Exam I Flashcards
Define politics.
The process of determining “Who gets what, when and how” (Laswell)
Explain the purpose of politics.
● A way for a group of people to come together and make decisions and get stuff done
● Enables members of society to collectively make decisions to achieve goals that could not be achieved individually
Name and describe direct democracy and indirect democracy.
● Direct democracy - ordinary people are the government and make all of the laws and the decisions themselves (directly)
● Indirect democracy - people elect representatives to make decisions on their behalf
● We have an indirect democracy.
Define delegate and trustee.
● Delegate - representatives act and vote based on preferences of the citizens who elected them
● Trustee - representatives act and vote based on what they believe will best serve the public’s interest
● In reality no representative is 100% a trustee or delegate
What is the social contract?
● The idea that citizens give up some rights and freedoms so that the system of government can take care of them in a orderly fashion
● Thomas Hobbes’ idea
Explain how citizens benefit from participating in democracy.
● When they participate they have the ability to influence politics and policy
● Having a wide variety of participants prevents one group from dominating
● Ensures that citizens are more tolerant of a wide variety of political views
Explain how citizens differ from subjects.
● Citizens are part of a sovereign nation
● Subjects owe allegiance to their monarch
Define political culture and explain the function of a political culture.
● Political Culture - general political orientation of a nation - shared beliefs
● Function - help bridges divides and provide a common language for politics
● Think of this as the ideas that bring people together in a country (e.g. in America, this is individualism, freedom, equality, etc) as opposed to the ideas that separate us (e.g. social issues, economic issues, etc)
Define political ideology and partisan identification and explain their functions.
● Political ideology - set of political beliefs that help people make sense of their world (Liberal and Conservatives)
● Partisan Identification - attachment to a political party
Explain how political culture, political ideology, and partisan identifications are related to each other.
● Political Culture - general beliefs that are common in a nation
● Political Ideology - set belief systems (Liberal, Conservative)
● Partisan Identification - which party someone identifies with (Republican /Democrat / etc.)
● Typically, Democrats align with Liberal ideals, and Republicans align with Conservative ideals, but they do not necessarily mean the same thing.
Explain how and why Americans value individualism.
● Individuals are seen as responsible for their own well-being
● Assume that what is good for society automatically follows from individuals pursuing their own interests
Explain how and why Americans value equality.
● Americans believe all men are created equal.
● Procedural Equality - we believe that our government should guarantee that all individuals receive equal
treatment, equal access and equal opportunity
● Substantive Equality - we do not believe that the government needs to guarantee equal results
List the elements of a good Constitution.
● Brief, grant authority to specific institutions and they provide for orderly change
Explain why the French and Indian War was an important event.
● England won, but went into debt and started to hold the colonies accountable for some of its debt, and the British presence increased by troops coming over to the colonies since it was fought in both America and Europe.
● Essentially, it is important because it led to the increase in tension between Britain and the Colonies that ultimately led to the Revolution.
Explain the significance of the First and Second Continental Congresses.
● First - Addressed issue of intolerable acts, gave time for representatives from each colony to figure out how they were going to deal with these issues. Began a boycott on British goods throughout the colonies with people monitoring it
● Second - Intolerable Acts were still in place, they agreed that they must fight for independence, war had started
Thomas Jefferson provided for the American Revolution in the Declaration of Independence
● Political Equality
● Natural Rights (John Locke)
● Social Contract (Thomas Hobbes)
● Right to rebel
Define classical liberalism and whether and how it differs from liberal political ideology.
● Classical Liberalism - political ideology or philosophy that values the freedoms of individuals
● Liberal Ideology - what we consider values
● Important for the Declaration of Independence
List key features of how the government was structured under the Articles of Confederation.
● Created a confederation of states
● Confederation - a government in which independent states unite for a common purpose
● Very decentralized, little federal government power; this is because they were untrusting of big governments (they had just fought a war with Britain, a big power)
● Main goal was to get the colonies through the war
● Federal government had the power to conduct foreign affairs, maintain army and navy, coin money and establish post office, COULD NOT IMPOSE TAXES OR HAVE CENTRAL LEADER
Explain the significance of Shay’s Rebellion.
● Shay’s Rebellion - signaled that the Articles of Confederation was not working.
● A rebellion began under the Articles of Confederation and the federal government could not stop it because it did not have enough power
Explain what it means to have a Republican form of government.
● Power resides in the people and is exercised through their representatives
List the key provisions of the Virginia Plan.
● James Madison
● Strong national government
● Bicameral house legislature (two houses)
- First house (elected by people)
- Second house (elected by state legislature) based on population
● Single Executive
● National Judiciary
