• Enlightenment: challenged traditional politics, justified opposition to British

Declaration of Independence US Constitution

• Principles: natural rights, popular sovereignty, republicanism, separation of powers, social contract (Locke/Rousseau)

• Types of Democracy: participatory (ex. referendums), pluralist (ex. groups influence policy), elite (single group)

• Federalists vs. Anti Federalist: strong (fed) vs. weak (anti) federal government; anti-federalists wanted Bill of Rights government power vs. individual liberty

Federalist 10

• Articles of Confederation: an awful first Constitution (Shay’s Rebellion proved it) overpowered states, federal government weak, bad at taxes, single-branch (legislative) government

• Ratification and Compromises

  • Great Compromises (bicameral Congress: Senate + House): combo of VA (large states) and NJ (small states) compromises

  • Others: Electoral College, 3/5 Compromise, amendment process

• Separation of Powers/Other Parts of Constitution

• Legislative (Article I), Executive (Article II), Judicial (Article III),

• checks and balances Federalist 51

• expressed powers are written, implied powers are indicated by the expressed powers

• Federalism: relationship between state and federal government

  • Dual/Layer cake: act on OWN SPHERES; SEPERATE of one another

  • Cooperative/Marble Cake: work TOGETHER to do stuff, blurred line

  • Fiscal: spending, taxing, providing grants (categorical: fed→ state for specific purpose, block: general, mandates (state MUST follow it)

  • Supremacy Clause: federal > state

    McCulloch v. Maryland

  • Commerce Clause: def. of interstate commerce widened; expends federal power BUT has been restricted in some cases

    US v. Lopez

  • Devolution: more power to the states