APUS Gov Unit 1

Amendment Ratification Process

1. Amendment is ratified by 3/4 of the state legislatures 2. Amendment is ratified by special conventions held in 3/4 of the states

Articles of Confederation article 13

13/13 states needed to agree to amend the articles

Articles of Confederation

1st Constitution of the U.S, each state had its own separately-operating government, but the weak central government was needed for international treaties, trade, etc

Articles of Confederation article 2

Each state retained its sovereignty, freedom, and independence, and every power not delegated specifically to the United States is retained by the states

Virginia Plan

Favored larger states, called for proportional representation in congress

New Jersey Plan

Favored smaller states, called for equal representation in congress

Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation (4)

Federal government only had one branch (legislative), each of the 13 states had to agree to amend the articles, congress had no power to raise taxes and had to ask states for money, congress couldn't raise an army

catagorical grants (+ ex)

Federal grants for specific purposes (such as civil rights act, prohibited federal funding to schools that were still segregated)

Elite democracy's presence within the constitution

Provided for elected representatives that legislate on people's behalf

How did Federalist 10 propose a solution to the majority v minority rule debate?

Republican-style government will mean that the many factions will need to compromise to pass laws, therefore, both majority rule and minority rights would be upheld

Federalist 51 (2)

Separation of powers & checks & balances control the abuse of power by any one branch; branches must work as independently of others as possible and also possess necessary checking powers to keep each branch in line

Article 6 of the Constitution

Supremacy Clause - clearly states that national law will be supreme over state law

Bill of Rights

The first 10 amendments the the U.S. Constitution, which define such basic liberties as freedom of religion, speech, and press and guarantee defendants' rights.

Why did the lack of ability for congress to raise taxes under the articles cause problems?

The government couldn't pay its bills, especially debt to revolutionary war soldiers

Constitutional Convention

The meeting of state delegates in 1787 in Philadelphia called to revise the Articles of Confederation. It instead designed a new plan of government, the US Constitution.

Shay's Rebellion

US economy was in bad shape and soldiers were receiving no relief from government, so Daniel Shays led a revolution that exposed weaknesses of articles, scaring state leaders that the next revolution would not be so easily put down

State of Nature

a condition in which no governments or laws existed at all

Referendum

a legislative act is referred for final approval to a popular vote by the electorate

elite democracy

a model of democracy in which a small number of people, usually those who are wealthy and well-educated, influence political decision making.

Confederation

a union of sovereign states in which the stress is laid on the autonomy of each constituent body,

what was the only reason anti-federalists signed constitution?

addition of bill of rights

Articles of Confederation article 6 (2)

central government responsible for working with other countries, including trade agreements and declaring war, each state has its own army

Facts of Mculloch v. Maryland

congress chartered 2nd national bank of US and attempted to establish branches in several states, but maryland said that any bank not chartered by maryland would be subject to tax. the cashier of the bank refused to pay the tax.

Articles of Confederation article 9

congress needed 9/13 states to agree to major things such as declare war

reserved powers (and examples 2)

delegated by 10th amendment, powers kept by the states (if power isnt specifically delegated to federal government or prohibited for states) policing, hospitals

elite democracy in US today

electoral college, supreme court

Electoral College System (3)

elects the president, each state given the same number of electors as they have representatives in congress, states choose their own electors

participatory democracy (2)

emphasizes broad participation in politics/civil society, policymaking institutions are influenced by citizens directly

limited government ideal of democracy during the early days of America were influenced by

enlightenment thinkers

Preamble to the Declaration of Independence is filled with

enlightenment thought

Article 1 Section 8 (2)

enumerated powers of congress (lay/collect taxes, borrow/coin money, declare war, raise armies, etc), necessary and proper/elastic clause, congress can make any other laws "necessary and proper"

The Great Compromise

established bicameral legislature by compounding the virginia plan and new jersey plan; each state has two senators, but representation in the house is dictated by population

