required documents of hell

dies

Declaration of Independence

Declared Independence from Britain – justification for “divorce”

Identified Natural Rights- Life, Liberty, Pursuit of Happiness and govt’s job to protect

them

Influenced heavily by John Locke

○ Consent of the Governed; Popular Sovereignty; Social Contract Theory

○ Limited Government

Articles of Confederation

Confederal Government (state sovereignty);

Weak- Congress not given many powers to prevent tyranny

Unicameral Legislature

○ Each State = 1 vote; 9/13 votes needed to pass laws

No Executive/ No Judicial (cannot settle interstate disputes); no power to tax citizens

No power to raise an army

US constitution

Preamble outlines job of government: We the People [popular sovereignty; consent of the governed] of the

United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for

the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and

our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Outlines the structure of the government [republic; federalism]

Three branches of government [separation of power; checks and balances]

Relationships between states [extradition clause; privileges and immunities; full faith and credit clause]

Amendment process? [Article V] Proposed by Congress or Convention, ratified by 3⁄4 state legislatures

Fed 10

Factions are inevitable – cannot destroy them, so must manage them

Large Republic is the best form of government to address factions – too difficult for

any one faction to gain power; less likely for corruption

Pluralism – many factions competing for influence leads to only the best ideas being

enacted

Prevents tyranny of the majority

Views of the people will be “refined and enlarged” by their elected representatives

Brutus 1

Constitution gives too much power to central government

○ Necessary and Proper Clause (Elastic Clause) is a blank check to Congress

○ Supremacy Clause – state governments will be obsolete; impotent

○ Too large a country for Congress to represent local concerns; ineffective

because too many views (factions) to form consensus

Can do away with State Governments

Standing Army in peacetime is a destruction of liberty

Once you give up power the only way to get it back is by force

Fed 51

Power is divided between :

○ three branches of government, each w/ little control over the other

○ national & state government; House and Senate are divided & elected in

different ways (back then)

Checks and Balances – Gov’t must be powerful enough to control the people, but also

to control itself – separate but equal powers

All keep power from becoming too centralized- prevent one person/ one group from

taking over the government

“If men were angels, no government would be necessary”

Fed 70

Argues for a single, “energetic” executive (president)

○ President must be a single person; having a dual executive or a committee will

lead to confusion, disagreement, and inability to act decisively

○ Debate and disagreement are good for Congress, poison for the president.

President needs to be able to act quickly and decisively to respond to crises

Having a single president makes the executive easily accountable; multiple presidents

= finger pointing and shifting blame

Fed 78

“Least dangerous branch” – cannot enforce its decisions (no influence over “sword or

purse”)

Judiciary must be independent; life terms ensure justices are (otherwise they will be

beholden to their appointers); qualified men won’t do the job if it is temporary

Judicial review – job is to interpret the Constitution

letter from birmingham jail

Justice delayed is justice denied; Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere

All people should be treated the same under the law (14th Amendment Equal

Protection Clause)

Nonviolent direct action seeks to create an urgency for legislative action