Government and Citizenship

19th Amendment (1920)

Gave women the right to vote

Declaration of Independence

Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776. document officially declared the US free from British rule.

LBJ (Lyndon Baines Johnson)

US Senator, Vice President, then President Intimidating presence and debate skills

Glorious Revolution (1688)

When King James II was overthrown in order to create a constitutional monarchy in England. also called "The Revolution of 1688" and "The Bloodless Revolution," took place from 1688 to 1689 in England. It involved the overthrow of the Catholic king James II, who was replaced by his Protestant daughter Mary and her Dutch husband, William of Orange.

Freeholders

White male property owners. Who can vote.

Abigail Adams

Wife of John Adams. During the Revolutionary War, she wrote letters to her husband describing life on the homefront. She urged her husband to remember America's women in the new government he was helping to create.

Senate

determined by equal representation (2 senators for every state)

Fugitive Slave Act of 1850

requiring all runaway slaves found in the United States be returned to their owners

Watergate Scandal in 1974

was a major political scandal in the United States involving the administration of U.S. President Richard Nixon from 1972 to 1974 that led to Nixon's resignation.

Anarchy

(n) a lack of government and law; confusion

Women's Suffrage

19th amendment the right for women to vote.

John Jay

1st Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, negotiated with British for Washington

Theocracy

operated under divine rule by religious leaders

William Lloyd Garrison

represented the radical shift of abolition in the 1830s. Garrison began publishing The Liberator, a newspaper dedicated to abolition

Aristocracy

the nobility (highest class of society) have power and control

14th Amendment

1) Citizenship for African Americans, 2) Repeal of 3/5 Compromise, 3) Denial of former confederate officials from holding national or state office, 4) Repudiate (reject) confederate debts

First three articles of the Constitution

1. Legislative Branch 2. Executive Branch 3. Judicial Branch lay out the branches of government, along with the system of checks and balances between those three.

Alexander Hamilton

1789-1795; First Secretary of the Treasury. He advocated creation of a national bank, assumption of state debts by the federal government, and a tariff system to pay off the national debt.

Dictatorship

A form of government in which the leader has absolute power and authority.

Electoral College

A group of people named by each state legislature to select the president and vice president

The Liberator (1831)

A newspaper dedicated to abolition. Garrison founded the American Anti-Slavery Society, which became an outlet for abolitionist work.

Representative Democracy

A system of government in which all eligible citizens vote to elect representatives to act on behalf. The USA Is a example.

Underground Railroad

A system that helped enslaved African Americans follow a network of escape routes out of the South to freedom in the North

13th Amendment (1865)

Abolition of slavery w/o compensation for slave-owners

John Adams

America's first Vice-President and second President. Sponsor of the American Revolution in Massachusetts, and wrote the Massachusetts guarantee that freedom of press "ought not to be restrained."

Samuel Adams

American Revolutionary leader and patriot, Founder of the Sons of Liberty and one of the most vocal patriots for independence; signed the Declaration of Independence

Ben Franklin

American patriot, writer, printer, and inventor. During the Revolutionary War he persuaded the French to help the colonists.

Speaker of the House

An office mandated by the Constitution. The Speaker is chosen in practice by the majority party, has both formal and informal powers, and is second in line to succeed to the presidency should that office become vacant.

Necessary and Proper Clause

Article 1, Section 8, of the Constitution, which gives Congress the power to make all laws that are necessary and proper for carrying out its duties

Thomas Paine

Author of Common Sense

26th Amendment

Changed the voting age to 18 Before this amendment, the voting age was 21 while the draft age was 18. The public resented the fact a man could be drafted for military service but could not vote.

Gibbons v. Ogden (1824, Marshall)

Clarified the commerce clause and affirmed Congressional power over interstate commerce.

George Washington

Commander of the Continental Army then first President of the United States, serving two terms Known for his honesty and integrity; Considered the father of the country

Monarchies

Countries ruled by a king or queen

17th Amendment (1913)

Direct election of senators With the 17th Amendment, citizens directly elected senators, as they do for the House of Representatives. This amendment drastically changed the incentives of senators. Instead of protecting the States, they begin appealing to the people. This allowed for a great change in government-most notably the New Deal that greatly expanded the scope and power of the Federal government at the cost of the State's power.

