Foundations of American Democracy Flashcards
Thomas Hobbes
- Argued if humans were left alone, chaos would ensue
- Best way to protect life through an absolute monarch
- Advocated for rule of law
- Government must protect natural rights
- Citizens must enter a social contract
Rule of Law
- All citizens are subject to the same laws
- NO ONE is above the law
Natural Rights
Life, Liberty, and Property
Social Contract
Sacrifices some freedoms for protections from the federal government
John Locke
- Everyone born with tabula rasa, or a blank slate
- Believed in empiricism
- Natural rights were granted by God and governments must respect and protect these rights. If the government didn’t protect these rights, the citizens could revolt
Empiricism
Everything someone knows and does is based on experience
Charles de Montesquieu
- Opposed monarchy and believed in democracy
- Advocated for separation of powers into the three branches of government
- A system of checks and balances needed to limit power of each branch
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
- Humans are naturally pure but are corrupted by society
- Individuals should act for the greater good (not self-interest)
- A good government is created by the consent of the people
Representative Democracy
Government that gives citizens the opportunity to vote for representatives who will work on their behalf (aka republic)
Participatory/Direct Democracy - people directly vote for laws and representatives. not suitable for large governments and chaotic
Pluralist Democracy - people of similar interests form interest groups to advocate and compete with other groups
Elitist Democracy - discourages participation of average citizens and instead aims participation towards the educated/wealthy
Aristocracy
A government in which power is in the hands of a hereditary ruling class or nobility
Republicanism
a form of government in which the power is held by the people, either directly or through elected representatives
Popular Sovereignty
The power of the government comes from the consent of the people
Declaration of Independence
- Formal declaration of war between Great Britain and the colonies
- Outlines the wrongs King George III did against the colonies
- 3 basic ideas: (1) God made all men equal and gave them the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; (2) the main business of government is to protect these rights; (3) if a government tries to withhold these rights, the people are free to revolt and to set up a new government.
Articles of Confederation
- First government for the USA
- Set precedent for federalism
- Established the method of how states could enter the Union (Northwest Ordinance)
- Not meant to be permanent. It was only meant to be used during the war as a sort of “scaffolding”
Federalism
system of government in which the national and state government share powers
Confederation - system in which decisions are made by an external member-state legislature
Shay’s Rebellion
Many farmers revolted/rebelled after their farms were closed due to their lack of money. The federal government wasn’t able to handle the situation as it had no power to do so and the states struggles to handle it. The rebellion demonstrated the need for a strong central government and the weakness of the articles
Weaknesses of the Articles (Federal)
- Couldn’t draft soldiers or raise army
- Depended on states for revenue since they weren’t able to tax
- Couldn’t pay off debts from war
- Couldn’t control interstate trade
- No Supreme Court
- No executive branch (couldn’t ensure states followed laws)
- No national currency
- No control over import/export taxes between states
- Amending it required unanimity
- 9/13 states needed of approve to pass legislation
Constitutional Convention
- Convention to fix Articles, but they were so hard to fix that they ended up creating an entirely new document, the Constitution
- Most agreed that government should have more power, but feared corruption
- Created Electoral College
Major Plans:
Virginia Plan - Virginia is a big state so wanted a government in which each state is represented proportionally to its population. president elected by PEOPLE
New Jersey Plan - NJ is a small state so wanted each state to be represented equally. president elected by ELECTORAL COLLEGE
Great Compromise - Combined VI and NJ plans to create a bicameral legislature. House would be based on population and Senate would be based on equal representation of 2
3/5s Compromise - enslaved people would count as 3/5 of a person when creating seats in the house
Constitution:
- Created an executive (president) who would enforce the law and check the legislature through vetos (which could again be checked through 2/3 supermajority in both houses)
- Created Supreme Court
Federalists
supported ratification of Constitution. Hamilton, Madison, and Jay wrote Federalist Papers
Anti-Federalists
opposed strong national governments and constitution since it would create a kind. It made sense that they were hesitant since they had just come out of a revolutionary war against a king.
Believed that a Bill of Rights was necessary to protect the rights of citizens. Only agreed to Constitution once the Federalist agreed hat Bill of Rights would be added after ratification
Brutus 1
Summary - national government would have too much power, standing army could diminish liberty, and representatives wouldn’t truly represent the people. A free republic cannot exist in the large US. Free republic comes from the people, not representatives of the people.
