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Describe some of the purposes of the government
establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote general welfare, and secure liberty for ourselves and those to come
What are some differences between a monarch and a dictatorship
monarchs are usually determined by inheritance, they can be absolute or work with another body of government like a parliament
dictatorships are usually in power by force, a ruler or small group with absolute power over the people
Compare/Contrast a direct democracy with an indirect democracy
Direct: people themselves decide on laws like in Athens, usually smaller communities
Indirect: people decide on laws through elected representatives
Similarities: both give the people power
Traditional Theory of Democracy
explanation: promotes majority rule without violating minority rights maintaining the willingness to compromise and recognizing the worth and dignity of all people
Pluralist Theory of Democracy
explanation: is a model of democracy in which no one group dominates politics and organized groups compete with each other to influence policy
example
Elite Theory of Democracy
explanation: is a model of democracy in which a small number of people, usually those who are wealthy and well-educated, influence political decision making
example
Hyperpluralism Theory of Democracy
explanation: when a diverse number of groups gain influence in a government, can be a problem because government is divided/pulled different ways
example
From what sources do Americans become politically socialized
family
media
peers
community
Compare the political theories of Thomas Hobbs and John Locke
Hobbs: the social contract was designed to invest absolute power in a ruler to govern the citizenry ( strong absolute gov)
Locke: believed the social contract meant investing some power in the hands of the rules whose power would be used to protect his citizens’ human rights (limited gov based on power from the people)
what is federalism?
describes a system of government where some powers belong to the national gov and some powers belong to the state
why did the founders feel that dividing power was necessary
many people feared a too strong central government and feared a monarchy
dual federalism
layered cake metaphor
power is divided between state and federal governments with clearly defined terms with states exercising their powers without interference from federal gov
Cooperative federalism
marble cake federalism
flexible relationship with the federal and state gov in which both work together and share powers
decentralization
definition: shifting responsibilities from the federal gov to the state
how is it used in the US federal system: states hold powers that are reserved only for them
Enumerated Powers
definition: explicitly stated powers of the national government/congress in the constitution
example: make laws, declare war, raise and provide public money+oversee its proper expenditure, impeach and try federal officers
approve presidential appointments
approve treaties negotiated by the executive branch
oversight and investigations
Implied Powers
definition: powers Congress possess that are not explicitly enumerated in the constitution (necessary and proper clause)
example
Inherent Powers
definition: powers the government requires to carry out all the expressed powers (elastic clause)
Reserved Powers
definition: powers that are specifically given to the states, not the national gov
Concurrent Powers
definition: powers that are shared by both the federal and state governments
example: power to tax, build roads, create lower courts
Why is the necessary and proper clause commonly called the elastic clause
it allows the government to stretch beyond its literal description
McCulloch v. Maryland
over congress forming a national bank/states right to tax it
supremacy of national gov reinforced+reinforcement of necessary and proper clause
Gibbons v. Ogden
established the precedent that congress - not the states - has the authority to regulate interstate commerce
describe how the us gov became more cooperative
flexible relationship between federal and state governments
the federal government giving tax revenue to the states in order to fund interstate highways
fiscal federalism
deals with the division of governmental functions and financial relations among levels of government
how does fiscal federalism resemble the carrot and stick metaphor
the federal gov provides financial incentives for adopting certain policies and programs and withhold funds if states do not comply
categorical grants
money given to state and local governments for programs and projects with specific limitations on how that money is to be spent
formula grants
funding programs that you do not compete for, even though you must submit an application and meet other specified requirements
project grants
sums of money awarded to fund a specific project or the production of a particular deliverable
block grants
an annual sum of money that is awarded by the federal government to a state or local government body to help fund a specific project or program
unfunded mandates + no child left behind how does it relate
mandates that the federal gov imposes but gives no financial support to help make it happen
that was the case with “no child left behind” (public preschool for all kids)
devolution
delegation or transfer of power to a lower level of gov from a higher level
