american federal government exam 1

block grants

less stringent federal conditions on what the money can be used for

why did the articles of confederation not work?

1. very weak 2. could not be changed without an unanimous vote 3. each state had only one vote to pass a law (no matter the size of the state) 4. congress was only branch of government 5. very limited central government 6. federal government could not regulate trade 7. federal government could not tax

congress in article 1

10 sections describe the structure of congress basis for representation requirements for serving in congress lengths of congressional terms powers of congress

common good

a good that is available to everyone but CAN run out ex: wild fish

toll good

a good that is available to everyone but can run out only used by those who can pay the price to do so

intense preferences

a group of people who have a lot of influence because of how much they care about the issue

Why is civic engagement important?

a more engaged citizen will have more influence in their democracy and therefore more power over what happens where they live and a higher quality of life

interstate compacts

agreements between multiple states on who gets what (i.e. resources) must be approved by congress ex of cooperative federalism

federalism

arrangement that creates two relatively autonomous levels of government; each possessing the capacity to act directly on the people with authority granted by the constitution

layer cake federalism

authority is clearly divided among the national and state governments more common in the past

marble cake federalism

authority is mixed among the national and state governments more common now

negatives of federalism

calls for compromises which could lead to a deadlock hard to find balance on certain issues allows benefits of national government to spread unevenly obstructs action on national issues

categorical grants

can be used only for specific purposes ex: food stamps

latent preferences

caring a little about an issue, but not really enough to do much about it back burner issue

social capital

connections with others and the willingness to interact with and aid them; glue of community engagement

direct democracy

democracy in which the power lies directly in the hands of the people rather than being exercised through their elected officials

positives of federalism

distribution of power in manageable increments each state can focus more energy and resources on their individual agendas it would be very difficult for the national government to control what happens in every state increases political participation

federalist vs antifederalist

federalist: want a strong national government antifederalist: want the states to have more power

private good

goods provided by private business that can be used only by those who pay for them ex: cars

public goods

goods that are available to everyone that can NOT run out ex: national security hard for the market to make a profit off of public goods

representative democracy

governmental structure based upon citizens electing representatives to serve on their behalf

federalist 10

madison wanted to create a strong centralized government that was nonpartisan wanted to create a strong constitution he argued that a strong centralized government would prevent factions

key issues that the farmers grappled with at the convention

majority rule vs majority rights small state vs large state legislative vs executive power national power vs state/local power slave states vs non-slave states (molly sat luke near steve)

problem with social media

making it more difficult for actual engagement because they share their opinions on social and then get shut down and then do not want to become more involved

how can we look at participation?

power and quality of life

enumerated powers

powers given explicitly to the federal government by the constitution ex: regulate foreign commerce, raise and support armies, declare war, coin money and conducting foreign affairs

pre-founding challenges

state to state currency issues no real centralized government no way of taxing as a whole nation

federalist 51

system of checks and balances establishes 3 separate branches of government

founding fathers on religion

they wanted separation of religion and national government 1st amendment prevents congress from establishing religion or interfering with religious practices of a citizen

key structural aspects of the US constitution

two houses: senate and house of representatives each state has two representatives in the senate house of representatives are elected based on population size

Farmers' view of central and executive authority

very opposed they were facing loss of their land and imprisonment lead to shay's rebellion scared the governor of massassachuts who then called upon the national government for aid

what america looked like pre founding

very principled people and therefore wanted to form a system on freedom and natural rights (very lockean) but on the other hand, they were pragmatic and knew they had to bring stability to the system 20% were slaves only 5% lived in 10 largest cities