AP Gov: Founder's Intent Unit 1

Direct Democracy

People vote on everything themselves

Representative Democracy

elect someone else to vote for you (a representative)

majority rules

over 50% of votes to win an election

plurality rules

have to get more votes than anyone else (used in U.S)

Participatory Democracy

everyone participates, once you turn 18 you can vote and fully participate in the democracy

Pluralist Democracy

large groups of people run gov. & make decisions

Elitist Democracy

small number of people at the top (rich, wealthy, people in charge), run it

Republicanism

the political orientation of those who say that a republic is the best form of government

republic

electing people to make decisions for us

Recall

submitting to popular vote to remove officials before the end of their term

Why was the Declaration of Independence made?

We got sick of being controlled by Great Britain

What was our first form of government?

The Articles of Conferderation

Initiative

people decide their representative aren't good, they get people to say they want an initiative, we wanna vote for this ourselves after next election

referendum

general/local vote of a topic

Info on AOC

set up as a league of friendship, states had the most power, they were afraid national gov would be too strong so AOC with power to the states was made, no executive & judicial branches

Flaws with the AOC

no federal currency, no way to collect taxes or regulate trade between states, no national army, and to amend the constitution everyone state had to agree to it

Shay's Rebellion

farmers rebelled in Massachusetts & it took a lot to over throw them, showing the current gov. had no power

Where was our current constitution made?

at the Constitutional Convention (Philadelphia)

What was the result of the Constitutional Convention

2 plans - the Virginia Plan and the New Jersey PlanThe Virginia Plan

The Virginia Plan

larger state favored this- have a congress that is based on population

The New Jersey Plan

have a congress that is based on equal presentation

The Connecticut (Great) Compromise

-Have a House of Representatives based on population
- Have Senates based on equal representation (2 senators from every state)

3/5ths Compromise

3/5ths of all slaves would be counted for both population and taxing purposes

Electoral Colleges

didn't want the majority to overrule the minority, need 270 electoral votes to win the election (wisconsin has 10)

Swing States

states that can either vote liberal or conservative

Federalists

leaders in favor of the new constitution (Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison)

Pluralism

multiple groups of people who have power rather than 1 person

Anti-Federalists

against the stronger government, rooting for the AOC

Democracy

government run by the people

Constitutional Democracy

government that enforced recognized limits on those who govern and allows voices of all the people to be heard

Natural Rights

rights of all people to dignity and worth (human rights)

Political Culture

widely shared beliefs, values, norms citizens hold about their relationship to the government and to one another

Liberty

(self-determination) all people have opportunities to realize own goals, it's not simply freedom from something, but freedom to do something

Statism

form of government based on centralized authority (doesn't put citizens first) (Ex. China, Cuba, Vietnam)

Political Equality

every person has right to equal protection under the law and equal voting power

American Dream

set of ideas that holds that the U.S. is a land of opportunity

Capitalism

an economic system based on private ownership of property

Popular Sovereignty

idea that ultimate political authority rests with the people

Popular Consent

idea that a government must derive its powers from the consent of the people

Democratic Consensus

a condition for democracy is that the people widely share a set of attitudes & beliefs about government procedures, institutions, core docs

Theocracy

government by religious leaders, who claim divine guidance

Annapolis Convention

convention in September of 1786, to consider problems of trade and navigation, important because it issued the call to congress & states for what become the constitutional convention

Why did the farmers in Shay's Rebellion rebel?

they were crushed by debt and taxes

When did the Revolutionary War end?

September 3 1783

What kind of people attended the Constitutional Convention

important men, planters, bankers, lawyers

Bicameralism

principle of a 2 house legislature

The Federalist (Papers)

essays prompting agreement of the constitution, publish by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, James Madison in 1787-1788

Importation (Slavery) Compromise

saying states that had slavery could keep it and continue to import slaves, was a way to get southern states to agree to the constitution

Faction

a large group of people who want to have things their way

What won the anti-federalists over in the end?

The Bill of Rights

Natural Law\Rights

belief that no one has any more or less rights than anyone else

Social Construct

people agree to give up some of their rights to the government and government agrees to protect them and their rights

Separation of Powers

3 branches; legislature, executive, judicial

What does the legislature branch do

creates laws

What does the executive branch do

enforces laws

What does the judicial branch do

interprets laws

Checks and Balances

between 3 branches, they can check the other branches and some of the power they have

Bicameralism

within the legislature, there is a house of reps. & senate (number of representatives is based on states pop.) (2 senates from each state, 100 in total)

Limitations on Majority Rule

independence between different branches, indirect elections; doesn't matter if 60% of U.S citizens vote for Jon, if Jon doesn't get enough electoral votes, he doesn't win (prevents majority from ruling)

Divided Government

where executive branch, house of reps., and\or senate are controlled by 2 different parties (prevents congress & president from pushing through anything they want)

Marbury v.s Madison

federal judges have the right to overrule laws that Congress passes or executive order the president passes

Should the Constitution Be Read As Original Intent or as a Living Document?

