Chapter 1 Flashcards
Locke
people are born with natural rights, people are a blank slate. Social contact where government is given the task to create order and protect the rights of the people by the consent of the people to follow them, if they fail in this regard, then people should overthrow the government.
American political culture
ideas of equality, liberty and rights that are widely shared in the US which represent the views that Americans hold regarding the relationship between government and people/between citizens: ideals of the Declaration of Independence
sovereignty
right of a government to rule
republicanism
power/legitimacy of government comes from the people
participatory theory
the people and citizen involvement is the central power of our democracy
pluralist theory
factions control America, where they magnify the wishes using their organization and combined resources to affect change
elitist theory
the rich control America because they have the resources that common people and factions don’t have to reach even more exclusive and powerful spheres of power.
constitutional republic
elects representatives to make decisions and policies in the nation. Constitution is the supreme law of the nation.
legitimate authority
government has the right to rule, comes from the people in a republican government
freedom vs order vs equality
total freedom means no order, total order means no freedom, can take away freedom of others because of freedom.
enlightenment principles
democracy, natural rights, social contract, equality of men
Hobbs
people are bad, need a strong authoritarian gov
Rousseau
people are good, biggov corrupt people. Small limited government/commune/democracy
Voltaire
supports religious freedom, individual rights and free speech, allow people to choose and overthrow bad government
Declaration of Independence
British gov no longer legitimate, inalienable rights denied to citizens, life, liberty, pursuit of happiness, grievances against the king
unitary structure
central government has the power: ex China, NK, provides efficiency and order but sacrifices freedom and central vision might be bad
Confederal Structure
states are the dominant power over central government, ex: Articles of Confederation, offers freedom but government can’t be efficient in time of crisis.
Federal Structure
Central and State governments share power: Federal gov in leading role but States have righst and play a vital role for the FEderal Government
Delegated Power
powers assigned to the Federal Government, Article 1 lists the powers of Congress
Concurrent Power
powers shared by state and federal government: taxes, setting minimum wage, justice system
Reserved Power
powers that belong to state: estate tax, running elections
Elastic clause
origin of much debate: gives federal government implied power to do any “neccessary and proper” to protect the rights of the citizens
expressed powers are those explicitly given to the Federal gov by Constitution
Government power structure
Governments are decided by how much power the government has and how power is distributed. Totalitarian government, power rests solely in the people. In the US, government has checks and balances and is limited by the constitution. Power is in the hands of the people.
Supremacy Clause
federal laws are made to be the “Supreme Law of the Land” and take precedent over any state laws.
sovereignty
right of a government to rule
