The process of deciding who benefits in society and who is excluded from benefiting.

The institution that creates and implements policy and laws that guide the conduct of the nation and its citizens.

Totalitarian government

Governement essentially control every aspect of their citizens’ lives.  In these tyrannical governments, citizens enjoy neither rights nor freedoms, and the state is the tool of the dictator. Totalitarian regimes tend to center on a particular ideology, religion, or personality.

is a government in which the power rest with the people who elect representatives to govern them and make laws and policies.

A theory that holds that a group of wealthy, educated individuals wields most political power.

Pluralist Theory

A theory that holds that policy making is a competition among diverse interest groups that ensure the representation of individual interests.

John Lock’s idea of a man’s rights

unalienable rights life, liberty, & property

Mayflower compact

It was in essence a social contract in which the settlers consented to follow the compact’s rules and regulations for the sake of survival.

Taxes imposed by the King and reasons why

Sugar Act, Stamp Act (required stamps for Court documents, land titles, contracts, and playing cards) Tea Act (which granted a monopoly on the importation of tea into the colonies.)leading up to during and after the French and Indian war, Britain had invested huge quantities of resources into her American colonies.

Britains national debt during this period had rocketed from £76m to £114m, all borrowed from Dutch & other oversees lenders. This is without even considering the British loss of life during this conflict, which at large involved protection of the American colonies (Colonists) so they could continue to prosper.

Thomas Paine

in words of flame, told his new countrymen that it was time to get their act together. The king was and would never be a friend to the americans. He should be regarded as what he was, “the royal Brute of Great Britain”.

Unitary Government

has a king that puts people in office (assigns power to "people"). power that resides in central government. The king runs the government.

Confederate Government

is one in which an alliance of independent states creates a central government of very limited power; the members states have supreme authority over all matters except those few which have been expressly delegated to the central government.

Actions at the Philadelphia Convention

Purpose of national convention would be to make the national government strong enough to handle the weaknesses under the Articles of Confederation.  Once the delegates got there and heard the opening proposal (Virginia Plan). It became apparent that the convention was replacing not revising the Articles. Some delegates left saying the convention was outside the Articles, therefore illegal, in fact, it was treason.

Shay’s Rebellion

The Massachusetts legislature was dominated by the wealthy business interest. Legislated strict credit laws to protect their interests. Class confrontations arose between the rich and the poor. Needed to find a way to contain and limit the will of the people, in a government based on the will of the people.  Frightened and embarrassed the leaders of the United States.

New Jersey Plan

The proposal presented in response to the Virginia Plan by the less populous states at the Constitutional Convention, which called for a unicameral national legislature in which all states would have an equal voice (equal representation), an executive office composed of several people elected by Congress, and a Supreme Court whose members would be appointed by the executive office. Smaller states knowing they would fare poorly came up with their own plan. Lawyer William Paterson of New Jersey Argued: Under the Articles all states had equality, therefore, the convention had no power to change... thus he proposed the New Jersey Plan.  Reinforced the Articles of Confederation. Multi person executive no-one person could possess to much power.  Congressional acts-supreme law of the land. One house legislature each state had one vote.  Favored the smaller states. Anti-federalists.

Virginia Plan

Proposed (Madison wrote, Randolph presented). Proportional representation Number of representatives in each house based on the taxes paid by the residents of the state, which would reflect the free population in the state. Favored the large states The new governmental structure proposed by the Virginia delegation to the Constitutional Convention; it consisted of a bicameral legislature (Congress), an executive elected by the legislature, and a separate national judiciary; state representation in Congress would be proportional, based on state population; the people would elect members to the lower house, and members of the lower house would elect the members of the upper house. Bicameral (two house) legislature.  One house elected directly by the people. The other house indirectly chosen by state legislature and members of the house above.  Single executive appointed by legislature.  National judiciary appointed by legislature.  National government could override state laws.

The Great Compromise

(Connecticut Compromise) At the constitutional convention, the compromise between the Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan that created a bicameral legislature with one chamber’s representation based on population and the other chamber having two members for each state. The Great Compromise resulted in a bicameral legislature, with one house based on equal representation, the other on population.   The Three-Fifths Compromise was a compromise between the Northern & Southern States. resulted in slaves being counted as “3/5” of a person for the purpose of determining population for representation in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Federalists

Individuals who supported the new Constitution as presented by the Constitutional Convention in 1787.

Anti-Federalists

Individuals who opposed ratification of the Constitution because they were deeply suspicious of the powers it gave to the national government and of the impact these powers would have on states’ authority and individual freedoms.

Federalist papers

A series of essays, written by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay, that argued for the ratification of the Constitution.

Bill of Rights

The first ten amendments to the Constitution, which were ratified in 1791, constituting an enumeration of the individual liberties with which the government is forbidden to interfere. Were designed to protect individuals from a too powerful national government.

Federalism

Hurricane Katrina is an example of federalism.

conflicts that need. A system of government in which power is divided between a central authority and constituent political units.

Enumerated powers, necessary and proper clause, implied powers

The powers of the national government that are listed in the Constitution.

Powers to the states

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

Supremacy clause

The paragraph in Article VI that makes the Constitution, and the treaties and laws created in compliance with it, the supreme law of the land.

McCulloch v. Maryland

The 1819 case that established that the necessary and proper clause justifies broad understandings of enumerated powers.

Gibbons v. Ogden

was a landmark decision in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that the power to regulate interstate commerce was granted to Congress by the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution.[2] The case was argued by some of America's most admired and capable attorneys at the time. Exiled Irish patriot Thomas Addis Emmet and Thomas J. Oakley argued for Ogden, while William Wirt and Daniel Webster argued for Gibbons.

Cooperative Federalism

The relationship between the national and state governments whereby the two levels of government work together to address domestic matters reserved to the states, driven by the policy priorities of the states.

Categorical formula grants

The intergovernmental transfer of money for a specified program area for which the amount of money a government is eligible to receive is based on a legislated formula.

Categorical Project Grant

The intergovernmental transfer of money for a specified program area for which recipients compete by proposing specific projects they want to implement.

Block grants

The intergovernmental transfer of money that has fewer conditions of aid than a categorical grant and is used for broadly defined policy areas; it is distributed based on complicated formulas.

Federal mandates

A federal law or act compelling State to take certain actions sometimes without providing funding, such as No Child Left Behind- - that's called an un-funded mandate.