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Hobbes
Author of “Leviathan”, writing that man has natural savage/war-like instincts which should be negated by govt
John Locke
British philosopher who created the “life, liberty, pursuit of property” ideal; inspired Framers
Payne
Author of “Common Sense", influencing Americans with anti-Britain views
natural rights
Life, liberty & pursuit of property (property changed to happiness in Declaration of Independence)
social contract
Obligation that the govt has to protect its people’s natural rights
Locke v. Jefferson
The Declaration of Independence writer was inspired by this philosopher’s ideals, such as
“it is the people’s duty to overthrow a tyrannic govt”
“all men are equal, men help to govern”
“mutual, unalienable rights”
elite theory
Theory that a small, cohesive group of rich people actually make all of the important decisions rather than the people
pluralist theory
Theory that there are many different factions which are protected by representative democracies
direct democracy
Form of govt without representatives, people directly vote for laws
democratic theory
Theory where the concept of power is placed in the hands of the people
authoritarian
Form of govt where rulers are in full control, limiting political freedoms
majoritarian
Form of govt which is ruled by the majority
aristocracy
Form of govt where a small elite group of people hold power and rule
republic
Form of govt where people vote on representatives who make laws and vote for a ruler
democratic republic
Form of govt where complete power comes from citizens; combines a democracy & a representative govt; America’s ideology
socialism
Form of govt that strives for social and economic equality, combines democratic & communist ideals
conservatism
Ideology which embraces tradition and limited govt involvement
liberalism
Ideology which prioritizes equality over law & heavier govt involvement
representative democracy
Form of govt where people indirectly elect representatives to make laws and policies
autocracy
Form of govt where one person holds absolute power
oligarchy
Form of govt run by a small group of wealthy authorities
unitary
Government where all power resides in the central govt, who regulate any states
federal
Government with multiple levels (national & state) which share power over the same territory
confederate
Government with strong states and a weak federal govt
democracy
Form of govt where people vote for who they want to rule or make laws
bureaucratic theory
Theory that government workers make key governing decisions, making elected officials useless in affecting policy
pluralism
System where multiple factions coexist
hyperpluralism
Event which occurs when the influence of factions becomes too much: one faction dominates, or multiple fight to a point that causes govt to stop functioning
Articles of Confederation
The first “constitution”; made by 2nd Constitutional Congress and established:
a confederate government
a unicameral legislature
lack of executive/judicial branches and commerce regulation
Shays’ Rebellion
The response of farmers being threatened by foreclosure on their farms due to the bad post-revolution economy
Exposed the Articles of Confed. weaknesses, helping the US realize that a stronger federal govt was needed
weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation
No executive branch = no enforcing law
No judicial branch = no crime punishment across state lines
No power for Congress to tax, regulate commerce, or raise a military
Only one vote per state regardless of their size (unicameral legislature)
9/13 states had to agree to pass federal laws
All states had to agree to amend the Articles of Confed.
bicameral
Legislature with two chambers, one house and one senate
unicameral
Legislature with only one chamber
1st Continental Congress
Pre-revolution group who discussed America’s future and how it should react to British oppression
2nd Continental Congress
Group who governed the US during and right after the revolution, wrote the Articles of Confed. & Declaration of Independence
Declaration of Independence
Document which let the world know that:
The 13 colonies are united
The colonies sought to protect the equal & unalienable rights of man
People should overthrow tyrannical governments, such as what the colonies did with the British King
Constitutional Convention
Group which initially wanted to fix the Articles of Confed. but ended up having to replace it with the Constitution
Virginia Plan
Plan advocating for a bicameral legislature and state representation that was proportional to population
New Jersey Plan
Plan advocating for a unicameral legislature and equal state representation
Connecticut Compromise
Compromise which combined the Virginia & New Jersey plans, establishing both the Senate and House of Reps. for them
Three-Fifths Compromise
Compromise which counted a certain proportion of a state’s slaves when determining its population for the # of representatives it would get; gave more representation to the South (North v. South) and was replaced by the census
Slave Trade Compromise
Compromise which banned slaves from being imported to the US after 1808, but also stopped Congress from prohibiting it at all before that year
Federalists
Those who supported the new govt made by the Constitution
Anti-federalists
Those who were opposed to the new govt made by the Constitution
Federalism v. Anti-federalism
The strength of the central govt (should be stronger v. is too strong)
Focus of govt (federal or unitary v. confederacy)
**Ultimately compromised to form the Bill of Rights**
Federalist 10
Paper which explains how factions are bad and how they can be controlled:
“The public good is disregarded in the conflicts of rival parties”
“Measures are too often decided by the majority rather than the minority”
Factions are “cured” by removing its causes (impossible) or controlling their effects
However, without factions, there would be no liberty
A functioning legislature/republic will mitigate a majority and therefore control factions’ effects
Factions are weaker in larger republics, so larger republics = better
Federalist 51
Paper which describes how power should be balanced between the proposed branches
Minimal influence over selecting other branches’ members (& their pay)
“Ambition must be made to counteract ambition” (checks & balances)
Government is the reflection of human nature, and it much both control its people and itself
“If men were angels, no govt would be necessary”
Federalist 70
Paper which argues why a single executive is important
An energetic executive is optimal to maximize unity & responsibility, which would be diminished w/ more execs.
