Midterm 2 Flashcards
Author and main idea of “The American Revolution”
Gordon Wood
Four principle factors leading up to the American revolution were
1. The growth and movement of population
2. Economic expansion
3. Reform of the British empire
4. Imperial Debate
How did the growth and movement of population promote the American revolution?
The rapidly growing British colonies (not just the north American colonies) were lacking in economic regulation with Britain as their growth soared, the European-style government system was not able to represent all the colonist (in colonial courts or in English courts) or keep up with the growth, and the American expansion led to violent outburst from American Indians.
How did economic expansion push the colonies towards the American Revolution?
American imports and exports were growing in demand exponentially, as was industrial production and colonial infrastructure. The fast growing powerhouse in the colonies did not fit within the British administrative arrangements so the colonies became increasingly independent economically.
How did reform of the British empire bolster the need for the American Revolution?
Britain was in need of a reform for a long time and George III did it hastily and impulsively which lost a lot of support. Britain had lots of war debt, couldn’t control Indian-American relations, or maintain proper trade policies. Huge increases in military control of the colonies also led to more debt. This led to George III seeking lots of money through the Sugar Act,Stamp Act, and other tax policies that outraged colonists
What is the Sugar Act?
Most importantly, it reduced the cost of imported sugar into the colonies in hopes that colonist would buy that sugar and make the crown more money rather than colonists producing their own sugar and making money that the crown didn’t see. It also put duties on other goods
What is the Stamp Act?
A tax placed on virtually every form of paper used in the colonies that had to be paid in British sterling and not colonial paper money.
What is the Currency act?
Britain prohibited the colonies from issuing paper money as legal tender
Why did Britain pass the currency act?
A great economic slump occurred between 1760 and 1764 as a result of British reformers’ actions. Many businesses failed and many bankruptcies occurred. It was Britain’s failed attempt to stabilize market conditions in the colonies
What is the Tea Act?
Only one company, the East India Company, could sell tea in America. They were selective in who they sold to which led to monopolies
What is the Imperial Debate talked about about by Wood?
The British empire did not have the best interest of the colonies nor did it represent their views. The legislature in Britain and the legislature in America could not coexist as unified.
What is virtual representation?
The idea that all British people are represented in the House of Commons because all British people have the same views and ideals
What are the Navigation Acts?
A series of British laws to regulate, monopolize, and profit from colonial trade
What is meant by saying the Parliament and king “doubled down”
The King and Parliament insisted that their authority be respected and that they colonist obey their taxes.
The British repealed all taxes except those on tea, sent soldiers to enforce the tax, and ended up upsetting the colonists resulting in the Boston massacre
What was the continental congress?
The group that elected to write a declaration of independence
What text is largely used as a source when writing the declaration of independence?
John Locke’s “Second Treatise”
What is salutary neglect?
British policy from the late 1600s to the mid-1700s that allowed the American colonies to be largely self-governing
In a pragmatic view, what was the goal of the colonists in dissociating themselves from Britain?
They wanted to return to the way of life they had before during the period of salutory neglect. They wanted to keep what they had (Romer’s rule)
Author and goal of “The Virginia Plan”
James Madison writing his attempt at a constitution. His plan includes giving the federal government more power so that minorities don’t end up ruling majorities.
Who wrote the Federalist papers?
James Madison
“But what is government itself but the greatest of all reflections on ________?”
Human Nature
What were the articles of confederation?
Benjamin Franklin’s attempt at designing a government for the new nation.
What were the two weakness of the articles of confederation?
They saw the government as the ultimate restriction of liberty, so the government had almost no power. Not for taxes, enforcing laws, armies, etc. The national government was too weak.
The organization of state governments. They are lacking virtue (buying votes)
republicanism (little r)
We vote for representatives
People are self-governed
Helps supress riots
What did Madison borrow from the European intellectuals Hirschman mentioned?
Unleashing a passion within an institutional design could result in a virtuous system. Madison believed this passion would be ambition (love of power). “Ambition must be made to counteract ambition”
What is the story of crabs about?
