves would be counted for representation purposes; fugitive slave law extended the ban on slave trade No tariffs on states or on exports |
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The Federalist Papers
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1788
Written by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison, Madison used the pen name Publius Outlined the reasons for ratification of the Constitution Outlined the necessity of a gov that would be forced to compromise as a result of the separate powers of each branch. Argued that the proposed constitution did not need a separate Bill of Rights since the constitution had safeguards protecting individual rights |
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Federalist Paper #10
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1788
Written by James Madison, it outlined the reasons for the ratification of the Constitution. Centered on the "tyranny of the majority" and said that factions were inevitable. It made the claim that a republic would counter these factions This republic is defined as individual states that have a defined power relationship with a central government The federal system would keep factions formed in the states from taking control by national government. Quote: "By a faction, I understand a number of citizens, wheteher amounting to a majority or a minority of the whole, who are united and actuated by some common impulse of passion, or of interest, adversed to the rights of other citizens, or to the permanent and aggregate interests of the community." |
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Federalist Paper #47
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1788
Written by James Madison Makes the Argument that separation of powers and checks and balances should exist among the three branches of gov. Explains that checks and balances protects each branch of gov from becoming too powerful. this form of gov also protects the country from invasion Without checks and balances and separation of powers, citizens would face a loss of liberty. Quote: "IT is agreed on all sides, that the powers properly belonging to one of the departments ought not to be directly and completely administered by either of the other departments |
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Federalist Paper #51
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1788
Written by James Madison Defines the relationship among the three branches of gov as independent To stay independent, no branch should have the total power to choose members of the other branches By creating a bicameral legislature, it protects the people from legislative tyranny Explains that each branch of gov should be selected in different ways. Quote: "It is evident that each department should have a will of its own; and consequently should be so constituted that the members of each should have as little agency as possible in the appointment of the members of the others." |
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Preamble of the Constitution
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1789
The introduction to the Constitution stating its purposes To form a more perfect Union To establish justice To insure domestic tranquility to provide for the common defense to promote the general welfare to secure the blessings of liberty |
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Constitutional Principles
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1789-PRESENT
Separation of powers for each branch of gov; a division of powers between the federal and state govs Checks and balances giving each branch checks on the others; the elastic clause giving congress implied powers A federal Judiciary that has the supreme court as the court of the last resort Rights guaranteed to citizens; rights guaranteed to the states An amending process; a supremacy clause that makes the Constitution the supreme law of the land |
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Legislative Powers
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Defined in Article 1 Section 8
Collect taxes, pay debts, borrow money, coin money, make laws dealing with counterfeiting Regulate interstate and foreign commerce Establish an army, create a national guard, declare war, punish piracy Establish a post office; make copyright laws Make laws dealing with immigration and naturalization To make all laws "necessary and proper" also known as the elastic clause |
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Elastic Clause
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Also known as the necessary and proper clause
Found in Article 1 section 8 clause 18 Gives Congress an implied power to "make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers..." Enables congress to expand its powers and makes the Constitution a document that changes with the times. Ex. Congress using the elastic clause applying it to the interstate commerce clause to pass civil rights legislation. |
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Enumerated, Delegated, Implied, and Concurrent Powers
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Enumerated and delegated powers are those powers that are listed in the Constitution and given to the Legislative branch
Implied powers are those powers that expand the scope of Congress, the pres, and the supreme court The Implied power for congress is the elastic clause. The Implied power for the president is the inherent power and the assumed power for the Supreme Court is judicial review Concurrent powers are those powers that both the federal government and state government have in common such as a court system and the power to tax |
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Powers Denied to Congress
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Found in Article 1 Section 9 of the Constitution
