Political Parties
an organization seeking to achieve political power by electing members to public office so that its political philosophy is reflected in public policy. hamilton created the federalist party to go against jefferson and jefferson created the republican part
what was the reason they started the country with state governments
the reason that they started with state governments was because the people had more control over it and they were scared that with a strong national government there would be a majority tyranny just like in brittan. some of the other founders realized the
european philosophers views of political parties
edmond burke was the only politicalphilosopher who advocated with political parties becuase he said that it checked the power of each other.
david hume believed that parties were the result of diverse interests
hamilton's economic vision for america (national bank)
he argued that the national bank is necessary for the government becuase now that they collect taxes they need a place to put it. they needed to keep the money of the national government safe. jefferson thinks that the necessary and proper clause makes th
foreign policy and decision and positions of leaders
the foreign policy decisions is that we stay neutral until 1898. hamilton wanted to stay neutral and jefferson wanted to side with france
alien and sedition acts
the alien and sedition acts limited the freedom of speech and freedom of the press. it was proved as unconstitutional becuase it was going against the bill of rights. the alien and sedition acts ended the federalist party becuase they passed these laws. t
virginia and kentucky resolutions
they were written by madison and jefferson, and they do not pass, and they do not become laws becuase they are unconstitutional. they say that every time the government passes a law that goes against the people, the states have the right to aviod the law.
patronage definition
the support given by an influentail person. also the power of a political official to control appointments. appointing members of his own party to political offices, including local postmaster jogbs, the president could build connections between the natio
election of 1800
first peaceful transfer between 2 parties, lead to the 12th amendment which changes the law so now that when you vote for the president you also vote for the vice president on the same ballot
southern view of the capital
wanted it to be farther south because of the symbolizm so they moved it to washington dc
positive contributions of patronage
connects people at the state level who have ehlped get the president elected to the national government
negative contributions of patronage
sometimes the people chosen are not qualified
categories of amendments and examples of each
bill of rights- individual rights that cannot be taken away
fundemental changes- made changes that go to the core of the constitutional system like outlawing slavery, defining national citizenship, and giving congress expansive enforcements powers
expansi
the bill of rights
george mason proposed and argued unsuccessfully for a bill of rights because most other delegates thought that the things in the bill of rights w3ere already stated in the constitution. it ended up being the first 10 amendments to the US constitution, rat
definition of judicial review
the power of the courts to declare laws and actions of the local and state governments or the national government invalid if they are found to contradict the US Constitution
critics points against judicial reivew
most of the critics were anti-federalists and they feared that the court would use judicial review to eliminate the power of state courts. they argued that legislatures are the repository of the people's sovereignty. judicial review could lead to politica
factions
factions posed the greatest danger to governments of the people. faction means any group within a society that promoted its own self-interest at the expense of the common good. if a faction consisted of a minority a democracy worked will because the major
federalist defense of the constitution
he argued that the constitution allowed the national government to exercise only enumerated powers, nothing gave the national government authority over individiuals. under the us constitution the people can remove elected officials who abuse their power
federalist defense of the bill of rights
Hamilton argued that the constitution allowed the national government to exercise only enumerated powers. nothing gave the national government authority over individuals. adding a bill of rights would imply that the national government had the powers that
federalists position on constitution
they were very organized while making plans to get the constitution ratified. civic virtue can no longer be relied on as the sole support of a government that can protect people's rights and promote their welfare. the way the constitution organizes the go
Plan to ratify the constitution
their product would only become the law of the land if it was ratified by at least of 9 of the 13 states. this created the federalists, the supporters of the proposed constitution, and the anti-federalists, who were the real believes in a truly "federal
Anti-federalists philosophies
anti-federalists believed that the constitution would create a government that the people could not control. the size and diversity of the united states were exactly the opposite of a homogeneous small republic. A strong national government in a large nat
Anti-federalists problems with the constitution
there will be a uniform rule over a heterogeneous population, the government will resort to force rather than popular consent, tax the people in order to sustain the army. the constitution gives congress the power to make any laws that congress believes n
powers of national government
grants state legislatures the power to decide the times places and manner of holding elections for senators and representatives but also grants congress the power to make or change these at any time, gives the congress the power to set a procedure for cal
powers of state government
states cannot coin their own money, pass laws that enable people to violate contracts, make ex post facto laws or bills of attainder, enter into foreign treaties or declare war, taximports or exports, keeps troops or ships of war in peach time, no discrim
10th amendment
the powers not delegated to the united states by the constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people
regulation of commerce
the commerce clause describes and enumerate power listed in the United States Constitution. the clause states that the United States Congress shall have the power "to regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the India
supremacy clause
it states that the constitution, laws passed by contgress, and treaties of the United states "shall be the supreme law of the land" and binding on the states
unresolved issues of the constitution
the power to secede (leave the union)- do the states have, national citizenship of former slaves, not defined voting rights, power of national government
enumerated powers
those rights and responsibilities of the U.S. government specifically provided for an listed in the constitution
checks and balances
checks and balances refers to the system among the branches of government that includes some powers that are separated and some that are shared. this system was built so that one one branch of our government could become too powerful. Each branch is restr
what is the electoral college
the electoral college is the group of presidential electors who cast the official votes for president and vice president after a presidential election. each state has a number of electors equal to the total of its members in the senate and house of repres
pros of electoral college
no region can gain enough electoral votes to win, they must appeal to most or all regions and represent their interests to win, so winner represents the interests of all country. because the winner usually gets a larger proportion of electoral votes than
cons of electoral college
undemocratic, should be replaced with direct popular vote, unfairly gives disproportionate power to small states. electoral college votes of each state should be allotted to candidates in proportion to popular vote
The great compromise- what did it include?
