AP Gov & Politics - Unit 1 Foundations

Government

The institutions and processes through which public policies are made for a society.

Politics

The process by which we select our governmental leaders and what polices these leaders pursue. Politics produces authoritative decisions about public issues.

Public policy

The course of action the government takes in response to an issue or problem; All laws about a certain topic together help establish this.

Policymaking Institutions

The branches of government charged with taking action on political issues; The U.S. Constitution established three policymaking institutions - the Congress, the presidency, and the courts. Today, the power of the bureaucracy is so great that most political scientists consider it a fourth policymaking institution.

Policy Agenda

The issues that attract the serious attention of public officials and other people actually involved in politics at any given point in time.

Legitimacy

The idea that political authority is conferred by people; The acceptance of a government by the people.

Sovereignty

Ability of a state to govern its territory free from control of its internal affairs by other states.

Natural Law

A doctrine indicating that society should be governed by certain ethical principles that are part of nature and, as such, can be understood by reason.

Laws of Nature

According to Hobbes, these are rules that are discovered through reason; they forbid one to hurt oneself or to take away means of self-preservation; in the state of nature, you are able and willing to do what is needed in order to survive.

Social Contract Theory

- The belief that people are free and equal by natural right, and that this in turn requires that all people give their consent to be governed; espoused by John Locke and influential in the writing of the Declaration of Independence.

The 3 natural rights of John Locke

The rights to Life, Liberty, and Property.

When is rebellion against a government justified?

When the government violates the social contract. In other words, when the government fails to protect the natural rights of the people \= the right to "alter or abolish."

Why are governments are formed according to John Locke?

To protect natural rights and to secure order.

What is the primary duty of government according to Locke?

To protect natural rights.

What are the 4 basic functions of all governments?

1. To Resolve Conflicts

2. To Maintain Public Safety

3. To Provide Public Goods (projects & services that benefit all citizens)

4. To Promote Values through public policy.

What are the 3 Political Values?

1. Freedom

2. Order

3. Equality

General Welfare

The common good or what is good for all the people

How does freedom clash with order?

To have order you must sometimes limit freedom.

How does freedom clash with equality?

To have equality you must sometimes limit freedom.

Libertarians

A political ideology \= Cherish individual liberties; oppose government actions that interfere with economic freedom, that limit individual freedom, and promote equality.

Liberals

A political ideology \= Favor government actions that increase equality; oppose government actions that limit individual freedom; and favor government activities to control markets.

Conservatives

A political ideology \= Oppose government actions that interfere in markets; favor government activities that promote social order; generally oppose government activities that promote equality.

Communitarians

A political ideology \= Favor government actions that promote equality; favor government activities that promote social order; favor government actions that control markets.

Progressives

A political ideology \= Promote economic, social and environmental justice and sustainability, while protecting minority and individual rights and opportunities. Focus on using government power to make large institutions play by a set of rules.

Representative Democracy / Republic

A form of democracy in which citizens elect officials to govern on their behalf.

Participatory Democracy

A system of democracy in which all members of a group or community participate collectively in making major decisions.

Majoritarian Democracy

The classical theory of democracy in which government by the people is interpreted as government by the majority of the people.

Elite / Class Theory

A theory of government and politics contending that societies are divided along class lines and that an upper-class elite will rule, regardless of the formal niceties of governmental organization; the view that a small group of people should or do make most of the important government decisions \= governed by the few richest / most powerful individuals.

Pluralist Theory

A theory of government and politics emphasizing that politics is mainly a competition among groups, each one pressing for its own preferred policies; the theory that political power is distributed among a wide array of diverse and competing interest groups.

Hyper pluralism

A theory of government and politics contending that groups are so strong that government is weakened \= an extreme, exaggerated, or perverted form of pluralism. SWBAT: Compare elite and class theory, pluralist theory, and traditional democratic theory.

Initiative

A procedure by which voters can propose a law or a constitutional amendment \= Anyone can have a good idea!

Recall

Procedure whereby voters can remove an elected official from office (NOT in MD).

Referendum

A state-level method of direct legislation that gives voters a chance to approve or disapprove proposed legislation or a proposed STATE constitutional amendment \= residents vote directly on the ballot.

