Exam 1 Flashcards
What are aspects of a totalitarian government?
- All power is held by one person
- Citizens have limited freedom
- Lots of violence against citizens and other nations
What countries are examples of a totalitarian government?
Nazi Germany; North Korea
What are aspects of an authoritarian government?
- All power is held by one party in the national government
- Citizens have limited freedom
- Lots of violence against its own citizens and other nations
What are examples of an authoritarian government?
Soviet Union (After Stalin died); Chinese communist party
What are aspects of a democratic government?
- Power is shared (between branches of government, political parties and other institutions)
- Citizens have lots of freedom
- Citizens take action in shaping the government
- Constitutions limit the power of government
- Much less violence
What countries are democratic?
USA, Canada, Japan, etc
What is the definition of politics?
The struggle of who gets what– when and how.
What was John Locke’s philosophy?
- People are innately good
- Strong central government is NOT needed
- Kings do not have absolute power
- The people have basic rights of life, liberty and the property and can overthrow government tis those rights are threatened
What was the philosophy of Thomas Hobbes?
- People are innately bad and cannot be trusted
- A strong central government is needed
- People should come together and create an agreement in order to create government
- The people give power to government, not God.
What was the philosophy of Jean-Jacques Rousseau?
- The Social Contract– an agreement between the people to create government
- The government works for the people; the people do not work for (controlled by) the government
What caused the Boston Tea Party?
Britain convinced Parliament to give them a monopoly on tea. This negatively impacted the economy for colonists in Boston who sold tea.
What was the Boston Tea Party?
When colonists dressed as Indians and threw tea overboard from the East India Tea Company ships
What were the ramifications of the Boston Tea Party?
The Intolerable Acts
Name and Explain all 4 of the Intolerable Acts
Boston Port Act: Boston port closed to shipping until colonists repay Britain for lost tea
Quartering Act: Homes and other buildings could be used or seized to house British troops
Administration of Justice: British officials accused of crimes in colonies would be tried in Britain
Massachusetts Government Act: All political power is held by the king, not colonists. Town meetings allowed only once a year
What were the Articles of Confederation?
A weak compromise between members of the Continental Congress
What years were the Articles of Confederation in effect?
1776-1787
List the Articles of Confederation.
- Created a weak national government, but strong state governments
- One branch of government (Congress)
- State governments selected members of congress
- Each state has one member and one vote
- Congress cannot tax or regulate commerce to gain revenue
- No national army, only state militias
- Congress and borrow and coin money.
- Changes to Articles required unanimous agreement of all states