government semester final

state

dominant politial unit

population, territory, sovereignty, government

characteristics of a state (4)

population

people

territory

boundaries

sovereignty

responsible for own decisions within the state (nation or country)

false

T/F: states/counties/towns are sovereign

Divine Right of God Theory

royal birth, God chooses certain families to rule (France 17^th/18^th centuries)

Divine Right of God Theory

democracies usually form from what theory?

Social Contract Theory

all power based on people, created by free people, limited government power, relying on strength and intelligence, well-being provided through Constitution

Preamble

purpose of the Constitution is found in the ____

Form a more perfect union

parts of Preamble: constitution brought strength

Establish justice

parts of Preamble: law must be reasonable, fair, and impartial

Insure domestic tranquility

parts of Preamble: order and peace

Provide for common defense

parts of Preamble: defend nation against enemies

Promote general welfare

parts of Preamble: government acts as servants of citizens

Secure blessings of liberty

parts of Preamble: preserve and protect rights

unitary government

central government gives power to local government

federal government

powers divided between central and local government on geographic basis

confederate government

alliance of independent states

presidential government

executive and legislative branches are separate, independent, and coequal

presidential

we have a ___ government

Parliamentary government

executive branch is the Prime Minister and that person’s cabinet; could be forced to resign from Parliament

legislative branch/Parliament

branch that controls most of Parliamentary government

legislative branch

executive branch is chosen by this branch in a Parliamentary government

false

T/F: legislative branch is under control of executive branch in Parliamentary government

Petition of Right

first document to limit the King of England’s power; English colonies were charter colonies meaning they were self-governing/ruling; they were allowed to be that way and mostly ran themselves

fighting wars (ex. France)

colonies were taxed heavily by England because they were:

2^nd Continental Congress

first achievement was raising army; “shot heard around the world”

Massachusetts

which state has the oldest state constitution still in use?

Declaration of Independence

right to abolish government, leave England

Articles of Confederation

popular sovereignty, first Constitution

popular sovereignty

people have absolute power

unicameral

one house

Congress cannot tax, no trade/commerce, no national trust

weaknesses of Articles of Confederation (3)

true

T/F: Congress cannot enforce the Articles

states’ constitutions

legislatures have more power in:

Mount Vernon, VA; Annapolis, MD

locations of meetings of economic problems and trade after war

Constitutional Convention

US needed stronger government, trade problems, revise Articles; took place in Philadelphia, PA

Constitutional Convention

event had biggest influence of US Constitution directly, changed ideas

Virginia

____ plan used most in making government (bigger states preferred it)

2

Virginia plan proposed __ houses of legislature

New Jersey

____ plan was preferred by smaller states

British experience, state constitutions already existing, John Locke

sources of Constitution (3)

charter colonies or royal governments

Constitution inspo did not include ideas from:

George Washington

first president

John Adams

first vice president

New York City

first capital of the US

Federalists

____ supported a strong Constitution, wanted New York to support it, 83 essays to support constitution

The Federalist Papers

83 essays to support Constitution

“We the People”

first words of Constitution

popular sovereignty

Preamble emphasizes what idea?

Article 1

Articles matching: Legislative branch

Article 2

Articles matching: Executive branch

Article 3

Articles matching: Judicial branch

Article 4

Articles matching: Relations among states

Article 5

Articles matching: Cannot deny representation of state in Senate & amending Constitution

Article 6

Articles matching: Constitution is supreme law of the land

Article 7

Articles matching: Ratifying the Constitution

judicial review

Supreme court can declare things unconstitutional

Supreme court judges and federal judges

Executive checks and balances: appoints ____

veto

Executive checks and balances: can ____ legislation

2/3

Legislative checks and balances: override veto with __ vote

impeach

Legislative checks and balances: can ____ president

impeach

Legislative checks and balances: can ____ judges

approves, rejects

Legislative checks and balances: ____ or ____ judges

executive

Judicial checks and balances: free from ____ control

upheld

for the most part in the last 30 years, Supreme Court has mostly ____ state’s rulings/law (declare constitutional)

federalism

dividing the power between federal and state governments

formal amendment process

2/3 of Congress to propose amendment, ¾ of state legislatures to ratify in Constitution

informal amendment process

custom is unwritten, such as Cabinet, not in Constitution

Bill of Rights

first 10 amendments - our basic freedoms

Bill of Rights

deal with voting, slavery, alcohol, citizenship, presidential succession

delegated/expressed

powers of the federal government

delegated/expressed

coining money and declaring war are examples of ____ powers

concurrent powers

powers for both state and federal government

concurrent

taxes and borrowing money are examples of ____ powers

reserved powers

powers left for the states

subunits

local governments are ____ of the state, with federal at the top of the ladder

make sure every state has a Republican form of government, respect boundaries/territories, protect from invasion/domestic violence

what are the 3 things a federal government is obligated to?

interstate compacts

agreements among states and countries

full faith and credit clause

documents in court rulings upheld in all states

extradition

fugitive in one state is returned to original state

privileges and immunities

no state can draw unreasonable distinctions between its residents and people from other states

dual system of government, local problems to be solved at local level, strength through unity

why federalism? (3)

political party

wants to gain control of offices and win elections

historical, tradition, ideological consensus, election laws

reasons for a 2-party system (4)

family beliefs

what is the biggest voting influence?

it narrows down our options

why is the nomination process important?

self-announcement

oldest form of nomination for office

precinct

small geographical area

polling place

location where you vote

office group ballot

organized by office, encourages split ticket voting

party column ballot

organized by political party, encourages straight ticket voting

TV ads

most expensive things in campaigns

campaign contributions

only Americans can give

true

T/F: PACs are limited to what they can give to a candidate

soft

can give unlimited money to ____ money

true

T/F: PACs can raise money for any election, not just president and Congress