AP gov final foundational documents

Declaration of Independence: Unit 1

formal announcement of american colonies severing ties with Great Britain. Asserting inherent rights to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Laws of Nature refers to natural rights, which includes life, liberty, and property. The idea of social contract and the idea of popular sovereignty.

Federalist 10: Unit 1 (large republic to control factions- federalists)

-All about factions

-Written by James Madison

-A main idea: A large republic is the best way to control the negative effects of factions

-In support of the constitution

-federalists

big picture: A large republic is the best way to control the negative effects of factions and prevent majorities from oppressing minorities

Brutus 1: Unit 1 (small republics are better- anti-federalist, states rights, necessary and proper clause)

-Brutus NO. 1 is the preeminent anti-federalist paper written to oppose ratification of the constitution it argues for states’ rights and against a stronger central government

-necessary and proper clause will greatly expand congress’s lawmaking powers

-The few powers reserved to the states will soon be taken by the federal government

-The only successful Republics in history have been small

-Democracy can only succeed in a small area, like a city

Conclusion: having 13 small republics is better than having a single large republic

Articles of Confederation: Unit 1 (gov- protects freedoms, protection against tyranny)

-Purpose and Goal: Build a government that protects freedoms and would not allow a new tyranny to arise

-This agreement leaves state sovereignty in place

-Legislation passed with 2/3rd s in Congress; one vote per state

-Amendments need 100% support in Congress and 100% support from state legislatures

-Money cannot be forcibly collected from states

-Standing armies cannot be raised without support from state

-Strong concern about a tyrannical central government

-Cultures, economies, and politics of individual states limited impacted by national body

Constitution: Unit 1 (all the articles)

-Article 1. The Legislative Branch: form and powers of Congress,

Bicameral Legislature (Articles of Confederation have 1 house)

Senate- each state is represented equally (two senators per state)

House- Representatives are apportioned by population

Article 2. The Executive Branch: provisions for the executive -

Electoral college- President- enforces laws, Vice President

The President is the commander chief of the military, but he cannot declare war

The President does have the power to sign off or veto laws or bills

-Article 3. The Judicial Branch: The establishment of the supreme court and congress is given the power to establish additional courts

Judiciary act of 1789

Supreme court- 2 types of Jurisdiction

Original Jurisdiction- where the supreme court is hearing the case for the first time

Appellate Jurisdiction- Where a case is being heard for a 2nd or 3rd time, most of the cases that the supreme court hears is an example of Appellate Jurisdiction

Big Job- interpret the laws

-Article 4. The State Relations:deals with the federal government's relationships to the states and the relationships of the states themselves

-Article 5. Amendment process: Process for amending the Constitution

Two parts

Proposal: two ways

two thirds of both houses of congress can propose (most common)

two thirds of state legislatures can propose

Ratification: one way

Three fourths of the states have to agree in order to ratify

-Article 6. National Supremacy:

Supremacy Clause- any law that comes into conflict between federal and state, federal will win ( federal law is supreme and federal law win compared to state law

-Article 7. Ratification Process

Federalist 51: Unit 1 (separation of powers, checks and balances, federalism, limited gov)

-Main Idea: Separation of Powers and Checks and Balances

-Main Idea (from Madison): we need a government because people aren't perfect

-Main Idea: the government must be strong enough to protect peoples rights, but not strong enough to take away their rights.

-Main Idea: Congress is the strongest branch so its power is divided into two houses

It will be slower, tougher to pass legislation

-Main Idea: an absolute veto would give the president too much power, so presidents can veto, but congress can override it

-Main Idea: Having multiple access points of political power will protect minority rights

-Main Idea: The purpose of government is to establish justice

-Big takeaway: separation of powers, checks and balances, and federalism help maintain a limited government and Madison is promoting all of these things.

Federalist 70: Unit 2 (unitary, single president, quick executive, slow legislators)

-In favor of a unitary (or single) executive

-As single president is better and more effective, and the people will be more free

-A good government needs an active and decisive executive

-If the president is too weak, the government will be ineffective

-We need a single president with sufficient powers and term length, subject to the people

-Giving the executive power to a single person leads to better outcomes than a plural executive

-Advantages:

-A unitary executive is more effective than dividing executive power among a group

-It's good for legislators to move slowly when making legislation

-The executive needs to be able to act quickly. Especially in times of war/crisis.

-When there is a single president, it's easier to assign blame and hold him/her accountable.

-A unitary executive is more restrained by public opinion and more accountable to the people.

main idea: energetic, single executive (a unitary presidency) is essential for good government, ensuring decisiveness, accountability, and effective law enforcement

Federalist 78: Unit 2 (judiciary life tenure, judicial review)

main idea: Life tenure for judges is needed to maintain an independent judiciary that has the power of judicial review

main idea: Federal judges serve for life, subject to good behavior (no term limits or elections)

-Judiciary: the least dangerous branch:

-lacks budget or war powers

-Merely makes judgments, and has to rely on others to enforce their decisions

-The judiciary is the weakest branch and cannot threaten liberty

-The judiciary must be independent of the other branches; life tenure provides that independence

-The judiciary must strike down laws that conflict with the constitution

-The judiciary must have the power of judicial review

-The judiciary guards the constitution against congressional overreach

Life tenure for judges is needed to maintain an independent judiciary that has the power of judicial review