Interest Group

An organization of people sharing a common interest or goal that seeks to influence the making of public policy \= a type of "Linkage Institution."

Linkage Institutions

Structures within a society that connect the people to the government or centralized authority. These institutions include elections, political parties, interest groups, and the media.

Pluralism

A theory of government that holds that open, multiple, and competing groups can check the asserted power of any one group.

Majoritarianism

A political theory holding that in a democracy, the government ought to do what the majority of the people want \= majority rule.

Majority Rule w/ Minority Rights (protected)

An important principle in democracy according to which public policy is determined by a majority of citizens, but the majority may not rightfully use its power to deprive minority groups of their rights. The protection of minority rights is an act of self-interest in a democracy, in which constant change can cause a group that forms a majority one day to become a minority.

Declaration of Independence

July 4, 1776 - A revolutionary statement, issued by the Second Continental Congress, explaining why the American colonies wanted independence from Britain.

Author of the Declaration of Independence

Thomas Jefferson \= incorporated John Locke's ideas of: Life, Liberty and Property; Signed: July 4, 1776

Popular Sovereignty

A belief that ultimate power resides in the people \= POWER TO THE PEOPLE!!!

Concept of Popular Sovereignty is supported in the Declaration of Independence

"The consent of the people is given and can by right be taken away when a government fails to protect the natural rights of the people."

Articles of Confederation (1781)

1st Constitution of the U.S. 1781-1788

Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation:

1. no executive branch \= no power to enforce decisions;

2. no judicial branch \= no power to settle disputes btw the states;

3. no power to tax or raise revenue \= no power to support an army or to provide public services;

4. no power to regulate trade

5. amended only by unanimous decision

Central principle of the Articles of Confederation

The states are sovereign, and a strong national/central government is dangerous.

Northwest Ordinance of 1787

The one thing the Articles did right \= created the Northwest Territory (area north of the Ohio River and west of Pennsylvania); established conditions for self-government and statehood; included a Bill of Rights, and permanently prohibited slavery.

Significance of the Northwest Ordinance of 1787:

1. Set a precedent for the creation of states that would be equal in the new country to the original states.

2. The prohibition of slavery would eventually create an imbalance between slave and free states in the future.

3. The law would be added to the new Constitution.

Shay's Rebellion (aka 1787 Tax Revolt)

Rebellion of farmers led by Daniel Shays in western Massachusetts (1786-1787), protesting increased taxes & mortgage foreclosures \= Proved a need for a strong national government just as the call for the Constitutional Convention went out.

Constitutional Convention

The meeting of state delegates in 1787 in Philadelphia; called to revise the Articles of Confederation, but instead, it designed a new plan of government under the US Constitution.

Benjamin Franklin and the Constitution

Delegate from Pennsylvania who helped to shape a series of compromises between the large states and the small states.

3 authors of the Federalist Papers

1. James Madison

2. Alexander Hamilton

3. John Jay

James Madison

"Father of the Constitution," and author of the Virginia Plan, the Bill of Rights, and the Federalist Papers

George Washington

Commander-in-chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolution; Chairman (presiding officer) at the Constitutional Convention; and 1st President of the United States

Roger Sherman

Helped draft the Great Compromise that determined how states would be represented in Congress.

Great Compromise of 1787

A compromise between the large and small states of the colonies \= resolved that there would be representation by population in the House of Representatives, and equal representation would exist in the Senate (each state, regardless of size, would have 2 senators). All tax bills and revenues would originate in the House. This compromise combined the needs of both large and small states and formed a fair and sensible resolution to their problems.

Virginia Plan

The plan proposing the establishment of 3 branches of government with a bicameral legislature (w/ 2 chambers / houses). Established the supremacy of the national government, separation of powers, with representation by population in the legislature.

New Jersey Plan

The plan proposing the sovereignty of states with limited and defined powers of a national legislature. Each state was to be represented equally in the legislature.

