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
What were the negative effects of the Articles of Confederation?
- States already coined their own money, so the federal $ was nearly worthless
- Article created a confederation: Weak national government; sovereign states. How can he Confederacy be effective and create a strong national economy if the government has very little authority?
What was the Virginia (large state) plan in the Great Compromise?
- Congress representation should be based on population
- Congress should consist of 2 houses
- First house elects the second
What was the New Jersey (small state) plan in the Great Compromise?
- Congress rep should be equal
2. Congress should consist of one house
What was the Great Compromise solution?
- Representation based on population in ‘lower house’ (House of Representatives)
- Each state has equal rep in ‘upper house’ (Senate)
What was the Three Fifths Compromise?
Each slave counted as three-fifths of a person for representation purposes (5 slaves = 3 ‘people’)
What branch of government is mentioned in Article One of the Constitution?
Legislative (Congress)
What branch of government is mentioned in Article Two of the Constitution?
Executive (President)
What branch of government is mentioned in Article Three of the Constitution?
Judicial (Courts)
What does Checks and Balance mean?
Power is shared among three branches. The branches can check each other and make sure that one branch is not trying to take the power of another branch
What are expressed powers?
Congressional powers that are explicitly written in the Constitution
What are implied powers?
Not written in the Constitution but necessary and proper. the ‘how’ behind accomplishing the expressed powers
List examples of expressed powers.
Taxing, Regulating commerce, Coining and borrowing money, creating laws on bankruptcy, naturalizing citizens, creating postal systems, governing copyrights and patents
List examples of implied powers.
Congress creates tax laws. IRS is created. People are punished for not paying taxed.
Establish a draft to raise an army
Prohibit importation of certain goods to regulate commerce.
What is the outcome of federalism?
States rule, but people rule over states and federal government protects states
What is a federalist system of government?
Power is shared between the national government and smaller political subdivisions
What are some countries that have a federalist system for government?
USA, Brazil, Australia, Canada
Who started the federalist party?
Alexander Hamilton
Who were some important people in the federalist party?
John Adams, John Marshall, John Jay and James Madison
Who started the antifederalist party?
Thomas Jefferson
Who were other important individuals in the antifederalist party?
Patrick Henry, James Monroe and George Mason
Which party believes that the USA should have a strong national government?
Federalist Party
Which party believe that USA should have a weak national government but strong state governments?
Antifederalist party
Which party believed that a central bank was needed?
Federalist
Which party was opposed to a central bank?
Antideferalist
Who was involved in the Marbury vs Madison case?
President Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of State James Madison, William Marbury, President John Adams
What was the Marbury vs Madison case about?
a. Outgoing Federalist President Adams appointed many federalist “midnight judges”
who had not received their commissions when President Jefferson took office.
b. Jefferson ordered Madison to not deliver them, which led Marbury to sue for his
commission.
c. Congress claimed it had the authority, according to the Judiciary Act of 1789, to
order the Supreme Court to tell Jefferson to deliver the commissions.
How did the supreme court rule in the Marbury vs Madison case?
a. The court claimed it had the power to review (Judicial Review) any legislation and
thereby reviewed the Judiciary Act as unconstitutional as Congress could not order
the Court to do anything.
b. The court did not move against the popular Jefferson for fear of being ignored or
worse, but claimed the implied and important right to review any legislation, although such power is not written in the constitution.