If you collect crabs in a bucket, you need to make sure the first crab doesn’t escape. But once there is a second crab, it will always pull the second one down before it escapes. They check each other. This is the idea of ambition driving a government.
What is the tyranny of the majority?
Factions of people putting their own agendas first and depriving the minorities of their rights and privelages
What did Madison see as a solution to the problem of factions?
An extensive republic. There will be so many factions that there will not be a majority at a federal level.
Author and main idea of “A Conflict of Interests”
Frank Fox and Clayne Pope
- The advantages of a market economy over a mercantilism.
- The characteristics and essential functions of a market economy
- The government’s role in both economies
- The ties of market economy to the government system established by the founding fathers
What is mercantilism?
A command system of economic organization in which government controls prices, wages, and the allocation of resources rather than allowing them to be directed by free-market forces.
Is a free market meant to benefit the seller or the buyer in an exchange?
They are both meant to benefit in exchange.
What is meant by the term “perfect competition?”
The best economic outcomes occur when power has been dispersed so widely that no buyers or sellers believe they have an influence on the price or terms of exchange
What is the goal of mercantilism?
As much money as possible for the mother country. Get those in power (government) rich. More exports than imports to increase “wealth”
Why couldn’t the colonies tax England for products exported to the British isles from the colonies?
The ideal of mercantilism was to keep the wealth with the mother country so England did not allow the colonies to tax.
What are the goals of a market economy?
Both the buyer and the seller benefit from exchange. The economy is led by self-interest and not by government regulations
Define the law of demand
As the price of a good increases, fewer people are willing to buy that good
Define the law of supply
As the supply goes down, the price goes up
Define Equilibrium price
The price at which the number of people willing to supply the good is the same as the number of people willing to buy the good
Define the role of prices
Prices signal how much to produce/consume
Define rule of profits
When profits are made in a market, that incentivizes more competitors to enter the market
What is Adam Smith’s definition of wealth?
It is stuff: food, clothing, tools, and anything else that makes life more comfortable.
Not the treasury of wealth, but rather what a nation can produce and consume in one year
What concept is taught through the example of a pin factory?
Specialization or division of labor
What is required for a division of labor in a society?
Extensive patterns of exchange: money!
What is opportunity cost?
The cost of the next best alternative
What is comparative advantage?
Every individual, group, or nation can provide at least one good or service at a lower opportunity cost than others. Whoever has the lowest opportunity cost of producing a good has the comparative advantage
Does Adam Smith agree with John Locke?
Yes
Author and main idea of “The Bill of Rights”
Akhil Reed Amar
The author dives into the first proposed ammendments of the consitution and their motivations. The main drive was maintining a democracy that did not supress minority voices or give power to the government that belonged to the people.
What is the idea of “skimming cream” as explained by Amar?
Choosing representatives from a people is like taking the richest cream that sits on the top layer of a bucket of milk
Why was James Madison opposed to “assembly for instruction” of representatives?
He saw this as getting rid of the cream. This forced the representatives to be bound by his uninformed constituents rather than be enlightened by his own conscious and full discussions with other representatives from around the country.
Who wrote the federalists Papers and what was their penname?
Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, John Jay
Penname “Publius”
What was the point of the Federalists Papers?
Responding to anit-federalists in defense of the constitution
What was the “fourth option?”
Massachuset’s solution during its convention about the constitution. Ratify the Constitution but with amendments (The Bill of Rights)
Why did James Madison not understand the desire for the Bill of Rights?
He thought that all the power the government held was stated in the constitution. He thought that the right to the press was obvious because the press wasn’t mentioned in the constitution at all and therefore the government couldn’t touch it
What are “parchment barriers?”
Ideals written in a constitution that are just that, ideals written and not practiced
What is the Bill of Rights?
The first 10 amendments to the constitution
What does the original second amendment say?
If a congressmember wants a pay raise for his position, he will have to explain why and the raise will only go into effect after the next election cycle
What does the modern first amendment protect?
Speech, petitioning, press, assembly, and religion
Author and main idea of “A republic-If you can keep it?”
