Chapter 1 Vocab

Thomas Hobbes

• The Leviathan

• Argues that when humans live in “a state of nature” rather than in a governed state, the result is anarchy and war, and human life is “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.

• In his view, an absolute sovereign would hold society together, yet still honor a social contract, as long as the sovereign’s rule took the good of society into account.

Limited government

• Gov kept under control by law, checks and balances, and separation of powers.

• respects people’s individual liberties and steps in only when necessary to resolve conflicts when individual liberties collide with some opposing force—another individual’s liberties or the public interest

John Locke

• Second Treatise of Civil Government (1690)

• Natural law is the law of God and that this law is acknowledged through human sense and reason

• he proposed that under natural law—in a state of nature— people were born free and equal

• Natural law not only entitled but actually obligated people to rebel when the rule of kings did not respect the consent of the governed.

Baron de Montesquieu

• The Spirit of the Laws

• He saw a republican form of government as one having defined and limited power while granting political liberty to citizens

• argued for the separation of powers in the administrative government, comprised of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches.

Natural rights

-Fundamental freedoms believed to be inherent to all humans, independent of any particular culture or government. They are often considered inalienable, meaning they cannot be taken away by any individual or group, including the government. 

Popular sovereignty

• Popular sovereignty—the people as the ultimate ruling authority— and a government of officials to carry out the laws.

Representative Republic

• A collection of sovereign states gathered for the national interest, national needs, and national defense.

Republicanism

• Political ideology: that men were entitled to “life, liberty, and property” and that these cannot be taken away except under laws created through the consent of the

  governed

• Popular with American revolutionaries

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

• The Social Contract

• Influenced by Locke

• The social contract is the agreement of free and equal people to abandon certain natural rights in order to find secure protections for society and to find freedom in a single body politic committed to the general good

• Popular sovereignty

• He spoke for those “intending their minds” away from an irrational and oppressive political order, away from a governmental theory that rested in the divine right of kings and clergy to rule and misrule.

John Adams

Helped write Declaration

Declaration of Independence

• Provided a moral and legal justification for the rebellion.

• drew from Locke and other Enlightenment philosophers, upholding popular sovereignty. It explained how abuses by the too powerful British Crown violated natural rights and self-rule, justified the colonists’ separation from Britain, and defined the newly independent states’ relationship

Benjamin Franklin

• offered his experience as one who had participated in the drafting of the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the Treaty of Paris with Britain.

• He also held distinction in discovery, invention, and civic endeavors, embodying Enlightenment ideals.

Alexander Hamilton

• His intellect, drive, and quest to elevate the nation made him instrumental in shaping the new design of the Constitution

• federalist

Thomas Jefferson

Wrote Declaration

James Madison

• James Madison named himself a candidate for his state’s ratifying convention to be held in Richmond.

• Federalist

• In Federalist No. 10, addressed the concern that a few powerful individuals might unite into a faction, or interest group, to dominate political decisions

• He believed the Constitution was designed to limit the influence of factions.

• Madison’s influence in creating the plan for the new government and his support of it during the ratification process earned him the nickname “Father of the Constitution.”

Constitution

The U.S. Constitution establishes a system of checks and balances among branches of government and allocates power between federal and state governments. This system is based on the rule of law and the balance between majority rule and minority rights.

George Washington

• The delegates elected George Washington as president of the Convention.

• Presided as a calming force during heated debate

• First president

Elite democracy

• Elected representatives are charged with representing their constituencies. The Electoral College enables elites to determine the president.

• Elected representatives make decisions and act as trustees for the people who elected them

• recognizes an inequity in the spread of power among the general populace and the elites: People with resources and influence dominate

• Despite the inequality of power, some people argue that the elected representatives are well equipped to secure the rights of the individual

• Elite democratic models are in all three branches of government

Interest groups

• People with widely varying interests find others who

  share their interests and organize and unite into nongovernmental groups to exert influence on political decision-making

• They compete in the “marketplace of ideas” and look for access points at the local, state, and federal levels to persuade policymakers

• Because of the competition among interests and the

  need for bargaining, the process of changing policy is usually slow

• The founders knew such varying interests would dominate government, so they created structures to limit the dominance of any one interest.

Participatory democracy

• States are free to determine how to allow for direct citizen involvement.

• Citizens vote directly for laws and other matters that affect them, instead of voting for people to represent their interests.

• Anti-Federalists feared in the large United States too many people with too many different views to be adequately represented, so they favored smaller units of government more responsive to local needs.

Pluralist democracy

• The lawmaking process requires compromise within

  a wide range of competing interests.

• depends on the direct participation of many and emphasizes broad involvement of citizens in politics

• Citizens vote directly for laws and other matters instead of voting for people to represent their interests.

• The larger the population, the more difficult it is to make a timely decision -the U.S is too big for a pluralist democracy

• People organize and unite into interest groups to influence political decision-making, preventing the wealthy and elite from grabbing all the power.

Representative democracy

• A government in which the people entrust elected officials to represent their concerns.

• Three types:

  • Participatory

  • Pluralist

  • Elite

Anti-federalists

• Those who opposed the consolidation of the states

  under the federal government

• Wanted states to have more power

• Believed a bill of rights was needed to guarantee protection of the rights of states and individuals

• Believed many should have a voice in government to prevent the elite from having too much power

Federalists

• Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, John Jay

• Supported the strong national government created by the Constitution and full ratification

  • Believed existing Constitutional provisions would protect the rights of states and individuals

  • Believed qualified representatives were best suited to lead the nation

  • Believed unchecked factions would put the interests of a few above the interests of the nation

Initiatives

• One way in which citizens can participate directly is through state and local ballot initiatives.

• Initiatives give the people the power to place a measure on the ballot for a popular vote.

Referendum

• allows citizens to contest the work of the legislature. If the legislature passes an unpopular law, the public can gather support, usually through signatures on a petition, to call for a vote to defeat or uphold the law.

• example of direct participation

Factions

Interest groups

Federalist No. 10

• Written by James Madison, Federalist

• argues that a large, diverse republic, like the one proposed in the US Constitution, is better at controlling the negative effects of "factions" than a small, direct democracy.

• The key is that a large republic will have so many different factions, they will be less likely to dominate and oppress the majority. 

Brutus No. 1

-Argues that a large, centralized republic like the one proposed by the US Constitution could threaten individual liberty and the power of state governments.

-The author expresses concern that such a government might become too powerful, potentially oppressing the people and diminishing the role of state legislatures.