Democratic Ideals

Question 1

What were the articles of Confederation?

Answer 1

• the first constitution of the United states. It failed. Like so badly. so so badly.
• this was actually a feature though. The founders were so afraid of tyranny that they not so accidentally made the national government completely ineffectual. They wanted to keep all power in the hands of the state governments

Question 2

What were the powers of the federal government under the articles of confederation?

Answer 2

• to wage war (its key purpose–this was the government during the revolutionary war)
  -to coin currency, however, this wasn’t exclusive so each state had its own currency, making the economy a bloody mess.
• to raise an army and funds! oh. wait. whats that? you mean they had to beg the states for funding to do anything? yeah that checks out
  -build a post office. the one thing they did right.

Question 3

What were the main issues with the federal government under the articles of confederation? (structural issues, not other problems)

Answer 3

-needed a supermajority (9 states) to do literally anything
-a unanimous vote to change the articles
-you had to beg the states for funding to have an army or do anything since there was no power to tax. lowkey this checks out– this whole thing started over tax representation after all, it makes sense people wanted to keep control of it. But it becomes a real problem when states just don’t contribute to the communal fund like they’re supposed to!
-there was absolutely no power to regulate internal trade. So there was 13 different currencies running around, no set valuation for any of them, and states started setting internal tariffs and quotas on trade from other states
- there was no executive to actually enforce anything. no judiciary either for that matter. just a unicameral legislature.

Question 5

What problems did America face (and fail to resolve) under the Articles of Confederation?

Answer 5

-britain didn’t take us seriously. impressment, agitation of native americans, and continued occupation of the mississippi abound
-the spanish dont take us seriously, so they close off the port at orleans, which is a rly big deal because it means interior america cant use its main trade route, the mississippi river
-our currency is worthless because we don’t have enough specie to back and also theres so many of them. We can’t pay off our veterans wages, or even our war debts.
-so many internal disputes, and no way to mediate them! Like NJ was literally going to declare war with NY over internal taxes wtf

Question 6

When were the Articles of Confederation written?

Answer 6

1781

Question 7

When was the Constitution written?

Answer 7

1787

Question 8

So. You know whats coming. Enter Shays Rebellion. What happened and why did it matter?

Answer 8

the federal government was broke. like. so broke. You remember all of those veterans we weren’t paying during the rev war? well we still haven’t paid them and they’re starting to get really upset about that bc they want their bloody money! perfectly reasonable. Some of them have sold their bonds for well below face value so that they at leats get something- because at this point its not clear that they’ll ever be paid. Other, like Daniel Shays up in massachusetts choose to riot, and storm the courthouses. Shays’ people literally march on the capital, and the federal government is unable to raise any troops or funding to do anything about it. It’s this embarrassment which provides the impetus to write a new constitution.

Question 9

What was Charles Beard’s take on the framer’s motive?

Answer 9

-he argued that they had primarily self serving economic motives– they were bondholder’s who wanted to make sure that they got paid back.

Question 10

which rights are garuanteed in the constitution?

Answer 10

basically none of them– most are added in the bill of rights.
-no ex post facto laws (crimes can’t be retroactively illegalized)
-no bills of attainder (the congress can charge people without trial)
-protection of habeas corpus

Question 11

What was the Virginia Plan for Congress?

Answer 11

-a plan proposed by madison espousing the interests of larger states. Unicameral legislature where each state would be represented based on population

Question 12

How many articles does the Constitution have?

Answer 12

7 total
1. congress
2. executive
3. judiciary
4. relations ships between states
5. amendment process
6. supremacy clause
7. ratification process

Question 13

What are the enumerated powers?

Answer 13

powers specifically given to government bodies in the constitution

Question 14

What are implied powers?

Answer 14

powers which are not specified, but are backed by the elastic clause to basically enable other powers to actually be carried out

Question 15

What are the 4 core ideals of American democracy?

Answer 15

1.natural rights
2. popular sovereignty
3.social contract
4. limited government

Question 16

How is limited government ensured?

Answer 16

1. checks and balances
2. separation of power
3. federalism
4. republicanism

Question 17

What are the models of democracy?

Answer 17

1. participatory democracy
2. pluralistic democracy
3. elite democracy

Question 18

What were the fears of the anti federalists? (7)

Answer 18

1. that the constitution wouldn’t be effective (wrong)
2. that those in power wouldn’t give it up (i mean. not entirely wrong. just look at the ages of people in the house)
3. that the government would tax the states into submission
4. that the supremacy clause would force the states into submission
5. that nationally elected representatives would be too distant form their constituencies to accurately represent their interests.
6. having the president as a singular chief executive was way too much power for one person
7. that a standing army would throw a coup

Question 19

What is american political culture?

Answer 19

A set of beliefs, customs, traditions, and values americans share, like the importance of freedom of speech

Question 20

What is a participatory democracy?

Answer 20

its a democratic model in which individual participation, through both voting and civil society, by citizens is key to the success of the democratic process.

Question 21

What is civil society?

Answer 21

non-political or cause-like groups that people can participate in, a sign of a healthy democracy

Question 22

What is pluralistic democracy

Answer 22

a democratic model in which public policy direction is largely decided by competition between opposing interest groups which are essentially evenly matched, due do just how many of them there are.

Question 23

What is elitist theory?

Answer 23

the idea that certain wealthy interest groups dominate over others and dictate policy

Question 24

What is a unitary system?

Answer 24

a system of government in which all power ultimately belongs to the central government, and is only delegated to local governments (think britain0

Question 25

What are the exclusive powers of the federal government?

Answer 25

-coining currency
-postal system
-regulate interstate trade
-to make war and peace
-to maintain an army

Question 26

What are reserved powers?

Answer 26

they are powers protected by the tenth amendment specifically for the states. include areas such as
-education
-policing
-health
-carrying out elections

Question 27

What are the concurrent powers?

Answer 27

-power to tax is a big one
-lawmaking obviously
-court systems
-chartering banks

Question 28

What is the full faith and credit clause?

Answer 28

it requires states to recognize another states official records, as pertaining to contracts, property, and judicial proceedings