AP GOV UNIT 1 FOUNDATIONS OF DEMOCRACY EXAM QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 2023/24

Cooperative Federalism (Marble Cake) Cooperation among federal, state, &local govts; "marble cake" federalism Declaration of Independence 1776 statement, issued by the Second Continental Congress, explaining why the colonies wanted independence from Britain; includes concepts of natural rights, social contract, and popular sovereignty. natural rights the idea that all humans are born with rights, which include the right to life, liberty, and property; these rights are fundamental rights for all humans and are not received from a government Popular Sovereignty A government in which the people rule by their own consent; the people are the source of all governmental authority social contract A voluntary agreement among individuals to secure their rights and welfare by creating a government and abiding by its rules; people create the government to protect their rights. limited government A principle of constitutional government; a government whose powers are defined and limited by a constitution. republicanism A philosophy of limited government with elected representatives serving at the will of the people. The government is based on consent of the governed. participatory democracy a theory of democracy that holds that citizens should actively and directly control all aspects of their lives; examples include movements such as Occupy Wall Street, March for Our Lives, and suffrage movements pluralist democracy a model of democracy that stresses vigorous competition among various interest groups in a free society; examples include political parties and interest groups elite democracy limits the citizens' role to choosing among competing leaders; skeptical of the ability of citizens to make good political decisions; examples include the Electoral College, Iron Triangles, and SuperPACs Brutus No. 1 Argued for a confederation of small republics because it would better protect individual liberty; promoted the view tha the proposed U.S. Constitution created a dangerously powerful central government. Federalist 10 An essay composed by James Madison which argues that liberty is safest in a large republic because many interests (factions) exist. Such diversity makes tyranny by the majority more difficult since ruling coalitions will always be unstable. Federalists A term used to describe supporters of the Constitution during ratification debates in state legislatures; thought that a Bill of Rights was not necessary; favored a stronger central government. Anti-Federalists Opponents of the American Constitution at the time when the states were contemplating its adoption; felt that the government created by the Constitution was too strong at the expense of the states; demand a Bill of Rights Articles of Confederation 1st Constitution of the U.S. (weaknesses-no executive, no judicial, no power to tax, no power to regulate trade); states held most of the power Shays' Rebellion A series of attacks on courthouses by a small band of farmers to block foreclosure proceedings; signaled that the Articles of Confederation were too weak to hold the states together Great Compromise 1787; This compromise was between the large and small states of the colonies. The Great Compromise resolved that there would be representation by population in the House of Representatives, and equal representation would exist in the Senate. Each state, regardless of size, would have 2 senators. All tax bills and revenues would originate in the House. This compromise combined the needs of both large and small states and formed a fair and sensible resolution to their problems. 3/5 Compromise the decision at the Constitutional convention to count slaves as 3/5 of a person for the purpose of deciding the population and determining how many seats each state would have in Congress Virginia Plan "Large state" proposal for the new constitution, calling for proportional representation in both houses of a bicameral Congress. The plan favored larger states and thus prompted smaller states to come back with their own plan for apportioning representation. New Jersey Plan The proposal at the Constitutional Convention that called for equal representation of each state in Congress regardless of the state's population. Commerce and Slave Trade Compromise Resolved differences btwn northern and southern states; Congress could not tax exports nor ban the slave trade for 20 yrs. separation of powers Constitutional allotment of powers among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches, with the legislative branch making law, the executive applying and enforcing the law, and the judiciary interpreting the law checks and balances counterbalancing influences by which an organization or system is regulated, typically those ensuring that political power is not concentrated in the hands of individuals or groups. federalism A system in which power is divided between the national and state governments reserved powers Powers not specifically granted to the federal government or denied to the states belong to the states and the people; term comes from wording of 10th Amendment. concurrent powers powers shared by the national and state governments, such as the ability to tax, to establish courts, to make laws and set punishment expressed powers powers that Congress has that are specifically listed in the Constitution, such as the power to declare war, the power to regulate interstate commerce, the power to coin money, the power to issue copyrights and patents.