intro to government Flashcards
Natural law
People should be governed
The enlightenment theory
the start of questioning religious beliefs
Issac Newton
Believed society would be better if we used more science and reasoning rather than religion
Thomas Hobbes
People are selfish and need to be controlled
John locke
Supports social contract which is “All individuals are born equal and provided a god given right to consent to be governed.
Government
the legitimate force to control people
Original dillema
how much freedom are people willing to give to maintain order
Modern dilemma
questions how much freedom will the people give up to promote equality
Majoritian theory
mass elections; voters are well informed; decisions based on majority rule, conduct elections,
Plurist theory
Focuses on Large Decentralized Nat gov’t; participation is through groups; best represented group wins
Elite theory
America is not a democrat, it is an oligarchy
Corporate leaders, military leaders
Republicanism
form of govt in which the power resides in the people and is practiced through elected representatives
Federalism
the division of power among 2 or more levels of govt/ they share responsibility of the land and people
Separation of Powers
The assigning of law making, enforcing, and interpreting to separate branches of govt.
Checks and Balances
a system within govt which gives each branch a little control over the other branches of govt
The Virginia Plan
called for a bicameral legislature, one based on the population of the state and one based on equal representation of the nation. It also called for a single executive that served for 6 years and was chosen by the legislature as well as a multi-tiered judiciary
The New Jersey Plan
called for a unicameral legislature where each state had an equal number of representatives. It also called for a plural executive that served a life tenure as well as a single judiciary.
The great compromise
he bicameral legislature and single executive of Virginia’s plan but the single judiciary court of New Jersey Plan.
four political principles that the founders advanced
republicanism, federalism, separation of powers, and checks and balances.