Original Intent: reading the writing as they were written in 1780's
Living Document: interpreting the writing to fit the situation the country is in right now

One Way to Make a Formal Change to the Constitution- Proposing Amendments

proposing amendments: both houses of Congress have to adopt and propose an amendment, where 2/3 of people in both houses agree.Then it would go to the state, & 3/4 of state legislature would have to ratify it

One Way to Make a Formal Change to the Constitution- Ratifying Amendments

2/3 of state legislature can request Congress to call a constitution convention, then ratifying conventions in 3/4 (much more complicated, this way is done less often)

2 main ways Congress can elaborate

necessary and proper clause, commerce clause

Necessary and Proper Clause

(in constitution) saying Congress can do what's necessary and proper to make things better for the country, allows congress a lot of freedom to elaborate & "even though it doesn't say we can do this, we still can cause of the clause"

Commerce Clause

anytime there is trade between states, commerce oversees that trade & can use that to expand power of the federal government

Impeachment

if you don't like what the president is doing, house of reps. can impeach him (put on trial, if 2/3 of senators say boot him, he will be booted out)

Executive Order

president can pass this when Congress isn't doing what he wants (sorta a law but a future president can overturn this "law")

Executive Privelege

says we got secrets & this is for the good of the country, you don't need to know this, I'm going to use executive privilege to keep other people from knowing

Executive Agreements

officially if we have an agreement with another country, Congress has to pass that agreement, if they don't, the president can have an executive agree w/ another country (future president can overturn it)

Impoundment

Congress has passed a law saying we should spend money on this & president doesn't want to so he holds onto the money (now illegal)

What are the 4 Presidental Actions

Executive Order, Privilege, Agreements, and Impoundment

2 Informal Changes to the Constitution

Congressional Elaboration & Presidential Actions

Natural Law

law that defines right from wrong, regarded as higher than human law

What is the Constitution a symbol of in America?

liberty and equality before the law (like the Crown is to Great Britain, the Constitution became a symbol of national unity & loyalty)

Separation of Powers

constitution division of powers among the legislature, executive, and judicial branches

How was Madison going to avoid concentration of power?

by giving each branch the constitution power to check each other (Checks and Balances)

What was the first step against potential tyranny of the majority?

the separation of powers that distrubted authority into 3 branches

Checks and Balances

a constitution grant of powers that enables each of the 3 branches of gov. to check some acts of the other branches and therefore ensure that no branch is too powerful

Autocracy

type of government in which one person with unlimited power rules

Partisanship

strong alliance to one's own political party, often leading to unwillingness to compromise with members of opposing party

Divided Government

governance divided between the parties, especially when one holds the presidency & the other controls one or both houses of Congress

Unified Government

governance in which one party controls both the White House and both houses of Congress

Judicial Review

the power of a court to review laws or governmental regulations to determine whether they are consistent with the U.S. Constitution, or in a state court, the state constitution

Did the Federalists favor Judicial Review

Yes they did

Writ of Mandamus

a court order directing an official to perform an official duty

Congressional Elaboration

congressional legislation that gives further meaning to the Constitution based on sometimes vague Constitutional authority, such as the necessary & proper clause

Impeachment

a formal accusation against the president or another public official; the first step in removal from office.

Executive Privilege

the power to keep executive communications confidential, especially if they relate to nation security

Originalist Approach

Constitution should be understood according to the Framer's intent

Adaptive Approach

method used to interpret the Constitution that understands the document to be flexible & responsive to the changing needs of the times

What does ERA stand for?

Equality Rights Amendments

Federalism

system of gov in which powers are divided and shared by a central gov and it's sub-division govs, federal gov has some powers and we have to listen to their powers, state gov has separate powers from federal or local gov

Unitary Government

national gov tells every level below it what to do and how to do it (Great Britain)

Confederation

states themselves have majority of power and can work together on a national level

Dual (layer-cake) Federalism

there are powers only the federal gov can do and states can't do anything about it and vice versa. (Ex. only fed can make money) (Ex. only states can run their schools, not federal)

Cooperative (marble cake) Federalism

mixed together powers (ex. law enforcement, taxing- you pay federal, state, & local gov and follow all their rules)

Coercive Federalism

federal gov tries to get state & local govs to do something, can't make them but will try to encourage them to

Restrictive Federalism

federal gov tells states you can't do something here