AP US Government Study Guide Unit 1

AP US Government Study Guide Unit 1 The Enlightenment Period ● The Enlightenment period yielded many ideas that influenced the making of the American government. ● Some of the famous philosophers of the Enlightenment periods: ○ John Locke, John-Jacques Rousseau, and Thomas Hobbes. ● Some of the most important ideas yielded from this period: ○ Social Contract - A contract between the government and the governed. With this contract, the governed understands that they must give up some of their natural rights in exchange for protection from the government, alongside other benefits. ○ Natural Rights - The rights given to every person. These rights can not be taken away by the government. If these rights are violated, then the people have the right to revolt. ○ Popular Sovereignty - The idea that the people should have the main voice in the government, and the government should be held accountable to the people. The power is in the people. ○ Republicanism - A representative form of government that is limited. Models of Democracy As you know, America is a democracy. However, there are different models of representative democracy that exist, and an aspect of each form of democracy is evident in our government. These different models of democracy include: ● Participatory Democracy - Citizens have the power to decide on a policy, but the politicians that are elected by the people implement the people’s decisions. ● Pluralist Democracy - Nobody dominates policymaking, but instead, different groups of people compete for influence in the government. ● Elite Democracy - A small group of people makes decisions for everybody; these people are usually wealthy and well-educated. Articles of Confederation When the United States was first formed, we used the Articles of Confederation. ● Under the Articles of Confederation, the states were not very united and the national government was very weak. The Framers made it like this because they were coming from a very abusive and powerful monarchy under King George III’s rule in Britain, causing the American people to want safeguards to make sure the government wouldn’t abuse their powers. ● Weaknesses in the Articles of Confederation were highlighted in Shay’s Rebellion - a violent revolt of farmers led by Daniel Shay. Due to the government’s weakness and lack of control, they didn’t have enough power to successfully control this revolt. Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation include: ○ Each state was very independent, even having its own currency, so there were often conflicts between states. ○ Congress could not levy taxes, which left the national government underfunded. ○ Congress could not regulate commerce. ○ One vote was given to each state in Congress. ○ There was no executive branch to enforce the decisions made. ○ Amendments to the Articles required 13/13 votes, and laws required 9/13 votes to pass. ○ States could tax other states’ goods. ○ Almost every state had its own militia. ● However, the transition from the Articles of Confederation to the Constitution did not go unopposed. The Federalists supported the ratification of the Constitution, whereas the Anti-Federalists opposed it, as they believed it gave the national government too much power. ○ Through this debate, many ideas about what the American government should look like came about. We can see these ideas in the Federalist and Anti-Federalist papers. ● We now operate on a Madisonian representative democracy, which includes the following principles: ○ Federalism - Having shared powers between the national, state, and local governments. ○ Checks and balances - Having systems incorporated into the government that prevent it from abusing its power and becoming too powerful. ■ Ex: The presidential veto checks the power of the legislative branch by requiring approval from the President before a law is passed. ○ Separation of Powers - Having authority and jurisdiction divided up in the government. ○ Popular Sovereignty - The power is in the people. ○ Limited government - The government cannot do anything it wants because it is restricted by a written document (in America’s case, it’s the Constitution!) Compromises made in the ratification of the Constitution ● The Great (Connecticut) Compromise - This merged Virginia and New Jersey plan, creating a bicameral legislature. In one house, the number of representatives each state gets is based on their population. In the other house, the number of representatives for each state is the same. ● The Electoral College - Body that determines how the President and Vice President gets elected. Electors from each state vote for the President and Vice President and the number of electors each state gets is determined by the number of representatives they have in Congress. ● Three-Fifths Compromise - Each slave was counted as 3/5ths of a person when it came to determining representation in Congress. ● Compromise on the importation of slaves - No new slaves can be imported into America after 1808. Constitutional Basis of Federalism ● Enumerated powers - The powers explicitly given to Congress in the Constitution. ● Implied Powers - Powers not expressed in the Constitution but are understood as powers given to the federal government. ● Inherent powers - Powers of the President ● Reserved powers - Powers reserved for the states. (10th amendment) ● Privileges and Immunities Clause - States can’t discriminate against people based on what state they are from. (Ex: tax rate can’t be different for non-citizens of states) ● Full Faith and Credit Clause - States must trust documents that come from other states. (Ex: Drivers license, Marriage) ● Extradition - If you commit a crime and flee to a different state, the state you fled to must bring you back to the state you committed the crime in. ● Any powers not given to the federal government are reserved to the state governments, as is stated in the 10th amendment. The 14th amendment also gives powers to the federal government because it says that states may not make a law that abridges the citizens’ rights. This gives the federal government the power to decide which state laws abridge the rights of the citizens. Federalism in Action ● Fiscal Federalism ○ Grants-in-aid - Money given to the states by the federal government that doesn’t have to be paid back. ○ Categorical grants - Grants that are given to the states for a specific reason. ○ Block Grants - Grants given to the states for a broad use ○ Mandates - When the federal government requires governments to do something. ● Dual Federalism - The federal and state government are independent of each other and have separate duties (1789-1932) ● Cooperative Federalism - The levels of government work together to get different goals done (1933- 1962) ● New Federalism (includes fiscal federalism) - Instead of having centralized federalism where the power is mostly in the federal government, devolution is occurring, and there has been a movement to return some of the power back to the states (1963- Present) Key Federalism Clauses ● Commerce clause - The government can regulate interstate commerce. ● Necessary and Proper Clause - The government can stretch its enumerated powers in order to perform its job. Key Federalism Cases ● McCulloch v. Maryland - Maryland tried to tax the Second Bank of the United States in an attempt to close it. The owner of the bank refused to pay the tax and Maryland sued. Maryland argued that they could tax any business in the state and that the federal government was expanding their powers too far, since they shouldn't be able to open a national bank. McCulloch, the cashier of the Baltimore branch of the bank, argued that under the necessary and proper clause, the government could create a bank. Plus, according to the supremacy clause, taxing is state interference with a federal law, which is illegal. The Supreme Court voted unanimously in favor of McCulloch. ● United States v. Lopez - Congress passed the Gun-Free School Zones Act, which prohibited people from carrying a gun in a school zone. Lopez was found with a gun in a school zone, and the case reached the Supreme Court. Lopez argued that Congress never had the authority to pass the law in the first place, and the US argued that through the elastic (necessary and proper) and commerce clauses, Congress had the power to pass that law. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Lopez, stating that guns were not related to commerce, and therefore Congress didn’t have the power to pass that law. Key Federalism Legislation ● Unfunded Mandates Reform Act - Legislation that aimed to minimize the effect of unfunded mandates (mandatory things that states have to do without receiving money from the federal government) on state and local governments. ● Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program - provides money for low-income families for food (food stamps). ● Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) - A temporary social welfare program that provides money for basic needs for income families but requires beneficiaries to be in a program that prepares them for work. ● National Voter Registration Act (Motor Voter Act) - Allowed people to register to vote when they got their driver's license. Also required states to develop a mail voter registration option. Its goal was to make it easier for people to vote. ● Clean Air Act - Established the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the agency which would develop standards for releasing hazardous emissions into the air. It also required that states had to meet the standards pushed by the EPA while giving citizens the right to sue against anybody that violates the standards set by the EPA. ● Americans with Disabilities Act - An act passed to stop discrimination against people with disabilities. Also mandated that educational institutions and employers make accommodations for people with disabilities. ● Brady Bill - A bill to reduce gun violence by requiring federal background checks when buying firearms. ● No Child Left Behind Act - Provided money to low-income students so that they were able to attain extra assistance.