unit 1 Flashcards
1
Q
natural rights (John Locke)
A
- people are born with certain rights that are given to them their creator
- important because those rights were not given by a monarch and could be taken away
2
Q
popular sovereignty (Thomas Hobbes) & the social contract (Jean-Jacques Rousseau)
A
-Popular Sovereignty: by nature, the power to govern is in the hands of the people
- The Social Contract:in order to protect their natural rights, people willingly give some of that power away to a government
– state is the servant of the people not the other way around - if the government violates the agreement and becomes tyrannical then the people’s duty is overthrow that government and switch it out
3
Q
republicanism
A
- elect leaders to represent them and create laws in the public interest
- power separated between three branches
4
Q
limited government
A
- a government that prevented from tyranny through a system of checks and balances and the distribution of power among several acting members
5
Q
participatory democracy
A
- emphasizes broad participation in the political process by most, if not all members of a society
- town halls, initiatives
6
Q
pluralist democracy
A
- groups of people associate with interest groups who then compete to influence policy
- provides the people with a voice in chunks
- interest groups (NRA, NAACP)
7
Q
elite democracy
A
- limited participation in policymaking on the assumption that government is complicated and the most educated people need to run it
- electoral college
8
Q
Shays’s Rebellion
A
- war veterans were not getting paid by congress because congress had no money, but congress still prosecuted them if they didn’t pay their taxes
- a bunch of them rose up in Massachusetts and there was no national army to come in and help
- made a lot of people realize that the federal government needed a lot more power in case of rebellions
9
Q
constitutional convention (Philadelphia convention)
A
- 1787
- official goal was to modify the articles of confederation
- ended up drafting an entirely new constitution
10
Q
grand committee
A
- Washington, Hamilton, Madison
- tasked with forging compromises needed for a new governing document
11
Q
Great Compromise
A
- a compromise on how the people would be represented in the new congress
- Virginia Plan: congressional representatives should be apportioned by population. Big states would have more representatives and more power.
- New Jersey Plan: each state should be represented equally with one vote. Small stats have a disproportionate amount of power
12
Q
Bicameral
A
- 2 houses in congress
- House of Representatives: people represented by population
- Senate: two votes per state
13
Q
Electoral College
A
- each state is given a number of electors that corresponds to the number of congressional representatives they have in the House
- State legislatures have all the power to decide who those people are
14
Q
3/5ths compromise
A
- three fifths of the enslaved population would count towards representation
15
Q
Article V
A
- two stage process to amend the constitution: proposal and ratification
- amendment could be proposed by congress or by the states at a special convention (two-thirds vote is needed to become official)
- amendment is sent to states for ratification (three quarters of state legislatures/state ratifying conventions need to agree)
16
Q
advice and consent
A
- any appointments the president makes to the presidential cabinet or supreme court or any other federal office has to be approved by the senate
17
Q
Veto
A
- if congress passes a law that the president doesn’t like, he can veto it and it becomes null and void
- vetoes can be overridden by a 2/3rds vote
18
Q
Judicial Review
A
- the courts prerogative to judge the laws passed by congress and signed by the president on the merits of their constitutionality
19
Q
federalism
A
- the sharing of power between national and state governments
20
Q
exclusive powers
A
- specifically delegated by the constitution to the federal government
- ex. only congress can make treaties with other sovereign nations
21
Q
reserved powers
A
- kept by states
- 10th amendment
- ex. police powers, hospitals, education, etc.
22
Q
concurrent powers
A
- shared by both federal and state
- ex. income tax
23
Q
fiscal federalism
A
- money
- congress is able to establish national standards and direct funds to states that comply with those standards and withhold funds from states that don’t
24
Q
Grants
A
categorical grants: grants given to states as long as states comply with specific federal standards
- given to specific needs of the state and congress decides on how that money is spent
block grants: grants given to states for a relatively broad purpose and the states can spend the money as they see fit
- state has discretion, but there are still limits
25
Q
Mandates
A
- require states to follow federal directives but often compliance with these directives are beyond a state’s budget capacity
- federal government sets the rules and provides the states money to help them comply
26
Q
Unfunded mandate
A
- federal government issues mandates and provides no funding to help the states achieve it
27
Q
devolution
A
- return of power to the states away from the federal government
28
Q
USA patriot act
A
- after 9/11
- find and stop future terrorists
- increased ability of federal agencies to find and gather intelligence by phone tapping and monitoring emails
- outcry among citizens, argued that it was a violation of 4th amendment rights to be secure against unreasonable search and seizure
29
Q
No child left behind act
A
- in order to receive federal funding that schools depend on, schools had to meet certain criteria was found to be unattainable by a vast majority of schools
- schools that did not meet criteria were slapped with sanctions
- outcry from state that this was federal overreach
30
Q
commerce clause
A
- allows congress to regulate commerce among the states
31
Q
necessary and proper clause (elastic clause)
A
