Exam Prep Flashcards
what was wrong with the Stamp Act?
ridiculous law, violation of consent
the ingredients of a founding:
distance, history of self-governance, institutions, commitment to creating a good society, rule of law, virtuous citizens, economic prospects
what is the Magna Carta and why is it important?
barons wrote it saying the king is subject to the laws of the land; not successful, but was an inspiration for other documents and was an introduction to the rule of law; idea that people should play a role in their government
what is the Constitution of Knowledge?
how a society decides something is true; process of how to get from theories and ideas to actual facts
what is part of the Constitution of Knowledge?
free speech, peer review/testing
Akhil Amar believes…
people should be responsible, learn about the constitution/government, be educated, vote, hear different viewpoints
what is the least dysfunctional part of government?
Supreme Court
collective action problem
when people would be better off if they cooperated, but they don’t know if the others are going to cooperate, so they decide to not help out
3 colonial communities we talked about:
Jamestown, Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth
Jamestown
corporate community
corporate community
English company finances the colony, expecting profits
how did Jamestown prosper?
economic prospects- tobacco
George Yeardy
instituted House of Burgesses (first legislative body in America) and also slavery
Massachusetts Bay
covenant community- Puritans came for religious freedom
Calvinism
John Calvin’s ideas- people are predestined to be saved by God, nothing you can do can make you one of the elite
Christian calling
if you work hard to fulfill your calling and you are successful, that could indicate you have been saved
John Winthrop
“a city upon a hill” idea
city on a hill idea
a chance to make a golden society in the new world that everyone can look up to
Plymouth
covenant community- Pilgrims came for religious freedom
Jefferson Smith
virtuous, country party, trustee model
Country Party
far from power, not corrupt
another name for the Country Party
Whigs
Mr Paine
Court Party, accepts bribes
Court Party
individuals drawn to power, corruptible group
another name for the Court Party
Tories
delegate model
vote based on the view of your constitutes (do what the people say, even if the party disagrees)
party model
votes with what their party views are (do what the party says, even if the people disagree)
trustee model
values what is right over what his constituents want (does what he wants)
Plato
humans can be taught virtue, democracy is bad, “philosopher king” (the wise should rule)
John Locke
part of Glorious Revolution, write the Second Treatise of Government, society is for the good of the people
Second Treatise of Government
people have natural rights, people form social compacts, government’s purpose is to uphold rights, government needs people’s consent, if the government isn’t protecting right then the people should revolt
David Hume
collective action, virtue is not innate, based on experiences
Thomas Hobbes
people are bad, we need a strong government to keep people in line
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
people are inherently good, “noble savages”, institutions corrupt people
Adam Smith
self-interest is global, virtue is local, everyone has some virtue
Thomas Moore
his view of a perfect society is “utopia”, religious members (no one religion but no atheists)
St Augustine
covenant community, religious leaders
John Calvin
covenant community, God’s elect
Rule of Law
prospectively, publicity, consent, generality, due process
commonwealth ideology
what the country party believed in and wanted for their society; financial independence from government
who did the commonwealth ideology inspire?
Thomas Jefferson
summary of the Glorious Revolution
bloodless revolution, James II sucked and didn’t respect government so he was replaced by someone Parliament chose. Locke wrote his Second Treatise of Government to give the people a reason to revolt
how did Americans see the Glorious Revolution?
a show of their rights, remove the king if you have to
