AP Gov. Unit 1

Natural Rights

Natural Rights

Rights people process by natural law, not government (humans are naturally free)

Popular Sovereignty

The power to govern is in the hands of the people

Social Contract

People willingly give power to governments (If the gov. violates natural rights it is the peoples right to overthrow them)

Republicanism

People elect leaders to represent the public intrest (separated branches)

Limited Government

A government that is prevented from tyranny by checks and balances and distribution of power

Pluralist Democracy

People associate themselves with interest groups/factions who compete to create policy

• 1st Amendment freedom of assembly

Elite Democracy

Limited participation, only educated people should run it

• Elected representatives legislate

• Electoral College

Participatory Democracy

Broad participation of most/all of society

• 1st Amendment Freedom of Speech

• Expanding voting rights amendments

Brutus 1

• Argued for participatory gov.

• Feared national gov. overtaking state govs.

• The necessary and proper clause was too open to interpretation

• The supremacy clause basically gave the states no real power

• Large centralized gov. is too separate from the people

• Citizens will increase the power of the gov. but never the other way around

Federalist 10

• Argued for pluralist government

• Factions are groups with common interest

  • Take away the causes of actions

  • Manage their effects

    • liberty is upheld by competing factions because of the diversity of the country (large republic)

  • Sharing power within the federal gov. and state and federal gov. further protects from tyranny

Articles of Confederation

• Disproportionally strong states

• One branch - congress (no pres.)

  • No power to raise revenue (tax)

  • No power to raise an army

    • Shays Rebellion: farmers weren’t being paid by federal gov. because they had no money and they had no army to stop it

• needed unanimous decision for amendments\

• Couldn’t coin money

Philadelphia Convention

Called after Shays Rebellion to modify the AOC - ended up creating the Constitution

The Great Compromise

Virginia Plan

• Apportion representatives by population

New Jersey Plan

• 1 vote per state

Compromise

• Bicameral Legislature

Electoral College (compromise)

• The number of electors corresponds to the number of congressional representatives (HOR)

  • State Legislatures decide on these people

Three-fifths compromise

3/5th of the enslaved populations count towards population

Compromise of 1808

Banned importing slaves after 1808

Amendment Process

• Article 5

• Proposal

  • Congress of State Conventions

  • 2/3

• Ratification

  • State Legislatures

  • State ratifying conventions

  • ¾

When was the constitution ratified?

1988

Federalism

The sharing of power between nation and state governments

Types of Powers

Exclusive Powers

• Specifically given to the federal gov. in the constitution

Reserved Powers

• Powers not given to the federal gov. or restricted to the state govs. are theirs

Concurrent

• Shared Powers (taxes)

Ex Post Facto Laws

You cannot be charged for committing a crime that was legal when you committed it

Sections of the Constitution

• Article I Legislative Branch.

• Article II Executive Branch.

• Article III Judicial Branch.

• Article IV Relationships Between the States.

• Article V Amending the Constitution.

• Article VI Supreme Law.

• Article VII Ratification.

Federalist 51

• Government must be powerful enough to reduce the evils of man

• Separation of powers/checks and balances

Bill of Attainder

You cannot punish people without trial

Writ of habeas corpus

People have the write to know why they have been arrested/attained

Linkage Institutions

Political channels which spreads peoples concerns to policy (elections, media)

Laissez-faire

Limited governments and free markets

3 markers of a liberal democracy

rule of law, fair elections, and civil rights and liberties