Prohibits COngress form suspending the Writ of Habeas Corpus (gives people due Process) Prohibits Congress from passing a Bill of Attainder (a predetermined sentence without trial or an ex post facto law (a law that is retro active) Prohibits Congres from passing an import or export tax on states Prohibits Congress from giving any titles of nobility to a citizen. |
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Executive Powers
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Found in Article II of the Constitution
Makes the president the "chief of executive" Gives the president the title of "Comander-in-chief" Gives the president the power to sign or veto legislation Gives the president the power to sign treaties Gives the president the power to appoint officials in his administration Gives the president the power to grant pardons and reprieves |
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Inherent Power of the President
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Inherent power of the president that expands the power of the president
Derived from the delegated authority of the president as the chief executive and commander-in-chief Explained through presidential signing statements that are attached to legislation Expanded by use of executive privilege, executive orders and precedent. Examples: The president committing troops to foreign countries without seeking a declaration of war; the president establishing an electronic warrant-less surveillance system without congressional approval; the president using a signing statement on a bill that prohibits torture to reserve the right to use interrogation techniques that the president deems legal. |
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Judicial Powers
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Found in Article III of the Constitution
The Constitution vests all judicial power in a supreme court and "inferior" courts established by Congress Powers expanded as a result of the application of judicial review in the case Marbury v. Madison (1803) Gives the courts power to hear cases that deal with laws and provisions of the US Constitution and treaties made through original jurisdiction and appellate jurisdiction |
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Marbury V. Madison
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1803
Facts: William Marbury was appointed as a justice by President John Adams as part of his "midnight appointments"; Marbury never received the appointment because James Madison did not sight the Papers Issues: Did the Supreme court have the power to enforce a Writ of Mandamus (an order that would direct Madison to make the appointment of Marbury)? Was the Judiciary Act of 1789 correct in sending the case directly to the Supreme Court for review using original Jurisdiction Decision: Chief Justice John Marshall wrote that even though Marbury should have been appointed, the Supreme court did not have the power to make that decision because the Judiciary Act of 1789 was unconstitutional. Significance: As a result of this case, the Supreme Court assumed the power of Judicial review that gave the courts the power to rule laws unconstitutional. |
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Checks and Balances
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Each Branch of Gov has specific delegated powers given to them in the constitution
These powers limit the power of another branch of gov Ex. Pres appoints officials; Senate must confirm them; President is commander-in-chief; Congress declares war; Congress passes legislation; president signs or vetoes legislation; Supreme Court decides whether legislation is constitutional. [Picture] |
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Division Of Powers
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Derived from article IV of the Constitution and the Tenth Amendment- Reserve Power clause
Establishes the federal system of gov Defined as the differentiation of powers that the federal and state govs have [pic] |
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Full Faith and Credit
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Found in Art IV of the constitution
Establishes the legal recognition of one state's law by every other state Ex. If a person is married in one state, the marriage is recognized by other states allows one state to enforce its own laws if a resident flees to another state Congress passed the defense of Marriage act in 1996, which makes gay marriage an exception to the full faith and credit clause |
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Amending Process
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Found in art V of the constitution
Two methods of amending the constitution The first method used to amend the constitution directs the congress to pass the amendment by a two-thirds vote and then the amendment is sent to the state legislatures. Three-fourths of the state legislatures must pass the amendment. There is usually a time limit amendments have to be passed. The second method used to amend the constitution directs the calling of a constitutional convention by two-thirds of the states to propose the amendment after which three-fourths of the states must pass the amendment. This method has never been used. There are currently twenty seven amendments. |
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Supremacy Clause
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Found in article VI of the US constitution
Establishes that the constitution is the "supreme law of the land" The Basis of conflicts between state gov and federal gov In most cases, if a state law or state action conflicts with federal law, the federal law is held to be the law that applies The Civil War was fought in a large part as a result of the South challenging the supremacy clause as it applied to the issues of states' rights and slavery |
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Federalism
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Federalist Paper #10 argued that a federal system would guarantee civil liberties and would counter factions.
