Principles of Government Quiz Flashcards
4 Characteristics of a State
- Population
- Territory
- Soverignty
- Government
Sovereignty
Can govern yourself
Different types: in US we have popular sovereignty
Ex: Guam and Puerto Rico do not have sovereignty
The Force Theory
Person or small group claiming control
Imperialism
Revolutions
Type of origin of the state
The Evolutionary Theory
Type of origin of the state
Development of the state over time beginning from small families and clans
Head of family=head of government
Ex: European countries
The Divine Right Theory
Type of origin of the state
Creation of the state by God
Despotism: ruler hold absolute power
Ex: Saudi Arabia and Bahrain
Despotism
Ruler holds absolute power
Social Contract Theory
Type of origin of the state
Contract/agreement between the people and the government
Philosophers thought of this
Autocratic
Rule by one
Oligarchic
Rule by the few
Ex: Russia, china, saudi family, iran, and south africa in the 20th century
Democratic
Rule by the people/all
Two ways democracy is determined
Directly (referendium)
Elected officials
Aristocracy
Form of government which power is held by the nobility
Unitary Government
Single, central agency
Power dictated by central government, not states of regions
Ex: Great Britain
Federal Government
Power is divided between a central government and several regional governments
Each level has their own sets of laws, officials, and agencies
Confederate Government
Alliance between states
Limited central government (powers in the states)
Cooperation between states
Ex: European Union
Hobbes
Believed in absolute monarchy
Only kind of government that could solve problems because of the selfishness of man
Locke
Men are naturally free
We give up rights when we submit to government
Need revolution to fix government
Social contract
Montesquieu
Limit absolutism (belief in absolute philosophical principles)
Divide powers into branches
Did not believe that all people were equal
Rousseau
Humans are naturally free
Give up freedom when there is a government
Direct democracy
Man is born good, but corrupted by society
Believed in revolution
Voltaire
Believed the best form of government was a monarchy that was advised by philosophers
Thought the church and government were corrupt
Beccaria
Criminal law
Argued against the use of torture and other common abuses of justice
Wollstonecraft
Education of woman
Woman should have same political rights as men
Government
Institution through which a society makes and enforces its public policies
Public policies
all of the things a government decides to do
Legislative power
make law and frame public policies
Executive power
Power to execute, enforce, and administer law
Judicial Power
power to interpret laws, to determine their meaning, and to settle disputes
State
basically has all the characteristics of a state
Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation
One vote regardless of state’s size
Could not tax
Had no court system
No trade regulation
What did the Articles of Confederation establish
Firm league of friendship between states
Unicameral congress
Congress under the Articles of Confederation
Could make war
Send and receive ambassadors
Raise an army
BORROW money from states
Type of atmosphere under Articles of Confederation
States began to fight with each other
States printed own money and received own diplomats
Economic chaos
Shay’s Rebellion
Small farmers were beginning to lose their land and possessions for lack of payment of debt and taxes
Initially, Daniel Shay led these farmers to force State judges to close their courts
Next year, Shay tried to attack the federal arsenal
Result of Shay’s Rebellion
Massachusetts legislature passed laws to ease the burden of debtors
Showed things were not well in the Confederation
Maryland and Virgina
George Washington called Maryland and Virginia (fighting over trade) to Mount Vernon
Negotiations went so well they called for a joint meeting of all the states to draft a new plan for the US
Annapolis
Joint meeting called by Maryland and Virgina
did not go well only 5/13 states attended
From here planned to have constitutional convention in Philadelphia
What did the framers choose to work in at the Constitutional convention?
Secrecy
They did not want outside pressures
Virginia Plan
Called for a government with 3 branches
State officers should take a vote to uphold the Union
Bicameral (2 houses in Congress)
Who wrote the Virginia plan?
Largely the work of James Madison
What was a problem with the Virginia plan?
Representation in each house of congress was to be determined by State’s population or wealth
Who presented the New Jersey plan?
William Patterson
New Jersey Plan
Wanted equal representation
Wanted a plural executive
Unicameral congress
Connecticut Compromise
Senate would be represented equally
The lower house would be in relation to population
Problem before 3/5 Compromise
Large slave owning states wanted slaves to count as members of the population
Small states without many slaves did not want this
3/5 Compromise
Slaves counted as 3/5 of a person when determining population
This population count (3/5 slaves included) would also determine how much money you had to pay to Congress
Southerners could count slaves, but they would have to pay for them
Problem Before the Commerce and Slave Trade Compromise
Southerners worried that Congress would try to tax export duties which was mostly Southern tobacco
Southerners also thought that congress would interfere with the slave trade
Commerce and Slave Trade Compromise
Offered Southerners protection
Congress forbidden to tax the export of goods
Could not act on the slave trade for 20 years
Popular Sovereignty
People are the only source of governmental power
Government governs with the consent of its people
Limited Government
Government is not all powerful
Our government only has the authority that the people have given it
Constitutionalism: government must obey the laws
Government is not above the laws
Seperation of Powers
3 Branches that eliminate domination of one aspect of government
Tied together by checks and balances
Judicial Review/ Independent Judiciary
Protect against abuses of the system by self-interested parties
Supreme Court as well as inferior courts
Declare government actions unconstitutional
Marbury vs. Madison
Established Judicial Review
Individual Rights
Role of individual rights within the Constitution
Bill of Rights
Federalism
Division of power among a central government and several other regional governments
Meant to build an effective National government while preserving the states
COMPROMISE
