Lesson 1 Flashcards by Gail I

Constitutional government

Government limited by the provisions of the constitution

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Democracy

Considered to be the corrupt form of polity

Modern definition: a government in which power rests with the people

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Forms of government

Rule of one, few, or many consisting of a “right form” and a “corrupt form”

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Limited government

Government in which authority of officials is restricted by law

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Parliament

Highest legislature consisting of the house of the lords and re House of Commons

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Republic

Representative government ruled by law

“Thing of the people”

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Unwritten constitution

Constitutions that are not single written documents

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Written constitution.

Constitution. That is written in a single formal document

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U.S. Was officially recognized as an independent nation in the

Treaty of Paris of 1783

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The colonists had not been the

First people on the American continent

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By the end of the revolutionary war there were

Relatively few native Americans

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The indigenous population decreased due to

Encroachment of colonial settlements
Disease
Warfare

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Backgrounds of colonists were

Diverse

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Most colonies had

Established/ official government religions

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—- was practiced in all colonies

Slavery

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Majority of colonial americans

Lived and worked on farms or in rural communities

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Those who did not work on farms worked as

Sailors
Shoemakers
Silversmiths
Etc

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Colonial America

Society of traditions where people played social roles and exercised authority in long established ways

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Languages of colonists

Dutch
Spanish
Swedish
Finish 
Irish 
Etc

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Native Americans (amount)

10-90 million

100s of tribes

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Indentured servants

1/2 to 2/3 of immigrants were indentured servants

59 acres per new servant given to owners

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Constitution

Fundamental higher law

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Founders learned about government through

Reading history and philosophy

Their own experiences of self-government As colonists with British empire

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Many of the founders read texts about

Government and politics by Aristotle, Marcus tulips Cicero, etc

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Founders read about

``` Newer theories of government by people like Hobbes Locke Montesquieu William black stone ```

Government influences also came from

Protestant theology (think Protestant reformation)

Examples of

Good and bad government used for guidance

Classical political philosophers taught that humans are

Naturally social creatures with obligations to each other and their community, without which they could neither survive nor achieve excellence

Classical philosophers agreed that one purpose of government is to

Aid people in learning about and performing their duties

Greek and roman history taught that democracies would

End in tyranny when the poor attack the rich

Natural rights theorists taught that people have

Natural rights that others must respect. (Life, liberty, and estate)

British history showed that monarchies might evolve into

Free government and that if the citizens are determined they can ensure that monarchs will respect their rights

America. Colonial history showed that

Self government could coexist with a distant central authority

Founders had learned at least two important lessons about government:

Government should serve the people | Fundamental higher law (constitution) should limit government

According to Aristotle every national entity must

Perform three functions

Must deliberate about what is to be

Done and decide what public policy should be (legislative function- deliberating on and enacting law)

Must perform an executive function in which

Public officials carry out the public policy

Must carry out a judicial function in which

Disputes regarding interpretation of the law are managed and applied in everyday life

Countries may be governed by

One person Few people Many people

Right form of government by a single person

Monarchy

Right form of government by a few people

Aristocracy (rule of the best)

Right form of government by many

Polity

Polity incorporates elements of both

Democracy and oligarchy | Most like democracy

Corrupt forms of government

Tyranny (one) Oligarchy (few, usually rich) Democracy (many, usually poor)

Aristotles meaning of democracy was a government in which people themselves

Make decisions, rather than the type of democracy we currently have

Corrupt democracy referred to what

Ancient Greece experienced when poor took power

Aristotle concluded that the dominant group of most stable nations consists of

Middle class citizens

Rule by middle class yields

Most stable form of government

If a constitution can combine the lesser number of wealthy persons with the many poor,

It wi achieve stability

Poly boys popularized the idea that a mixed constitution consisted of

Monarchical, aristocratic, and democratic elements

Idea of mixed constitution was passed on to the

Enlightenment of the eighteenth century

Enlightenment French political think Charles Louis de second and cited England as a

Mixed constitution

British government had a

Limited monarch Aristocrat in one House of Parliament (lords) House of Commons for common people

British parliament and legislatures of colonies were examples of

Representative government or republican government

Founders preferred a

Representative form of government where many interests could be represented in legislafure and government officials would be required to obey the law

Constitution is a plan that sets forth the

Structure and powers of government

Constitutions specify the

Main institutions of government and state the powers of those institutions and the procedures they must use to make, enforce, and interpret law

Constitutions typically specify how they can be

Changed or amended

In American conception of constitutional government a constitution is a

Form of higher law that everyone must obey

Controversies surrounding written constitutions

Meaning o words If understanding of document should change Who should have final say in its interpretation

Only 3 of the worlds major democracies have

``` Unwritten constitutions (Britain, Israel, New Zealand) ```

Constitutional government means

Limited government

Limited government is characterized by

Restrains on power as specified by the constitution

Unlimited government

Officials are unrestrained by law or elections (autocracy, dictatorship, totalitarianism)

A higher law is different from a

Stature enacted by a legislature

Higher law different from statute because

Sets forth basic rights of citizens Established responsibility of government to protect those rights Limitations on exercising power Can be changed only with consent of people

It is possible to have a constitutional government t with

One ruler A group of rulers Or rule by the people

Constitutional governments include

Monarchies Republics Democracies Mixed combinations of these governments

Direct democracy believed to be more likely to

Ignore constitutional limits