Connecticut Compromise (aka "The Great Compromise")

The compromise reached at the Constitutional Convention that established two houses of Congress:

1. the House of Representatives, in which representation is based on a state's share of the U.S. population, and

2. the Senate, in which representation is based on equity \= each state has two representatives

Three-Fifths Compromise

The compromise between northern and southern states at the Constitutional Convention that three-fifths of the slave population would be counted for determining direct taxation and representation in the House of Representatives.

Compromise on the importation of slaves

The slave trade would not be limited by Congress for twenty years after ratification of the Constitution.

Compromise on the Electoral College

States would decide how their electors are chosen, with each state having the same number of electors as they have representatives in Congress \= \# of members in the House + 2.

Electoral College

A group of people / delegates / electors selected by each state legislature to select the president and vice president \= officially elects the president.

Principles of the Constitution

Republicanism, social contract, natural rights, popular sovereignty, limited government, separation of powers, checks and balances, and federalism.

The US Constitution

Written in 1787 at the Philadelphia Convention to replace the Articles of Confederation and to create a stronger central government. Outlines structures & powers of the 3 branches of national government. Oldest written constitution still in use (but amended 27 times plus a myriad informal amendments).

Articles of the Constitution

There are 7 articles that form the main body of the US Constitution.

Article I of the Constitution

Establishes the structure, powers, and responsibilities of the Legislative Branch (Congress) \= the Longest article.

Article 2 of the Constitution

Section of the Constitution laying out powers and responsibilities of the Executive Branch.

Article 3 of the Constitution

Section of the Constitution laying out powers and responsibilities of the Judicial Branch \= SCOTUS

Article 4 of the Constitution

Outlines the rights and expectations for all STATES and citizens including the adding of new states (Northwest Ordinance)

Article 5 of the Constitution

Outlines the process for amending or changing the Constitution.

Article 6 of the Constitution

Supremacy Clause - clearly states that national law will be supreme over state law, debts and oaths.

Article 7 of the Constitution

Outlines the process for ratification of the Constitution \= approving or signing it into law.

Separation of Powers

The division of power among the 3 branches: legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government.

Checks and Balances

A system that allows each branch of government to limit the powers of the other branches in order to prevent abuse of power \= so that NO ONE BRANCH becomes too powerful!

Examples of Checks and Balances:

1. legislature drafts bills BUT Executive can veto AND the judicial branch can decide if law is constitutional 2. the executive can appoint supreme court judges BUT the legislature MUST approve them AND can also impeach them 3. the executive branch can veto a bill BUT the legislature may override a veto with a vote of 2/3 majority 4. the executive branch can select cabinet members, BUT the legislature must approve them, AND can also impeach them

Legislative Power

The power to make laws and to frame public policies (Congress)

Executive Power

The power to execute, enforce, and administer law (President)

Judicial Power

The power to interpret laws, to judge whether a law has been broken, and to determine the constitutionality of laws (SCOTUS)

Judicial Review

Power of the US Supreme Court to review the constitutional validity of an executive or legislative act \= a precedent established in Marbury v Madison (1803)

Marbury v. Madison (1803)

Established judicial review; re. "midnight judges;" under US Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshal \= power of the Supreme Court to review a law's constitutionality.

Article 1 Section 8

Lists specific powers of Congress \= ENUMERATED POWERS: including the power to establish and maintain an army and navy, to establish post offices, to create courts, to regulate commerce between the states, to declare war, and to raise money (FIDOCRAPPER). It also includes a clause known as the Elastic Clause which allows Congress to pass any law deemed "necessary and proper" for the carrying out of the previously listed powers.

Elastic Clause (aka Necessary and Proper Clause)

The final paragraph of Article I, Section 8 of the US Constitution (Enumerated Power \#18) \= authorizes Congress to pass all laws "necessary and proper" to carry out the enumerated powers.

Necessary and Proper Clause (aka Elastic Clause)

Included in Article 1 Section 8 of the US Constitution (Enumerated Power \#18) \= gives Congress the power to make all laws "necessary and proper" for executing its powers.

Supreme Court (SCOTUS)

The Highest Federal Court \= consists of nine justices (each justice is appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate); Appointment is for life; the Supreme Court exercises the power to determine the constitutionality of statutes / laws.

Lifetime term for Federal Judges

Establishes stability and an independence / freedom of the federal judicial branch from the influence of politics.