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89 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Government (definition)
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The institution that allows a society to make and enforce public policies.
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Government Duties
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- make and enforce laws
- set goals for the group - distributes rewards and benefits |
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Who holds power other than elected officials?
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Unions, “the people”, big business, interest groups, the media, military leaders
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Power
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The ability of one person to get another person to act in accordance with the first persons intentions
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Democracy and types
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- The rule of many; people rule
- Types: - direct democracy or participatory - Representative democracy |
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Representative democracy
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a government in which leaders make decisions by winning a competitive struggle for political power; these types are also known as republics
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Direct Democracy or participatory
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a government in which all or most citizens participates (small towns, Ancient Greece)
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Majoritarian Politics
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when leaders make decisions based off of what most people want
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Marxist view
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government is dominated by capitalists- a continual struggle between the business owners and the laborers (example- unions vs management)
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Power elite view
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government is dominated by a few top leaders outside of the government (media chiefs, big businesses, union leaders, interest groups)
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Bureaucratic View
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Government is dominated by appointed officials (Sec of State, chairman of the Fed, attorney general, white house chief of staff...)
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Pluralist views
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competition among many groups in a society affects that government's policies; power is divided in many ways
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5 sources of the US Constitution
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1. Ancient Athens
2. Magna Carta 3. John Locke 4. English Bill of Rights 5. Mayflower Compact |
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Three Parts of the Constitution
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Preamble, Articles, and the Amendments
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The Constitution is the...
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The Supreme Law of the Land
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Preamble
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states the purpose of the constitution
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Article I
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Creates the Legislative Branch
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Article II
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Creates the Executive Branch
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Article III
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Creates the Judicial Branch
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Article IV
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Relations among the States
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Article V
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Amending the Constitution
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Article VI
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National debts, supremacy of the national law, and oaths of office
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Article VII
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Ratifying the Constitution
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Checks and Balances
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all branches must approve the work of one of the branches
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Legislative Branch
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- Makes the law
- may impeach federal judges - creates lower courts - may override a President's veto - may impeach the President - Approves appointments of judges - Approves treaties |
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Executive Branch
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- Carries out the law
- Appoints the Supreme Court justices - Appoints other federal judges - May veto legislation - May call special sessions of Congress |
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Judicial Branch
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- Interprets the law
- May declare executive acts unconstitutional - May declare acts of Congress unconstitutional |
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Judicial Review
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the power of the courts to declare a law unconstitutional
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Enumerated power
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the federal government only (copyrights, patents, military...)
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Reserved powers
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the states only (run elections; form local governments)
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Concurrent powers
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shared by the state and federal levels (collect taxes, infrastructure, borrow money...)
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Factions
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- interest groups, business groups, and political parties.
- The Framers were concerned about this |
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Federalists
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- also known as Nationalists
- James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay. - Wrote The Federalist Papers as a political theory in defense of the Constitution and federalism. - These documents allow us a glimpse into how the Framers felt the system would operate. |
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Anti-federalists
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- also known as the States' Righters
- Sam Adams, Patrick Henry, George Mason - opposed the Constitution because they felt that state governments would secure liberties of citizens. |
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Amendments
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first 10 of the Bill of Rights
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Authority
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the right to use power
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Legitimacy
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political authority conferred by law/state/national constitution
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Politics
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how people, or elites speaking for the people, define public interest
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When was the Declaration of Independence written?
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before the Constitution
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In the late 18th century most Americans were...
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self-employed (artisans or farmers)
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Was there a uniform national currency under the Articles of Confederation?
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no
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During the time of the signing of the US Constitution most states constitutions had...
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a bill of rights
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Did Alexander Hamilton fear a stronger federal government under the Constitution?
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no
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Many of the men that fought in the American Revolution come back to discover that...
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they were in debt
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Because of Shays’s Rebellion in 1787, many Americans fear that...
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it was a sign of impending anarchy under the Articles of Confederation
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Were Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, Sam and John Adamsin in attendance at the Constitutional Convention?
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No
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Was John Hancock proud to be the President of the US under the Articles of Confederation?
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No
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In the late eighteenth century, many Americans thought that a written Constitution would either be...
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too strong, that it would threaten liberties, or so weak, that it would threaten chaos
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Many of the framers of the Constitution felt the document would...
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only be temporary and that they would have to eventually revise it in their lifetime
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Did Rhode Island send a delegate to the Constitutional Convention?
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No
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The Supremacy Clause
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states that there are 3 items that are the superlative law of the land:
- the Constitution - the laws of the national government which are not otherwise unconstitutional - treaties, which can only be formed by the national government |
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10th Amendment
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gives states power that are not given to national government (states guaranteed rights)
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Cooperative Federalism
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- Federalism where nation, state, and local governments interact cooperatively and collectively to solve common problems and make policies equally (marble cake)
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Federalism
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- a system where 2 or more governments share power over the same constituents
- goal is to preserve personal liberty so no government has too much power |
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Anti-Federalists
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- opposed to ratify the Constitution because they believed that it was class-based and gave elite the power.