it was a plan accepted at the Philadelphia convention in the 1787 that called for a congress of 2 houses; in the upper house, or senate, representation of the states would be equal with each state having 2 senators; in the lower house, or house of represe
new jersey plan- what did it include?
the new jersey plan called for a one-house national legislature with each state having equal representation. it followed the framework of the articles of confederation and favored a weak national government.
the 3/5ths compromise- how would slaves be counted for representation and for state taxes
for every 5 slaves 3 were counted for state taxes. the delegates from the southern states, which had the most slaves, argued that their slaves should be counted as full persons for the purposes of representation. delegates from the northern states wondere
Philadelphia (Constitutional) Convention- purpose of
to rewrite the articles of confederation but they ended up remaking a new government becuase the articles of confederation was not working otu as a government for them and that is shown through shays rebellion
Virginia plan
it was presented at the Philadelphia convention and provided for a national government composed of three branches. it proposed a congress of 2 houses, both of which would be based on proportional representation. the Virginia plan favored a strong national
proportional representation
in the context of american government, proportional representation is the electoral system in which the number of representatives for a astate is based on the number of people living in a state. proportional representation is used to determine the number
equal representation
every state had equal people representing them. favored the smaller states because they had equal votes and equal impact as the larger states
George Washington contribution to Constitutional Convention
he was the most respected man in the country but didn't speak a lot at the convention because that would make him seem like he wanted a lot of power. he didn't want to be there because he wanted to stay out of the public eye. if he didn't attend and the u
James Madison contribution to the constitutional convention
greatest influence on the organization of the national government. called the father of the constitution because of the Virginia declaration of rights. youngest man in attendance
Ben Franklin contribution to the constitutional convention
he was the oldest one there and in very poor health but internationally respected so he was "forced" to come. he was also very famous, not only in america but throughout the world. he was very trusted.
alexander hamilton contribution to the constitutional convention
he left midway throught the convention becuase he got mad but came back in the end so he could sign the the completed document
gouverneur morris contribution to the constitutional convention
spoke most often and credited with taking a principal role in drafting the constitution
edmund randolph contribution to the constitutional convention
he was the one who introduced the Virginia plan to the convention. he refused to sign the final document because he said it departed too much from the republican propositions of the Virginia Plan
secrecy- importance of it in the constitutional convention
it allowed free exchange of ideas. delegates believed the new constitution had a better chance of being accepted if people didn't know about the arguments during the debate. if people say something that might appear stupid, they don't want to say that in
modern federal system
composed of 2 governments: national and state which have separate powers and shared powers. legislature is the strongest branch
Problems with majority rule
claimed majority rule didn't protect rights of citizens. too much democracy= interests of individuals becoming more important than common good. Not all voices being heard
Strengths of articles of confederation
it secured recognition of american independence through the Paris peace treaty by European governments. the northwest ordinance was also part of it and it defined the northwest-territory and created it. they also started the cabinets, which were departmen
weaknesses of articles of confederation
congress had no power to tax but could only request that state governments pay certain amounts to support the costs of the national government. Congress could make agreements with foreign nations, but it had no power to force state governments to honor th
accomplishments of the articles of confederation
secured recognition of American independence, created executive cabinets and eventually the federal court system. the northwest ordinance (1787) which created a process for territories to become states, prohibited slavs in new territories, guaranteed equa
shays rebellion- who
localists from western massachusetts. usually farmers. daniel shays started it
shays rebellion- what
the rebellion against the courts and the bankers who were taking away their land. they were trying to stop the government from cautioning off their land. they were mad because they were not protecting the natural rights of the people. they are trying to s
shays rebellion- when
1786
shays rebellion- why
the cosmopolitans were taking away farmers; who fought in the wars land because they couldn't pay their debt because they didn't get the money that was promised to them from the war.