FDR (Franklin Delano Roosevelt)

Elected president during the Great Depression Charismatic, confident, and trustworthy

Marbury v. Madison (1803)

Established judicial review

Article 2

Executive Branch

James Madison

Father of the Constitution

Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony

Founded the National Women's suffrage association.

Martha Washington

George Washington's wife and the First Lady

Uncle Tom's Cabin

Harriet Beecher Stowe published This work became immensely popular in the North and in Europe, and infamous in the South. Southern slave owners were outraged over its publication and attempted, without success, to show the North that slavery was a humane institution with only a handful of slave owners guilty of the evils portrayed in the novel.

War Powers Act in 1973

In 1973, Congress passed this law which requires that soldiers sent into military action overseas by the President be brought back within sixty days unless Congress approves the action.

Separation of Powers

In order to protect from corruption and a dangerous concentration of power, the Constitution separates the various powers of government into three separate and distinct branches.

16th admendment (1913)

Income tax Allows for the income tax. The first income taxed was meant to be .5% of the wealthiest Americans' income. After six years, the top tax bracket was 73%, and extended to multiple income brackets.

Model Parliament (1295)

It was Britain's first elected legislative body, whose purpose was to tax the wealthy landowners and create laws.

Bleeding Kansas

Its severity made national headlines and suggested that these disputes were unlikely to reach compromise without bloodshed.

Article 3

Judicial Branch

Article 1

Legislative Branch

Natural Rights

Life, Liberty, and Property (or pursuit of happiness

22nd Amendment

Limits the president to two terms.

26th Amendment (1971)

Lowered the voting age from 21 to 18

Article 6

Maintenance of Previous Debts, Supremacy of the Constitution, and Oaths of Office

Tubman

Moses, Tubman aided approximately 70 enslaved families. Tubman also helped John Brown recruit men for his raid on Harper's Ferry and served as a spy and scout during the Civil War, focused primarily on freeing slaves

Great Compromise (Connecticut Compromise)

Plan to have a popularly elected House based on state population and a state-selected Senate, with two members for each state

24th Amendment

Poll tax abolished The poll tax was established to prevent many blacks from voting because blacks were typically poor and could not afford the tax. This was a racist practice with the intent to discriminate against blacks and the poor.

Abraham Lincoln

President during the Civil War, signed the Emancipation Proclamation, was assassinated in 1865 Strong leader and speaker; Strong belief in justice and doing what is "right"

18th Amendment (1919)

Prohibition of alcohol. Temperance movements had been working for almost 80 years to restrict access to alcohol because of the impact it had on family life, productivity, and poverty.

Article 4

Relations among states The roles, rights, and privileges of the States and Their Citizens

21st Amendment (1933)

Repealed the prohibition of alcohol Response to a dramatic rise in organized crime and the black market, as well as the financial realities of the Great Depression. The 18th Amendment was the only amendment repealed to date.

Article 5

The Amendment Process

Direct Democracy

The Greeks created direct democracy, The Greeks created direct democracy. Does not work in larger populations.

Article 7

The Ratification Process

Magna Carta (1215)

The first established the idea of limited government, the belief that the king did not have absolute power. The first modern concept of limited government was the Magna Carta, signed in England in 1215.

Progressivism

The movement in the late 1800s to increase democracy in America by curbing the power of the corporation. It fought to end corruption in government and business, and worked to bring equal rights of women and other groups that had been left behind during the industrial revolution.

executive privilege

The power to keep executive communications confidential, especially if they relate to national security.

Commander in Chief

The president

Justinian's Code of Laws

This code was composed by the Emperor Justinian based on Roman laws, were the clearest and most comprehensive laws of the time. It spread Roman legal principles beyond the Empire.

Checks and Balances

To further protect against tyranny, each branch has the power to limit the power of the other two branches. For example, the judicial branch can check the legislative branch by declaring laws they pass as unconstitutional.

15th Amendment (1870)

Voting Power Protects the voting power of (male) citizens. This was passed to allow black males to vote. Many southern states were refusing to allow blacks to vote in elections.

