Unit 1: Foundations of American Democracy

What is government?

the system, organization, or group of people that officially manages, regulates, and controls a country, city, or community

What is policy making system?

the combined network of institutions, stakeholders, and sequential processes through which governments and organizations formulate, adopt, implement, and evaluate public policies

What is public policy?

the system of laws, regulatory measures, funding priorities, and courses of action that a government establishes to address public issues and solve societal problems

What are linkage institutions?

a structure or organization in society that connects citizens to their government and policymakers (ex: elections, political parties, interest groups, and the media)

What is federalism?

the principle that political authority should be divided across local, state, and national governments; each state and local government can enact their own laws as long as the law does not violate federal laws

What is a Republic?

is a form of government where political power belongs to the public and is exercised through elected representatives, meaning the state is not ruled by a king or monarch

What is direct democracy?

is a system of government where citizens vote directly on laws and policies instead of electing representatives to make choices for them

What is a participatory model of democracy?

citizens rule themselves rather than electing representatives, emphasizes broad participation (Democracy)

What is a pluralist model of democracy?

government by the people operates through competing interest groups, group based activism (Republic)

What is a elite model of democracy?

a small group of people actually makes most of the important government decisions, with limited participation in politics and civil society (Oligarchy)

What is factions?

a small, organized group within a larger organization or country that holds different opinions, aims, or interests from the main body.

What is unicameral?

is a government with only one legislative house or chamber

What is popular sovereignty?

is the political principle that the authority of a state and its government is created and sustained by the consent of its people

What is bicameral?

having, consisting of, or based on two legislative chambers or houses

What is federalists?

is a person who supports a system of government where power is divided between a central national authority and individual states (ex: Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay)

What is Anti-federalists?

were a late-18th-century political coalition that opposed the creation of a stronger U.S. federal government and fought against the ratification of the 1787

What is ratification?

is the official, formal approval or confirmation of a legal document, treaty, contract, or constitutional amendment that makes it fully binding

What are mandates?

an official order, a clear command, or the authority to act given by a group of people

What are enumerated/exclusive powers?

powers given only to the federal government in the Constitution

(ex: regulate commerce, declare war, coin money)

What is implied powers?

“necessary and proper”; powers exercised by a government that are not explicitly written in the U.S. Constitution, but are reasonably assumed and necessary to carry out the government's expressed powers (Article 1, section 8)

What are reserved powers?

political powers that are not given to the federal government by the Constitution, nor denied to the states, and are therefore kept by the states or the people (10th Amendment) [ex: death penalty/capital punishment]

What is concurrent powers?

when federal and state governments control at the same time (ex: traffic laws, and taxes)

What is dual federalism?

programs and authority are clearly divided among the national, state, and local government (ex: “layered cake")

What is cooperative federalism?

programs and authority are mixed among the national, state and local governments (ex: “marble cake”)

What is a commerce clause?

a provision in the U.S. Constitution (Article I, Section 8, Clause 3) that gives Congress the power to regulate trade with foreign nations, among the states, and with Indian tribes

What is an elastic clause?

is a part of the U.S. Constitution that gives Congress the power to pass any laws needed to carry out its specific, assigned duties; named the Necessary and Proper Clause and is found in Article I, Section 8, Clause 18 of the Constitution.

What is a supremacy clause?

is a constitutional provision in Article VI, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution that establishes the U.S. Constitution, federal laws, and treaties as the "supreme Law of the Land"

What is separation of powers?

• Legislative Branch (Congress): Makes and enacts the laws.

• Executive Branch (The President): Enforces and administers the laws.

• Judicial Branch (The Courts): Interprets the laws and the Constitution.

What are checks and balances?

a system that allows each branch of government to limit the power of the other branches so no single group takes total control

Declaration of Independence: What are natural rights?

life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness

(According to John Locke, the purpose of the government is to protect their citizens’ rights)

Declaration of Independence: What is consent of the governed?

“revolt when injustices become deeply felt”

• natural law justified a challenge to a tyrannical king

Declaration of Independence: What is limited government?

• there must be clear restrictions on what rulers can do

• sole purpose of government is to protect natural rights

Declaration of Independence: When was it written and who wrote it?

It was written on July 4, 1776 by Thomas Jefferson

Declaration of Independence: What are the grievances mentioned in this document?

• Attacks on Self-Government: Refusing to approve necessary laws, dissolving colonial legislatures, and controlling local judges.

• Military Control: Keeping standing armies in times of peace without consent, placing the military above civilian law, and quartering soldiers in private homes.

• Unfair Taxation and Trade: Imposing taxes and cutting off trade without colonial representation or consent.

• Denial of Justice: Obstructing the legal system and denying colonists the right to a trial by jury.

• Waging War: Hiring foreign mercenaries, inciting native hostilities, and destroying colonial towns.

Articles of Confederation: When was it written and who wrote it?

was written between June 1776 and November 1777, and then officially adopted by the Continental Congress on November 15, 1777; it was written by John Dickinson

Articles of Confederation: What is the purpose of this document?

to establish a unified national governing framework and a "firm league of friendship" among the 13 newly independent American states during and after the Revolutionary War

Articles of Confederation: What are state government powers mentioned in this document?

