Flash cards for Doug Reed American National Government Exam 1

What are some of the basic justifications for the formation of government

maintains order, collects taxes, provides public goods, provides public services,

What is important about the state of nature?

state of nature refers to human life without political authority

what is a social contract?

the contract the government and its people agree to.

What is Hobbes view on the state of nature?

Life is solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.

What is Locke's view of the state of nature?

life in the state of nature is ok

why do people leave the state of nature according to Hobbes pov?

To avoid horrible death

why do people leave the state of nature according Lockes pov

to protect property

What does Locke think people should do when government violates the contract?

Rebel

1. What are the basic principles of freedom, order and equality?

The freedom to do certain things: freedom to act, parallel with idea of liberty

What is political equality??

basic opportunity for every person to have their say in government. An example is voting.

What is Equality of opportunity?

everyone has the same chance to do the same thing. Does not mean they will end up in the same place.

What is equality of outcome

your outcome is the same as others. Everybody gets the same.

What's an example of equal opportunity?

Title IX female and male teams get sponsored equally

What was the historical dilemma for government?

Freedom vs Order

What is the modern dilemma for government?

tradeoff between freedom vs equality

Why is conflict in politics inevitable?

The very nature of politics is conflict because we have limited resources, and different values,

American liberals do what?

- Tax the rich

- Spend more on the poor

- Believes we should solve problems that cause crime

How are conservatives?

Less government involvement less taxation pro life

What is rule by one?

Monarchy, dictatorship

What is rule by few?

Oligarchy, aristocracy

What is rule by many?

democracy

What are the two major Views of Democratic government

Substantive and Procedural

What is a procedural democracy?

Government is very responsive to majority.

What is substantive government?

It looks at the content of policy and the end result of politics. It looks at what kind of decisions are actually made

What is a Majoritarian Model?

This assumes mass participation and that most people are well informed

What do pluralist assume?

It assumes that individuals can only have an impact through groups

What does the elite model assume?

It assumes that power is economic and in the form of a pyramid

According to C. Wright Mills, there are three elite groups: What are they?

economic elite, military elite, political elite.

What are the main criticism of Majortarian model?

Are citizens rational? How knowledgeable are they?

What are some criticisms with the Pluralist Model?

What about individual importance?

What are some criticisms about the elite model?

if you keep changing the definition of who is in, then you can/t prove or disprove the theory.

What were the most significant problems associated with the U.S.'s first governing document?

-Weak central government, -could only request militia men,

-government could only ask for money not enforce it,

-contracts weren't binding from state to state,

-money almost worthless, -only allowed to act with powers expressly granted

What events encouraged the call for a reform of the Articles?

Shay's rebellion, (government to weak to provide order)Annapolis convention

What problems were addressed by the Articles of Confederation?

-unicameral legislature, but no executive leader.

-Representation of states was equality (each state one vote).

-western land ownership and adding new states

What were the major issues and areas of conflict at the Constitutional Convention?

Small vs large states, Slave vs non slave states, Strong vs weak executive

(look at study guide for more info)

How were these issues resolved??

Madison's Virginia plan, Patersons New Jersey plan

(see what entails)

What did the Virginia plan propose?

Bicameral legislature senate and house of reprentatives

What did New Jersey plan do?

Equal representation for each state (favored small states)

How does the Electoral College work?

Candidate MUST receive a majority of elector votes. If no majority,

What were the key elements involved in the struggle to ratify the Constitution?

Federalist vs Anti-federalist, absence of Bill of rights

How democratic is the constitution?

The Constitution is partly democratic, but it also includes non-democratic elements designed to limit direct majority rule.

What are some structural elements that support democracy?

Popular sovereignty, House of Representatives, regular elections, amendment process, expansion on voting rights

What shows non democratic perspective?

Electoral college, Original Selection of Senators

What are the basic methods used to propose constitutional amendments

proposal phase(national)2/3, ratification phase(state)3/4

what is the key element to limited government

restricted by law, rights and freedoms are protected, government can't do whatever it wants, operates within constitution and legal boundaries

What are some of the major powers within the American governing system

enumerated powers, expressed powers, concurrent power, implied powers, prohibited powers, reserved powers

what is a concurrent power?

power shared by federal and state government

how do enumerated powers impact governing?

define what federal government is allowed to do(limits federal authority)

how do implied powers impact governing

give constitution flexibility, federal power grows beyond words written

how does restricted powers impact governing?

no level of government can exercise power (help individual rights)

what are reserved powers?

powers kept by the state under the 10th amendment

necessary and proper clause?

gives Congress the power to make laws that are "necessary and proper

what is supremecy clause under article VI of constitution?

the Constitution and federal laws take priority over conflicting state laws.

What are the key ingredients of Representative Democracy

power comes from people, fair elections, no one above the law

what is judicial review?

courts to review laws and government action to determine if they are constitutional

why was marbury vs madison so important?

it created judicial review- to be able to say government was wrong here