The U.S. Constitution
What were the Articles of Confederation?
Original governing document of the US, put into effect in 1781. It gave considerable power to the states and little to the central government.
Voter turnout is always ______ in presidential elections than in midterm elections.
Higher
What is the 10th amendment?
Part of the bill of rights that says that powers not given to the federal government specifically are reserved to the states, or to the people.
What are civil liberties?
The rights and freedoms of individuals that the government may not infringe on.
What are civil rights?
Equal access to society and to the political process without arbitrary discrimination.
What did the Connecticut Compromise do?
Proposal during the Constitutional Convention in 1787 that established a bicameral legislature with equal representation in the Senate and proportional representation in the House of Representatives. Compromise between NJ and VA plans.
______ has the strongest impact on political participation.
Education
Define: unitary and confederate system. Give 1 drawback for each.
Unitary: total central government control.
Drawbacks: uniformity, less experimentation, distant citizens, less accountability
Confederate: total state control.
Drawbacks: repetition, no uniformity, less checks on power, prejudice, no interstate regulation
What is the Bill of Rights and why are they important to know?
The first 10 amendments in the constitution. Define citizens’ rights in relation to the government.
Name a disadvantaged group and give one example of a civil rights issue that persists today for disadvantaged groups.
Disadvantaged groups: African Americans, Hispanics, Latinx, Women, etc.
Issues today: Income gap, Criminal justice system, Employment, Housing, Health care, politics, education, media portrayal (discrimination), voter turnout, lack of practice for affirmative action
Define the New Jersey Plan and the Virginia Plan.
NJ: Proposed a unicameral legislature with equal representation for each state.
VA: Proposed strong centralized government with a bicameral legislature where representation is based on population.
Define political science.
The study of government and politics at the local, state, national, and international levels.
Name 1 advantage and 1 disadvantage of federalism.
Advantages: competition, laboratory of democracy, policy innovation, diversity of opinion, etc.
Disadvantages: lack of coordination, lack of responsibility, etc.
What is selective incorporation?
Choice of Supreme Court to selectively apply rights to states from the Bill of Rights through the due process clause of the 14th amendment. Rights are applied one at a time, done case-by-case.
What do these terms mean...?
De facto
De jure
De facto: how things function in practice
De jure: How things function according to the law as written
What was Shay's Rebellion and what did it help lead to?
An uprising by farmer's angered by debt collection practices; helped catalyze movement for a new constitution to replace the Articles of Confederation.
Name 3 types of voting barriers.
Registration
Requirements (id)
Election accessibility
Polling closures
Lack of language assistance
Define: Dual federalism, Cooperative federalism, and Contested federalism
Dual (1789-1933): Federal system under which national and state governments are responsible for separate policy areas.
Cooperative (1933-1981): Federal system where the national and state governments share functions and collaborate on major national priorities.
Contested federalism (1981-2024): Federal system of mingled governing authority marked by high partisan conflict in which both parties try to influence policy by shifting functions among national, state and local governments.
What is the significance of the 14th amendment? Explain at least 1 thing it did or does.
- Guarantees: equal protection under law, due process of law
- Granted citizenship to all people born or naturalized in the US
- Grants Congress the power to enforce the amendment (passage of other legislation such as Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965)
- Shapes civil rights and liberties
Describe Plessy v. Ferguson (1896). What happened, what was the decision and what is the significance?
Plessy challenged Louisiana's "separate but equal" racial segregation law. Supreme Court rules that state-mandated segregation laws did not violate the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment.
Aided in continued loss/lack of rights for African Americans.
Describe: Marbury v. Madison. What was the decision and what is its significance?
Early supreme court case in which the Court invalidated a part of the congressional legislation, establishing that it had the power to hold laws unconstitutional.
Established the power of judicial review
Name 1 way to participate, 1 reason why people participate, and 1 group that participates the most.
Ways to participate: Voting, working for a campaign, protesting, etc.
Why people participate: influence public policy, choice in who represents you, maintaining foundation of democracy, etc.
Groups that participate most: older adults, women, educated, wealthy, white
Define: block grant, categorical grant, and unfunded mandates.
Block grant: A federal grant of money that bypasses a state and goes directly to a city or county.
Categorical grant: Funds the federal government gives to state and local governments to spend on specific activities within specific programs.
Unfunded mandate: law or regulation that requires a specific action to be taken, but does not provide funding to fulfill the requirement.
Describe Gitlow v. NY (1925). What happened, what was the decision, and what is the significance?
Gitlow was convicted under NY Criminal Anarchy Law, which punished advocating the overthrow of the government by force.
Established that freedoms of press and speech are “fundamental personal rights and liberties protected by the due process clause of the 14th amendment from the impairment by states and the federal government.”
Established incorporation doctrine
Describe Brown v. Board of Education (1954, 1955). What happened, what was the decision, and what is the significance?
Brown argued separate school systems for Black and white students were inherently unequal, and a violation of the "equal protection clause" of the 14th amendment. Supreme Court ruled that separating children in public schools on the basis of race was unconstitutional.
Basically, declaring the "separate but equal" doctrine of Plessy v. Ferguson was unconstitutional. Paving the way for civil rights movements.