Chapter 1+2-General Government Flashcards
(36 cards)
Federalists
Believed in strong central government
Anti-Federalsits
Statists, Against federal government
Power is
Influence
Two main questions posed by the founding fathers:
Who governs and to what ends.
Class view (Marxism)
Money is power! Government is dominated by the top 1% and multinational corporations and business people etc.
John Locke
Wrote Second Treatise of government in 1600’s. Argued for “natural rights” aka “life liberty and the pursuit of happiness”. Sound familiar? That’s because he directly influenced the founding fathers, especially in the DOI. Created social contract idea, only valid government is based on consent of the governed. But thought that total freedom led to inequality, and inequality led to chaos.
Direct democracy
Was in ancient Athens, requires high level of participation, and high confidence in people. Something our founders did not have.
Majoritarianism
The tendency for government to do what the majority of people want
Representative democracy (republic)
What the US is, people elect representatives to carry out their will. Also called indirect democracy.
Elite theory
Holds that in a representative democracy only an elite few make most decisions
Pluralism
The argument that representative democracies are based on group interests and protect the individual.
Popular sovereignty
The power to govern belongs to the people and that the government must be based on the consent of the governed.
Separation of powers
Division of government into three branches of executive legislative and judicial.
Limited government
Government is not all-powerful
Federalism
The division of governmental powers between a central government and the states.
Articles of the confederation
Very weak document that gave all power to the states, congress could not tax, regulate trade, and there was no executive branch to enforce laws. Made the central government powerless and resulted in chaos.
Shay’s Rebellion
Farmers in Western Massachusetts, in debt and unable to pay their taxes, rebelled and forced judges out of courts and freed debtors. This was the huge turning point where people realized the country needed a strong central government because no one likes chaos.
Alexander Hamilton
Leading proponent if strong centralized government
George Washington
Leading member of the constitutional convention, chairman, supported central government
James Madison
Young, we’ll read delegate from Virginia who wrote large parts of the constitution
Ben Franklin
81 year old delegate from Pennsylvania
Who was absent from the constitutional convention?
Thomas Jefferson, serving as ambassador the France. John Adams, ambassador the England. Patrick Henry cause he didn’t want to. And Sam Adams cause he wasn’t elected to go.
Virginia Plan
Called for strong central government, the work of Madison and Hamilton.
New Jersey Plan
Proposed by small states, said that each state would be equally represented.