11th Amendment
restricts the ability of individuals to sue states of which they are not citizens of in federal court
12th Amendment
defines how the president and vice president are elected (elected together)
13th Amendment
out laws slavery in the US
14th Amendment
states cannot deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, or deny any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws
15th Amendment
granted African American men the right to vote
16th Amendment
grants congress the authority to issue an income tax
17th Amendment
allows voters to cast direct votes for US senators (prior was chosen by state legislature)
18th Amendment
prohibition of alcohol
19th Amendment
granted women the right to vote
20th Amendment
changed the date the president and vice president take office from march 4 to january 20
21th Amendment
ended prohibition
22nd Amendment
term limits for president
23rd Amendment
granted the residents of Washington D.C the right to vote
24th Amendment
elimination of poll taxes
25th Amendment
dictates what happens if the president is unable to do their job as president
26th Amendment
gives all citizens 18 and older the right to vote
27th Amendment
any law that increases or decreases the salary of the member of congress may take effect only after the next election of the house has occured
Explain how the declaration of independence incorporated some of the ideas of John Locke
assertion of natural individual rights and its grounding of political authority in the consent of the government
List some of the powers held by the central government in the Articles of Confederations
declare war
appoint military officers
sign treaties
make alliances
appoint foreign ambassadors
manage relations with Native Americans
describe some of the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation
no central leadership
congress had no power to enforce laws
congress had no power to tax
congress had no power to regulate trade
no national court system (judicial branch)
changes to articles had to be unanimous
consent of 13 states
How did Shay’s Rebellion show some of the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederations
Shay’s rebellion shows the weakness of the federal government given that they could not raise money to pay their veterans, or raise an army to fight shay’s rebellion
Describe the concept of factions
an interest group seeking to influence government for the benefit of its members
List the features of the Connecticut (great) compromise
established the US legislature as a bicameral (senate and house of representatives)
senate - each state would have 2 representatives
house of representatives - amount is determined by population in the state
explain the controversy over the creation of the three-fifth compromise
there was a debate about weather slaves should be counted as part of the population to determine the amount of representatives a state gets
the south wanted slaves to be counted, while northerners did not so they settles in the middle
Popular sovereignty
explanation: government is authorized by citizens and influenced by what they want
example: declaration of independence
limited government
explanation: legalized force is restricted through delegated and enumerated powers
example: US, sweden, Canada, south Africa, Argentina
Separation of Powers
explanation: separating the legislative, executive, and judicial governments into separate bodies
example: congress, the president, supreme court separation
Checks and Balances
explanation: a system that allows each branch of government to amend or veto acts of another branch to prevent any one branch from having too much power
example
Judicial Review
explanation: holds that the courts are vested with the authority to determine the legitimacy of the acts of the executive and legislative branches of gov
example: supreme court determining if things are constitutional or not
Federalism
explanation: a system of government in which the same territory is controlled by two or more levels of government
example: national+state+local gov
Writ of Habeas Corpus (concept)
protects against unlawful and indefinite imprisonment
Bills of Attainder (concept)
all government to punish a party for a perceived crime without first going through the trial process (decidedly unconstitutional)
Ex Post Facto Laws (concept)
you cannot be punished for a crime you committed before it became a law
Full Faith and Credit Clause (constitutional provision)
state courts respect the laws and judgement of courts from other states - marriages. drivers licenses
supremacy clause (constitutional provision)
states the constitution and federal law generally takes precedence over state laws/constitutions
Why did so many states want the US constitution to include a Bill of RIghts?
they wanted to guarantee that they would not lose their recently secured freedoms and rights
Barron v. Baltimore + how it relates to the evolution of the Bill of Rights
during a land dispute the supreme court concluded the bill of rights only restricts the powers of the federal government no the state gov
this led to an extension of parts of the bill of rights to the state
Gitlow v. New York + how it relates to the evolution of the Bill of Rights
bill of rights can be extended to the states in some situations
spread to further extension of bill of rights
briefly describe the freedoms contained in the bill of rights
religion, speech, press, assembly