The American Political System Exam 1 Prep

What classifies a first wave democracy?

1828-1926

July 2nd, 1776

Era during which Continental Congress voted to approve the proposed resolution that declared the colonies as free from Great Britain.

July 4th, 1776

Marks the moment Congress approved the first final text of the Declaration of Independence, explaining the colonies joint choice to be independent of Great Britain

What democratic wave is the U.S. in?

The First Wave

Why couldn’t New York vote in the Second Continental Congress meeting?

They didn’t have permission form their home government to vote for Independence since they had no state authority in place as their local government was dissolving and electing a new official.

How many votes are required in order for Congress to pass a law?

Majority/absolute unanimity

What is another term for the Philadelphia Convention?

The Constitutional Convention

What was the purpose of the Convention of 1787?

To gather delegates and other authority figures to write the U.S. Constitution.

What was discussed during the Convention of 1787?

The issues present in the Articles of Confederation such as its weak central government.

What did the Convention result in?

The establishment of an entirely new national governmental system for the U.S.

How many delegates were present at the Convention?

55 total from 12 colonies

Which colony did not attend the Convention?

Rhode Island (they did not send any representatives)

What attendees went to the Convention (excluding delegates)?

Young, white, wealthy, politically savvy, nationalistic, upper-class elites.

Who was considered the Constitutional Conventions President?

George Washington

What politically famous individuals attended the Convention?

James Wilson, Benjamin Franklin, James Madison, Gouverneur Morris, and George Washington

Who didn’t attend the Convention?

John Hancock

Who established the Virginia Plan?

James Madison

What is the outline of the Virginia Plan?

• Bicameral Legislature

• Favored by large states

• Population-based representation

What is the outline of the New Jersey Plan?

• Unicameral Legislature

• Favored by small states

• State-based representation (2 representatives per state)

What was the goal of the New Jersey Plan?

To revise the Articles of Confederation, rather than replace it.

Which plan is most similar to the Articles of Confederation?

The New Jersey Plan

How many countries are analyzed in the book?

Thirty-one

Veto Gates

The number of organizations (either parties or institutions) that can stop a measure from moving forward.

What can no institution do?

Force another institution to act.

Hierarchy

A system in which agents exercise authority at the behest of principals; organized into ranks or levels based on status, power, and importance.

Transtition

A situation when coequals must work together to accomplish a task (relationship).

Nations of over 5 million people that have endured as democracies since 1990.

What is the complete “data set” of nations used for comparisons in ‘A Different Democracy’?

The configuration of fundamental institutions and political processes of the United States differs form most democracies.

In what way do the authors of ‘A Different Democracy’ believe that the United States to be exceptional?

Elected Officials

Which actors described by the authors represent BOTH a principle AND an agent?

Transactional

What kind of relationship does the House of Representatives and Senate have in the U.S.?

The Electoral College method of selecting the President

What feature is in neither the Virginia plan nor the New Jersey plan but was still implemented in the U.S. Constitution?

Representation in the lower house of the legislature would be proportionate to population, whereas, the upper house would represent states equally.

What agreement did the Connecticut Compromise (“The Great Compromise”) lead to?

It called for equal state representation in the federal legislature.

What is true for the New Jersey Plan?

Balancing factions through representation over an extended territory.

Before the adoption of the Constitution, what did Madison initially emphasize in his writings as the best way of ensuring liberty and preventing tyranny?

A large republic

Madison believed that minority rights and interests would best be protected in what kind of regime?

James Madison

Who is frequently called the '“Father of the Constitution”?

Solving political problems through institutional design.

What do the authors of the book mean by political engineering?

Written (like the U.S.)

Most of the thirty-one constitutions examined in the book are what?

Their representation across the nation violates the “one vote, one person, one value” standard for democracies.

What is an aspect particular to the U.S. Senate?

It is among the most difficult and complex amendment methods employed.

Among the thirty-one democracies that constitute the book’s sample, what is a singular factor unique to the U.S. Constitution?

Natural Rights

AN objective moral law designed to protect all persons in their property, lives, and liberty.

Federalist 10

Argues that the large extended republic is the best way to guard against dangers followed by political factions.

Federalist 51

Explains how the structure of the proposed U.S. Constitution prevents any singular branch of government from being tyrannical.

Unique factors of the U.S. Constitution

• Most complex and hardest to amend

• One of the shortest/most brief (3rd with 8,000 words)

• Mentions universal suffrage the most (1965)

• Mentions slavery (however doesn’t fully acknowledge until very late)

• Longest enduring constitution and democracy

Peculiar Institution

Used by white southerners to describe slavery in the South as distinctively belonging to a particular region where it is established as a custom, rather than odd, therefore, normalized.

15th Amendment (1870)

19th Amendment (1920)

23rd Amendment

Washington D.C. residents may vote for the president.

24th Amendment

No poll tax, indicating no individual shall be denied voting rights for failure to pay poll tax or other tax (1964)

26th Amendment

The right to vote for anyone eighteen-years-old and above (and shall not be denied of such right).

Whose constitution most resembles the U.S. Constitution?

Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico.