AP Government Unit 1

Test 9/14

Government

The institutions and people with the authority to make, enforce, and manage disputes about laws.

Common Good

Ensuring the well-being of all people, not just individuals.

Government’s 3 functions

1) They make laws

2) They enforce those laws

3) They judge what the law requires in specific situations

Politics (Modern definition)

The ongoing debate about the common good.

Governing

Making, enforcing, and interpreting laws.

Sovereign

The person, or group, who has the highest authority or power in a country or state.

Sovereignty

The authority or power to govern.

Popular Sovereignty

The American people have the highest and final authority in our government system.

Constitution

A set of historical practices, traditions, informal agreements, and laws that its members agree are binding.

Limited Government

Government limited by the provisions of the Constitution.

Unlimited Government

Free to use their power as they choose,

Rights

Powers or privileges that belong to an individual or group.

Duties

Exist alongside rights.

Right, Duty

To be a ___, there must be a corresponding ___ for others to respect that.

Classical Republicanism

Philosophy which includes a focus on the common good, civic virtue, and active participation in public life.

Natural Rights Philosophy

Focus on individual rights, personal freedom, and government by consent.

Small Communities

Classical Republicanism Theory - People are happiest living with like minded individuals. Differences cause unhealthy conflict.

Focus on the Common Good.

Classical Republicanism Theory - Members are selfless,

Civic Virtue

Classical Republicanism Theory - Everyone has a duty to act in ways that advance the community’s interests, even if it harms themselves.

Wise Leaders

Classical Republicanism Theory - Good leaders rule on behalf of the ruled.

Participation + Education

Classical Republicanism Theory - A strong community depends on people who are educated in civic virtue and trained in reasoning about public matters.

Age of Enlightenment

The flourishing scientific and intellectual movement in Europe in the 17th century. Focused on observation and a particular way of reasoning.

State of Nature

Thomas Hobbs imagined humans once lived in this sate where there was no recognized authority to make and enforce rules or to manage conflicts. (State of War)

Social Contract Theory

The foundation, an agreement to leave the state of nature

John Locke’s Philosophy

1) Natural rights

2) Human equality

3) Consent of the governed

4) Right of revolution

Representative Government

A system of government in which citizens elect officials to make and administer laws for their country.

Common Law

Judge-made laws.

Natural Law Theory

Based on the idea that God wants us to want things.

Natural Laws

Predictable, goal-driven, systems whereby life is sustained, and everything fuctions smoothly.

The Basic Goods

1) Life

2) Reproduction

3) Educate one’s offspring

4) Seek God

5) Live in society

6) Avoid offense

7) Shun ignorance

If God created us to seek God, then why do people violate Natural Law all the time?

Aquinas’ Answer: Sometimes, we seek what we think is good, but we’re wrong, because we are just ignorant. Even though we are rational, we’re also emotional creatures. We see what we /should/ do, but emotion overpowers our reason, and we fail to do the things we know we should.

Eudaimonia

Latin for “Human flourishing”

Telos

Latin for “Purpose”

What plays a HUGE role?

Religion! 98% of the colonies a reformed Protestant Christians.

Politics (Greek defintion)

Anything that happens to/in the community.

American Political Philosophy

• Mix of powers

• Equality of citizens

• Rule of law

• Prioritize the common good

Government, People

“When ___ starts to go bad, it’s due to the ___.” - Marcus Cicero

Parliament

French for “a talking thing.”

Fabien’s 1st Law of Government

Stuff costs $, everything that the government does is “stuff.”

• Ex) schools, police, roads, etc.

Corollary

A change to government.

Fabien’s 2nd Law of Government

The only way the government gets stuff = taxes.

Migrates, Same

Anyone who ___ to the colonies has the ___ rights + privileges they’re accustomed to as if they were in England.

Colony

A territory under the full or partial control of another country.

Charters

The King issued ___, or documents, creating each of the colonies.

Royal/Crown Charter

Given to a governor appointed by the Crown to operate the colony on behalf of the Crown.

Proprietary Charter

Given to individuals who had a personal relationship with the Crown. Could govern their colonies largely as they wished but had to follow English law.

Corporate/Joint-Stock Charter

Given to a company that had been formed in England with the goal of making $ in North America and sharing its profits with the Crown.

Charter

Served as the colony’s constitution.