Federalism is the relationship between the national and the state govs that has evolved since the constitution was ratified Federalism has raised the issue of the extent state govs should have sovereignty versus the extent the federal government should be able to interfere with the state govs The general rule is that when the state govs do not address significant social or economic issues the federal gov passes legislation that forces the state govs to address the issue. |
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Federalism Timeline (1789-Present)
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Dual or Layer Cake Federalism (1789-1865)
Dual Sovereignty (1865-1932) Cooperative or Marble Cake Federalism (1932-1964) Creative Federalism (1964-1968) New Federalism (1968-1992) Fiscal Federalism (1968-Present) Devolution (1994-Present) |
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Dual or Layer Cake Federalism
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1789-1865
Defines a narrow relationship between federal and state govs Uses a layer cake as a metaphor to describe distinct differences between federal and state powers (top layer is federal powers, bottom is state powers) Federal powers defined as those powers that are delegated in the constitution to the federal gov State powers defined as those reserved powers that give states' rights The relationship between the federal Gov and States was characterized by differences |
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Dual Sovereignty
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1865-1932
Post-Civil War relationship between national and state govs Federal and state govs each exercise authority over their citizens without interference from the other Federal gov attempted to define it through reconstrucitno and the passage of the 13 14 and 15 amendments of the constitution Southern states responded by passing Jim Crow laws and instituting segregation Supreme court decisions such as Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) reinforced the rights of states to defy the intent of the 14th amendment |
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Cooperative or Marble Cake Federalism
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1932-1964
Developed as a result of the New Deal Legislation Defines federalism as the intrusion of national government into what was traditionally state government authority. Uses a marble cake metaphor to describe how the congress using the elastic clause is able to pass legislation that results in an overlapping of state and government affairs State and national government cooperate and the people get the benefit of services provided by both state and federal govs |
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Creative Federalism
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1964-1968
Developed as a result of president Lyndon Johnson's Great Society policies Characterized by costs shared between the national and state govs for programs that the state gov traditionally paid for. Created rules and guidelines set by the federal gov for states to get benefits Provided for the dual administration of such programs as Medicaid Was the precursor of the fiscal federalism |
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New Federalism
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1968-1994
Developed by President Richard Nixon and implemented by President Ronald Reagan and President George H.W. Bush Federal gov gave more power to the states by decentralizing federal gov services and programs The result would be a downsizing of federal gov Used revenue sharing and block grants, a policy that has the federal gov providing money to the states for specific mandated programs President Reagan extended "New Federalism" concept by reducing the federal income tax and reducing spending, thus reducing the amount of money the federal gov would provide to the states. |
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Fiscal Federalism
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1968-Present
Defines Federalism as the means by which the federal gov. provides monetary support to the states Utilizes grants-in-aid as a form of financial incentives to the states These grants include categorical grants that can be project grants or formula grants Revenue sharing in the form of block grants is also utilized by the federal gov States receiving these benefits get them as part of funded mandates. |
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Grants-in-Aid
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Defined as the money provided by the federal gov to the states for specific purposes
They include categorical grants that are defined as federal aid that meet the criteria of a specific category (for example--education, health welfare) and have specific criteria attached to them. The grants-in-aid also include project grants that are competitive and awarded to those individuals or states that meet the criteria of the project the federal gov initiates Grants-in-aid also include formula grants that have specific rules and a formula for who is eligible for the grant. Many of these formulas have economic criteria such as per capita income levels. Block grants are grants that are given for specific purposes to all the states. For example, the Welfare reform Act of 1996 was funded by a block grant to the states that initiated a workfare program |
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Devlolution
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1994-Present
Defined as a return of power to the states Initiated by the Republican Party after they regained control of congress in 1994 President Bill Clinton recognized the change in the 1995 State of the union address when he acknowledged, "The era of big gov is over" Utilizes various tools of fiscal federalism to accomplish the goal of increasing state power. Emphasizes the Tenth Amendment reserve power clause as the constitutional basis of devolution Supported by supreme court decisions that overturn federal laws that attempt to control state perogatives |
