Participatory Democracy
emphasis broad participation in the political by most if not all members of society
town hall meetings
referendums
initiatives/proposition
Pluralist Democracy
groups of people who associate with the same interests, compete to influence policy
NAACP (worked towards civil rights)
NRA (promotes 2nd amendment rights)
Elite Democracy
emphasis more limited participation in policy making on the assumption that government is complicated and therefore the most educated people need to run it
electoral college
Federalist 10
discussed the issue of factions, or interest groups, in a large republic. He argued that a large republic would prevent any single faction from gaining complete control, but also recognized that factions could lead to the suppression of minority opinions.
Brutus
raised concerns about the concentration of power in the national government and the potential for elected representatives to become an elite class, disconnected from the people they were supposed to represent; power at local/state level, Against Constitution
The Great Compromise
created House and Senate; House (pop)435 seats and Senate (equal rep) 2 seats
based off New Jersey Plan (equal rep)
Virginia Plan (favor to large states)
Three-Fifths Compromise
Slaves counts as 3/5 of a person for representation in the House
Electoral College
States decides who's president; people choose their electoral, popular vote doesn't have final say
Three branches of govt
Executive, Legislative, and Judiciary
Executive
enforces laws
Legislative
makes laws
Judiciary
Interprets laws; court systems
Federalism
division of power among federal, state, and local government
Exclusive/Delegated powers
Powers that are exclusively granted to the federal government and cannot be exercised by the states
Concurrent powers
These are powers that are shared by both the federal government and the states
Reserve Powers
powers to the states, not explicitly said in Constitution
Dual Federalism
layer-cake federalism; power divided clearly between the federal and state govt
Cooperative federalism
federal/state govt work together to carry out shared responsibility and duties; marble cake
Categorical grants
federal $ to states for a specific purpose; gets to tell states how to spend and what to do with the $; "strings attached"
Mandates
rules of what states MUST do to, regardless of funds
Block grants
federal $ to states with a broad purpose
Devolution
Attempt to give states power
Supremacy Clause
supreme law of the land
Necessary and Proper Clause
allows Congress to pass laws that they believe are necessary in order to perform their responsibilities.
checks and balances
The system by which the powers of the different branches of government are balanced and limited, preventing any one branch from becoming too powerful
Congress - Advice and consent
President - Veto/executive orders
Judicial - judicial review
Natural Rights
Rights people posses by natural law, apart from government
life, liberty, pursuit of happiness (Locke)
Popular Sovereignty
by nature, the power to govern is in the hands of the people
Social Contract
in order to protect natural rights, people willingly give some of their rights to the government
Republicanism
people elect leaders to represent them and create laws in public interest
Limited Government
government that is prevented from tyranny; to protect citizens rights
checks and balances
distribution of power
Shay’s Rebellion
Rebellion against the government (Articles) by veterans no paid for the war; demonstrated the weakness of the Articles
government couldn’t put down rebellion due to no official military
Articles of Confederation
First government
one branch of govt (congress )
difficult amendment process; need all states to agree
couldn’t tax
couldn’t raise army
Constitution
The second and current constitution of the United States which established a stronger central government with defined powers and a separation of powers between branches of government
Electoral College Compromise
Compromise: based on both popular and elite decisions; state is assigned number of electors based on population who cast the final choice
Compromise for slave importation
Government could not touch the Slave Trade for 20 twenty, after that it would be finished
Separation of powers
The division of the legislative, executive, and judicial powers of government among separate branches, with each branch acting as a check on the powers of the others
Federalist 51
discusses the concept of separation of powers and checks and balances, argues that these are essential to protecting individual liberties and preventing the abuse of power by any one branch of government
Full faith and credit clause
This clause prevents one state from ignoring the valid legal acts of another state
Extradition Clause
States are required to surrender individuals who have fled from one state to another to face criminal charges
Privileges and Immunities clause
Citizens of each state are entitled to the same privileges and immunities as citizens of every other state
Commerce Clause
Clause in Constitution that gives Congress the power to regulate commerce between the states and with foreign nations