AP U.S Government and Politics: Unit 1-- Foundations of American Democracy

Natural rights

All people have certain rights that cannot be taken away.

Individuals have them because they were born and for no other reason.

Popular Sovereignty

All government power comes from the consent of its people.

The people give power to the government.

Limited Government

A government's power cannot be absolute.

The government is organized to represent the interests and will of the people.

Social Contract

An implicit agreement among the people in a society to give up some freedoms to maintain social order.

The people give up rights in exchange for the government’s protection.

Seperation of Powers

Power is divided among different branches of government (e.g., legislative, executive, judicial) to prevent any one branch from becoming too dominant.

Checks and Balances

Each branch of government is given constitutional means to limit the power of the other branches.

Federalism

systems like the U.S., power is further divided vertically between a national government and state governments, decentralizing authority. A way of organizing a nation so that two or more levels of government have formal authority over the land and people (sharing of power).

Republicanism

government should be based on the consent of the governed and emphasize individual rights, civic virtue, and the common good.

Confederation

An association of states with some authority delegated to a national government. The states in such a system retain most of the power, but the national government is authorized to carry out some functions, such as diplomatic relations.

Unitary Government

Only one central government has authority over a nation. There are no levels of government that share power. Power is not shared!

Federal (Decentralized) Government

This system of government decentralizes power. Power is shared by a powerful central government and states.

Public involvement: Citizens can elect local, state, and federal representatives

Access: A greater number of interests can be represented across levels, ensuring that the government will be more responsive to public concerns.

Ratification

the action of signing or giving formal consent to a treaty, contract, or agreement, making it offically valid, the process of making an agreement official.

The Virginia Plan

This plan proposed a bicameral legislature with proportional representations. The number of representatives from each state would be determined based on that state’s population.

New Jersey Plan

States preferred to keep a balance of power; it kept a unicameral legislature without proportional representation; every state would be equally represented with one vote in the national legislature just as they had under the Articles of Confederation

The Great Compromise (Between the NJ and Virginia Plan)

The Great Compromise is a plan that incorporates both perspectives. Large and small states got a little of what they wanted. Congress would be bicameral with the House of Representatives (based on population) and the Senate would have equal representation of the states.

Electoral College

where citizens vote for the president in a general election, but these votes actually select their state’s representatives to this group of representatives. Each state has the same number of electors as their combined number of senators and representatives in Congress.

Three-Fifths Compromise

The states' decision during the Constitutional Convention to count each slave as three-fifths of a person in a state's population for the purposes of determining the number of House members and the distribution of taxes.

Necessary and Proper Clause (AKA the Elasatic Clause)

This part of the Constitution gives Congress what are considered "implied powers"

Implied Powers

powers that are assumed to be true without being specifically stated

The Supremacy Clause (Article VI)

Clause that establishes that federal law overrides state law when the two conflict. It ensures that the Constituion is the highest authority in the nation, state judges and officials must follow federal laws, even if their own states say otherwise, and valid federal statutes and treaties take precedence over any state constitutions or laws that contradict them.

The Commerce Clause (Article I Section 8)

Gives Congress the power to regulate the “movement of goods, services, and people across state lines”.

Intrastate Commerce

commerce inside a single state

Interstate

commerce between two and more states, power of the congress

Expressed/Enumerated Powers

powers that are directly expressed or stated in the Constitution by the Founders. Most of these are found in the first three articles of the Constitution

Reserved Powers

Powers that the states exercise but generally the federal government does not .

Due Process Clause

no one shall be "deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law" by the federal government.

Equal Protection Clause (14th Amendment)

Granting citizenship to all people born or naturalized in the United States and ensuring equal protection under the law for all citizens, despite existing state laws; including due process.

Revenue Sharing( Fiscal Federalism)

Distribution of a portion of federal tax revenue to state and local governments

Mandated Funds ( Fiscal Federalism)

Federal money distributed to states with specific directives

Categorical Government ( Fiscal Federalism)

Federal money distributed to states who meet specific federal standards.

Block Grant ( Fiscal Federalism)

Federal money distributed to states with broad boundaries for spending.

Concurrent Powers

powers shared between the state and federal government

Participatory Democracy

Emphasizes braod participation in politics and civil society

Elite Democracy

Emphasizes limited participation by a few, well-educated and informed States people who are qualified to direct the nation law making on behalf of the people

Pluralist Democracy

Describes group-based activism by nongovernmental interests which work to impact political decision making

Legislative branch

The power to make and propose laws. Made up of Congress, which is divided into the House of Representatives and the Senate

The Executive Branch

branch that executes and enforces the laws. Made of the POTUS and cabinet

Judicial Branch

interpret the constitutionality of a law

Advise and consent

A checking power specifically designated for the Senate to check the executive branch

Stakeholder

anyone with a vested interest in the outcome of policymaking

Full Faith and Credit Clause

each state must respect the others laws

McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)

• Facts: In 1816, Congress chartered the “Second Bank of the United States” and Maryland (along with other states) opposed it as it competed with their own state bank. In response, Maryland imposed a tax on banks within the state that was not chartered by the state, which was specifically aimed at the Second Bank”. James McCulloch, who was a cashier at the bank, refused to pay the tax, which led Maryland to sue him. Did the Constitution grant the power to establish a national bank, even though it was not specifically listed? 

• Holding: The SCOTUS unanimously ruled in favor of McCulloch.

• Constitutional Principles:

• Necessary and Proper Clause (Article I, Section 8): Congress is entitled to implied powers to carry out its duties. It is deemed necessary and proper to establish a national bank to manage the countries finances, which was the job of Congress

• Supremacy Clause (Article VI): federal laws exceed state laws, meaning that the state cannot tax or interfere with federal activities like the Second Bank

United States v. Lopez (1995)

• Facts: A 12th grader, brought a concealed handg*n with bullets to school in San Antonio Texas, and was initially charged under state law. However, those charges were dropped and he was charged federally due to the G*n-Free School Zones Act of 1990. Lopez’s defense argued that this was unconstitutional because schools were under state jurisdiction, meaning that Congress was not able to regulate them. Congress argued that they were able to jurisdiction this issue because of the Commerce Clause

• Holding: 5-4 in favor of Lopez, the G*n-Free School Zones act was in fact, unconstitutional.

• Constitutional Principles

Commerce Clause (Article I, Section 8): What Lopez was accused of was a criminal act rather than economic activity, therefore the Commerce Clause does not apply and Congress couldn’t regulate the issue.