Midterm

Question 1

active citizenship

Answer 1

Philosophy that citizens should work towards the betterment of their community through economic participation, public service, volunteer work, etc.

Question 2

Politics (big P)

Answer 2

The “social relations involving authority or power” and refers to the regulation of a political unit, and the methods and tactics used to formulate and apply policy.

Question 3

politics (little p)

Answer 3

process by which groups of people make decisions that affect others lives in a free society.

Question 4

Democracy (big D)

Answer 4

Government by the people; especially: rule of the majority

Question 5

democracy (little d)

Answer 5

Belief in rule by the people as the best form for human governance. The individual people have capacity to make decisions, produce resources, and create rules. A WAY OF LIVING not a government.

Question 6

republic

Answer 6

a government with a chief of state (president, chancellor, minister, parliament) and in which supreme power resides in a body of citizens entitled to vote. (representatives, according to law and constitution)

Question 7

sovereignty

Answer 7

“ultimate power” lies with WE THE PEOPLE, an “inalienable right” of state or people to govern themselves.

Question 8

1776

Answer 8

Declaration of Independence.

a. ) case: make their argument
b. ) facts: list of grievances
c. ) aimed at the king of England and colonists

Question 9

1781

Answer 9

Articles of Confederation are ratified.

a. ) loose union “league of friendship”
- Govt. couldn’t tax, could “borrow” from states
- 1 house of govt: No judicial or executive branch
- unanimous vote (13 states) to amend = nothing is amended
- no ability to regulate commerce between states

Question 10

1787

Answer 10

Philadelphia Convention

a. ) to revise the Articles of Confederation
b. ) wrote new constitution = U.S. Constitution (1789)

Question 11

citizenship

Answer 11

The status of being a citizen of a particular state. Under social contract theory, carries with it both rights and responsibilities.

Question 12

1789

Answer 12

Judiciary Act:

• passed by the 1st Congress
• Brought states into the federal court system
• Granted an appeal from the state to federal courts for “federal questions.”
• Established the Supreme Court as the arbiter of conflicts between states and the national government.
• Established the Supreme Court as the final interpreter of the Constitution.

Question 13

1789

Answer 13

Constitution

Question 14

1791

Answer 14

Bill of Rights.

Individual rights that the government can’t take away that aren’t expressly listed in the Constitution.

Question 15

Separation of Powers

Answer 15

Power is shared between different branches of government: executive, judicial, and legislative.

Question 16

Checks & Balances

Answer 16

One branch of government can check, or limit, the power of the others.

Question 17

How can different branches of government “check” each other?

Answer 17

Congress passes a law. President can veto, or sign it. Judicial can rule it “unconstitutional” = Congress rewrites the law

Question 18

Federalism

Answer 18

Power is shared between branches of government: federal, state, and local.

Question 19

Reserved Power

Answer 19

• States can do anything they are not prohibited from doing by the Constitution and not regulated exclusively to the national government.
• 10th Amendment
• Ex: tax, spend, promote/maintain HEALTH, WELFARE, SAFETY, MORALS (alcohol, smoking, drinking)

Question 20

Deferred Power

Answer 20

• States exercise certain powers deferred (passed down) to them by the federal government and can also be taken back.
• Started out as ENUMERATED, which are found in Article 1, Section 8
• Ex: elections, schooling and education, land usage.

Question 21

Enumerated Power

Answer 21

• Specific responsibilities granted only to the U.S. Congress
• Article 1, Section 8
• Ex: tax, borrow and coin $, DECLARE WAR, establish post offices and roads, calling forth of the militia

Question 22

Implied Power

Answer 22

• Necessary to carry out enumerated powers by the Supreme Court
• “Necessary and Proper Clause” (Article 1, Section 8)
• Ex: draft

Question 23

Commerce Clause

Answer 23

• Grants Congress the right to “regulate commerce with foreign nations and among several states”
• Article 1, Section 8
• Used first in Civil War, now used to support the expansion of the Federal government power over individual states

Question 24

Supremacy Clause

Answer 24

• “The Constitution and all laws of the U.S. shall be the supreme law of the land”
• Article 6
• if a state law is in conflict with the Constitution, national law, or treaties, it is null and void

Question 25

Full Faith and Credit Clause

Answer 25

• Provides that “Full faith and credit shall be given in each state to the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state.”
• Article 4
• aka deals with state relations

Question 26

George Washington

Answer 26

• Treated every act as a PRECEDENT
• Created and used a CABINET
• Set the custom of only holding the office of President for 2 YEARS

Question 27

Andrew Jackson

Answer 27

• First president to CAMPAIGN
• First “COMMON MAN” elected
• Expanded the use of Presidential VETO

Question 28

Abraham Lincoln

Answer 28

• First REPUBLICAN president
• Throughout the Civil war, he did WHATEVER HE THOUGHT NECESSARY to win the war, without Congress’s permission (closed oppositional newspapers, arrested suspended traitors, draft, “Emancipation Proclamation”)

Question 29

Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Answer 29

• Shifted power from Congress to President dramatically and it has stuck since
• People came to expect VIGOROUS action from a president

Question 30

Ronald Reagan

Answer 30

By the end of his 2nd term, he had reasserted the power of the office, and has been maintained since.

Question 31

What are the presidential roles, and where are they found in the Constitution?

Answer 31

Chief of State, Chief Executive, Chief Diplomat, Commander in Chief, Chief Legislature. (Found in Article 2)

Question 32

Chief of State

Answer 32

Symbol of the American people; American version of royalty.

Question 33

Chief Executive

Answer 33

Powers to APPOINT and REMOVE, pardon, executive privilege, and to ISSUE EXECUTIVE ORDERS.

Question 34

Chief Diplomat

Answer 34

Treaties, executive agreements, power of recognition, and diplomatic appointments.

Question 35

Commander in Chief

Answer 35

• Power to declare war is given to Congress
• Article 2
• Presidents have committed troops to action w/o asking Congress to declare war routinely

Question 36

Chief Legistature

Answer 36

• Article 2 gives the president 4 legislative duties:
  1. ) to “convene both houses or either of them” in special sessions
  2. ) to adjourn Congress if the 2 houses cannot agree on adjournment
  3. ) to “from time to time give Congress info of the state of the union
  4. ) to recommend such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient
• Every year the president must submit a proposed FEDERAL BUDGET
• VETO power

Question 37

Pocket veto

Answer 37

Failure by the president to sign a bill in the last 10 days of Congressional session, and the bill dies.

Question 38

Line-item Veto

Answer 38

Ability by the president to veto certain aspects of a bill w/o vetoing the entire bill

Question 39

citizen

Answer 39

a person that is legally recognized as a member of a state, with associated rights and obligations

Question 40

When drafting the Constitution, with what key issues did the Framers wrestle?

Answer 40

Representative democracy, equal representation, and slavery.

Question 41

Republicanism

Answer 41

Decisions are made by elected or appointed officials who are answerable to the people. (vs a Democracy)