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Definition
| a system in which all people in a society, including governing officials, are subject to legal codes that are applied without bias by independent courts. Officials cannot make arbitrary decisions contrary to the law. Leads to better economic growth and to richer associational life in the country. |
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| Articles of Confederation (1781) |
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Definition
adopted by the Second Continental Congress in 1777. It set up a weak central government consisting of a congress with limited legislative power and virtually no authority over the execution of its laws. Ineffective in providing security, collecting taxes, and representing country in foreign relations.
Dilemmas: free riding, could not compel states to cooperate and aid in boosting national economy, and could not come to an agreement on national currency, trading, and business investments. Needed 9 out of 13 states to pass legislations, this gave the power to any single state to block change. |
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| a plan proposed at the 1787 Constitutional Convention by Edmund Randolph of Virginia, which outlined a stronger national government, with an independent executive and a bicameral legislature whose membership in both houses would be apportioned according to state population. |
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| a plan proposed at the 1787 Constitutional Convention by William Paterson of New Jersey to amend, rather than replace, the standing Articles of Confederation. The plan called for a unicameral legislature with equal representation among the states, along with a plural executive appointed by the legislature. |
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| Connecticut Compromise (the Great Compromise) |
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Definition
| an agreement reached at the Constitutional Convention that there would be a bicameral legislature, with an upper house (the Senate) composed of equal representation from each state and a lower house (the HoR) composed of representation from each state in proportion to its population. |
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Term
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Definition
| (AKA enumerated powers) those powers specifically described in the Constitution. |
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| (AKA necessary and proper clause) the provision in Article I, Sec. 8, of the Constitution that states that Congress can make whatever laws are necessary and proper in order to provide the means to carry outs its enumerated powers. |
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Term
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Definition
an arrangement in which specific governmental powers are divided among distinct branches of government; typically, this means having an executive who is chosen independently of the legislative branch, and thus executive power and legislative power are separated.
1. Executive
2. Legislative
3. Judiciary
*Believed to be the key to avoiding tyranny |
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Term
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Definition
an arrangement in which no one branch of government can conduct its core business without the approval, tacit or expressed, of the other branches.
Examples:
-Congress writes legislation-> President has power to veto.
- Judicial judges interpret laws-> President appoints judges.
-Congress can override vetoes, impeach president and judges, and set up new federal courts. |
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| the section of Article VI of the Constitution that states that the Constitution and the subsequent laws of the US are to be "supreme law of the land", meaning that they supersede state and local laws. |
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| those powers not granted to the national government by the Constitution, and therefore reserved to the states. |
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those who favored adopting the Constitution as written because they believed that a strong national government was needed to solve the collective dilemmas facing the states.
*James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay publish the Federalist Papers:
-stated that government institutions should be designed to constrain the behavior or ambitious people
-national government in essential to protect states, prevent war between states, and forestall competition.
-separation of power to avoid tyranny
***provided convincing arguments to enough groups of society that a gov. that was too weak could not deal with collective dilemmas. |
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Term
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Definition
those who opposed adopting the Constitution because they feared hat it created an overly strong national government.
-"Letters from the Federal Farmer to the Republican": complained that the new constitution trampled over state rights and would lead to a tyrannical fed. government.
-complained that the Constitution did not contain a list of individual rights to be protected against governmental intrusion. |
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Term
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Definition
ratified in 1791, the first 10 amendments of the Constitution, which enumerate a set of liberties not to be violated by the government and a set of rights to be protected by the government.
*freedom of speech, assembly, and religious practice
*right to counsel, bear arms, and security against government intrusion on private property.
*paved the way for the nation to grow as immigrants swelled the population |
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Definition
| an enumerated power listed in Article I, Sec. 8, of the Constitution that grants Congress the power to "regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among several states, and with the Indian tribes". |
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Definition
| the electors appointed by each state to vote for the President. |
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| a legislative consisting of two chambers or houses |
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Definition
Angry, poor farmers who'd been hurt by the economic downturn caused by the war vs. MA state militia. Farmers resented the state governor's foreclosure rules, so it shut down courts in order to stop debt collectors.
-Shed light on the ineffectiveness of the Articles of Confederation. |
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Term
| Constitutional Convention of 1787 |
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Definition
dealt with addressing the flaws of the Articles of Confederation and strengthening the national government, but the American Revolution caused Americans to want a weak national government that would not interfere in state/individual freedoms.
Cleavages among states and their political leaders:
-Liberty vs. strong national government: Patrick Henry and John Hancock advocated the spirit of 1776 (loose central government) vs. the Virginia Plan, which promoted a strong national government
-Large states vs. small states: Virginia Plan vs. the New Jersey plan as well as the debate over how slaves should be counted towards representation and determination of taxes. |
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Term
| Authoritarian regimes vs. Democratic systems |
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Definition
| Authoritarian regimes allow the law in the system to be whatever the leaders want it to be vs. Democratic systems are governed by a body of laws that has been established by the people. |
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Term
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Definition
Constitutional law above statuary law.