Letters from the Federal Farmer

expressed the ideals of the Antifederalist cause and systematically assessed proposed Constitution

mandate (+ex)

federal government requires states to follow federal directives and gives states money towards carrying out the mandate (clean air act, limits on CO2 output, so states needed money to comply with standards)

Why is the US a representative republic and not a pure (direct) democracy?

founders believed that most citizens were uneducated/unfit to make good decisions, so elections by popular vote were not ideal

Fiscal Federalism

government can establish standards and fund states that comply while not funding states that don't

examples of constitutional debates still occurring today

government surveillance (patriot act passed post-9/11 to find/stop future terrorists, sparking public outcry at fdl overreach of power) education (no child left behind act in 2001 said that in order to receive fdl funding, schools had to meet certain criteria that were unreachable for many states, regarded as a federal overreach of power)

Article 4 of the Constitution

government's relation with states and interstate relations

pluralist democracy in US today

groups such as NRA, NAACP, and NOW today influence politics

Why did Brutus No 1 raise concerns over Congress' power to raise taxes?

if federal government collects taxes, states will have a hard time also collecting taxes (people will get weary), and so state governments will become obsolete

Pluralist democracy's presence within the constitution

in order for a law to be passed, various interests (states/others) must compromise to get it done

unfunded mandates

mandate set but no funding allocated

"All men are created equal that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights" in DOI exemplifies

natural rights theory

pluralist democracy (2)

no one group dominates politics, group-based activism by nongovernmental interest groups formed around cause/demographic which work to impact political decision-making

Brutus 1 championed the _______ model of democracy because

participatory, feared tyranny of powerful central government and wanted to keep most of the power with the states

3 types of democracy

participatory, pluralist, elite

Even though Locke had a positive outlook of State of Nature, why did he still believe in government?

people form governments to settle injuries/disputes that may arise

Federalist 10 discusses

the danger of factions and the ways they can be limited through large republican governments;

Which states were the first and last to ratify the Constitution?

Delaware (1st), Rhode Island (13th)

Initiative

A procedure by which voters can propose a law or a constitutional amendment.

Federalism

A system in which power is divided between the national and state governments

"the confidence which the people have in their rulers ... arises from knowing them" and "it is natural to a republic to have only a small territory, otherwise it cannot long subsist" support the claims of which foundational document?

Brutus No 1

Necessary and Proper Clause

Clause of the Constitution (Article I, Section 8,) setting forth the implied powers of Congress. It states that Congress has the right to make all laws necessary and proper to carry out all powers the Constitution vests in the national government

Commerce Clause

Clause stating that Congress can regulate interstate and international commerce.

Importation of Enslaved People Compromise

Congress could not prohibit the slave trade until 1808, but imported slaves could be taxed.

14th Amendment

Declares that all persons born in the U.S. are citizens and are guaranteed equal protection of the laws (BOR applied to states)

Articles of Confederation article 5

Creates the Congress of the Confederation. Each state gets one vote in the congress

According to Madison in Federalist 51, what was the chief danger to the new republic?

Investing too much power in one branch over the others

Who wrote the Constitution and where/when was it written?

James Madison, Constitutional Convention (Philadelphia), 1787

The federalist papers were written by _____, _____, and ___, and were written to

Jay, Hamilton, Madison, to convince the public to ratify new constitution

Arguments of McCulloch v. Maryland

Maryland: the establishment of a national bank was unconstitutional, NOT one of the enumerated powers of congress in constitution McCulloch: bank was constitutional on necessary and proper clause

block grants

Money from the national government that states can spend within broad guidelines

Brutus No. 1 had grievances against which clauses of the constitution and why?

Necessary and Proper Clause and Supremacy Clause, by creating a central power that can pass any law and can crush every state law, state governments will lose all power and be rendered useless

3/5 compromise

Northern states did not want enslaved people to count for House representation but the South did, so 3/5 of enslaved population counted for both representation and taxation

Supreme court's jurisdictions (as established by article 3 of constitution)

Original jurisdiction over cases involving states, public ministers, etc, and appellate jurisdiction over all other cases, which must be appeals from the lower courts

Article 1 of the Constitution

Outlined forms (bicameral legislature) and powers of legislative branch

Article 5 of the Constitution

Outlines the process for amending or changing the Constitution through proposal and ratification

Factions

Political groups that agree on objectives and policies; the origins of political parties.

