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• Government


  A central power of a region, in which a group of people is ruled or directed
• Thomas Hobbs, in his book Leviathan, believed people were fundamentally bad meaning a government is needed to create order and ensure that the rights of everyone are respected at all times
• Social contract


  We give up the lesser rights so that our more important rights are protected at all times
• Natural rights


  Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness
• Types of government


  • Monarchy
  • Oligarchy
  • Popular sovereignty
• Monarchy


  Government ruled by a single person
• Oligarchy


  Government ruled by a small group of people
• Popular sovereignty


  Government ruled by the people
• Republicanism


  The government should be ruled by a select few individuals, who are picked by the people
• Indirect rule by the people


  People do not lose their say in the government, rather their decisions are more summarized and easier to vocalize
• Limiting government


  Limitations placed on the government to prevent it from overstepping its authority
• Natural rights, social contract, popular sovereignty, and limited government are the foundations of the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution
• Types of democracy


  • Pluralist Democracy
  • Elite Democracy
  • Participatory Democracy
• The US government is a democratic republic run by all three versions of democracy
• Articles of Confederation (AoC)


  The original constitution for the US during and for some time after the Revolutionary War
• Articles of Confederation


  • Only had a unicameral legislative branch, no executive and judicial branches, meaning no checks and balances
  • The national government could not tax, meaning the nation lacked the ability to repay its debts to foreign powers
  • The national government could not establish or maintain any army of their own
• Shay's Rebellion, a rebellion led by indebted veterans of the Revolutionary War, would finally enlighten the nation that a new Constitution was required
• The Constitutional Convention was a meeting held so that the AoC can either be amended or recreated, in response to the Shays' Rebellion
• Virginia Plan


  Favored a bicameral legislature where the population number plays a defining role in determining the number of representatives in each state
• New Jersey Plan


  Favored a unicameral legislature where every state had one vote, thus allowing an equal voice for every state
• Great Compromise


  Combined the ideals of the New Jersey and Virginia Plans and created a bicameral legislature
• House of Representatives


  • Voted in by the people and the number of representatives was determined by the population of each state
• Senate


  • Voted in by the representatives of the House and every state had an equal voice (2 votes per state)
• Electoral College


  The educated individuals who vote the president into power
• Electoral College


  • The number of electors per state would be equal to the number of senators and House of Representatives per state - in other words, the population would determine the number of votes x state gets (all states got at least 2 votes)
• Three-Fifths Compromise


  For every five slaves, only three would be counted and added to the total population of a state
• The framers were embarrassed that the practice of slavery had not ended by now, however, the framers knew that if the Constitution were to pass then slavery must continue (the word slavery is never found in the Constitution)
• Factions that developed


  • Federalists
  • Anti-Federalists
• Federalists


  Pro-Constitutionalists, who wanted to get rid of the AoC and make a new Constitution
• Anti-Federalists


  Anti-Constitutionalists, who wanted to only amend the AoC
• Brutus No. 1


  A document drafted by an unknown anti-federalist, highlighted the beliefs of the anti-federalists
• Beliefs of Brutus No. 1


  • Wanted a smaller republic so that the chances of tyranny are lowered and was not in favor of pluralist and elite democracy - instead they favored participatory democracy
  • Believed pluralist democracy would lead the nation to be indecisive due to the many factions that could develop
  • Saw elite democracy as giving certain citizens the ability to become corrupt
• Federalist No. 10


  A document that highlighted the beliefs of Madison and his fellow Federalists
• Beliefs of Madison (Federalist No. 10)


  • Favored elite democracy and a pluralist democracy - however, he disliked the ideal of participatory democracy
  • Believed an elite democracy would allow the more educated to choose the responses to every issue, leading to a better resolution
  • Believed a pluralistic democracy would allow the resolutions to be more astute because for a resolution to be established the factions must first agree - this inadvertently leads to all avenues of an issue to be explored
  • Believed a participatory democracy was both impractical and straight-up a dumb idea, because the uneducated populous can not distinguish between a good candidate and a bad candidate ("mobocracy")
  • Favored a larger republic so that more people could be represented
• Separation of Powers


  Separates the government into three branches so that the powers of one branch do not come into conflict with the powers of another
• Checks and balances


  Each branch puts "checks" on the other two branches so that there is always a "balance"
• Impeachment


  1. Accusation brought before the House

  2. House either indicts or declares accusation false

  3. If indicted, president sent before the Senate

  4. Senate either convicts or acquits the president
• If convicted, the president will be removed from office and never allowed to hold any position of power in the United States ever again
• Three presidents have been indicted by the House, but all three were acquitted by the Senate
• Federalism


  A system of governing in which power is shared between the national government and its many subdivisions