Federalist 10
Addressed dangers of factions as people feared that minority factions would be undermined. argued that a large republic would allow factions to be diluted and that no faction had too much power
Federalist 51
Argued that the separation of powers and checks and balances would guarantee that no faction would dominate and allow for efficiency as each branch would have their specified responsibilities
Federalist 70
There should be a single executive as it would allow him to act quickly and be able to hold single-hand accountability for his actions
Federalist 78
Argued in favor of the judiciary and that they must determine constitutionality of congressional acts as a check on congress
Constitution
- Article 1: Legislative Branch
- Article 2: Executive Branch
- Article 3: Judicial Branch
- Article 4: Relations among states
- Article 5: How to amend
- Article 6: Public debts, supremacy of national law, oaths
- Article 7: Ratification of Constitution
Bill of Rights
Necessary and Proper Clause
Allows congress the implied power to make all laws that are necessary and proper (aka elastic clause)
Executive Orders
not mentioned in Constitution but have the same force as laws (a method of enforcement) and can bypass Congress in policy making
Executive Agreements
not mentioned in constitution. agreements between the heads of countries and are SIMILAR to treaties
Custom and Usage
A usage is a repetition of acts whereas custom is the law or general rule that arises from such repetition
Marbury v. Madison
Marbury was appointed by former president Adams but his letter of commission was not delivered since Jefferson (who just became new president) stopped them from going out. Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional but the enforcement of it was out of its jurisdiction.
Created judicial review, the power of the Supreme Court to declare the constitutionality of actions/laws
McCulloch v. Maryland
Ruled that the states didn’t have the power to tax the national bank that was situated in the state of Maryland. Using the supremacy clause, it was ruled that federal laws are above state laws.
Supremacy Clause
the constitution and laws of the US are the supreme law of the land, overriding state laws.
United States v. Lopez
Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990 banned the possession of handguns on school property. The court held that the commerce close didn’t extend to the regulation of firearms
Commerce Clause
gives Congress the power to regulate commerce between states (interstate) and with foreign nations (international)
Delegated/Enumerated Powers
powers that ONLY apply to the federal government
- printing money
- regulating trade between states and countries
- making treating & conducting foreign policy
- declaring war
- establishing post office
- establishing lower courts
- establishing rules of naturalization (becoming citizen)
- establishing copyright and patent laws
- raising armed forces
- making necessary and proper laws
Reserved Powers
powers exclusively delegated to states
- issuing licenses
- regulating intrastate (in the state) commerce/business
- conducting elections
- establishing local governments
- maintaining a justice system
- education
- maintaining militia
- providing public health, safety, and welfare programs
10th Amendment
powers not delegated to the federal government are reserved to the states.
Concurrent Powers
powers shared by federal and state
- taxes
- building roads
- operating/establishing courts of law
- chartering banks/corporations
- eminent domain
- paying debts and borrowing money
Federal Government not allowed to…
- suspend write of habeas corpus (protection against illegal imprisonment)
- pass ex post facto laws (laws that apply to actions committed before the law was created)
- issue bills of attainder (declare individual guilty without trial)
- export taxes
- use money from treasury without the passage and approval of appropriations bill
- grant titles of nobility
State Government not allowed to…
- create treaties with foreign nations
- declare war
- maintain standing army
- print money
- pass ex post facto laws (laws that apply to actions committed before the law was created)
- issue bills of attainder (declare individual guilty without trial)
- grant titles of nobility
- impose import/export duties
Categorical Grants
grants of money with strings (strings describe how the money may be spent). favored by those who favor federal power
Block Grants
permit the states to use the money where they see fit (but can be manipulated by making states do something in order to get the money)
Separation of Powers
borrowed idea from Montesquieu, delegating different responsibilities/powers to each branch
Legislative Checks
On Judicial - create amendments to overrule decisions, impeach justices, reject appointments
On Executive - reject appointments, reject treatises, withhold funding for presidential initiatives, impeach president, override veto
Executive Checks
On Legislative - veto bills, adjourn congress
On Judicial - appoint judges
Judicial Checks
On Executive - declaring executive actions unconstitutional
On Legislative - declaring laws unconstitutional
Checks and Balances
different branches of government can limit others from becoming too dominant
Veto
reject legislation (can be overrides with 2/3 supermajority in both houses)
Amendment
addition to the document
Amendment Ratification Methods
- Proposed amendment wins 2/3 majority in both houses. Then 3/4 of state legislatures approve of amendment.
- Constitutional convention called by 2/3 of state legislatures. 3/4 of special state ratifying conventions approve
Line-Item Veto
Ability to veto parts of a bill. UNCONSTITUTIONAL for president but governors can use it
