GOV unit 1

• Declaration of Independence:

  • Agreement between the British and the Americans to separate themselves
• Articles of Confederation:

  • First government in the U.S.
  • Created functions of the national government
  • Strong state governments, weak national government
  • National congress: one house, each state had 1 vote not population based
  • 9 states had to approve all laws
  • No executive or judicial branch
  • Any amendments required all 13 states' approval
• Federalist 10:

  • Madison states that functions are the biggest threat
  • Factions don't want what is best for the people
  • Factions are inevitable due to liberty
  • Negative effects of factions can be controlled, not through direct democracy as it would lead to tyranny of the majority
  • Best solution to control effects is a large republic
• Federalist 51:

  • Government is needed to limit the ambition of men
  • Requires a limited government to prevent corruption
  • Separation of powers into 3 branches to counteract each other
  • Checks and balances, each branch has its own power and keeps other branches in check
  • Federal government with division between states and national to protect the people
• Brutus 1:

  • Advocates for a small republic
  • Warns that giving up power may only be regained through force
  • Criticizes the Necessary and Proper clause and the Supremacy clause for giving too much power to the national government
  • Power to tax could lead to a tyrannical government
  • Standing army during peace is seen as a destruction of liberty
  • Federal government could potentially destroy the states
• McCulloch v. Maryland (1819):

  • Bank of US in Maryland, MD taxed it to put it out of business
  • US bank is constitutional, necessary and proper clause can carry out powers
  • State can't tax Bank of US, only federal government can
• United States v. Lopez (1995):

  • Congress passed "Gun Free School Zone" law in 1990
  • Used elastic and commerce clause to pass
  • Supreme Court ruled carrying a gun into school is not related to commerce, making the law unconstitutional
• Main points about the US Constitution:

  • Article I: Establishes the Legislative Branch (Congress) with 2 houses, the House of Representatives and the Senate
  • Article I Section 8: Enumerated powers of Congress include the ability to levy taxes, regulate interstate commerce, build military, and coin money
  • Article I Section 9: Powers denied to Congress, such as passing laws that take away habeas corpus or favoring one state over another
• Article II establishes the Executive Branch (President) with requirements like 4-year terms, being born in the US, at least 35 years old, and having lived in the US for the last 14 years
• Article III establishes the Judicial Branch (Supreme Court) as the initial judicial power of the US, with Congress able to create smaller courts as needed
• Interstate relations:

  • Full Faith and Credit: Requires each state to recognize official documents and civil judgments from other states
  • Privileges and Immunities: States that citizens get all privileges and immunities of the state they are in
  • Extradition: Legal process where an alleged criminal must be surrendered by one state to the state where the crime was allegedly committed
• Amendment Process:

  • To propose an amendment, either ⅔ of Congress or ⅔ of state legislatures must request a national convention
  • ¾ of states must approve the amendment, done by state legislatures or a special ratifying convention
• Supremacy Clause:

  • Declares the Constitution as the supreme law of the land
  • Federal laws always triumph over state and local laws, establishing national supremacy
• Ratification:

  • Required 9 out of 13 states to ratify
  • Federalists were for ratification, while anti-federalists were against it
  • Bill of Rights: Amendments 1-10, added as a compromise to appease the anti-federalists
• Natural rights are rights that are inherent to human beings and are not granted by the state.
• Popular sovereignty is the idea that the people are the ultimate source of power and that the government should be responsive to the people
• • Republicanism emphasizes liberty, civic virtue, and the practice of citizens actively participating in government.
• The social contract theory posits that the state exists to serve the will of the people. According to this theory, individuals voluntarily come together to form a government, and that government’s power is derived from the consent of the governed.
• Elite Democracy:

  • Definition: People with more money can have more influence over policy and government, where wealthy individuals with property, stocks, and bonds exert significant control
  • Examples in contemporary America:

  1. The nation's wealth is held by 1% of the population
• Participatory Democracy:

  • Definition: Where individuals participate directly in political decisions rather than through elected officials
  • Examples in contemporary America:

  1. Citizens have various ways to influence policymakers like Town Hall Meetings
• Pluralist Democracy:

  • Definition: Groups with shared interests can influence public policy through organized efforts
  • Examples in contemporary America:

  1. The National Rifle Association (NRA)

  2. National Organization of Women (NOW)

  3. United Auto Workers (UAW)
• Federalists ensure that not one branch will have more power over another and they all check each other
• Federalists ensure a system of federalism with 3 branches of government, assuring the people that the states had not lost their importance
• Anti-Federalists wanted a government more like the Articles, fearing a single executive would have too much power
• Anti-Federalists also feared Congress's power to tax, control an army, and do anything necessary
• • Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation: 1.Most laws were almost impossible to enact 2.There was no one to ensure laws were fair and equal 3.Soldiers could not get forced into the military when protection was needed. 4.No goods were going to be able to be shared among states or countries because of the different systems each state had on goods being imported 5.Congress had no money to do anything and had to depend on states for money they wouldnt give.
• Addressed in constitution national laws must be approved by congress and president, in case of veto it sent back to congress for ⅔ vote in both houses 2. We created a judicial branch3. Congress could raise and support armies. 4 Congress now able to regulate commerce 5 Congress now taxes us & makes money
• The Great (Connecticut) Compromise addressed whether states were to be equally represented, leading to the creation of 2 houses in Congress: the Senate and House of Representatives
• The Electoral College compromise addressed who would pick the president, resulting in the number of electoral college votes being equal to the combined number of people states had in the House and Senate
• The Three-Fifths Compromise addressed how slaves would be counted for representation and taxation as a population, giving Southern states more electoral power and representation in the House
• The Compromise on the importation of slaves dealt with the slave trade and the future of slavery, allowing it to continue for 20 years before Congress gained the power to ban the slave trade
• from Federalist No. 51 that explains how separations of power and checks and balances control abuses of the majority. Evidence #1 from Federalist No. 51: "The great security against a gradual concentration of the several powers in the same department consists in giving to those who administer each department the necessary constitutional means and personal motives"
• from Federalist No. 51 that explains how separations of power and checks and balances control abuses of the majority. Evidence #2 from Federalist No. 51: "The necessity of auxiliary precautions is displayed in all the subordinate distributions of power, aiming to divide and arrange the several offices so that each may be a check on the other, ensuring that the private interest of every individual acts as a sentinel over public rights"
• from Federalist No. 51 that explains how separations of power and checks and balances control abuses of the majority. Evidence #3 from Federalist No. 51: "Each department should have a will of its own; all the appointments for the supreme executive, legislative, and judiciary magistracies should be drawn from the same fountain of authority, the people"
• Judicial Branch checks on the Executive Branch:

  • The courts can declare a presidential act unconstitutional Judicial Branch checks on the Legislative Branch: The courts can declare laws unconstitutional
• Executive Branch checks on the Judicial Branch:

  • The president nominates judges and enforces judicial opinions Checks on the Legislative Branch:

  The president can veto congressional legislation
• Legislative Branch checks on the Executive Branch:

  • Congress approves presidential nominations and controls the budget
  • Congress can pass laws over the president’s veto
  • Congress can impeach the president and remove them from office Legislative Branch checks on the Judicial branch; Congress can pass new laws, confirms judge nominations, and can amend the constitution.
• Expressed/Enumerated Powers (National Powers) Definition: Powers the national government had that were specifically stated in the constitution.

  • The power to coin money
  • Regulate the value of money
  • Impose taxes
  • Deciding if the U.S goes to war
  • Entering treaties
• Concurrent Powers (Shared Powers) Definition: Powers the government and states have together.

  • Healthcare
  • Economy
  • Environment
  • Public schools
  • Regulating Banks
• Reserved Powers (State Powers) Definition: Powers that are not mentioned in the constitution and are left up to the states.

  • Drinking ages
  • Marriage and Divorce
  • Speed limits
  • Moral issues
  • Power to establish local governments