Federalism
How does the 14th Amendment impact federalism?
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The 14th Amendment empowers the federal government to make sure citizens’ liberties are also being upheld and protected by the states.
What was the compromise of the Virginia and New Jersey Plans regarding representation in Congress?
Great Compromise- Bicameral Congress: House of Representatives, Population; Senate, Equal
What type of Enlightenment ideas are found in the Declaration of Independence?
Ideas of popular sovereignty, social contract, and natural rights are found in the Declaration of Independence.
What was the enlightenment?
An 18 century intellectual movement that profoundly affected the American framers of the Constitution.
What is Elite democracy and where do we see it in the American government?
Only the few educated and wealthy people should have power. The Electoral College.
How does the commerce clause impact federalism?
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The commerce clause impacts federalism because it allows the federal government to regulate commerce that flows between the states, and has been widely used to justify federal actions.
What was the compromise of the Virginia and New Jersey Plans regarding the election of the President?
The Electoral College
What is the main argument in Brutus I?
The author of Brutus I supports a broad, participatory model and feared the limitation of personal liberties reflected in a larger republic like the United States.
What are republicanism, the social contract, natural rights, and popular sovereignty?
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Republicanism-where we elect leaders to represent us in power
Social Contract-we give up some of our rights so in turn, the govt can protect us.
Natural rights-the idea that people are born with rights from their Creator and therefore cannot be taken away by their ruler or government.
Popular sovereignty-the idea that the power of any government comes from the people.
What is Participatory democracy and where do we see it in government?
A democratic model that emphasizes broad participation in the political process by most, if not all, members of a society.
Local and state electoral processes, referendum-people can vote on a law to make it real and an initiative-the power of the People to directly propose and enact state laws and amendments to the state constitution.
How does the necessary and proper clause (elastic clause) impact federalism?
The necessary and proper clause allows Congress to make any other law that is necessary and proper to complete their jobs listed as exclusive powers in the Constitution.
What was the compromise of the Virginia and New Jersey Plans regarding slave representation?
3/5 Compromise-3/5 of enslaved people would be counted towards representation
What is the main argument in Federalist 10?
The author of Federalist 10 argues for a pluralist model in that many competing factions in a large republic will uphold liberty because of competition.
According to the theory of social contract, how should citizens respond to a tyrannical government?
Overthrow their government
What is Pluralist democracy and where do we see in in government?
Groups of people competing for power. Interest groups
What are examples of federalism in action?
Examples of federalism in action are the Paris Agreement on Climate and the legalization of marijuana by the states.
What was the compromise of the Virginia and New Jersey Plans regarding slave importation?
Slave Import Clause-20 years after the Constitution was ratified the slave trade would end.
In Brutus I, what are the author’s main concerns about a large and diverse republic?
Brutus I fears the immense amount of power that is invested in the federal government under the new Constitution because it took away many aspects of local control and participatory government.
How does separation of powers keep a government from becoming tyrannical?
Separation of powers ensures that power is separated into many parts, so that not one person/body can get or use too much power.
What is the process for amending the Constitution?
Amendment is proposed by a 2/3 vote of each House of Congress
And is ratified by 3/4 of the state legislatures
How is McCullouch v Maryland an example of federalism?
How is United States v. Lopez an example of federalism?
with power shifting towards the fed gov. This strengthened the understanding of the necessary and proper clause because the Court ruled that the govt had powers that were not directly stated in the Constitution (implied powers).
with power shifting towards the state gov. The Court decided that Congress had overstepped in its use of the commerce clause as justification to banning guns and therefore the law was found unconstitutional.
Explain an example of the judicial branch’s power to check another branch of government?
A power to check another branch is the power of judicial review, which allows the Court to judge the laws passed by Congress and the President against the Constitution.
Why did the Anti-Federalist dislike the necessary and proper clause and the supremacy clause specifically?
In Federalist 10, how does James Madison define factions and explain their role in a large republic?
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Anti-Federalists dislike the necessary and proper clause and supremacy clause because they felt that these clauses allowed too much power to flow to the federal government.
Madison defined factions as a group of people who believe their interests are more important than any other interest. He stated that in a large republic there would be many factions that would cancel out each other, taking away their power.
Where do we see the concept of separation of powers in the United States government?
How does the idea of limited government prevent tyranny from forming?
Separation of powers is seen in the 3 branches of government: the executive, the legislative, and the judicial. • This horizontal delegation of powers can be seen at all levels of government: national, state, and local.
Limited government states effective government has power distributed among many members, each with the ability to check the powers of the others.
What is an example of the legislative branch’s power to check another branch of government?
What is an example of the executive branch’s power to check another branch of government?
A power to check another branch is advice and consent, which allows Congress the power of approval of presidential appointments to the cabinet or the Supreme Court.
A power to check another branch is the veto, which allows the president to reject a law passed by Congress, unless the Congress has a ⅔ vote to override the veto.