Pilgrims, Mayflower Compact

In 1620, a group of colonists, ___, sought the freedom to form a new religious community. Their charter being the ___ ___.

Divine Right of Kings

Monarchs ruled under this theory that their power came from God.

British monarchs came to recognize these 3 basic rights:

1) The right to trial by jury of one’s peers

2) Security in one’s home from unlawful entry

3) Limits on governments power to tax

Magna Carta

Signed by King John in 1215 to further define the relationships between the Crown and the 3 classes of population: Barons, Clergy, and Merchants.

Petition of Right

Adopted by Parliament in 1628, limited the Kings power + reaffirmed the liberties of the Magna Carta.

The Petition of Rights prohibited the King from…

• taxing subjects w/o Parliament consent

• imprisoning subjects w/o legal reason

• imposing martial law (military rule) illegally

• forcing soldiers to be quartered in the homes of subjects

Writ of Habeas Corpus

Formal written order issued by a court commanding a government official to bring a person who has been taken into custody to court to explain why.

Parliamentary Supremacy

In 1688 when Parliament became the most powerful form of English government → The Glorious Revolution

Bill of Rights

• Freedom of speech in Parliament

• Free elections + frequent parliaments

• Right to petition the monarch for a redress of grievances

• Freedom to bear arms

• Prohibition against excessive bail + fines

• Prohibition of cruel + unusual punishments

British, Indentured Servants

As many as ½ to 2/3 of the ___ colonists came to North America as ___.

Proclamation of 1763

Prohibited colonists from creating settlements west of the Appalachian Mt. + ordered colonists who already had done so to return East.

Daughters of Liberty

A political + social group of colonial American women who played a crucial role in supporting the resistance against British rule during the years leading up to the American Revolution.

Boston Massacre 1770

• British soldiers fired shots into a crowd in Boston

• When Britain decided to maintain standing armies in the colonies to prevent western migration + to facilitate tax collection.

• Some argued it was self defense, others argued it was a deliberate but unauthorized show of British force.

Tea Act 1773

Gave the British East India Tea Company huge tax breaks. Made it possible for the company to sell tea in the colonies at lower prices than colonial merchants.

Intolerable Acts

A retaliation by Parliament that included closing the Boston Harbor to all trade + restricting colonists from assembling.

First Continental Congress

Organized by Samuel Adams, originally known as the Committees of Correspondence. Helped shape public opinion against the British.

Natural Rights

Declaration of Independence Main Ideas - The rights of the people are “self-evident” + don’t depend on any laws created by humans. They come from the “laws of nature” and “nature’s god”

Human equality

Declaration of Independence Main Ideas - Neither god nor nature appointed some at birth to rule over others. Legitimate government must be based on a agreement, or a compact, among equal civic members.

Consent of the Governed

Declaration of Independence Main Ideas - Governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed. People consent to government to protect their rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Right of Revolution

Declaration of Independence Main Ideas - The people have the right to “alter or abolish” any forms of government that threatens their safety + happiness. Justified by abuses of power.

Declaration of Independence Virtues

• Decency + Respect

• Truth + Reason

• Justice

• Prudence

• Duty

• Patience

• Humility

• Honor

27 Grievances (In 3 Categories)

1) Direct actions the King had taken against them (colonists)

2) Actions the King had taken in combination w/ Parliament

ex) cutting off colonial trade with rest of the world

3) Actions the King had taken showing he’d given up his legal duty to protect them. (Abdicated government)

Bicameral

Legislature has two houses.

Unicameral

Legislature has only one house.

Elector

A person who’s authorized to vote for a public official.

Virginia Declaration of Rights

• June 12, 1776

• All men by nature equally free + independent

• All power is derived from + kept by the people

• Government is instituted for the common benefit, if not, then the people have the right to abolish it

• All men are equally entitled to the free exercise of religion

• Freedom of the press

• Rights of criminal defendants

Other States Rights

• Right to vote for those entitled to franchise

• Free + frequent elections

• Freedom of speech + the press

• Right to petition government to redress grievances

• No taxation w/o representation

Fundamental Principles of American Government

• Popular sovereignty

• Natural rights

• Representative government

• Separation of powers

• Checks + balances

• Rule of law

• Civic virtue

Common themes of Indigenous governance

1) Decentralized + Confederated System

2) Consensus-based decision making