Study sheet: American Government Foundations

📋 Course Outline

1. Power and Government Authority
2. Government Systems and State Power
3. Constitutional Convention Compromises
4. Ratification and Constitutional Principles
5. Federalism and Constitutional Limits
6. Federal Grants and State Dependence
7. American Political Culture and Change

📖 1. Power and Government Authority

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• Power : Wealth, knowledge, or strength used to get people to do what you want.
• Sovereignty : Final authority over government decisions.
• Constitutional Government : Government whose Constitution limits governmental power and protects people's rights.
• Democracy : Majority rule in which the people hold political power.
• Tyranny : Unrestrained and unfair government rule in which the government has too much power.

💡 Memory Hook

Sovereignty is final authority, whereas power is the ability to influence others.

📖 2. Government Systems and State Power

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• Articles of Confederation : The first United States system of government during the Revolutionary War that created a weak national government and gave most power to the states.
• Confederation : A group of states that cooperate while keeping most of their own power, leaving the national government weaker.
• Unitary System : A government in which most power belongs to the national government rather than the states.
• Monarchy : Rule by one person.
• Secession : The claimed right of states to leave the union.

💡 Memory Hook

A unitary system concentrates power nationally, whereas a confederation leaves most power with the states.

📖 3. Constitutional Convention Compromises

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• Constitutional Convention : The Constitutional Convention was a meeting in which leaders attempted to fix the Articles of Confederation but instead wrote the United States Constitution.
• Compromise on Slavery : The Compromise on Slavery counted three out of five enslaved people when determining representation and taxes.

📝 Essential Points

• The Great Compromise created a Congress with a House of Representatives based on population and a Senate in which every state receives two senators.

• The New Jersey Plan proposed that every state have the same number of votes in Congress regardless of population.

• The Virginia Plan proposed giving states with larger populations more representatives and votes in Congress.

💡 Memory Hook

The Virginia Plan favored population-based representation, whereas the New Jersey Plan favored equal state votes.

📖 4. Ratification and Constitutional Principles

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• Federalist Papers : Essays written to convince people to support the Constitution and a stronger national government.
• Bill of Attainder : A law that punishes a person or group without a trial.
• Ex Post Facto Laws : A law that punishes someone for an action that was legal when it was committed.

📝 Essential Points

📌 Anti-Federalists feared that the new federal government would become too powerful, while Federalists argued that constitutional checks and balances would prevent abuse of power.

• An amendment becomes part of the Constitution after it is proposed and approved by three-fourths of the states.

💡 Memory Hook

Weaknesses under the Articles led to the Constitutional Convention and the creation of a stronger Constitution.

📖 5. Federalism and Constitutional Limits

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• Federalism : A system in which power is divided between the national government and state governments.
• Nullification : The act of states declaring acts of Congress unconstitutional.
• Mandates : Requirements from the federal government that states must follow.

📝 Essential Points

• The executive branch enforces laws, the legislative branch makes laws, and the judicial branch interprets laws.

• In McCulloch v. Maryland, the Supreme Court held that the federal government has powers not directly written in the Constitution and that states cannot tax the federal government.

💡 Memory Hook

Federalism divides power between national and state governments, while mandates direct states to follow federal requirements.

📖 6. Federal Grants and State Dependence

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• State Dependence on Federal Money : Reliance on federal funds to pay for programs and services.
• Grants-in-Aid : Forms of federal money given to states to help pay for programs.

★ Must-know

• Arguments against grants-in-aid include that states may depend on federal money and lose freedom to make their own choices.

Further detail

• Arguments for grants-in-aid include giving the federal government greater financial resources to address larger problems.

💡 Memory Hook

Grants-in-aid help states address larger problems, but dependence on federal money can limit state freedom.

📖 7. American Political Culture and Change

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• Culture : The shared beliefs, values, traditions, customs, and behaviors of a group of people.
• Democracy in America : The idea that people participate in government by voting for their leaders and representatives.

★ Must-know

• Important American values include:

  • Freedom
  • Equality
  • Individualism
  • Democracy

• Shays's Rebellion was a farmers' protest against high taxes and debt that demonstrated the national government's weakness under the Articles of Confederation.

Further detail

• The evolution of federalism describes how the balance of power between the federal and state governments has changed over time.

💡 Memory Hook

American government develops through culture, constitutional amendments, court decisions, and changing federalism.

📊 Synthesis Tables

Government Systems Compared

System	Location of Power	Role of States
Confederation	Mostly with the states	States retain most power
Federalism	Divided between national and state governments	States share governing authority
Unitary system	Mostly with the national government	States have less independent power