unit 1

Question 1

enlightenment

Answer 1

European intellectual movement in the 18th century that had much influence over the framers of Constitution

Question 2

natural rights

Answer 2

people are born with certain rights given by their creator, rights that cannot be taken away by anyone; theoretical state of nature where humans were free

Question 3

popular sovereignty

Answer 3

by nature, the power to govern is in the hands of the people

Question 4

social contract

Answer 4

in order to protect their natural rights, people willingly give away some of their power to a government (rights for safety)

Question 5

republicanism

Answer 5

people elect leaders to represent them, powers of government are separated

Question 6

limited government

Answer 6

a government that is prevented from tyranny through a system of checks and balances and the distribution of power among several acting members

Question 7

participatory democracy

Answer 7

emphasizes broad participation in the political process by most, if not all, members of a society; doesn’t work with America because we’re just too big, but is seen at local levels

Question 8

pluralist democracy

Answer 8

groups of people associate with interest groups who then compete to influence policy; giving people voice in groups, such as NAACP, National Rifle Association

Question 9

elite democracy

Answer 9

emphasizes more limited participation in policymaking on the assumption that government is complicated and therefore only the most educated people need to run it (electoral college)

Question 10

where can we see the types of democracy in the constitution?

Answer 10

elite democracy: elected representatives legislate on behalf of their people

pluralist democracy: first amendment’s freedom of assembly; allows political parties and interest groups to flourish

participatory democracy: first amendment’s freedoms of speech and press; allows people to express their political opinions

Question 11

Brutus 1

Answer 11

championed a broad, participatory model; feared the curtailment of personal liberties reflected in a larger republic like the US

Question 12

Federalist 10

Answer 12

argued that with so many competing factions in a large republic, liberty would be upheld by their competition (pluralist democracy)

Question 13

federalists vs. anti-federalists

Answer 13

should the states ratify (accept) the new Constitution as law or no?

Question 14

majority rule vs. minority rights

Answer 14

in a republic government, the majority will rule, but the minority shouldn’t be oppressed

Question 15

factions

Answer 15

groups of people who believe their interests are more important than any other interest

Question 16

federalist 10

Answer 16

Madison was concerned about factions in government; if the majority voice prevailed then the minority would never be represented…

Madison proposed solution: try to manage effects, appealing to the size and diversity of the US; too many factions in a large country, so they fight against each other and cancel out, which is why we need a large republic

ALSO double protection against tyranny of factions

Question 17

brutus 1

Answer 17

anti-federalists were very weary of the new Constitution because it invested the federal government with a lot more power than it had under the Articles; argued about the dangers of a large, centralized government (especially necessary & proper clause and supremacy clause)

anti-federalist supporters were participatory democracy fans

“a large, centralized government cannot adequately represent the views of the people because it would be largely separated from them”

Question 18

Articles of Confederation

Answer 18

federal government was weak, state governments were strong (monarchy hangover); only one branch of federal government: Congress

Question 19

problems with Articles of Confederation

Answer 19

• congress had no power to raise revenue through taxes (want money? beg!)
• no power to raise an army (no national defense against both external and internal threats)
• couldn’t even pay for said army
• all 13 states had to agree to amend the articles

Question 20

shay’s rebellion

Answer 20

war veterans were not getting paid by Congress, Congress still wanted them to pay taxes so they rebelled; no national army to stop them, made people realize that the federal government needed a lot more power to stop threats like this

Question 21

Constitutional Convention

Answer 21

• Philadelphia, in response to problems with the articles
• OFFICIAL GOAL was to modify articles… but they actually just overthrew them after realizing how bad they were
• four big compromises

Question 22

the Great Compromise

Answer 22

a compromise on how the people would be represented in the new Congress

Virginia plan: representation by population (large states have more power)
NJ plan: equal state representation (small states have more power)

Compromise: bicameral congress w/ two houses: House of Representatives (reps by state population) and Senate (two reps per state)

Question 23

How should the president be elected? The Electoral College Compromise

Answer 23

each state is given the number of electors that corresponds to the number of congressional representatives that they have in the House of Representatives

state legislatures have all the power to decide who the electors are

Question 24

3/5ths compromise: how would slaves be counted in state population to determine state representation in Congress?

Answer 24

• northern states thought slaves shouldn’t be counted at all, southern states wanted them to be counted
• compromise: 3/5ths of the slave population would be counted

Question 25

importation of slaves

Answer 25

Congress couldn’t touch the slave trade for 20 years after the ratification of the Constitution, then it would be abolished

Question 26

Article V

Answer 26

two state process to amend the Constitution:

• amendment can be proposed either by Congress or by states at a special convention, two thirds vote is needed to become official proposal
• then the amendment is sent to the states for ratification, 3/4 of state legislatures or state ratifying conventions need to agree for amendment to become law

Question 27

Constitution was ratified when?

Answer 27

June 1788

Question 28

stakeholders

Answer 28

people who look for access points in law: people who persuade policymakers for/against certain laws (legislative access point), complain or report crime to agencies (executive access point), challenge unjust and unconstitutional laws (Judicial access point)

Question 29

senate’s power of advice and consent

Answer 29

if the president wants to make an appointment with any other federal office, they must first be approved by the Senate

Question 30

executive’s power: veto

Answer 30

if Congress passes a law the president doesn’t like, the president can veto the law (unless overridden by 2/3 congress)

Question 31

judicial power: judicial review

Answer 31

if the Supreme Court finds a law to be unconstitutional, it can reject it

Question 32

branches of government

Answer 32

legislative: creates the law
executive: enforces the law
judicial: interprets the law

Question 33

federalism definition!!

Answer 33

the sharing of power between national power and state governments

Question 34

exclusive powers

Answer 34

specifically delegated by the Constitution to the federal government; stated in the Constitution (e.g. only Congress can make treaties with other nations, not states); stated in article 1 section 8 of Constitution

Question 35

reserved powers

Answer 35

powers kept by the states, 10th amendment; any powers not listed in the constitution are reserved for the states (e.g. police, hospitals, education)

Question 36

concurrent powers

Answer 36

powers shared by both federal and state governments (e.g. taxing)

Question 37

fiscal federalism

Answer 37

power is largely shared through money: Congress can establish national standards (e.g. for education) and then direct funding to those states who achieve the standards and withhold money from states who don’t
key terms: GRANTS and MANDATES

Question 38

categorical grants

Answer 38

given to states as long as the states comply with specific federal standards (used to persuade states to do things like integrate schools, raise the drinking age to 21)

Question 39

block grants

Answer 39

given to states for a relatively broad purpose, states can spend that money as they see fit (e.g. money given for the prevention of crime, state decides how the money is spent, example hire more police officers)

Question 40

mandates

Answer 40

require states to follow federal directives, but often compliance with these directives is beyond a state’s budget, so the federal government sets the rules and then provides money to help those states comply (e.g. Congress passing the Clean Air Act mandated that all states work to reduce smog acid rain, so federal government provided funds to states to help meet those mandates)
some mandates are unfunded… states hate these obviously

Question 41

tenth amendment; the balance of power

Answer 41

lays down the basis for reserved powers (powers kept by the states)

Question 42

fourteenth amendment

Answer 42

applies the Bill of Rights, or the first ten amendments, to the states; empowers the federal government to make sure that citizens’ liberties are also upheld by the states

Question 43

commerce clause

Answer 43

allows Congress to regulate commerce across states (interstate)

Question 44

necessary and proper clause (AKA elastic clause)

Answer 44

Congress can make any other law that is necessary/proper for upholding any exclusive powers (established laws)

e.g. Hamilton argued for a national bank, even though it wasn’t stated in the Constitution that we needed a national bank, we did regulate commerce and tax people, so where to manage those funds? a national bank!

Question 45

McCulloch vs. Maryland (1819)

Answer 45

example of balance of power tipping towards federal gov

context: court ruled that the federal government had the right to set up a national bank and that states could not tax the national bank because it was an entity of the federal government

1. supreme court ruled that the necessary and proper clause implied certain powers given to the federal government even if they were not explicitly mentioned in the constitution
2. supremacy clause meant that whenever federal gov and state gov conflicted, federal gov wins

Question 46

United States vs. Lopez (1995)

Answer 46

example of balance of power tipping towards states

context: commerce used the commerce clause to ban guns on school property, court ruled that carrying guns to school was not related to interstate commerce, so the federal government could not act here; up to the states to regulate guns in schools

1. congress had overstepped its bounds into state authority