US Government and Economy

every government has 3 powers/functions

legislative - ability to make laws

executive - ability to enforce laws

judicial - ability to interpret and determine the meaning of laws

according to the divine right of kings

Gov get its power from God.

Citizens cannot oppose the gov because they would be opposing God.

the social contract is the idea that

society exists as an agreement between its gov and its citizens, where the gov provides protection and the citizens agree to respect the gov's authority.

according to Thomas Hobbes

people are inherently evil, selfish, and free to do whatever evil they want.

people created and gave power to gov to protect themselves from each other (social contract).

when people gave up power to the gov, they gave up that power forever.

according to John Locke

people inherently have rights from God just by being human (natural rights).

people created gov to protect those rights (social contract).

if gov abuses those rights, the people have the responsibility to make a new gov.

the preamble to the constitution states that

the US gov gets its power from "we the people of the United States," meaning its citizens. (this is an example of popular sovereignty)

the preamble states 6 purposes for the US government

"Form a more perfect union," meaning to create unity

"Establish justice," meaning to create an equal system for all citizens

"Ensure domestic tranquility," meaning to provide peace and stability

"Provide for the common defense," meaning to protect its citizens

"Promote the general welfare," meaning to provide essential services

'Secure the blessings of liberty", meaning to protect the rights and freedoms of all citizens

democracy is a form of government where citizens have some form of voice within the political process. the gov gets powers from the people. there are 2 common forms of democracy:

direct democracy - citizens vote directly on the issues

republic/representative democracy - the citizens elect officials who then decide the issues

in authoritarian or totalitarian govs, most citizens have little or no voice in the gov. Forms of totalitarianism include:

monarchy - a king holds all power and transfers power to their children

theocracy - a religion holds all the power

oligarchy - the rich hold most power

dictatorship - one person/group holds all power and controls the minority through force

fascism - a dictatorship built upon views of national and ethnic superiority and militarism

equality is the idea that

all people possess the same inherent worth and should receive similar and fair treatment. Americans should not be arbitrarily discriminated against based on race, gender, religion, etc.

majority rule and minority rights must

live in a balance where the nation usually follows the decisions reached by the majority (basis of democracy) while protecting the rights and opinions of the minority

popular sovereignty is the idea that

people are the source of gov authority. Self-government is the idea that citizens are willing, able, and educated to participate within the multiple levels of government

compromise is the idea that

with a large nation made up many groups, multiple sides must give up part of their demands to come to an agreement

in a democracy, there are multiple expectations for good citizens, including:

being informed of local, national, and global affairs

participating in gov by informed voting, contacting gov officials, and peaceful assembly

community service and involvement

demanding the gov protect their liberties and the liberties of those in their community

not infringing on others' liberties (your liberty extends until it infringes on others)

the US gov was influenced by multiple historical examples including:

athenian (Greek) democracy

the Roman Republic

britain's representative parliamentary system

limited gov as established by the Magna Carta

natural rights such as in the English Bill of Rights

colonial self-governments

american gov was heavily influenced by the Enlightenment including:

Hobbes and Locke's social contract

Locke's consent of the governed and popular sovereignty

Locke's emphasis on natural rights

Montesquieu's separation of powers and checks and balances

according to the Declaration of Independence:

all people have rights from their creator

the people create gov to protect their rights

the people can revolt and establish a new gov if the gov abuses rights

since Britain abused the colonists' rights, the colonists split from Britain

the federal gov and state govs created their own

written constitutions. This helped limit gov power to the powers listed in their constitutions while also creating a balance of power between federal and state govs

the first US national constitution, the Articles of Confederation, placed the majority of gov power in the hands of states to prevent the federal gov from abusing power. Under the Articles of Confederation, the national gov could not:

enforce laws

tax

maintain an army

Shays's Rebellion was caused by the

national gov's inability to pay back debts and was prolonged by the national gov's lack of a standing army. Shays's Rebellion and the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation led to a Constitutional Convention where a new US Constitution was written

Virginia and New Jersey disagreed on representation in Congress with big Virginia believing larger states should receive more reps and small New Jersey believing each state should be equal at 1 rep. They compromised with Congress made up of 2 houses:

House of Representatives - each state receives a number of representatives based on their population

Senate - each state receives 2 senators no matter the size of the state's population

the Constitutional Convention compromised the issue of

slavery by counting 3/5 of a state's slave population for the number of Representatives in the House, even though slaves were unable to vote or have rights

Antifederalists and Federalists debated whether to accept the new Constitution based on a philosophical disagreement:

Antifederalists believed a stronger federal gov would abuse power like the king, and they wanted to protect state power and personal liberty.

Federalists believed a weak federal gov would lead to future rebellions like Shays, and they wanted a stronger federal gov to protect rights.

Federalists and Antifederalists compromised by ratifying the new Constitution and passing 10 amendments (changes) to the Constitution which protected individual rights (Bill of Rights)

the Constitution outlines

the institutions (such as Congress & the President) and the powers (such as taxing and passing laws) of government. The Constitution explains how the federal gov works

gov power in the US is divided between 3 branches explained in the first 3 articles of the Constitution:

article I describes the legislative of Congress which makes the laws

article II describes the executive under the president which enforces the laws

article III describes the judicial under the Supreme Court which interprets the laws

limited government is the idea that

power is often abused, so limits must be placed on gov power (often in the form of a constitution) to prevent abuse. The Constitution created limited gov by listing the powers of the federal gov and reserving the other powers to the people and states. In theory, the federal gov is limited to only what is directly allowed in the Constitution

rule of law is the idea that

the gov and its officials must follow the same laws as its citizens. No one is above the law

separation of powers is the practice of

dividing gov power into 3 branches so 1 person or group does not have all the power

checks and balances is the practice of

giving each branch the Constitutional power to stop the other 2 branches from abusing their authority

Judicial review is the idea that

the judicial branch interprets the Constitution. If the other branches I violate the constitution, the courts can strike down actions as unconstitutional

federalism is the

division of power between the federal and state govs

the Constitution is designed to

change with the times as necessary; these changes are called amendments

there are 2 steps to pass an amendment, both of which require high thresholds of agreement across the nation. Since it so difficult, very few amendments have been passed. The 2 steps are:

proposal - the 2 methods to officially propose an amendment are 2/3 of each house of Congress vote to propose a change or 2/3 of state legislatures call for a convention to discuss a change

ratification - the 2 methods to officially ratify an amendment are 3/4 of state legislatures vote to approve or 3/4 of state conventions approve