Terence Ball
The discussion between Publius and the Anti-federalists (primarily Brutus) on the constitution and whether it established a republic. It covers topics such as if a republic is appropriate for the new country, how the republic should function, the possible outcomes of a poor republic, and the definition of the word republic.
Who was probably Brutus?
Robert Yates
Who are the two primary authors pennamed “Publius?”
Alexander Hamilton and James Madison
What are the four primary ideals of a good government?
- A minimum of violence to maintain order
- Protection of rights
- Enforcement of the rule of law
- Self-government (through representation or otherwise)
What does Ball define corruption as?
People cease to care about the public good and only think of themselves
What was the main question the Federalists and Anti-federalists were trying to answer about government?
How do we get a virtuous government even with a corrupt citizenry
How did Amar say Madison aimed to solve the question of keeping a virtuous government with a corrupt citizenry?
Madison aimed to “skim the cream” through representation, checks and balances so that the government could get the least corrupt as the leaders
Who favored madate representation?
The anti-federalists
What is mandate representation?
Each representative should mirror and perfectly represent their constituents. An actual representation
What was the problem with mandate representation?
If each view was truly represented, the congress would have as many people as the country itself
What is independence representation?
We vote for representatives we believe have good morals and principles, introducing a virtual representation. We trust that the representative could make good choices in different situations
What does Madison say would happen to a government of mandate representaion?
It would be an amalgam of narrow factional interests. Not a government of pure public interestedness
What do the anti-federalists argue would happen with independence representation?
Only the rich would end up in power. This would corrupt the public by leading them to hope in their “hero” or “savior” and blindly following them. Or they lose faith in the rulers and become apathetic and don’t vote
What do the federalists believe will solve corruption and apathy of the citizenry?
Institutional design. Virtue becomes not an individual property, but a systemic virtue. Similar to the invisible hand. The corruptiblility of the citizenry must be counteracted by the incorruptibility of the system.
What do anti-federalists view the bill of rights as?
It is educational and shows the points of a virtuous government and what it should protect. It also shows what rights the people should always keep
What is double jeopardy and which amendment does is come from?
The Fifth Amendment states that we cannot be tried for a crime twice. Even if new evidence comes out after you have been pronounced not guilty, too bad.
What does Madison believe about the corruption of people?
He understands that people aren’t angels and believes the system can withstand that
“It was a new political system, not the dictates of a lone legislator, but…”
“Argued into existence.”
Author and main idea of “Imagined Communities”
Benedict Anderson
The nation (not the U.S., the notion of a nation) as an imagined political community – and imagined as both inherently limited and sovereign.
The previous world governments (dynasties aka hereditary powers like monarchies) fell as the world sought to unite fraternity, power, and time meaningfully together.
Why does Anderson say a nation is “imagined?”
The members of even the smallest nation will never know most of their fellow-members
Why does Anderson say a nation is “limited?”
Even the largest of them has finite boundaries beyond which lie other nations
Why does Anderson say a nation is imagined as “sovereign?”
Instead of a certain group (like a christian denomination) ruling and designing a community that others may not fit into (like other christian denominations), a sovereign state works for all it’s members
The nation (not the government or its members) command my loyalty
Why does Anderson say a nation is “community?”
The nation is always conceived as a deep horizontal comradeship, regardless of the inequality and exploitation prevalent in each
Author and main idea of “Stratification, Emotional Energy, and the Transient Emotions?”
Randall Collins
Societies are held together by social mechanisms which produce emotions. We experience emotions at greater heights/depths when 1. we are in an assembled group collectively experiencing the emotion and 2. there are previously charged up symbols/events that are used as ingredients in carrying out a successful ritual (an event where emotion is the highest). Righteous anger is when these 2 elements combine within a group and is targeted towards persons who violate the groups sacred symbols. People are upset like this when their conception of the social world is described as arbitrary and not objective.
How does Collins describe “righteous anger?”
