other

what was the overarching theme of the american revolution? examples?

government was acting in a way that was abusive to its citizens

big taxes, taxation without representation (Sugar Acts, Stamp Act, Townshend Acts, Intolerable Acts)

what did john locke believe the only legitimate reason for government was?

consent of the people, once someone consents, they are consenting to be bound to the will of the majority

the governments first priority was to protect property (life, liberty, and estate)

if the people are subjected to repeated abuses over an extended period of time, the people have the right to revolt

what are fiduciary arrangements?

the relationship between the trustor (bank client), the trust (bank account), the trustee (bank entrusted with the trust), and the beneficiary (who benefits from the trustor’s trust being with the trustee)

what is the fiduciary arrangement under locke?

trustor = the people

trust = limited amount of power

trustee = govt

beneficiary = the people

how did the declaration of independence come about?

in 1776 richard lee said the colonies should all be free states, so the continental congress met to try and convince the colonies to unite against the crown and write a declaration of their independence to persuade the rest of the world ot their cause

what is in the declaration of independence?

1. opening

2. legal statement

3. evidence for the violation of freedoms

4. proposed punishment

5. closing

what was the purpose of the declaration of independence?

to persuade the rest of the world to the colonists cause

what is madison’s argument against the traditional small republic and how does this argument back up his claim that the AoC were insufficient?

people will get too broken up and too split to be able to get a majority

in the 11th vice how does madison dispute the political idea that “the majority who rule in such [republican] government are the states guardians of public good and private right”?

representative appointments are often only based on ambition and personal interest, not public good

what did madison propose as protection from a tyranny of the majority?

increase the # of factions/interest groups

what do you suppose madison would have stressed in his 12th vice?

the states do not always know what is best for them

what is jeffersons declaration of law/his view of law and rights?

he believes in the law of nature, people are endowed by their CREATOR (aka born with) the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness and govt exists to protect these three unalienable rights with the consent of the governed (a fiduciary)

what were the former colonies after the war?

they were the united States of America, the Treaty of Paris confirmed the colonies were then independent states

what was the point of Witherspoon’s speech in congress"?

he wanted to encourage the states to create some form of union NOW rather than LATER, because if not now then when. also, because if we cannot unite against a common evil NOW, what is to stop us from infighting after the war.

what is a confederation?

a union of states where all the power resides in the states

what were james madison’s overall problems with the confederation?

central government did not have enough power or authority over the states and the war effort was hindered by this since they could not raise money for an army

how did the constitutional convention first start?

VA and MD settled a land dispute and were like wait hey we should invite other states, but most states did not attend. those who did came to the conclusion that the AoC were the issues so they set a date for all the states to meet in 1777 philly

what was the virginia plan?

written by james madison, presented by edmund randolph

bicameral legislature with lower house proportional to population elected by the people, upper house equal in eahc state elected by the lower house after getting nominations from state legislatures

probably a single executive, but did not specify

supreme court would exist selected by congress

this is a republican government

what were the questions raised in the debate of the virginia plan?

should the people have a direct say in the election of their reps? two options, either have the people directly elect their rep or should the state legislatures elect the reps

why should the exec be singular? VA plan says yes because if there are multiple execs then there will be infighting and one may get more powerful than another. mason says plural exec so they can act as checks and balances on each other, that a single exec could pick and choose favorite states

what was the new jersey plan?

authored by william patterson

unicameral legislative based solely on state equality elected by the state legislatures

plural executive elected by the singular congress

supreme court present selected by the executive