Unit 1 Flashcards
What does unit 1 say is perhaps the most complex form of human interaction?
Politics
Which of the following documents outlines the purpose of government to protect the social rights of its citizens, chiefly among these rights are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?
Declaration of Independence
What does civilian control of the military mean?
Military leaders do not have any independent authority, but are the servants of the elected representatives of the people.
According to Hobbes, what would life be like without limits on an individual’s behavior or if living in a state of nature?
Perilous
How can the principle of federalism promote the protection of civil rights in the American federal system?
It provides both state and national governments with the ability to protect citizens from abuses of power by the other.
A prominent political scientist famously described American government as separate institutions sharing powers; Which two constitutional principles are embodied in this statement?
separation of powers and checks and balances
Classical republicanism is principally concerned with ____________ while classical liberalism is concerned with _______________.
liberty; order
How does the Constitution divide power between the three branches?
Power is not completely separated, allowing each branch to limit the other branches’ exercise of power.
As discussed in the chapter, what term is used to describe each branch of government’s separate and distinct sphere of power?
separation of powers
According to Tocqueville, civic virtue means simply that individuals have interests and desires that are not solely focused on themselves. Rather, they are willing to give up some of the things they want in order to promote the common good. What did he mean by this?
People should help one another because the welfare of others affects individual welfare.
If a country has a political system where some decisions are made in local legislatures and others are made in the national legislature. Whose government would this most likely be compared to?
the U.S. system of government created in Philadelphia
Which of the following is not one of the three types of government outlined by Montesquieu?
Democracy
Which of the following IS NOT an example of checks and balances in the United States Constitution?
The president can veto a Supreme Court decision, but only with the support of a two-thirds majority vote in Congress.
Which political thinker wrote The Prince, where he justified popular sovereignty, revolution, and a separation of religious and secular government?
Machiavelli
Which of the following best describes separation of powers?
executive, legislative, and judicial branches