This is the emotional outburst, shared br a group (perhaps led by particular persons who act as its agents) against persons who violate its sacred symbols. It is group anger against a heretic or scapegoat that is seen as defending the community
What is the difference between a subject and a citizen?
A subject is loyal to a person.
A citizen is loyal to a government.
What is the great chain of being? What happened to it as a result of the revolution and capitalism?
A way to show that everybody in society has a place. Everybody has an obligation to obey a superior and care for a subordinate.
This idea was tossed out the window as equality in society took over
Who is Émile Durkheim? What did he teach?
The French philosopher who asked “What holds a society together?” He also identified that with capitalism there was more freedom and therefore a greater responsibility to accept the consequences of our actions. There are also fewer answers that come from society other than “Whatever works for you!”
What does Durkheim say is a social consequence of capitalism?
Everyone is free to choose their career, friends, hometown, religion, etc. And what if they don’t choose me? People can have anxiety of no longer belonging
What is the difference in community roles between a nation and a monarchy?
A monarchy has a great chain of being, a hierarchal chain of roles of who is higher/subordinate to who. In a nation, we are citizens not subordinate to others, but equal.
Collins said that we treat the mundane as _____
Sacred
How does Collins see the moral foundations of loyalty/disloyalty and pure/impure relate to each other?
We signal our loyalty to a group by protecting what we see as pure (or normal).
Author and main idea of “Democracy in America”
Alexis de Tocqueville
Despotism (tyranny) isolates men from each other. The hallmark of the success of the American society is association. Association is what drives citizens to unite for a multitude of causes and what leaves men in a state that encourages competitiveness as well as unity. Americans are individualistic in their lives until something must be done for the greater good in which case they readily unite. Having political freedom actually increases the drive for associations rather than increasing individualism as one might expect, and it opens the door for much more civil associations outside of political realms.
What does Tocqueville say is a danger of equality?
If we are all equal, people may pay undue attention to those who are naturally smarter or more mature. In a hierarchy statuses are set and followed, in equality anybody can become the leader
What does Tocqueville see as a danger of combining freedom and equality?
Isolation
What does Tocqueville say is the remedy to the dangers of equality? How does it work?
Political freedom
Because we are all equal (and equally weak), we NEED to combine and work together to get anything done
What does Tocqueville say are the primary social associations?
- Economy
- Politics
What is the difference between the federalists and anti-federalists?
The anti-federalists wanted a strong state government with a weaker national government.
The federalists wanted a strong national government and a weaker state government.
What was the Federalist approach to overcoming the corruptibility of the people?
A structured government that is incorruptible
How many original amendments were proposed?
12
What was seen as a problem to the original first amendment?
It was about representation based on population. This would give big states a ton of representation and small states (Delaware) weren’t fans
What was the original second ammendment?
Government officials cannot change their salary until after an election cycle
“Our rights are not only freedoms, they reaffirm our _____”
Sovereignty
Terence Ball says “America was ______ into existence”
Argued into existence
What was the basic main idea of Federalist #10?
FACT10NS
Factions are inevitable, so Madison’s resolution is a large republic
What is the basic main idea of Federalist #51?
5EPARATE 1NSTITUTIONS
Madison is saying that with a large republic…powers should be separated amongst 3 branches
What two problems did Madison say factions have caused that destroyed republics in the past? Where is this written?
Federalist #10
- Fighting among rival factions creates anarchy
- Capture of the government by a single dominant faction creates tyranny
Where does Madison more or less introduce the idea of checks and balances?
Federalist #51
What were three reasons that Joseph Smith failed in seeking reparation for the Saints in Missourri
- Joseph Smith started off with a mistaken understanding of the Constitution. It did not protect religious minorities at the time.
- But he was prophetic in what it should become. The 14th amendment required xitizens to get equal protection from the law
- His own views of the Constitution evolved from openly praising its inspired character to realizing that it had some flaws
Author and main idea of “Relationship with the Consitution”
Joseph Smith
The views of Joseph Smith concerning the constitution. He views it as almost divine in the principles it establishes. The only fault he finds in it is that it does not provide the way to enforce the keeping of its principles.
