AP Gov - Chapter 2 Part 1

Liberty

personal freedom and a gov whoes powers are limited by the law

Equality

idea that all individuals should be able to participate equally in political and social life

Natural Law/Rights

rights of all human beings that are given by God, discoverable in nature + history, and essential to human progress (right to life, liberty, property, etc)

Property

the right to own, use, rent, invest in, buy or sell

Thomas Jefferson

changed the natural right of “property” to “pursuit of happiness” in the constitution

Unalienable

a human right based on nature or god (natural rights)

Articles of Confederation

adopted by the 2nd Continental Congress in 1781 (during the revolution). it gave most of the power to the states and did not let congress control tax, trade, or money

Constitutional Convention

meeting of state delegates in 1787 in Philadelphia to revise the articles of confederation. instead, they designed the us constitution

James Madison

studied confederacies and concluded that there was no model → confederacies were too weak to govern and would collapse internally while strong forms of gov took away liberties

Shays’ Rebellion

• 1787 rebellion against the foreclosures of farms as a result of high interest rates and taxes

• made people afraid that states were going to internally collapse because they did not have a strong enough or efficient military

George Washington

• “Father of the Nation”

• commander of revolutionary armies

• presiding officer over the Constitutional Convention

• first president of the US

Benjamin Franklin

• famous inventor

• senior statesman at the Constituitonal Convention

• Wanted colonial unity as early as 1754 (22 years before DoI)

Alexander Hamilton

• key framer who wanted a powerful central gov

• co-wrote “The Federalist Papers”

• first secretary of the treasury

John Locke

• wrote “2 Treaties on Government”

• advocated for social contract

• believed people formed gov to protect their natural rights

Thomas Hobbes

• wrote “Leviathan” (talked about social contract theory → agreement among individuals to abide by rules, give some right to receive protection)

• believed people were naturally cruel, greedy, and selfish

• thought only a powerful gov could keep an orderly society

Virginia Plan

• Proposed by Edmund Randolph

• 3 branches of gov

• Bicameral legislature (2 houses)

  • Both based on population (good for larger states)

  • Lower house - elected by people

  • Upper house - chosen by lower house

• Executive (president) chosen by legislature

• Judicial (courts) chosen by legislature

• National legislature would have veto power over states

New Jersey Plan

• Proposed by William Patterson

• 3 branches of government

• Unicameral legislature (one house)

• Equal representation from every state (each state gets 1 vote)

• Multiple executives (presedents) chosen by legislature

• Judicial (court) apppointed by executive and approved by the legislature

  • appointed for life

Great (“Connecticut”) Compromise

• Proposed by James Madison

• 3 branches of gov

• bicameral legislatue (2 houses)

  • Lower house - elected by people

    Based on population

    Upper house - chosen by lower house - 2 per state

• Executive (president) chosen by elector college

• Judicial (court) appointed by executive and approved by legislature

  • Appointed for life

• Had a national supremacy clause

House of Representatives

the lower chamber of Congress. representatives from each state are determined by the state’s population (good for larger states), there are 435 representatives

Senate

the upper chamber of Congress. every state is represented by 2 senators (good for smaller states)

President

the head of the executive branch, they have the authority to make decisions and take actions that significantly impact the US

Electoral College

a group of electors chosen from each state to formally elect the president and vice president

Republic

A gov where elected represenetatives make decisions for the people

Supreme Court

the highest court and part of the judicial branch

Judicial Review

the power of the courts to declare laws unconstitutional

Federalism

gov authority is shared by national and federal governments

Enumerated Powers

powers given to the national gov alone

Reserved Powers

powers given to the states alone

Concurrent Powers

powers shared by the states and the national gov

Implied Powers

powers Congress can use but are not explicitly granted by the constitution

• creating a national bank

• setting minimum wage

• punishing tax evasion

• regualting immigration

Faction

a group of people with distinct political interest (conservatives, libertarians, moderates, etc)

Linkage Institutions

Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation

• gov couldn’t levy taxes or regulate commerce

• most independence was retained by the state

• each state had 1 vote in Congress

  • 9/13 votes were needed to pass in Congress

• the army was dependent on state militias and was very small/weak

• territory disputes → lots of state conflicts/hostility

• no judicial system

• 13/13 votes were needed to ratify the constitution

Rule of Law

Laws are written so that everyone knows and understands them

Stanza 1 of the DoI (Preamble)

Examination of purpose

Stanza 2 of the DoI

An explanation of the political ideas upon which the doc was based (natural rights, life liberty, pursuit of happiness)

Stanza 3 of the DoI

list of grievances against King George

• quartering large bodies of armed troops

• imposing taxes without consent

• cutting off trade/Indian savages

• destroying the lives of the people

Stanza 4 of the Doi

Resolution that the US should be free from the rule of Britain