AP Government and Politics - Unit 1

Declaration of Independence

Declaration of Independence

written by Jefferson,addressed to the King and written for the colonist.

Articles of Confederation

written document that established functions of the national government after it took back independence from Great Britain

United States Constitution

separates the powers of the government into three branches. Congress has the legislative power to pass laws. The President has executive power to administer the laws. The Courts have judicial power to interpret and enforce the laws.

Federalist 10

we need more factions to have a stronger government

Brutus 1

constitution is bad, too big, too powerful

Federalist 51

we need checks and balances within the government (“Angels”)

McCulloch v. Maryland

states don’t have the right to tax federal government and federal government has the ability make banks under the necessary and proper clause

United States v. Lopez

(1995) Lopez brings a weapon onto school property for someone else. Lopez is charged for violating federal Gun-Free School Zones Act. He moves to dismiss charges as they are “unconstitutional” as it was beyond the power of Congress to legislate control over our public schools (state not national). Article 1, Section 3, Clause 3. “Commerce Clause”

Natural Rights

founded by John Locke (1632-1704). He believed/coined life, liberty, and property. Natural Rights can’t be taken away from King as they are rights that you are born with.

Social Contract

people sacrifice individual freedoms in exchange for security and order (the need for security)

Power, Authority, Legitamacy

Power - the ability of one person to cause another person to act in accordance with the first persons intentions (influence people)

Authority - the right/ability to use power (constitution)

Legitimacy - Americans use the Constitution/laws must be Constitutional.

Shays’ Rebellion

Happened in Massachusetts after the American Revolution in response to debt crisis and the governments increased efforts to collect tax

Great (Connecticut) Compromise

big states wanted representation based on population and small states wanted equal representation

Exclusive Powers

powers that are exclusively granted to the federal government and can not be exercised by the states

Concurrent Powers

powers the Constitution gives to both the state and national government

Reserved Powers

powers specifically reserved for the states under the tenth amendment of the Constitution (reserves all powers not given to the federal government to the states)

Electoral College

a group selected by the states to elect the president and the vice-president (each state has the same number of electors is the same as the number of its senators)

Three-Fifths Compromise

Made during the 1787 Constitutional Convention that three out of five slaves would be counted when determining the state’s total population for legislative representation and taxation

Full Faith and Credit Clause

each state accepts the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state

Tenth Amendment

establishes power not delegated to the federal government are reserved to the states

Fourteenth Amendment (relating to states)

no state can deprive any person of life,liberty, and property without due process of law (equal protection of citizens rights)

Commerce Clause

congress can regulate interstate and international commerce

Necessary and Proper Clause

National Government is allowed to do anything not specifically stated in the Constitution

Enumerated Powers

Powers granted to the Federal Government, specifically Congress

Implied Powers

powers that Congress exercise that are not specifically stated in the constitution but are necessary

Federalism

the division and sharing of power between the national government and the states

Grants-in-aid (Block and Categorical grants)

national government giving money to the states

block grants - a grant from the national gov to the states that is broad with what it can do

categorial grants - grants from the national gov that are strict with what they can go to.

Mandates

implied authority for political partys given by voters who put them in power

Recall

allow voters to remove an elected official

Referendum

enable voters to pass or reject a legislative measure

Devolution

a transfer of authority from central government to smaller government

Police Power

law and regulations that promote health, safety, and morals

How are democratic ideals reflected in the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution?

The Declaration provides a foundation for popular sovereignty and the Constitution provides the blueprint for a unique form of political democracy in the U.S.

Explain how models of representative democracy are visible in major institutions, policies, events, and debates in the U.S.

Participatory democracy

Pluralist democracy

Elite democracy

Participatory democracy-form of government in which citizens participate individually and directly in political desicions and policies

Pluralist democracy-one group does not dominate politics and organized groups compete with each other to influence policy

Elite democracy-a small number of people (usually the wealthy) influence political decision making

Explain how Federalist and Anti-Federalist views on central government and democracy are reflected in U.S. foundational documents.

Federalist believe in a strong national government and Anti-Federalist worry about the federal government becoming to big. Federalist - Madison’s Federalist 10 and Anti Federalist - Brutus 1.

Explain the relationship between key provisions of the Articles of Confederation and the debate over granting the federal government greater power formerly reserved to the states.

Lack of centralized military power to address Shay’s rebellion

Lack of tax law enforcement power

Requirement of unanimity of all states to amend the articles

Explain the ongoing impact of political negotiation and compromise at the Constitutional Convention on the development of the constitutional system.

Compromise deemed necessary for adoption and ratification of the Constitution are represented by the Great Compromise/Electoral College/Three-Fifths Compromise/Compromise on the importation of slaves. Debates about the self-government during the drafting of the Constitution necessitated the drafting of an amendment process in Article V that entailed either two-thirds vote in both houses or a proposal from two-thirds of the state legislature, with final ratification determined by three-fourths of the states. The compromises necessary to secure ratification of the Constitution left some matters unresolved that continue to generate discussion and debate today??

Explain the constitutional principles of separation of powers and “checks and balances.”

Allows branch of government with individual power to to check the other branches and prevent any one branch from becoming too powerful

How did the Framers seek to create a balance between governmental power and individual rights?

Dividing political power between the branches, one branch could not become too powerful

Explain how the appropriate balance of power between national and state governments has been interpreted differently over time.

The national government overtime has taken on more power due to the supremacy clause found in the constitution. The Supreme Court empowered the national government more in the McCulloch v Maryland case. (Also seen in US v Lopez)

How is national policy-making constrained by the sharing of power between and among the three branches and state governments?

It’s constrained by the sharing of the powers of the three branches and between federal and state due to checks and balances and federalism.