Foundations of U.S. Government Study Guide

Ideals and Types of Democracy

-Main ideas of the Declaration of Independence

God made all men equal, government has a duty to protect the people’s rights, certain unalienable rights, and people have the right to overthrow a corrupt government

-Definitions of all the key principles of the U.S. Government and where you can see them in our foundational docs:

-Natural Rights: rights given by birth; life, liberty, and property

-Popular Sovereignty: Government based on the consent of the people

-Republicanism: Power by the people–either directly or by elected representatives.

-Social Contract: People agree to live up to certain rules and expectations and accept a central authority in order to protect their rights.

-Participatory, Pluralist, and Elite theories of democracy

-Participatory Democracy: broad individual participation in politics and civil society

Example? A town meeting

-Pluralist Democracy: group-based activism by nongovernmental interests striving for impact on political decision-making

Example? Participation in an interest group

-Elite democracy: limited participation in politics and civil society

Example? The Electoral College.

The Articles of Confederation

-Powers of the Congress under the Articles

declare war, appoint military officers, sign treaties, make alliances, appoint foreign ambassadors, and manage relations with Indians

-What powers did they lack under the Articles?

-no centralized military power---> Shays' Rebellion

-no power to directly tax

-How were states represented under the Articles?

The delegates had one vote per state.

-How was Congress structured under the Articles?

Unicameral, one house with one representative per state.

-What was the problem with passing laws under the Articles?

It was impossible to get every state to agree on ratifying or passing laws.

Constitutional Convention/Basics of the Constitution

-What was the original purpose of this meeting in Philadelphia in 1787?

To address the problems of the weak central government that existed under the Articles of Confederation.

-Great (Connecticut) Compromise

-Virginia (Large State) Plan: Votes based on population

-New Jersey (Small state) Plan: Equal representation per state

-Compromise: The House of Representatives uses votes based on population and the Senate uses the same amount of votes per state.

-Slave Trade Compromise: prohibited changes to regulate the slave trade for two decades

-Electoral College Compromise–What were the reasons for the creation of the Electoral College?

as a compromise between the election of the President by a vote in Congress and the election of the President by a popular vote of qualified citizens

-Three-Fifths Compromise: a slave counts at ⅗ of a person when counting population.

-Unitary vs. Federal vs. Confederate systems (and which is outlined in the Constitution?) In a federal system, a national government and the state governments share power. In a unitary system, all power lies with the national government, whereas in a confederation, the vast majority of power rests with the states. Federal is outlined in the constitution

-What is the process to pass an amendment in the Constitution? Why did the framers make it this way?

⅔ of both houses’ approval and/or ¾of the states' approval to ratify the constitution.

-Topics of these articles in the Constitution:

-Article I: Legislative→ All legislative power is held in Congress–the House and the Senate

-Article II: Executive→ Article II outlines the method for electing the President, the scope of the President's powers and duties, and the process of removing one from office.

-Article III: Judicial→ one supreme Court and from time to time, lower governments will ordain and establish

-Article V: Amendment process→ that amendments to the Constitution may be ratified by the Legislatures of three-fourths of the several States

-Key Principle of the Constitution: Separation of Powers and Checks and Balances

-What can the president do to Congress?

The president can veto laws, make treaties, take emergency action, lead government offices, and approve all heads of departments.

-What can Congress do to the president?

Congress can override vetoes, control the budget, control the cabinet, impeach the president, and declare war.

-What can the courts do?

The courts can declare laws unconstitutional and declare actions unconstitutional.

-Bicameralism: How do the two houses of Congress balance each other out?

The House is a very direct democracy, people choose the representatives. Senate is meant to represent the whole state and representatives are not chosen by the people of the state.

-Impeachment Process: How do the houses of Congress check each other?

The house charges the official with an impeachment. The Senate holds the trial to vote on whether to remove the representative or not.

The Ratification Debate

Federalist #51

-explains how the constitution's separation of powers and checks and balances protects us from control by any majority

--giving power to elected representatives, and then dividing power between the states and national governments will provide extra protection

Federalist #10

-big problem: how do we control the "mischiefs of faction"?

-argues for a pluralist model---lots of factions/groups will keep any one group from dominating

-bigger is better---the more diverse groups we have, the harder it will be to form a majority and pass laws---> this will best protect minority rights and prevent a tyranny of the majority

Brutus #1

-Anti-Federalist paper

-Wants a more direct, participatory democracy in which everyone can participate--> that is easier in a small republic

-Thinks a large, centralized government will be a threat to personal liberty

**Why did Anti-Federalists dislike the Constitution? What did they want added?

They disagreed with the Constitution because they wanted smaller, state-run governments. They wanted a bill of rights to protect the rights they were born with.

** Why did the Federalists initially argue against the addition of the Bill of Rights?

Initially, they thought it was unnecessary and that only having some rights highlighted left those not mentioned up to interpretation.

The Bill of Rights

-the first ten amendments to the Constitution

-enumerates the liberties and rights of individuals

-designed to protect individual liberties and rights

-its application is continuously interpreted by the courts