POLI-SCI QUIZ 1

Political science 100 chapter 1-3 (10 question quiz) (multiple choice)

What is Government

The process of organizing a society and allocating

authority to provide benefits to members of that

society

What is Politics?

The process of gaining and exercising control within a government to set & achieve specific goals, especially resource ($) allocation.

Democracy

Rule by many (the people)
Government based on the consent of
the governed.
Direct v. Indirect (Representative)

Bill of Rights

added in 1791

The first 10 Amendments to the Constitution. It spells out Americans' rights in relation to their government.

What caused the rebellion?

Enlightenment ideas + regular political conflicts between crown &
colonists

-The French & Indian War [1754-1763] left the British Treasury

empty, so Parliament instituted new policies for revenue... tax the

colonists

Revolutionary America

• People could govern themselves

• Governed were not bound indefinitely to corrupt or dysfunctional political institutions.

John Locke

Natural rights and 2-way Social Contract

Believed people are naturally reasonable and moral.

All people have natural rights: life, liberty, and property.

Government exists to protect these rights, and if it fails, citizens can overthrow it.

Rousseau

Vigilance and virtue from ordinary citizens

Believed people are naturally good but corrupted by society.

Advocated for direct democracy and the general will (what’s best for the community).

Social contract: individuals give up some freedom for the common good.

Acts of Parliament

Quartering Act 1765 (use of unoccupied bldgs to house troops)

 Stamp Act 1765 (repealed in 1766)

Declatory Act 1766 (same day as Stamp Act repeal)

 Townshend Acts 1767 (repealed in 1770 except tax on tea)

Revenue Act

 Boston Massacre 1770

 Tea Act 1773 (repealed in 1778)

East India Company tax exempt!

Boston Tea Party December 1773

• Intolerable Acts/Coercive Acts 1774 (not repealed)

Boston Port Act (closed port/harbor)

Massachusetts Governor Act (replaced the elected governor)

Administration of Justice Act (trials in Britain or other colony)

Quartering Act (use of private homes, even against will)

Colonist response

12 of 13 colonies - First Continental Congress in Sept & Oct

1774

• issued Declaration of Rights and Grievances to King George

and Parliament

• Also started plans for a resistance movement

• People like Thomas Paine “Common Sense”

Declaration of Independence

Approved by the Second Continental Congress with all 13

colonies sending delegates

• Drafted by Thomas Jefferson

• Creating framework for new government by establishing right

to

– Build an army

– Issue currency

– Establish diplomatic and trade relations with other countries

---

-Declaration of Independence attempted to find

common ground to unite colonists as Americans in an

American “nation”

NATION

a shared sense of understanding and

belonging among a people, a shared sense that they

are different and separate from other peoples with a

united sense of basic principles, values and political

characteristics.

Articles of Confederation

-Approved by the Third Continental Congress 1777

The first outlined organization of the United States, which

based most power in each state.

-Central government almost entirely dependent on voluntary

cooperation of states

Constitutional Convention + Points of Contention

Representation: Large states v. small states

Non-slave holding states v. slave holding states

Strong central government v. states’ rights

Social stability (national goals) v. individual liberties

The Great Compromise

The agreement between small

states and large states to create a bicameral legislature

(Congress)

Senate: Equal representation

House of Representatives: Population based

representation

Three-fifths Compromise

-An agreement between slave holding states and non-

slave holding states that a state’s slave population

would be counted at 60 percent for purposes of

determining a state’s population and, therefore,

number of representatives in the House of

Representatives.

•Words “slave” and “slavery” never appear in

Constitution.

Principles of American Government

-Separation of powers:

Principle that the executive,

legislative, and judicial

functions of government

should be performed by

different institutions.

• Checks and balances:

Principle that each branch of

has the means to thwart or

influence actions by other

branches.

Federalism

A governing arrangement that provides

multiple levels of government with

independent ruling authority over certain

policy areas and guarantees the survival of

these different levels.

Republican Government

 A System in which people elect representatives to

make policy and write laws.

 Indirect election of president (and Senate).

(Senate election changed by the 17th Amendment in

1913)

 Direct election of House representatives.

Federalists

Supporters of the Constitution.

Antifederalists

Opposition to Constitution fearing too much power in the national government.

Amendment X

The powers not delegated to the United States

by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the

states, are reserved to the states respectively,

or to the people

Confederation

Loose grouping of independent political units whose main purpose is to govern their relationship

Unitary System

Government at the highest level has the power to create, combine, or disband lower level governments and to determine their power

Compact Theory

The states were

sovereign units joined together in

the new national government

without giving up status as

sovereign, independent

governments.

– Articles of Confederation

– United Nations

Nullification

states could nullify

national laws if they disagreed or

felt it violated the Constitution

Nationalist Theory

A theory that sees the Constitution as

the joining together of the people as much as, or more so

than, the joining together of the states.

“We, the People of these United States”

not “We, the States...”

Dual Federalism

The national and state governments have distinct areas of authority

Dual Citizenship

individual is a citizen of his or her

state and of the United States with varying rights

and responsibilities from state to state and at the

national level.

Dual Sovereignty

Both the national and state governments have sovereignty over different policies.

Enumerated Powers

A list of specific duties that the

Constitution assigns to Congress.

Implied powers

Functions and actions that Congress

could perform in order to implement and exercise its

enumerated powers.

Necessary and proper (elastic) clause

Gives Congress the authority to make laws needed to carry

out the specific duties assigned to Congress by the

Constitution.

Cooperative Federalism

A form of federalism in

which the national and state governments share many functions and areas of authority.

-Beginning in the 1930’s, cooperative federalism became more prominent and continues today.

Fiscal Federalism

Federal government offers resources to states

for certain actions.

Categorical grant

Federal government funds to state or local

government for a specific, defined purpose.

Block grant

Funds to support broad government function such as

education or transportation

Mandates

an order from the federal government that requires state

governments to take a certain action

Unfunded mandate

Federal requirement that states take some

action, but without provision of sufficient resources to take the

action

Past (layer cake foundation)

programs and authority are clearly divided among the national, state, and local government.

Present (Marble cake federalism)

programs and authority are mixed among the national, state, and local government

Thomas Hobbes

Believed people are naturally selfish and greedy.

Without government, life would be “nasty, brutish, and short.”

Supported a strong, absolute ruler (social contract: people give up rights for protection).

Charles Montesquieu

Believed in separation of powers in government.

Power should be divided into legislative, executive, and judicial branches.

Prevents tyranny through a system of checks and balances.

Article I

Establishes the Legislative Branch (Congress).

Divides Congress into House of Representatives and Senate.

Gives Congress powers like making laws, declaring war, regulating commerce, and taxing.

Article II

Establishes the Executive Branch (President & Vice President).

Explains the President’s powers: enforcing laws, commanding the military, making treaties, and appointing officials.

Sets rules for election and removal of the President.

Article III

Establishes the Judicial Branch (Supreme Court and other federal courts).

Gives courts the power to interpret laws and ensure they are constitutional (judicial review developed later in practice).

Defines treason and protections for trials.

Article IV

Focuses on state relations.

Requires states to honor each other’s laws and court decisions (Full Faith and Credit Clause).

Provides rules for admitting new states.

Guarantees each state a republican form of government.

Article V

Establishes the amendment process.

Amendments can be proposed by 2/3 of Congress or 2/3 of state legislatures.

Must be ratified by 3/4 of the states.

Article VI

Establishes the Supremacy Clause: the Constitution is the “supreme law of the land.”

Federal laws override state laws if they conflict.

All government officials must swear an oath to uphold the Constitution.