• taxation

• create a state court system

• enforce laws passed by

Congress

• all powers not delegated to

the national government

Articles of Confederation: What are the national government powers stated in this document?

• limited powers

• declare war and wage war

• make treaties

• settle disputes between

states

• petition, or request, money

from the states (but no

power to collect)

• direct the operations of land

and naval forces

Articles of Confederation: What are some of the weaknesses of this document?

• national government cannot impose or collect taxes

• no national currency

• no national court system

• no executive branch

• no power to regulate trade among the states

• one vote per state regardless of population

• two-thirds majority (nine of thirteen states) needed to

pass laws

• unnanimous consent (thirteen states) needed to amend

the Articles of Confederation

Federalist 10: When was it written and who wrote it?

was first published on November 22, 1787, in the New York Daily Advertiser; written by James Madison

Federalist 10: What is the purpose of this document?

was an attempt to answer “How will the new Constitution protect the liberty of citizens against the tyranny of the majority?”

Federalist 10: What is this document about?

argues a large, representative republic is the best way to guard against the dangers of political factions (FOR THE CONSTITUTION)

Brutus 1: When was it written and who wrote it?

was published on October 18, 1787 in the New-York Journal and Weekly Register; Written under the pseudonym "Brutus", historians generally attribute it to Robert Yates or Melancton Smith.

Brutus 1: What is the purpose of this document?

was to argue in an Anti-Constitutional way against the federalist arguments

Brutus 1: What is this document about?

their core arguments are The Threat of Consolidated Power,Dangerous Constitutional Clauses: Necessary and Proper Clause (Article I, Section 8) and the Supremacy Clause,Unlimited Taxation and Armies,Size of the Republic, and Loss of Local Control

Federalist 39: When was it written and who wrote it?

was published on January 16, 1788 in in the New York newspaper The Independent Journal; written by James Madison

Federalist 39: What is the purpose of this document?

to explain and defend the U.S. Constitution by proving that the proposed government was truly republican and balanced state sovereignty with a national framework

Federalist 39: What is the document about?

• True Republic: The government is republican because its power comes from the people, and leaders serve for limited terms.

• The Hybrid System: The government is neither a total union of people (national) nor a strict league of states (federal).

• The Balance: It balances both systems—states hold power through the Senate and ratification, while the people hold power directly through the House of Representatives.

What is revenue sharing (Fiscal Federalism)?

has become a central power of the federal government; allows the government to distribute tax dollars to the states; states can decide to accept it or not

What is policy defined?

a deliberate course of action, guiding principle, or set of rules created by authorities to address a specific societal problem

What is a categorical grant?

money issued by the government to state and local government that can only be used for specific purposes (Medicaid, WIC)

What is a block grant?

large amount of money given by the government to state and local governments for broadly defined purposes

What is a incentive program?

a system that uses rewards to motivate people to achieve specific behaviors

What is an aid program?

government initiative that provides financial or serviced based support to people in need (SNAP)

What is mandates?

on official order given to a leader, agency, or lower level of government

What is a unfunded mandate?

a official order imposed by a higher level of government but provides no financial support to cover costs

United States v. Lopez: What is this case about?

In March 1992, Alfonso Lopez Jr., a 12th-grade student, carried a concealed .38-caliber handgun and five bullets into Edison High School in San Antonio, Texas. School officials discovered the weapon after receiving an anonymous tip. Lopez was initially arrested and charged under Texas state law, which prohibited firearms on school grounds. The next day, federal prosecutors dropped the state charges and instead charged Lopez with violating the Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990, a federal law making it a crime to knowingly possess a firearm in a school zone. Lopez’s lawyers argued that the federal law was unconstitutional because Congress did not have the authority under the Commerce Clause to regulate local school safety. He was convicted in federal court, setting off the legal battle that went all the way to the Supreme Court.

United States v. Lopez: What is the constitutional question/issue in the case?

Was the federal government overstepping/overreach the powers given to them or did they ban guns in schools via the commerce clause?

United States v. Lopez: What is the majority holding/decision of SCOTUS and its reasoning?

5-4 Decision; SCOTUS rejected the claims by the federal government saying the Gun Free Zone Act as not related to commerce

McCulloch v. Maryland: What is the case about?

Congress created the Second Bank of the United States in 1816 to manage the country's money.The state of Maryland wanted to tax the bank's Baltimore branch. James W. McCulloch, the head cashier of the bank, refused to pay the tax. Maryland sued McCulloch, and state courts ruled that Congress had no right to create a national bank in the first place.

McCulloch v. Maryland: What is the constitution question/ issue in the case?

Was the creation of a national bank an unconstitutional use of Congress power?

McCulloch v. Maryland: What is the decision of SCOTUS?

unanimous for McCulloch; Congress has the power under the necessary and proper clause to create national banks related to regulating commerce, taxes, and borrow money.