Author and main idea of “Finishing the founding”
Fox and Pope
The constitution was formed through many compromises which left many issues unsolved. The most important questions were 1. Does power primarily belong to the federal government or the state government and 2. Does slavery belong in the Union. These questions were left to the subsequent generations.
Author and main idea of “South Carolina Declaration of Secession (1860)”
South Carolina
The constitution outlines pro-slavery practices (like returning slaves that run away back to the southern owners). Other states and the federal government have encroached on this law and enacted other laws that are contradictory. South Carolina sees this as a valid reason for the Constitution to be of no force for them and they have a valid reason to seceed.
What was the fundamental disagreement that ignited the civil war?
Slavery
What did the 3/5 compromise establish slaves as?
3/5 people and 3/5 taxable property
What was the main idea of Lincoln’s inaugural address?
A response to the declaration of secession of South Carolina and others. He outlined why he believed it was unlawful and truly impossible for a state to leave the union they agreed to.
What were Lincoln’s two main points in arguing the secession of South Carolina?
If you’re leaving because we broke the slavery fugitive law, why not leave whenever there is murder in the union? Why this law?
If you leave because you are the minority leave, what precedent does that leave for your people? If you lose, you should just leave?
What was the fort that South Carolina fired on to start the Civil War?
Fort Sumpter
Federalism says that which unit of government affects us most?
The unit of government where our vote counts the most
According to the 14th amendment, who is soveriegn in the social constract of the US?
The constitution
What was one piece of federalism that Madison proposed in the Virginia Plan and that was affirmed in the 14th amendment?
The federal government can override state laws, and state laws cannot go against the Bill of Rights
What did Joseph Smith see was missing in the Constitution that was realized in the 14th amendment?
All citizens are citizens and deserve the rights of citizens
What does the 14th amendment state?
This amendment resolved many of the Constitutional issues that the War had raised.
Here, the Republican Party left its lasting influence on the Constitution.
What does the 13th amendment state?
No more slavery dangit. A person cannot be property
What big questions did the reconstruction answer?
What (or who) counts as property?
How binding is a political bond?
What is the correct balance between federal and state power?
Should the federal government take on the task of protecting minorities within the states?
Could racism end with slavery?
Why did South Carolina mention geographic separation in their declaration of secession?
The Southerners saw that a separation was forming between the states in establishing slave and non-slave states. Their understanding is that slavery should be the national standard because it is dividing the nation otherwise.
What was President Lincoln’s stance on slavery and protection?
He said that he wouldn’t do anything to end slavery (except not allowing new states to own slaves), but if the slave states attacked the United States it was his duty to protect the Union
Author and main idea of “Slouching toward Utopia”
J. Bradford de Long
Before 1870 major inventions did not lead to any changes in the world order or lead to any waves of invention. After 1870 the “second Industrial Revolution” led to a series of inventions and societal reformations that shaped America into the beacon of innovation and opportunity. People moved from around the world to be in America and enjoy the economy of corporations that raised the standard of living greatly.
Author and main idea of “The Laws of England”
Sir William Blackstone
When men and women marry, they must be willing to contract, able to contract, and actually contract under the proper forms and solemnities required by law. When they marry they become a single unit duly responsible for debts, responsibilities, etc. A man is charged with disciplining his wife since he is also responsible for her behavior. Anciently, harsh discipline was used but modern times are against this.
Author and main idea of “Divisions of Household Labor”
The concise encyclopedia of sociology
After the industrial revolution, spheres of work developed. Households used to generally be self-sufficient but now the men typically seek work in urban factories (productive or paid labor) while women work at home doing housework (unproductive or unpaid labor). When kids are born, men will typically be less involved in housework while women increase their housework load to take care of the extra family members
Author and main idea of “Possessive individualism”
Matt McManus
If we agree with Locke, and whatever we create is our own, then there is a problem with capitalism. The solution Locke proposed is contracts. But McManus sees that capitalism diminishes community because we all work for ourselves.
Ex. Every worker that helped build Trump tower has put labor into that, but Trump owns it all
