principles of American democracy Flashcards
Socrates
challenged democracy
Plato
learned everything from Socrates
not a fan of human nature-thought they had selfish motives
Elements of a state
Population
territory
sovereignty
government
Aristotle
Student of Plato, rejected many of his ideas
Citizens can find a good life by being members of their city-state
concludes that man is a political animal
beliefs that humans were social and best when together formed basis of a sta e
Characteristics of democracy
individual liberty
majority rule w/minority rights
free elections and secret ballots
rival political parties
Characteristics of capatalism
private ownership of goods
individual initiative (work how you’d like to get what you want)
profits
competition
Socialism
businesses owned by state, planned economy: government plays a central role in directing economic activity, wealth distributed evenly,
How a capitalist economy is best for a democratic nation
Individual freedoms and choice: can own property, businesses and make their own choices on how to work and spend their money. can pursue their own interests and competition encourages innovation/efficiency so a wide variety of goods and services can be offered.
Encouragement of innovation: rewards businesses that create new ideas/services that meet customer demand, democracies rely on progress
economic growth can lead to social stability and reduce tensions between different social groups in a democracy
decentralized power: distributed among private businesses, not in the hands of the government- prevents authoritarian control which aligns with democracy. people can vote with their money and choose who to support or what to buy,the people influence the economy
competition: businesses must respond to consumers needs
promotes a free market where peeople are not limited to government control
the people can improve their own financial situations through hard work- democracy- equality and individual initiative
The Albany Plan of Union
life under British rule- strong national government
without the British gov, they wouldn’t be able to protect themselves against attacks from french
provided protection and trade
had to pay taxes in return, overtaxed
The Declaration of Independence
3 Parts: natural rights; what you said you’d do, list of grievances; what you did/what the King did that broke the social contact theory, and the declaring of Independence;what we’ll do.
Articles of Confederation
after albany plan they wanted the opposite- a strong state government with little national power
national gov did not have an executive branch, it reminded them of a king, or a judicial branch bc they wanted to take care of their own affairs
legislative branch was created but couldn’t tax
Shay’s Rebellion
with so much state power, they became corrupt
high taxes and oppressive state govs
Federalism
power split between state and national government, neither can become too powerful
Federalists and anti federalists
federalists wanted stronger national gov
anti federalists wanted stronger state gov
neither wanted a strong national gov
US Constitution
sovereign- the people
gave consent to being governed-indirect democracy
provided Americans
The Great Compromise- 1st compromise
argument between big and small states, big states wanted based on population small states wanted based on equality
Congress created that would have 2 houses- a senate and house of reps
NJ plan-small states-Senate: equal representation- 2 senators
Virginia plan-big states-House of reps: based on population
3/5 Compromise: 2nd compromise
slaves made up a large portion o Southern states population so slaves counted as 3/5 of a person
The Bill of Rights- 3rd compromise
debate over power of national gov
protected individual rights
federalists favored US con- argued people were the soverign
anti federalists opposed the constitution- felt the national gov was too strong and wanted additional protection against an oppressive gov
Hobbes
evil
believed humans were evil and needed to be repressed
absolute ruler (king) to subdue people’s evil ways
absolutism- control in hands of one
contributed to social contract theory
Locke
more evil than good
believed humans were more evil than good and had become corrupt
believed king should be soverign but should not fully oppress people-they still had natural rights they were born with
believed people should be represented in gov
constitutional monarchy- king but with an elected parliament also
contributed to ideas on natural rights
Montesquieu
more good than evil
believed humans were more good than evil and believed they should be represented in gov
saw the king and parliament and believed that they power should be separated
indirect democracy- vote on representatives to decide laws and govern country
contributed to separation of branches and checks and balances(branches induced to share power and branches respond to actions of other branches)
Rousseau
good
believed humans were innately good
believed people should be the soverign and should have complete control
direct democracy: people vote on laws directly
contributed ideas on people as the soverign, direct democracy and social contract
Greek philosophers question
Socrates- challenging status quo, questioning, critical thinking
Plato- ides on human nature-good v bad, his ideas on philosopher kings- organized society, defined roles, virtuous leadership
Aristotle- his views on the roles of citizens influenced America- active participation in government is essential. he discussed benefits of a mixed govenment of democracy and aristocracy
