AP Gov - Democratic Ideals

Article I

establishes the legislative branch of the federal government, the United States Congress; Congress is a bicameral legislature consisting of the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Article I, Section 8

lays out the powers of Congress.

Article I, Section 9

limits on federal power; denies powers to Congress.

Article I, Section 10

limits on state powers.

Article II

establishes a president, chosen by electoral college, as head of an executive branch.

Article III

creates a Supreme Court as head of the Judicial Branch, which oversees the interpretation of the Constitution.

Article IV

outlines the relationship between the various states, as well as the relationship between each state and the United States federal government. Each state must give full faith and credit to laws/records of other states; citizens of each state are entitled to all privileges and immunities of citizens in the several states; statues must extradite fugitive criminals back to state where they are accursed of crime.

Article V

describes the process for altering the Constitution;

Article VI

supremacy clause.

Article VII

sets the number of state ratifications necessary for the Constitution to take effect and prescribes the method through which the states may ratify it.

Article X

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.

Brutus No. 1

- A centralized government would lead to the failure of the United States, as it would take away citizens' confidence in their leaders and, subsequently, lead to the downfall of state government.
- Greedy federal government will tax state governments until civil courts are rendered useless and the states powerless, as they would already be too dependent on the federal government.
- A standing army will pose a threat to liberty.
- The country is too big for a republic, and the issue of representation will present itself, as citizens will not be able to identify with their representatives.

Federalist 10

- A centralized government would be the only way to curb factions, which lead to exaggerated divides in public opinion and government sentiment.
- Republics can better control the effects of factions because they are better-suited for large republics than small ones.

Federalist 51

- Separation of powers is a necessity of civil liberty.
- Systems must be in place for the government to control itself.
- Although branches of government should work together, they must be independent and have clear differences in roles.
- Legislative branch has a lot of power, but that is controlled with its division into two chambers. It can also be checked by the executive branch.

First Law of Nature

established by Hobbes; humans living in "state of nature" leads to anarchy" and that in an ideal society, people give up some rights and are governed by a leader that considers the common good.

natural law

established by Locke; dictates humans are born free and equal and should not be ruled without consent.

social contract

established by Rousseau; people are equal, but to ensure freedom/security, people must give up certain rights to government.

popular sovereignty

established by Rousseau; government should be ruled by the people.

separation of powers

established by Montesquieu; government power should be divided among an executive, legislative, and judicial branch.

republicanism

citizens elect leaders who make and execute laws in public interest.

limited government

power must be controlled by law, checks and balances, & separation of powers

flexibility

the government extend its power to properly execute its job during unprecedented circumstances (but is limited by the roles it is assigned in the Constitution).

federalism

country is controlled by multiple levels of government (federal and state).

national supremacy

laws made by federal government are supreme over the states.

exclusive powers

powers delegated only to the federal government.

police powers

state powers to create and enforce laws on health, safety, morals.

concurrent powers

powers held by authorities at both levels, state and federal.

Articles of Confederation

a written agreement ratified in 1781 by the thirteen original states; it provided a legal symbol of their union by giving the central government no coercive power over the states or their citizens. Because it did not hold power to keep a standing army, enforce taxes, or effectively raise revenue for the country, the document was replaced with the Constitution.