gov test Flashcards
Plato
Impacts American Democracy by leading many Founding Fathers to feel that care needed to be taken re: how much power/influence “the masses” had
led many of the Founding Fathers to believe that care should be taken in designing a system of government that limited the power of the masses and protected the rights of individuals.
Aristotle
Author of Politics. Stated that “man is by nature a political animal.”- force it to interact wiht other people and other powers are tied to that power.
Stressed that the whole must come before the parts and that the city/govt. is necessary for the greater good.
He refers to the idea that human beings are naturally social creatures who are naturally drawn to living in communities and engaging in political activities.
Machiavelli
His writings helped illustrate the importance of the idea of separation of powers: that the Chief Executive should not hold too much power*
Hobbes
A version of the social contract: A Trade Off→ People exchange the freedom of the state of nature for the security of living under a strong leader. (The stronger the leader, the better, even if individuals have few rights.)
In the long run, life in the state of nature will be solitary, nasty, brutish, and short.
Locke
Government exists to protect your life, liberty, and property.
In some instances, the government can justifiably be overthrown by the people
His version of the social contract theory heavily influenced T Jefferson when writing the D of I (1776)
A version of the social contract: Trade Off→ People sacrifice the physical freedom of being able to do whatever they please, but they gain the civil freedom of being able to think and act rationally and morally
Different between Locke and Hobbes ?
Hobbes: He believed that without a strong leader, human will be violents. People being governed by a stronger leader will be able to maintain order and protect them from each other
Locke: He believes that life in the state of nature was naturally social and cooperative. Civilians has rights, liberty and property. He belives the prupose of a government is to protect their rights and if the government failed to do so, it could be legitimately overthrown by the peopl.
What is the sate of nature?
An environment where there is no government and law to regulates one’s behavior
The US Constitution established a specific and mandatory formula for one part of Congress. Which one? And what is the formula? Today, what is the size of this part of Congress?
2 senators per states for the senates to follow. By law, the senate has 100 members.
The constitution did not established a specific and mandatory formula for determining the size of one part of congress. How is the size of the part of the US Congress with no Constitutional formula determined? Today, what is the size of this part of Congress? Has it always been this size?
The house of representatives ; it’s determined by law. Size of this part of congress is 435 representatives . It hasn’t been this size.
The US Constitution originally established a formula for the size of the US House of one representative for every_______ people. Today that formula is roughly one representative for every_________ people.
- 30,000
- 700,000
Which one? The Constitution DOES or DOES NOT say whether the House should increase in size as the population of the US grows.
The constitution doesn’t not say whether the house should increase in size as the population of the US grows.
Does the US Constitution specifically mention the census? What is the census and how often does it occur?
The US constitution mention the census, it occurs every ten years.
Census: The official counting the population of the US
Does the US Constitution say what should happen after census data is acquired?
The US constitution doesn’t say that census data is required; it depends on the congress
According to decades-long trends, which have been true since the end of WWII, census data shows that people are moving in these directions: _____ and ____
- South
- West
Which one? Since the country’s founding, the ratio between representatives (the politician) to constituents (the people represented by a politician) has INCREASED or DECREASED. Why?
The constituents increased, because as the population keeps increasing, the ratio of represntattive to constituents has increased.
In 1929, Congress decided to fix/freeze the size of the House at _______. It also required a mandatory apportionment (often called reapportionment) after every ________.
- 435
- census
In plain language, what does this mean? “a mandatory apportionment (often called reapportionment) after every census.”
“a mandatory apportionment (often called reapportionment) after every census.” means to distribute the house seats based on the population changes.
Which type of government structure is the opposite of a unitary system?
Unitary system: Center government ( national) have complete power
The opposite is confederal system: state government have the most power over the nation government.
Arrows pointing at central government from states?
Confederal
Arrows pointing at states from central government?
Unitary
Arrows pointing at central government and states?
Federal
________________: A structure of government where subnational units of government create a NATIONAL GOVERNMENT, which they then have the power to dissolve/alter. (A pro and a con of this structure?)
1.) Confederal
Pro: They are more responsive in responding to state’s issues because they make decision at sates level and can take in region’s needs.
Con: The central government may not have all the power to make and enforce the laws, which can eaad to instability and conflict.
________________: A structure of government where a national government creates subunits (states) and decides which powers they do/do not possess. The national government also has the ability to abolish the subunits. In this system, the national government reigns supreme. (A pro and a con of this structure?)
1.) Unitary
ex: UK has a unitary system has a parliamentary system within United States.
Pro: They are more efficient at responding issues from states since they make and regulates the laws. They don’t have to coordinate with multiple states’ government, which can lead to a quicker response to problems.
Con: Central government can be inflexible in responding to local or regional issues because decisions are made at the national level and may not take into account specific regional needs.
_________________: A structure of government in which power is constitutionally divided between a national/central government and subnational governments. In the United States, the states represent the subnational governments. (A pro and a con of this structure?) Political governemnt is shared between the national and state government.
1.) Federal
Ex: Germany and Australia has parliamentary system within federal government.
Pro: The federal system provides a system of checks and balances that helps to protect individual rights and prevent abuse of power by any single branch of government.
Con: The federal system can lead to conflicts between states and the national government over issues such as states’ rights, taxation, and regulation.
