Constitution And forms Of Government Flashcards
What is a nation ?
A group of people of people with common ancestry and common culture
What types of Democracy are there?
Direct (pure democracy , doesn’t actually exist)
Indirect (representative, US)
What is a country ?
A group of states together .
What is The force theory
Someone is taking control of the government . (Dictatorship)
What is the evolutionary theory ?
Natural process . The idea that people are going to seek to organize more and more as time moves on.
What is the divine right theory ?
Someone is God chosen to be in power. These people believe that they have divine right to be leaders . (Monarchy)
What is The social contract theory ?
A voluntary act of free people giving up rights to gain protection and a sense of security.
What is a constitution ?
The body of fundamental laws that set out the principals structures and processes of a government .
What are the geographic distributions of power ?
Unitary federal and confederate (confederacy )
What is unitary ?
Centralized
Eg- Great Britain (parliament and the crown)
What is federal ?
Division of powers
Like the us
Federal executive and judicial
Confederate (confederacy )?
An alliance entities (separate ), but joined together by a common cause . the EU is the closest thing to this.
What is a presidential government ?
Separate independent , coequal like the us.
What is a parliamentary government ?
A prime minster (premier) plus their cabinet of officials .
What are Agreed ideals of government ?
Ordered , limited and representatives.
What are the four characteristics of a state ?
Population territory sovereignty government
What is a unitary government?
A government in which all power belongs to a central agency.
What are divisions of power ?
Structuring a government so that power is shared by a central and several local governments.
What is the Magna Carta ?
1st document to limit the King’s power , it was a step towards a constitutional government . It provided fundamental rights , trial by jury and due process of law.
What were the English bill of rights?
Prevent executive cause , prohibited standing army in peacetime , free parliamentary elections,right to a fair trial , prohibits excessive bail,prohibits .
What are the foundations of these landmark documents ?
1) worth of the individuals
2) equality of all persons
3) majority rule , minority rights
4) necessity of compromise
5) individual freedom
Preamble , what is it ?
A preliminary or preparatory statement
-just describe it corban.
The articles of confederation listed what ?
Governmental structure powers of congress state obligations and it’s weaknesses
What was the articles of confederation modeled after ?
Colonial governments
Why were the creators of the articles concerned of concentrated power ?
Because of the past experience with the British.
Amending the articles to what required what of the United States ?
Unanimous consent
Who was given sole authority to govern the country ?
Congress
Who oversaw the government. While congress was in session ?
An executive committee
What did congress establish to hear disputes among states ?
Temporary courts.
What powers did the new congress have ?
Declare war and peace , make treaties with foreign countries , establish an army and navy, requisition print and make money ,establish weights and measures,hear disputes among the states related to trade boundaries .
What couldn’t the new government do and what were they limited to ?
No power to raise funds for army or a navy , no power to impose a tax or collect a tax,no executive branch to enforce laws, no power to control trade among states, no power to force states to honor obligations , no power to regulate the value of currency .
What accomplishments did the articles of confederation have ?
Administered the seven year war effort , negotiated the treaty of paris with Britain in 1785, established the NW Ordinance of 1787
What problems were facing the new nation ?
Trade with foreign nations, financing the nation, foreign relations,interstate relations , problems with trade.
What problems did the us have with trade ?
The us no longer was the favorite trading partner of Great Britain , the us exports to British ports had to be on British ships. Many us goods were barred from British ports . The way to stop that was for the us to impose a tariff but due to the aof they couldn’t .
What were the compromises on at the 1st continental congress?
Representation, slavery and how to conduct presidential elections.
Who were the federalists?
Supported the constitution , wanted to strengthen national government , federalists papers written to explain and convince the public .
Who were the anti-federalists
Revolutionary war people. Hancock Jefferson an all of em. The complained that constitution took away state and power and argued for a bill of rights.
What are concurrent powers ?
State and federal government can both make you do it. Taxes , define crime, set punishments , condemn private property
What powers are given by the constitution ?
Expressed powers -declare war , raise a military. Implied -necessary and proper . Inherent- regulate immigration acquire territory .
What powers are denied to the government by the constitution ?
Expressed-freedom of religion and speech , and press. Due to silence -public school system , marriage and divorce laws are Laws reserved for states.
