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Unit One
We the People
1.1
Types of Government
1.2
Monarchy
Totalitarianism
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Oligarchy
Republic
Democracy
Direct
Democracy
The right to participate depends on wealth, social status, military position, or achievement
Based on consent of the governed
Power is given to the people, whether direct or elected
Members meet publicly to discuss decisions then decide by majority rule
Establishing Justice
Laws allow a rational distribution of justice by acknowledging authorities
Constitution authorized Congress to create a federal judicial system
BOR: trial by jury, informed of charges, tried in court with impartial judge
Ensuring Domestic Tranquility
Department of Homeland Security
Police forces, national guards, armed services, state militia
Crises allow for extraordinary measures, the government take threats to domestic tranquility very
seriously
Providing for Common Defense
A major purpose of government is to defend its citizens
o President is commander in chief of armed forces, a considerable defense budget
Promoting the General Welfare
Really an ideal, no universal consensus on what it means
Securing the Blessings of Liberty
Americans enjoy a wide range of liberties and opportunities
Freedom to criticize and petition (Tea Party, Occupy)
King James I allowed some local participation -> first elected colonial assembly: 1619 Virginia
House of Burgesses, 1629 the elected General Court of Massachusetts Bay Colony
1760s, physical separation, development of colonial industry, and relative self-governance weakened
ties to the crown
1766 Parliament repealed Stamp Act and revised the Sugar Act > 1767 Townshend Acts, boycotts,
ect., > 1770 Boston Massacre
Committees of
Correspondence
First
Continental
Congress
Second
Continental
Congress
1772 Organization to keep colonist informed about developments with the British, molded public opinion
against the British
9/5-10/26/1774 All colonies but Georgia against Coercive Acts, boycott goods, Declaration of Rights and
Resolves
4/10/1775 Decided to raise army with G.W. at its head, 7/5/1755 Olive Branch Petition
1776, Thomas Paine issued the popular (120,000 people reading) Common Sense
Identify the key components of the Articles of Confederation and the reasons why it failed.
Congress didnt have a written constitution or legal terminology to base their new system on
1777, Articles of Confederation
o loose league of friendship/national government drawing powers from the states
1781, Ratified; disintegrated when no longer united by war 1789
Lack of foreign policy: Barbary pirates, vulnerable borders from English and Spanish
Positive Outcomes
Northwest Ordinance abolished slavery in Northwest territories
A new middle class was forming
o Small farmers began to dominate state politics > start of opposing political parties
The Birth of Political Parties
The Federalists elitist, upper class (Hamilton, Jay, Madison = Federalist Papers)
o Defended the Constitution and a Republican government
The Anti-Federalists farmers, common people (George Mason and Richard Henry Lee)
o The ones that pushed for a Bill of Rights to prevent the Constitution from creating an
economic elite of abusive federal government
Shayss Rebellion
1786 Massachusetts required all payments in cash
1787 Daniel Shays + 1,500 Armed Angry Agriculturalists > convention in Philadelphia
Outline the issues and compromises that were central to the writing of the U.S. Constitution
5/25/1787 Prepared to take some major steps
o Virginia Plan wins over New Jersey Plan, then series of differences all settled with
compromises quickly
Explain the conflicts that characterized the drive for ratification of the U.S. Constitution
They tried to not think from just one states side to avoid injuring another, spirit of compromise