How can the legislative branch check the executive branch? (2)

Power of advice/consent and impeachment power

concurrent powers (and example)

Powers held jointly by the national and state governments (taxes)

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995

Prevents Congress from passing mandates without debate on how to fund them.

Republicanism

Proposed by Montesquieu in Spirit of the Laws, the people elect leaders to represent them and create laws in public interest

Supremacy Clause

article 6 of constitution, makes national law supreme over state law when the national government is acting within its constitutional limits.

How do large republican governments combat factions (according to Madison in Federalist 10)? (3)

as the nation grows, its interests will become so diverse that a majority isn't likely to form, the many factions will compete with one another and this competition will prevent the union from tyranny; additionally, factions will need to compromise to pass laws and therefore represent majority and minority opinion

Various access points to government available to stakeholders (4)

interest groups can pay professional lobbyists to meet with representatives, average citizens can write letters, courts can be used to challenge unjust laws, complaints can be filed with bureaucratic agencies

The declaration of independence was written by _____, ______, and ____, and contained ideas of ______ and _______

jefferson, adams, franklin, natural rights, popular soverignty

Article 3 of the Constitution

judicial branch, provides for 1 supreme court that interprets law

The Constitution established a ______ government in contrast to Articles' __________

republican-style, confederacy

"to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their powers from the consent of the governed" in DOI exemplifies

popular sovereignty and social contract

How can the judicial branch check the other branches?

power of judicial review

implied powers

powers of the federal government that go beyond those enumerated in the Constitution,

exclusive powers (and example)

powers that can be exercised by the national government alone, declaring war

3 sections of the Declaration of Independence

preamble, list of grievances against king george iii, resolution for independence

Amendment proposal process (2)

proposed by 2/3 of both houses of congress or by 2/3 of state legislature

Separation of Powers (3)

proposed by Montesquieu in Spirit of the Laws, power ought to be separated to prevent tyranny (formation of executive, legislative, and judicial branches), provides for checks/balances between branches

Popular Sovereignty

proposed by Rousseau, belief that ultimate power resides in the people.

Social Contract (3)

proposed by Rousseau, in order to protect their natural rights, the people willingly give power to the government; the state is the servant of the people; if the government becomes tyrannical, the people can overthrow them and establish a new government

natural rights philosophy

proposed by john locke in second treatise of civil government, people are born with certain natural rights (such as life, liberty, property) given to them by their creator that cannot be taken away by a governing power

Article 2 of the Constitution

provisions for executive branch (elected by electoral college, commander-in-chief of military, enforces laws, president must sign laws passed by congress into effect)

Brutus No. 1's claims about size of US and its implications on republicanism

republican governments are not well-suited for large nations, the diversity of opinion within the large nation will make it impossible for the legislature to meet the needs of all US citizens (elected officials do not know their electorate or their needs and people will be left in the dark)

participatory democracy's presence within the consitution

separation of power between state and federal governments

The Constitution embodies ideas of

separation of powers and republicanismWhy is

Locke State of Nature

state of reason: man living together respecting each other's natural rights

Hobbes' POV, state of nature

state of war "every man against every man," government needed to organize people and secure their rights

United States vs. Lopez

the national government used commerce clause to ban guns near schools, which the Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional when the clause had no correlation with the actual case, upheld states' rights

According to Madison in Federalist 51, why do humans need government ?

to protect liberty

participatory democracy in US today

town hall meetings, initiative, referenda

McCulloch v Maryland decision and why it matters

unanimous in McCulloch's favor, established supremacy of ntl law over state law

How can the executive branch check the legislative branch?

veto, congress can override this veto with a 2/3 vote