JFK -John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Youngest elected president, was assassinated while in office Charismatic charm

Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)

a final attempt at compromise, the US Congress divided the territory into two states, and allowed each to choose whether it would allow slavery or not. Both Abolitionist and pro-slavery southerners poured into Kansas, where things quickly turned violent.

Republicanism

a form of government in which representatives—usually elected—determine the laws. city, state, and federal levels are elected democratically.

Oligarchy

a government ruled by few Example Theocracy and Aristocracy

Democracy

a government ruled by many; citizens have a version of political control Ex: Direct Democracy or Republic

Voting Rights Act of 1965

a law designed to help end formal and informal barriers to African-American suffrage

Suffragists

a person advocating that the right to vote be extended to more people, especially to women.

Monarchy

a single person serves as head of state; often granted the position through heredity

Autocracy

a system of government by one person with absolute power. Example: Monarchy or Dictatorship or Dictatorships

Democracy

a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives. Athene's Greece is considered the birthplace of democracy.

Thomas Hobbes

began this trend by writing the book Leviathan (1651), in which he stated that society without a strong ruler would be absolute chaos, therefore advocating a traditional absolute monarchy.

Divine Rights

belief that certain individuals have God-given rights to rule, such as Kings and Queens, and to question or rebel against their rule would be a sin

The President is able to veto laws passed by Congress

but Congress can overturn a veto with a 2/3 vote by each chamber

Interstate Commerce Act

commerce between the states or between any state and a foreign government.

Barack Obama

community leader, US Senator, then President Motivating previously uninterested citizens in politics, strong speaking skills

Underground Railroad

consisted of a series of safe houses, called "stations," and protected routes which slaves could use to reach free states in the North or Canada.

House of Representatives

determined by proportional representation (based on census every 10 years)

Hammurabi's Code

first written code/set of laws that all were expected to obey. "Eye for an Eye" mindset

Social Contract

idea that individuals covenant with each other to create, and be subject to, a form of government. People sacrifice some liberties, which is acceptable to living under the rule of law. The idea can best be seen in the Preamble to the US Constitution.

John Locke (1632-1704)

introduced social contract theory in Two Treatises of Government: the idea that a ruler rules with the consent of the governed. He also introduced the idea of natural rights, and said it was the monarch's duty to protect those rights, which he defined as life, liberty, and property. Locke's ideas became the ideological foundation for the Declaration of Independence and the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen.

Common Law

laws created and developed through judicial decision, typically by courts; case law. Common law is derived from tradition and previous responses to situations. is a body of unwritten laws based on legal precedents established by the courts.

Natural Law

laws universally recognized by the virtue of human reason or human nature. he idea of natural law can be traced back to Aristotle Examples of natural law would be: murder is wrong because it is against nature for one human to murder another; stealing is wrong as it violates the natural order of society.

Inalienable Rights

rights held by all individuals that are seen as natural to every person and outside the jurisdiction of the government

English Bill of Rights (1688)

secured the power of the Parliament over the monarchy and guaranteed the individual rights of the citizens. Thomas Jefferson placed these ideas in writing of the Declaration of Independence.

Serfdom in Russia

serfdom lasted into the mid-1800s; Russian landowners wanted serfs to stay on the land and produce large harvests; the landowners treated the serfs like property; when a landowner sold a piece of land, he sold the serfs with it; landowners could give away serfs as presents or to pay debts; it was also against the law for serfs to run away from their owners

15th Amendment (1870)

the United States Constitution, the right to vote for all men was guaranteed regardless of 'race, color or previous condition of servitude'.

Popular Sovereignty

the idea that all powers of government ultimately rest in the people. The idea of Popular Sovereignty was implemented by America, using a republic system of government. This is why elections are held (processes by which citizens vote for the people they wish to represent them).

Harriet Tubman

was born into slavery in Maryland where she suffered severe abuse from her master. In 1849, she escaped to Philadelphia and saved money to return for her family. She made several return trips to bring family members, and then other slaves, from Maryland into Philadelphia.

Enlightenment

when thinkers (called philosophers) began to explore new ways of thinking about society and government. This helped spread rational and secular philosophy. Happen in the Seventeenth Century.

John Brown

who attempted to incite a slave rebellion in 1859. Brown led a band of twenty-two men on a raid to gather weapons from an arsenal in Harper's Ferry, Virginia.