Rule by the Few. A minority group holds power over the majority.

Rule by a group of a few members of an elite group to benefit their own group or personal gain.

ex. Aristocracy or clerical est.

Rule by One ! power rests in the hands of a single individual leader.

ex. dictator, or king (hereditary monarch)

basica principle of democracy that...

The people ultimately rule !

the idea that, citizens in a democracy are protected from the government interference in the exercise of a range of basic freedoms.

ex. freedom of speech, association, and conscience.

form of self government. Lack of a formally structured government.

 The idea that people can regulate themselves without anyone intervene for them.

No structure of control.

 A society without laws. You're your own ruler.

1776 document created by Thomas Jefferson. It officially declared the colonies independent from the British crown.

refer to 2/4/2010 Notes

the first constitution of the USA adopted during the last stages of the revolutionary war.

It created a governemtn with most of the power lodged in the states and a little in the central government.

The gathering of founding fathers in Philidelphia, Penn to draft a new constitution replacing the articles of confederation.

met on May 25th, 1787 with George Washington presiding

a political doctrine advision limited government based on popular consent, protected against majority tyranny.

NOT associated with the modern day republican party.

proposal by large states at the CC to create a

Strong Central Government

with power in the government apportioned to the states on the basis of population.

Proposal of the smaller states at the CC to create

government based on the equal representation of the states in a Unicameral (one chamber) legislature.

Connecticut Compromise

aka

The Great Compromise

compromise between the Virginia and New Jersey plans

formulated by the connecticut delegates at the CC.

called for a lower legislative house based on population (House) and a upper house based on equal representation (Senate)

elected representatives of the states whos votes formally elect the President of the USA.

number of electoral votes is equal to the total number of its senators and representatives in the House.

Almost always cast in a block for the candidate who wins a plurality of the vote in a state or quadrennial presidential election.

3/5ths of the slave population were counted as people.

The first 10 amendments to the US Constitution.

focus on protection of basic liberties

the distribution of government legislative, executive, and judical powers to separate the branches of governement.

Thereby distributing the power. between 3 branches.

The constitutionl principle that government power shall be divided and that the fragments should balance or chek one another to prevent tyranny.

ex. Power divided among the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial branches.

under the previsions of the Articles of Confederation changes would ahve required the unanimous concent of all 13 states.

Realizing that this would have meant instant rejection of the new Constitution, the Framers stated that ratification would be based on guidelines specified in Article VII of the unratified document they had just written.

meaning that approval by nine states was needed.

REFER to p.50 and 51 of TEXTBOOK

proponents (supporters) of the Constitution during the ratification fight

the politcal party of Washington, Hamilton, and Adams

85 articles written in defense of the Constitution

by "Publius" Alexander Hamilton (wrote the most), James Madison (wrote the best), and John Jay (wrote only 3)

Thomas Jefferson judged to be "the best commentary on the principles of governemtn which ever was written."

a system in which signifcant governmental powers are divided between a central government and smaller units, such as states.

Federal Government --------States

A lose association of states or territorial divisions in which very little power is loged into the central government.

States / territories ---------- Central Government

a system in which a central government has complete power over its constituent units or states

Federal Government ----

-----States

the central government exercises no control over subunit governemtns and acts at the sufferance of the subunites.

ex. UN, EU, the Confederation of Independet States

the provision in Article VI of the Constitution that the Constitution itself and the laws and treaties of the United States are the supreme law of the land, taking precedence over state laws and constitutions.

US Constitution and Laws----

-----state laws and constitutions

the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution, reserving powers to the states or the people.

10th Amendment : powers NOT given to the federal government and not prohibited for the states by the Constitution are reserved for the states and the people.

Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution , aka the elastic clause

gives congress the authority to make whatever laws are necessary and proper to carry out its enumerated responsibilities.

Refer to notes.

power of the federal government has grown especially during a post war period.

 ex Civil War, WWI, and WWII

13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments passed immediately after the Civil War.

13th : abolished slavery

14th : declared that NO state shall deprive a person of life, liberty, and the persuit of happieness

15th : gave former male slaves and their decendants a constitutional right to vote (however was ignored by states until the Voting Rights Act of 1965)

the Civil War had profound affects on US federalism. The relationship between states and federal governments was the greatest change.

the unconditional southern surrender dicisively established that the Union was indissoluble; states could NOT withdraw or secede.

FDR's New Deal of 1930s was a response to the Great Depression.

It created many new national regulatory agencies to supervise various aspects of business.

ex. Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Securities and Exchange Comission (SEC). . . etc

The New Deal also brought national government spending to such areas as welfare and relief which had previously been reserved almost entirely to the states, and est the Social Security pension system.

funds from the national government to state and local govenments to help pay for programs created by the national government

Grants-in-aid have been used to increase national governemtn influence over what the states and localities do.

Categorical grants : federal aid to states and localities clearly specifying what the mony can be used for.

Block grants : federal grants to the states to be used for general activities

General Revenue Sharing : federal aid to the states without any conditions on how the money is to be spent