AP Gov Unit 1

Politics

the activities associated with the governance of a country or other area, especially the debate or conflict among individuals or parties having or hoping to achieve power.

Limited Government

Governing or controlling body whose power exists only within pre-defined limits that are established by a constitution or other source of authority

How is the U.S. government limited?

○ People have the power

○ Protected civil liberties

○ Prohibited powers for states and national government

○ Federalism: Division of powers between states and national government

Natural Rights

Rights that people supposedly have under natural law

○ The Declaration of Independence of the United States identifies life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness as inalienable rights.

Popular Sovereignty

Principle that the authority of a state and its government is created and sustained by the consent of its people, through their elected representatives

○ Rule by the People, who are the source of all political power

Republicanism

Support for a republican system of government

Republic: a state in which supreme power is held by the people and their elected representatives, and which has an elected or nominated president rather than a monarch.

The Constitution requires a republican form of government for all states

Social Contract

An implicit agreement among the members of a society to cooperate for social benefits for example by sacrificing some individual freedom for state protection

○ Theorists Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau explored the idea as a means of explaining the origin of government and the obligations of subjects.

Declaration of Independence

Formal statement written by Thomas Jefferson declaring the freedom of the thirteen American colonies from Great Britain.

○ The Declaration of Independence was the document adopted at the Second Continental Congress on July 4th, 1776.

U.S. Constitution

The Constitution of the United States established America's national government and fundamental laws, and guaranteed certain basic rights for its citizens.

The United States Constitution is the supreme law of the United States. The Constitution, originally comprising seven articles, delineates the national frame of government

The document written in 1787 and ratified in 1788 that sets forth the institutional structure of the U.S. government, the tasks these institutions perform, and the relationships among them. It replaced the Articles of Confederation before them.

participatory democracy

Emphasizes broad participation in politics and civil society

○ Model of democracy in which citizens have the power to decide directly on policy and politicians are responsible for implementing those policy decisions

Pluralist Democracy

Emphasizes group-based activism by nongovernmental interests striving for impact on political decision making

○ Model of democracy in which no one group dominates politics and organized groups compete with each other to influence policy

Elite Democracy

Emphasizes limited participation in politics and civil society

○ Model of democracy in which a small number of people, usually those who are wealthy and well-educated, influence political decision making

Federalists

Favored stronger central government

•Favored a large republic

•Supported the new Constitution

•The Federalists favored the ideas of a stronger federal (national) government.

•Opinions on how the government should be structured:

•Wanted to ratify the Constitution

Supported Strong National Government (take power away from States)

•Thought that Checks & Balances would protect peoples rights

•Don't need a BILL OF RIGHTS

•Wanted a strong Executive branch (President)

Anti-Federalists

Favored strong state governments

•Opposed ratification of the new

Constitution

•Feared a strong central government would render the states powerless

•Demanded a Bill of Rights

•The Anti-Federalists favored the ideas of a stronger state governments.

•Opinions on how the government should be structured:

•Most power should stay with States

•Wanted Legislative Branch more powerful than Executive Branch

•Refused to ratify without a BILL OF RIGHTS

•No National Bank

Federalist No. 10

Essay written by James Madison (Father of the Constitution)

•No. 10 addresses the question of how to guard against the "mischiefs factions" and advocates for a large republic

Faction

a small, organized, dissenting group within a larger one, especially in politics.

Brutus No. 1

-Opposite of Federalist Papers.

-Written by Anti-Federalists who had opposed the Constitution and a large central government.

-Purpose was to convince people that Constitution was bad

-Wanted a Confederacy and revealed problems of a large republic

Articles of Confederation

Basis of government for the 13 original states •Written in 1776, ratified by all states in 1781 •"League of friendship"

•Weak national government

• Congress with one vote for each state •Strong state governments

• Each state had sovereignty and complete control of their laws and affairs

WEAKNESSES OF ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION

•Lack of a strong central government

•Congress had no power to tax or raise revenues

•No centralized or national military

• Each state had their own currency and it led to economic chaos • No means to regulate commerce

• No executive branch or President

• No plans for judiciary and authority of courts

• No national unity

• People were loyal to their own states

Shay's Rebellion

Revolt of angry people that demonstrated the weakness of the Congress and the central government

•1786 uprising in which an army of 1,500 disgruntled angry farmers led by Daniel Shays forcibly restrained the state court from foreclosing on their farms

•Congress requested money from the states to build an army but 12 of the 13 states refused

Great Compromise

AKA CONNECTICUT COMPROMISE

•Decision to give each state equal membership in the Senate and representation based on population in the House of Representatives

•Laws require approval from both houses to ensure neither the large or the small states could dominate and control each other

Electoral College

body of people representing the states of the US, who formally cast votes for the election of the president and vice president

• Established as a compromise between election of the President by a vote in Congress and election of the President by a popular vote

Three-Fifths Compromise

Agreement to count 3/5 of all slaves for determining population in the house

•Southern states feared the Northern states would control and end the slave trade

•Southern states did not allow slaves to vote but they wanted them counted as people so that would increase their representation in the new legislature

Slave Trade Compromise

Agreement to prohibit Congress from banning the slave trade for twenty years