(NOT COMPLETED) American Federal Government Chapters 1-3

government

how society organizes itself in allocate authority in order to help the collective needs (security, education, healthcare, infrastructure)

politics

The process of gaining an exercising control with an a government to achieve specific goals

Democracy

A system of government where people hold power and vote

Direct democracy

Citizens vote directly on passing laws and making decisions (ancient Athens, Greece)

Representative democracy

Citizens elect representatives to pass laws and make decisions (US government system, Germany)

Oligarchy

A system of government where an elite group of people or political party holds all the power (not elected, China)

Monarchy

A system of government were one person holds power (hereditary, Saudi Arabia)

Dictatorship

A system of government where one person holds power (not elected, Cuba)

Totalitarianism

When government holds priority over people, and political opposition is not allowed (North Korea)

Capitalism

An economic system based on private ownership and a free market (US economic system)

Socialism

An economic system where the government holds control over goods and services, which is then distributed to the people (opposite to capitalism)

Private goods

Goods and services only available to pay customers purchase from a private entity, that directly profits from it (food, clothing)

Public goods

Goods and services available to everyone for free provided by the government (education, national security)

Toll goods

Goods and services available to everyone for a fee (private school, toll roads, cable)

Common goods

Goods and services available for free, but with regulation due to limited supply (water, fish)

Excludable goods

Goods and services only available to those who pay for them (private, toll)

Non-excludable goods

Goods and services available to everyone without charge (public, common)

Rivalrous goods

Good and services that can only be used by one person at a time (private, common)

Non-rivalrous goods

Goods and services that can be used by many people at the same time (public, toll)

Local funds

Education, police and fire departments, and public parks

State funds

State colleges and universities, state roads and bridges, and wildlife management

Federal funds

Defense, Social Security, veteran, pensions, federal court and prison maintenance, and national parks

Individualism

Valuing personal freedom over governmental control

Egalitarianism

Equal treatment for all in destruction of socioeconomic inequalities

Individual liberty

Private freedom over collective needs/national security

Civic engagement

Participation and understanding of government, and getting active within your community, essential for a representative democracy to truly represent the interests of voters

Majority rule

Following what the majority wants/votes for (upheld in the US)

Minority rights

Protections towards groups/beliefs in the minority, despite majority rule (upheld in the US)

Elite theory (elitism)

Theory that an elite group of people hold power in the government and act in the interest of their group. (supported by the evidence that majority of people in office have college education, came from backgrounds of wealth, and are often white men)

Pluralist theory (pluralism)

The theory that government is mainly influenced by competing interest groups and that elected representatives act in the interest of these groups (supported by the impact of civic engagement and the organizations that run certain interest groups)

Tradeoffs

The theory that elected officials make trade-offs to appease different groups. (in some cases, representatives vote to help one group, but against another and in other cases, do the reverse)

Examples of civic engagement

Voting, protesting, petitioning, reading reputable news, volunteering in your community, donating to a cause, participating in a campaign

Youth

the demographic less likely to participate in civic engagement because they believe it doesn’t matter, is boring, doesn’t affect them, or doesn’t make a difference

Wealthy more educated

The demographic more likely to participate in civic engagement due to opportunity and awareness

Social capital

Connections within a community/with other people and willingness to interact and/or help them

Ideology

The distinct beliefs of a group (often political)

Partisanship

The polarity of political beliefs across the dominating two parties and/or the alignment with a political party and their beliefs

Latent preferences

Beliefs not held deeply and that can quickly change to align with a certain group and/or political party

Intense preferences

Deeply health beliefs of an individual that do not change and may differ from groups and/or the political party they are aligned with

Articles 1-3

Define the branches of our government

Legislative

Make laws (Senate and House of Representatives)

Executive

Enforces laws (president, vice president, cabinet, and departments)

Judicial

Interpret laws (Supreme Court)

Reserved powers

Powers reserve to be held by the states (maintains balance between state and federal government)

Powers of federal government

Tax foreign and interstate commerce, participate in foreign relations/affairs, amend the constitution, and coin money

Powers of State Governments

Interstate commerce, school, local government, licenses and permits, public health and safety (sometimes federal involvement), state militia (National Guard), and ratification

Concurrent Powers

Taxes, borrow money, courts, make laws, roads/transport, and charter banks/corporations

John Locke

English philosopher, whose political ideas helped form our government

Natural rights

“God-given” Rights everyone has in that a government could not take away (life, liberty, and property)

Property rights

The rights to take from the Commons (free public resources) and use as much as you need as long as it doesn’t prevent others from using those resources

Social contract

The contract between people and a government where people sacrifice freedoms in exchange for the protection of the government, and if the government oversteps its power or fails to protect, they are not bound by those rules

Magna Carta and English Bill of Rights

Documents that influenced the creation of American government

Self government

A long running tradition in the colonies that was taken away by England and inspired American government

Pre-Revolutionary Period

(Before the seven years war) the colonies living virtually independent of Britain with self government structures, low taxes, and no want or reason to be a separate nation

American Revolutionary Period

1763-1791

American Revolutionary War

1775–1783

Proclamation of 1763

After the seven years war, England prohibited expansion past the Appalachian mountain

Stamp Act

(1765) a tax on all paper goods (repealed)

Townshend Acts

(1767) taxes on everyday objects (tea, paint, glass)

Boston Massacre

On March 5, 1770, British troops open fired on a group of colonists killing three people

Boston Tea Party

(December 1773) A protest from the colonists where they dumped tea from a cargo ship into the Boston Harbor

Coercive Acts

(1774) Punishments following the Boston tea party, essentially ceased all self-government in the colonies

First Continental Congress

(1774) Delegates from all colonies (excluding Georgia) came together to discuss their grievances with England

Second Continental Congress

(May 1775) The delegates reconvened to discuss declaring independence from Britain and drafted the declaration of independence (signed July 2, 1776)

Articles of Confederation

First version of US government, accepted by Congress in 1777, fully ratified by states in 1781

Republic

A government where elected representatives rule

Confederation

A group of independent states that come together for national issues such as defense

Powers of Articles of Confederation

(Week central government) conduct foreign relations/business, declare war, coin and borrow money, and settle interstate disputes

Central Power in Articles of Confederation

States could send as many delegates as they wanted, but each state only had one vote, nine votes were needed for the central government to act in a unanimous 13 to change the Articles of Confederation

Failures of Articles of Confederation

Inability to tax, no national military, lack of use of national currency, and inability to regulate trade and tariffs

Harms of no taxing under Articles of Confederation

The federal government could only borrow money from states and we’re unable to pay debts from the revolution, harming their ability to conduct foreign

Harm of no national military under Articles of Confederation

The government could not protected citizens because it had to rely on state militias

Currency Issues under Articles of Confederation

People did not want to use the national currency (the Continental) and were hesitant towards state currencies, wanting to use gold or silver, harming trade

Tariff issues under Articles of Confederation

Without the ability to impose tariffs, the local American economy struggled due to cheap foreign goods

Shay’s Rebellion

An uprising of Massachusetts farmers, that the government was barely able to keep under control due to lack of aid from a national military; breaking point for the national government to convene and change their structure (Constitutional Convention)

Constitutional Convention

The meeting of delegates in Philadelphia in May 1787 to discuss changing and restructuring the government to fix the issues with the Articles of Confederation which led to the creation of the US Constitution

Representation debate

A key debate at the constitutional convention over how the states would be represented in the government

Virginia Plan

A bicameral legislature (two houses, one upper, one lower) with representation based on population, lower house elected by popular vote, upper house voted by state legislators

New Jersey Plan

A unicameral legislature (one house) with equal representation (each state having one vote)

The Great Compromise (Connecticut Plan)

Suggested by Roger Sherman of Connecticut, Congress would consist of a bicameral legislature with one house (House of Representatives) having population based representation voted on by the people (Virginia Plan) and the other house (Senate) having equal representation (two senators per state) voted on by state legislators (New Jersey Plan, later would be changed to be voted on by the people)

Slavery debates at the Constitutional Convention

How slavery would affect population for representation in Congress and taxation, Abolition, and Slave trade

Three Fifths Compromise

3/5 of slave populations would count towards a state’s population

Slave trade compromise

Congress could tax foreign imports in exchange for not prohibiting the importation of slaves for the next 20 years

Fugitive slave clause

Any slaves entering other states seeking freedom had to be returned to slave owners

Strength of national government debate

Some argued for a strong central government while others wanted to keep state sovereignty

Separation of Powers

Dividing the government into three branches to ensure no person/group holds too much power

Checks and Balances

Systems of accountability across branches of government to ensure no one branch is overstepping their limits of power

Examples of checks and balances

Judicial review, presidential veto, Congress overriding veto

Federal System

A system of government where power is divided among national and subnational/state levels

Enumerated Powers

Powers explicitly stated for the national government

Reserved Powers

Powers that aren’t stated for the national government and are reserved for the states

Supremacy Clause

A class stating that the constitution is the supreme law of the land and that federal laws override any conflicting state laws

How the Constitution was ratified

9/13 states had to approve it, states hosted conventions were elected delegates decided on whether to approve it whilst representing the interests of the people.

Federal court issue

Delegates feared federal courts would be too far removed from the states to make fair decisions, so in response federal courts were created in each of the states

Protection of individual liberties

Delegates were worried about the lack of protection over individual liberties. To ease this concern, a Bill of Rights was promised to be added.

Federalists

Those and support of the constitution and a stronger central government with the federalist system. Typically part of the political elite (businessman, educated land owners, former military commanders). More popular in the north and with small states.

Anti-Federalists

Those against the constitution and preferred a weaker central government for state sovereignty. While some members were part of the elite, they favored those who were not (small landowners/farmers, working class). More popular in the south end with large states.

How states were convinced to ratify

The necessity of a strong union for the country’s survival, promise of a bill of rights, the Federalist Papers, and Rhode Island being the only one to not

Proposing Amendments

Proposed by Congress and approved with a 2/3 majority vote. States petition Congress to propose and 2/3 majority vote.

Ratifying amendments

3/4 vote from either state legislators or state ratifying conventions