Chapter 2 Flashcards
Stamp Act of 1765
All printed legal papers must be printed on official paper stamped by English officials.
The Boston Tea Party was a result of what?
A combination of political strife generated by the British giving the East India company a monopoly on tea export from Britain and to make matters worst they wanted to sell directly to citizens rather then going to merchants.
Thus on 1773 Samuel Adams and a group of conservatives worried about taxes organized and set in motion the Boston Tea party.
The first Continental Congress was what?
It was a meeting of the delegates from all parts of the colonies in which they decided to boycott all English goods and began to consider declaring Independence.
What are the Articles of Confederation?
Written in November of 1777, the Articles of Confederation where the United States first written constitution.
It made so there was only one branch of government, the Legislative branch, Congress. States had to enforce laws themselves, no Executive branch.
While congress was the only branch it was relevantly week, it’s members effectively delegates/messengers from central government to states. They were even chosen by state legislators and could have their positions recalled at any time.
Amendments to the article required all 13 states approval.
Was very week, essentially made Congress the United Nations of the States. Each state was effectively its own free sovereign country.
Sahys’s Rebellion
Under the leadership of former army captain Daniel Shays a group of angry farmers formed a mob and rebelled against the government of Massachusetts in 1787. They rebelled in order to prevent their lands from being taken due to debts.
They were at first dispersed by the state militia but regrouped and attempted to take the Springfield arsenal leading for the state to plied Congress for help. But with no Executive power Congress could do nothing.
This rebellion went to show that Congress can not help in a time of state crisis and that the Article of Confederation needed to be reevaluated due to their lack of power.
What was the Great Compromise?
the Great compromise, also known as the Connecticut compromise, was a proposition that Congress would be made up of 2 chambers The House of Representatives and the Senate.
The House of Representatives would be populated by representatives from each state based on population. Meaning the more populated a state was the more representatives it got.
The Senate on the other hand would get equal representation from all states, regardless of population.
What is the difference between an empirical and normative question?
Empirical questions are very analytical focusing on WHY something is true.
Ex: Why responsible voters vote.
Normative on the other hand focuses on how something SHOULD be like.
Ex: How responsible voters should vote.
What is a government defined as?
The formal political arrangements that rule over a land and it’s people.
Can be as simple as a tribal council that advice a chief
What is an Autocracy defined as:
A government in which one individual rules, a king or dictator.
An Oligarchy is defined as what:
A government in which a small group of people rule.
A Democracy is defined as what:
A government in which many people have the ability to influence decision making and are able to participate in decision making.
What is a Constitutional government?
A government in which there limits in place to what CAN be controlled and HOW things can be controlled by law and political structures.
A government with checks and balances in the form of laws and political structures.
Ex: U.S. government
What is an Authoritarian government?
A government in which there are no laws to limit what a government CAN control and HOW they control it, but they must come to terms with some political
groups.
Ex of Groups: Churches, Work Unions, Business Groups, etc.
What is a Totalitarian government?
A government in which there is absolutely no limit to government powers. They have complete control over political, economic, and social life.
Ex: North Korea, Soviet Russia, Nazi Germany
What is Politics defined as?
Conflicts and struggles over leadership, structure, and government policies.
Rationality Principle states that…
All political behavior has a purpose , all political actors act in their own self interest, and political actions are calculated and are instrumental.
What are institutions defined as?
Rules and procedures that provide incentives for political behavior.
What is a Jurisdiction defined as?
The domain in which institutional members have power to make decisions over.
What is Agenda Power defined as?
The ability to decide what will be taken up for consideration in an institution.
Gate Keeping Power
Veto Power is defined as what?
The ability to completely defeat something even when it comes through gate keeping A.K.A Agenda Power.
Decisiveness rules are defines as what?
Rules describing how decisions will be made but more specifically:
- when votes may be taken
- the sequence in which votes may occurs
- how many votes are needed for a decision to go through
Delegation is defined as what?
The transfer of authoritative power to another person or body for latter use.
What is a principal-agent relationship?
The relationship between a person and their agent to see to a certain principal. For an example we vote in Presidents that share our principals and expect them to promote them.
A transaction cost is defined as what in political science?
All costs that come with making a principal-agent relationship and making sure that the principal is seen to.
The Collective action Principal is defined as what?
All political actions are collective. They involve the act of building, collecting, mixing, and implementing people’s individual goals.
Informal Bargaining is defined as what?
Bargaining situations without the need for Formal Lawyers, contracts or other formalities.
Neighbor hedge agreements
formal Bargaining is defined as what?
Bargaining with rules and formalities. For an example, length of time to think over an offer, counteroffer rules, take or leaf it rules ,etc.
Collective Action is defined as what?
When a group of people pool up their resources and coordinate their efforts in order to accomplish one collectively desired goal.
Ex: Teacher’s Union coming together to negotiate salaries to the Board of Education
