z: ch 2 final Flashcards
john locke and natural rights
believed the purpose of government was to protect the laws of nature and the natural rights (life, liberty, property/the pursuit of happiness) of the governed.
limited government
the idea that the government is not ALL powerful, it has limits on itself.
articles of confederation (1781)
de-centralized and made the federal government weak. power was dominated by the stages. the federal government could not levy tax or even raise an army. president had no power.
federalist
(hamiliton, washington, and madison) want more federal government power. they were wealthy merchants. the national government had to be strong to protect the people.
anti-federalist
(sam adams, patrick henry, thomas jefferson who wrote the declaration of independence) wanted state rights. small farmers. feared strong national government.
bill of rights
added as a compromise by anti-feds to feds. the first 10 amendments of the constitution.
federalist 10
federalist papers supports the constitution./ madison afraid of factions: groups tied together by a common interest.
how we control a faction: “remove the causes and control the effects.” control effects by: establishing a republic and federal system. a republic is one person speaking for many others.
federalist 51
separation of power: power to counter balance power—> checks and balances.
virginia plan
(Big state) 1. national government had to supreme power over the states.
2. legislative branch would be based on population and elected directly by the people.
new jersey plan
(small state)
- equal representation in legislative branch
- limits the federal government
the great/Connecticut compromise
a house of representative based on population and directly elected by the people. senate: 2 senators per state (indirectly elected) the state legislator used to pick senators. house was directly elected.
how amendments pass
2/3 vote in both houses—> 3/4 of states agree. equal rights amendment didn’t make state phase.
the declaration of independence
the document approved by representatives of the american colonies in 1776 that stated their desperation from the british colony.
separation of powers
the institutional arrangement that assigns judicial executive and legislative powers to different people or groups.
checks and balances
the principle that allows each branch of government to exercise some form of control over the others