*Constitutional law- is the collection of fundamental rules for making statutory laws and regulations. Defines who can wield power and the extent of authority of public officials. (i.e. Constitution provides fundamental shape and structure of the whole political system)
-American politics encourages competition between groups and individuals
*Statutory laws are those passed by legislature or by administrative agencies empowered by legislation. |
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Term
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Definition
1. Proprietary colonies- founded by British noble families or companies. (i.e. Virginia)
2. Royal colonies- were governed by the Crown (i.e. New York)
*colonies consisted of a lower chamber (the assembly) and an upper chamber (the council) and a governor |
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| Causes for the Revolution |
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Definition
| the British government established repressive taxes and unfair trading rules, exploiting the government for economic benefit. Colonists rebelled through boycotts, riots, and attack on British troops. (i.e. the Boston Tea party or the Sons of Liberties) |
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Term
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Definition
represented the colonies in communications with the British government.
*July 1776- the colonies formally announced their separation from Britain. |
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Term
| the Declaration of Independence |
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Definition
Promotes specific philosophies of government such as natural rights of government.
Parts of the Declaration:
1. Arguments for rebellion- John Locke's philosophy that a government is only legitimate if it is based on the consent of the governed.
-"Social contract" theory: contract between the people and elected officials. Officials are elected through popular demand and the people are obligated to obey the rules established by the majority.
2. Political justification for rebellion: list of grievances against King George III
3. Absolve allegiance to tyrant: declaring independence
*Declared president the commander in chief, gave powers to assemblies to pass legislation, and established the Bill of Rights.
*strengthened the national government to deal with collective dilemmas
*was designed to limit popular control for fear that too much democracy would lead to poor government and mob rule. |
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Definition
| 3/5 compromise, abolition of slavery could not be placed until after 1807 (this article could not be changed until after 1807), and fugitive slaves must be returned to their owners. |
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Term
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Definition
-Elected president serves a term of 4 years.
-Executes laws, protect country, negotiate with foreign countries, and appoint officials to the executive branch
-Holds the power to bring decisiveness in the face of collective dilemmas.
*Electoral college established to elect president and as a compromise between those who wished Congress to elect the President and those who wanted the people to vote directly.
*Powers of War: Commander in Chief.
-Congress delves out military decision-making, while the president is in charge of implementing these decisions. |
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Term
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Definition
-House of Representative: two-year terms (voted by the people), according to population.
-Senate: equal representation, 2 senates per state, 6 year terms.
*Congress was intended to be the center of the national power with the most expressed power:
*Powers of War:
1. declare war
2. make rules concerning captures on land and water
3. call forth militia to execute laws of the union, suppress insurrections, and repel invasions.
4. raise and support armies
5. provide and maintain a navy |
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Term
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Definition
-headed by Supreme Courts
-"inferior courts": federal districts and appeal courts
-maintain social order and promote the common good.
-solve collective dilemmas between among citizens by interpreting the law.
*resolve disputes between states, between citizens in different states, between reps of foreign countries and the US
-Courts remained free of manipulation, this lead to the economic growth of the US |
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Term
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Definition
| Established by Marbury v. Madison, which gave the court the power to review the constitutionality of laws. |
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Term
| Federalism with national authority |
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Definition
a weak government would lead to fighting among the states, ineffective response to threats, and lack of coordination on policies.
*National governments:
-protects states against legislation (A. IV, S. 4)
-must approve boundaries for new states and return fugitives from the state they flee from. (A. IV, S. 2&3)
-list a series of actions that states canNOT take (A. I, S. 10) |
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Term
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Definition
Constitution protects state governments from the federal government:
-states cannot be subdivided
-equal rep. in the Senate
-guaranteed protection as republican forms of government |
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Term
| Amending the Constitution |
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Definition
1. 2/3 of Congress and 3/4 of state legislatures approve
2. 2/3 of state legislatures can call a national convention to propose an amendment, but 3/4 of state legislatures must approve. |
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Term
| Constitutions around the world |
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Definition
-a few countries do not have a written constitution, instead they have multiple documents or laws passed by legislation that are given constitutional structure.
*United Kingdom
-Written constitutions describe rights and protection, but are merely ideas on paper.
*North Korea |
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Term
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Definition
Amendments, court decisions, and practices of politicians have shaped the constitutional structure of government. It is a living document because its meaning evolves over time in response to changing circumstances and through the text itself.
-Changes over the years;
*Military power held by the President
*Slavery
*Power held by national and state governments
*Direct Election of President and Senators (only House of Representatives were elected by the public)
*Suffrage expanded to women and African-Americans
*Encouragement participation in government by the people
*Penumbras: rights not specified in the text are implied in the Bill of Rights. |
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Term
| Consequences established by the Constitution |
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Definition
It is unknown if these consequences were caused by the
original Constitutions or by the factors of society.
*** Critics of Constitution ***
-Founders, wealthy landowners, deliberately wrote the Constitution to protect their own class.
-American system of government supported by political institutions established by the Constitution has lead to extreme inequality and racial subjugation.
-American constitutional system creates partisan conflict that does not represent public opinion.
*** Ways to determining consequences ***
1. compare to other countries that have different institutional framework.
2. compare what happens as institutions change |
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Term
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Definition
| credited with establishing a stable political system that has enabled the country to grow geographically, population-wise, and by wealth. |
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