1787-1788, debated over proposed Constitution
o State politicians feared a strong central government
o Farmers and other working class people feared a distant national government
o Debtors feared more debt
o Rich bankers, lawyers, bankers tended to favor the Constitution
James Madison: Whether or not the Union shall or shall not be continued
2.6 Distinguish between the methods for proposing and ratifying amendments to the U.S.
Constitution
Formal amendment process is slow to avoid rash/impulsive amendments from the Constitution
o Only 17 has been added since the Bill of Rights
3.1 Trace the roots of the federal system and the Constitutions allocation of powers between the
national and state governments
The United States was the 1st country to adopt a federal system of government
Federal System: states < people > government
Unitary System: people > government > states
Confederate System: people > states > government
o Independent budgets
3.4 Explain how cooperative federalism led to the growth of the national government at the expense
of states
3.5 Describe how the federal budget is used to further influence state and local governments policies
Today, the national government provides grants from its general revenues to states, local
governments, nonprofits, and even individuals
o Providing state and local governments with more funds
o Setting national standards for national problems (air/water)
o Attempting to financially equalize rich and poor states and localities
Categorical Grants
Grants for which Congress uses funds for specific purposes
May be used to alter states policy priorities or to coerce states to adopt particular policies
o States neglect their own needs because of the large sums of money at state
Block Grants
Large amounts of money given to states with only general spending guidelines
Mostly goes into education and health care
Unfunded Mandates
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995
Congress wanted to give more authority to the states but just ended up making it difficult
Many states have opted out of all or some of its provisions
Programmatic Requests
Federal funds for special projects that direct specific exemptions from taxes or mandated fees
Controversial because people try to secure funds for their home districts
Judicial Federalism
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3.7 Assess the Challenges in balancing national and state powers and the consequences for policy
making
Unit 2
American Political Culture and the Basic Tenets of American Democracy
1.4
Describe American political culture, and identify the basic tenets of American democracy
Political Culture
Commonly shared attitudes, beliefs, and core values about how government should operate
American political culture reflects values of liberty and equality; popular consent, majority rule, and
popular sovereignty; individualism; and religious faith and freedom
Majority Rule
Natural Law
A doctrine that society should be governed by certain ethical principles that are part of nature,
and as such, can be understood by reason
Individualism
An idea that may trace back to Puritans
Group-focused societies like Canada try to improve the lives of citizens by making services and
rights available on a group or universal basis
In America, all individuals are deemed rational, fair, and endowed (DOI)
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Public Opinion
Public Opinion
Polls
Stratified
sampling
Polls taken for the purpose of giving information on an opponent that would lead respondents to
vote against that candidate
Selecting the sample
A variation of random sampling the population is divided into subgroups and weighted based on
demographic characteristics of the national population
o Do not let people volunteer to be interviewed
Contacting Respondents
Telephone Polls
o Most frequently used
o Tracking polls: continuous surveys that enable a campaign or news organization to chart
support
In-Person Interviews
o Allows surveyors to monitor body language and to interact in a more personal basis
o May lead to interviewer bias
Internet Polls
o Zogby the first to use a scientific internet survey
o Relatively effective
Analyzing the Data
Data is entered into a computer program where answers to questions are recorded and analyzed
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Shortcomings of Polling
10.3
Survey Error
Margin of error makes predictions difficult
Sampling error quality of the sample
Limited Respondent Options
Yes-no questions arent sufficient to gauge the public
Lack of Information
When the public is ignorant
First they ask whether they have thought about the question, allows researchers to exclude as many
as 20% of the respondents
Questions on personal issues have less no opinion responses
Difficult Measuring Intensity
Cant measure passion
Lack of Interest in Political Issues
When policies dont affect us directly or do not involve moral issues
Demographic Characteristics
Gender
o Women tend to be more liberal about social issues
Education, poverty, capital punishment, and the environment
o Negative about war and military intervention
Race and Ethnicity
o Differences in political socialization appear at a very early age
o Young African American children tend to become less positive about society then white
children
o Blacks and Hispanics more likely to support protecting the environment
o Minorities more likely to favor government sponsored health insurance and Hispanics
especially more likely to support liberalized immigration policies
Age
o Young people resist higher taxes to fund Medicare while the elderly resist all efforts to limit
Medicare or Social Security
o The elderly have voted to defeat school tax increases and to pass tax breaks for themselves
Religion
o Many American ideals (hard working and personal responsibility) are rooted in our nations
Protestant heritage
o Religious doctrine may effect political beliefs
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