Congress takes their time to debate on issues with their reps., but POTUS must act fact
A plurality in exec. branch “conceals faults & destroys responsibility”
Federalist 78
Paper which elaborates on the power of the judicial branch
The lifetime tenure of justices are crucial to be independent from popular will (elections)
Judiciary’s job is to declare acts of other branches unconstitutional (judicial review)
The courts are the “intermediate body” between the people & legislature
Brutus 1
Paper which argues against a centralized republican government
Argues a confederacy is better
The Necessary & Proper and Supremacy Clauses make Congress and federal govt too powerful, respectively
“All power reserved to the states will soon be annihilated”
“Republics should only have small territory”
Federalist Papers
A series of essays written to promote the ratification of the Constitution
Bill of Rights
The first 10 Amendments of the Constitution, result of a compromise between federalists & anti-federalists
Six Basic Principles of Constitution
Separation of powers, limited govt, judicial review, popular sovereignty, federalism, checks & balances
Separation of Powers
System which keeps the powers of the three branches independent of each other, so one can’t take control of the others
Checks & Balances
Legislature
can impeach POTUS, override his veto, and approve his nominations
confirms justice nominations and impeaches judges
The House and Senate must compromise/agree on each other’s bills
Executive
Can veto bills
Nominates judges & enforces judicial opinion
Judicial
Can declare acts from the other branches unconstitutional
Formal Amendment Process
Amendments are proposed by 2/3rds of Congress or 2/3rds of a national convention
Amendments are ratified by 3/4ths of state legislatures or 3/4ths of a state convention
informal amendments
Constitutional changes which don’t change the document itself, including:
judicial interpretation
technological advances
political practice
increased demand for new policies
federalism
The division of a govt’s power into national and state governments
enumerated powers
Powers specifically expressed or delegated to Congress in the Constitution (article I sect 8)
implied powers
Powers given to Congress through the Necessary and Proper Clause, which are any powers necessary to carry out delegated powers
inherent powers
Powers naturally held by sovereign govts
concurrent powers
Powers shared by national & state govts
reserved powers
Powers given to the states through the 10th Amendment, which are all powers not already delegated to the national govt or prohibited to states
prohibited powers
Powers specifically denied to the govt
Necessary & Proper Clause
Clause of Article I Sect. 8 which gives Congress implied powers
vertical checks & balances
Checks between national & state govts (such as thru the Supremacy Clause)
horizontal checks & balances
Checks within the same level of govt
Full Faith & Credit Clause
Clause in Article 4 requiring states to recognize the validity of laws, court decisions, and public records of every state
Privileges & Immunities Clause
Clause in Article 4 prohibiting states from discriminating from citizens of other states
extradition
Process of returning a criminal fugitive to the state where the crime was allegedly committed in order to face punishment in that state
interstate compacts
An agreement between multiple states
Supremacy Clause
Clause in Article 6 stating that federal law is superior & takes priority over state law
Commerce Clause
Clause giving Congress the power to regulate foreign & interstate trade
nullification
The illegal act of a state refusing to follow federal law because it claims the law to be unconstitutional
preemption
the legal act of federal govt invalidating state law, claiming that the law is unconstitutional
Gibbons v. Ogden
Case defining what exactly “commerce” covers in the Commerce Clause, ultimately defined it as all forms of commercial activity
Marbury v. Madison
An appointed judge ended up not receiving his commission, and tried to petition SCOTUS to grant a writ of mandamus to the Secretary of State
However, SCOTUS found that Article 3 of the Constitution (which never mentioned writs of mandamus) was in conflict with an article of the Judiciary Act of 1789 (which allowed SCOTUS to write those writs in original jurisdiction cases)
This case did not have original jurisdiction, so the article of the Judiciary Act was voided
**Established Judicial Review**
McCulloch v. Maryland
Congress’ bank, a federal facility, could not be taxed by the state it was established in
The Necessary and Proper Clause and Supremacy Clause were reinforced, giving the Constitution and Congress’ federal laws superiority over state law
Dual Federalism
Type of federalism where national & state govts dominate in their own “spheres” & have their own policies
Cooperative Federalism
Type of federalism where national & state govts share power
New Federalism/Devolution
The transfer of federal powers to the states
Fiscal Federalism
System where the federal govt distributes funds, or grants-in-aids, to states & localities
Picket-fence Federalism
Type of federalism where national, state, & local govts work together to promote/develop various policies
grants-in-aid programs
Federal taxes sent by national govt to aid state/local govts and influence them to invest in various policies
categorical grants
Grants to states for specific policies, preferred by federal govt
block grants
Grants to states for broad policies, preferred by states
revenue sharing
The distribution of revenue to stakeholders & contributors
mandates
Laws or policies that the federal govt forces the states to follow, often with funds (otherwise “unfunded”)
electoral college
Body of electors which represent votes for POTUS in a winner-take-all process for each state; made by Framers who didn’t trust the people directly voting for the president
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