Basic American Government Info.
Terms
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- Natural Rights
- Life, Liberty and teh pursuit of happiness
- Where and when did the first continental congress meet?
- Philadelphia, september 1774
- When did the second contintental congress meet?
- May 1775, after the battles of Lexington and Concord
- Annapolis Convention
- This was in 1786. hamilton and madison said that america needed a stronger national government...that the unicameral form of government wasnt working. It became clear that it wasnt working after Shays rebellion when farmers revolted in western Mass. because Congress didnt know how to deal with the revolt
- The Virgia Plan
- Centered on proposals by James Madison. It was supported by the larger states. It called for a bicameral legislature (two house) empowered to make laws. The lower was elected by voters in each state, and the upper house was chosen by the lower house from candidates nominated by the state legislatures. Representation in both houses was based on population.
- The New Jersey Plan
- The small states wanted a less radical departure from the Articles of Confederation than the larger states did. The New Jersey plan kept the one-house legisltaure, with its powers expanded to include raising revenue and regulating commerce. Each state had one vote, and the members were chosen by the state legislature.
- The Great Compromise aka The Connecticut Compromise
- When the New Jersey Plan was rejected, the apportionment of representation in Congress continued to divide the COnvention. The large states wanted PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION (by population), and the small states demanded equal rep. (one state, one vote). The Great Compromise (also known as the Connecticut Compromise) provided that seats in the House of Reps. would be apportioned according to the population of each state, with members elected directly by the people. In the senate, each state would have two sentaors, voting independently, chosen by their legislatures.
- What are the 3 branches of government?
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Executive (president) - carries out the laws
Judicial (courts) - interprets the laws
Legislative (Congress) - makes the laws - Seperation of Powers
- the division of the government into 3 parts" Legislative, Executive, and Judical
- Checks and Balances
- The powers of one branch are limited by the powers given to another branch. Congress makes laws, but the president can veto legislation. Congress can override a president's veto with a thwo-thirds vote of both houses. WHile the president appoints judges to teh Supreme Court, the Senate can reject an appointee through its pwers to give "advice and consent"
- Federalism
- Federalism means the division of power bewteen teh naitonal government and the states.
- The Necessary and Proper Clause
- This is in Article I of the Constitution. Throught the necessary and proper clause,, Congress can make laws needed to carry out its enumerated powers.
- Supremacy Clause
- This in Articel VI. The constitution, the laws of the united states, and treaties enetered into by the US are the supreme law of the land. This is known as the supremacy law.
- Federalists
- Those people who favored a strong national government provided for in the constitution
- Antifederalists
- Those poeple who did not favor a strong national governemnt
- What did the Antifederalists believe?
- tehy believed that the constitution gave too much powerr to the central government and left the states with too little. Strong proponents of individual liberty, they vigorously criticized the omission of the Bill of Rights, which was included in many state constitutions. Some considered the ratification process itself illegal, because unanimois consent from the states was required to amend the Articles of Confederation.
- What did the Federalists believe?
- The federalists argued that the new govermnet would not be dominated by any one group and that there were adequate safeguards to protect individuals and the states.
- What is Federalism?
- Federalism refers to a type of government in which the power is divided between the national government and other governmental units. It contrasts with a unitary government, in which a central authoruty hoolds the power, and a confederation, win whcih states, for example, are clearly dominnat.
- What is Dual Federalism?
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Dual Federalism looks at the federal system as a sort of "layer cake," with each layer of government performing the tasts theat make the most sense for that level.
The problem with Dual Federalism is figuring out who defines where one layer ends and the next layer starts. - What is Cooperative Federalism?
- The theory of cooperative federalism emerged during the New Deal, when the power of the federal government grew in response to the Great Depresssion. It emphasizes that there many aeas in which the responsibilites of the states and of washington overlap.
- What are Categorical Grants?
- a categorical grant earmarks funds for a specific purpose. There are two types of categorical grants: Projects grants and formula grants.
- What is a project grant?
- A type of categorical grant. Its awarded on the basis of competitive applications; monety from natioanl institutions of health or the national endpwmnet fot eh humanities is awarded in this manner. These type of grants go to individual people. (artists, for example)
- What is a Formula Grant?
- A type of categorical grant. It is given to states and municipalities that meet the requirements described in the legislation. Depending on what the grant is for, factors such as the age, education, and income level of th poplulation, the number of miles of highway, or the unemployment rate might be relevant to qualifying for aid.
- What is a block grant?
- A block grant is given for more general purposes than categorical grants and state and local governments have a great deal of flexibility in how the money is actually spent.
- What is Congress?
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Congress is divided into 2 chambers: the Senate and the House of Reps. The senate is sometimes called the "upper" chamber and the House the "lower" chamber because teh Founders thought that different sorts of people would be electede to these two bodies. House members face elections every two years in smaller districts, so the Founders thought that representatives would be closer to the people. In contrast, Senators were origianlly chosen by state legisaltors, and with elections every six years and steeper eligibility requirements, the Founders believed that the Senate would serve as a voice for the Nation's wealthy and established interests.
The senate is more deliberative, with strict rules to encourage debate, and it follows decorous norms of behaviorr liek those of some exclusive club.
The House is a bit rowdier, allowing confrontational leaders like Newt Gingrich to rise to influence. - What are the powers of Congress?
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Congress has both specific and implied powers.
Specifc: Congress is given 27 specific powers under Article I, Section 8. These are commonly known as the ENUMERATED POWERS, and they cover such areas as the rights to collect taxes, regulate foreign and domestic commerce, coin money, declare war, support an army and navy, and establish lower fedearl courts. etc
Implied Powers: These powers are not stated directly in the constitution. They derive fomr the eright of Congress to make laws "neceaary and proper" to carry out its enumerated powers. Located at the end of Article I, Section 8, this sentence is often callsed the ELASTIC CLAUSE because it stretches the authoruty of Congress.
The Supreme Court upheld the concept of implied powers in the landmark case MCCULLOCH VS. MARYLAND (1819), ruling that the federal government had the right to establish a national bank under the power delegated to Congress to borrow money and control commerce. A more recent example fo implied powers is the WAR POWERS ACT of 1973 which limited the ability of the President to send American troops into combat without consulting and notifying congress. - How is Congress organized?
- Congress consists of 100 senates (two from each state) and 435 members of the House of Representatives, a number that was fixed by the REAPPORTIONMENT ACT of 1929. This act recognizes that simply adding more seats to the House as the population grew would make it too unwieldy. Today,, each congressman represents approx. 570,000 people.