- also known as the States' Righters - Sam Adams, Patrick Henry, George Mason - opposed the Constitution because they felt that state governments would secure liberties of citizens. |
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Federalist Papers
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political theory in defense of the Constitution and federalism.
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Federalist Paper #16
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National government is needed to keep states in harmony
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Federalist Paper #17
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States will always have allegiance of people; people will be loyal to body of government closest to them
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Federal Paper #39
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- Constitution is not biased.
- States are creator of federal government therefore states have the ability to stand independent from federal body |
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Dual Federalism
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a form of federalism where the nation government and state and local governments have distinct realms of authority that do not overlap and the other should not intrude (layer cake)
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Unitary Government
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- occurs when 1 centralized body is the sole government units
- found in small, compact nations with homogeneous populations - The European Union is not an example of this |
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Confederations
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loose central government that are dominated by stronger state government
(this is very rare) |
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A key feature of federalism is that...
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political power is decentralized, meaning that power is dispersed amongst the three levels of government.
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Under our form of federalism, do the national/federal level of government tend to direct policies dealing with social, moral, and family topics (same sex marriages, gambling, abortion)?
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No
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Under our form of federalism, do all three levels of government have the power to collect taxes?
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Yes
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Under our form of federalism, is the state level of government responsible for issuing copyrights and patents?
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No
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Typically, does the federal government provide residential trash collection to all citizens?
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No
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Under the Articles of Confederation, did the US have a federal form of government?
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No
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Federalism has evolved from...
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its creation by the Framers of the Constitution and continues to change through the political discussions and court cases of today
(our government is ever evolving) |
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Environmentalism is engrained at an....
Politics is... |
- early age
- not engrained |
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Who is the father of the Constiution
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James Madison
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The amount of social studies/civics taught in American schools has diminished recently. Why?
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- most people believed it was not worth their money
- People get bored when civics is delivered in certain ways in the classroom (facts, dates…) - Many parents are cynical of the government/politics and pass this on to their children; people feel “disconnected” with politics - Young people are given fewer opportunities in American schools to be politically active nowadays - The availability of opportunities varies greatly from school to school |
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According to Locke what are our “natural rights’?
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our freedom to act how we please and treat our possessions how we please as long as we do not violate any laws or depend on another person.
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Why will Man give up the state of nature and join a society?
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- A Man joins society for protection of property.
- In the state of nature, every Man must survive on their own - in a society, you have a group of people that works to protect every Man. |
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How does Locke justify the right to revolt?
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Legislators are taking away the property of the people, and since this is the people’s property they have every right to revolt.
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What is Locke’s view of “human nature” and of government in general?
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- legislatures should give the people back their human rights
- government works best if legislators give up their power and the people should create their own legislature to protect themselves - once they make a new legislature that must stick to it. |
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Unalienable
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human right based on nature or God
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Articles of Confederation
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A weak constitution that government America during the Revolutionary war
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Constitutional Convention
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- Meeting in Philadelphia in 1787 that produced a new constitution
- Objective was to protect life, liberty, and property by mending the Articles of Confederation |
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Shay's Rebellion
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- A 1787 rebellion in which ex-Revolutionary War soldiers attempted to prevent foreclosures of farms as a result of high interest rates and taxes
- Governor asked Continental Congress to send troops to suppress the rebellion but they didn’t have the money or the manpower - Showed that central government was too weak |
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Virginia Plan
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- Proposal to create a strong national government organized into three branches (legislative, executive, judicial)
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New Jersey Plan
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- proposal to create a weak nation government
- In the end New Jersey’s goal was to make sure small states were not outvoted by large states in Congress - wanted to mend Articles of Confederation, not replace it |
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What is the purpose of Proposition 19?
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To legalize marijuana in California, but first the people of the state must vote on it
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Great Compromise
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Plan to have a popularly elected House based on state population and a state-selected Senate, with two members for each state
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Proposition 19
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- Adults 21 and older can posses up to an ounce of marijuana for personal use and can grow gardens up to 25 square feet.
- Legalizes various marijuana-related activities - Permits local governments to impose and collect marijuana-related fees and taxes - Authorizes various criminal and civil penalties |
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Referendum
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a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal.
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Reasons against Proposition 19
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- it will cause a great public safety threat.
- if the price of marijuana drops than poor people will start spending their money on marijuana instead of buying food. |
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Reasons in favor of Proposition 19
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- can raise money through taxes
- the industry can create jobs that would involve growing marijuana - the illegal criminals currently selling this drug would loose business to legal distributors |
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Why would the passing of Prop. 19 provide “legal chaos”?
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- federal and state law will not agree because federal law does not allow legal marijuana while California state law would
- This would cause problems and overlap of authority. |
