Government Study Guide

I typed this up for a test recently, and if any of you need it you may use it!

Gov Study Guide Test 1

• Majoritarianism – government by the majority of the people
• Pluralism – people operate in competing interest groups
• Elite – a small group makes the most important decisions
• Hyperpluralism – interest groups become so strong that government is weakened
• Substantive Theory – Deals with specific elements of the case which constitute a basis for the violation charged
• Procedural Theory – Sets out standards of procedure for how a case will be reviewed
• Locke – people are reasonable and moral, natural right to life, liberty and property
• Hobbes – violence and disorder come naturally, need absolute government for control
• The Commerce Clause – Gives congress power to regulate commerce among the states
• Federalism – Power resides in the people and is exercised by their elected representatives (division of power between central and regional gov’t)
• The 10th Amendment – Powers not granted to the federal government nor prohibited to the states by the Constitution of the United States are reserved to the states or the people (states’ rights)
• Founding Father’s View
o Pure Democracy – Cannot function on a large-scale and lack of stock in majority rule
o Indirect Democracy – Believed in creation of representation
• Dual Federalism – Gov’t and state powers are clearly differentiated
• Cooperative Federalism – Agreement upholding power overlap between state and gov’t powers
• Mandates – A requirement that a state undertake an activity or provide a service in keeping with national minimum standards
• Grants-In-Aid – Money provided by one level of gov’t to another to be spent in a specific way
• Block Grants – Grants-in-aid awarded for general purpose allowing discretion of how the grant money is spent
• Categorical Grants – Aid targeted for specific purpose by formula or project
• Fiscal Federalism – A theory studying the function of fiscal instruments and how they are allocated across different levels of administration
• Philosophy of Declaration (John Locke) – His theories became default legal code for the Constitution in that it promises uninhibited rights to life, liberty, health, possessions and the pursuit of happiness
• Structure: Articles of Confederation vs. Constitution – The Constitution addressed financial weakness as well as the norms, rules and institutional structures of the Congress, and the propensity to divide along sectional line
• The Great Compromise – House of Representatives became apportioned to state population and all states would be equally represented in the Senate
• Federalist 10 – Argues for ratification of the Constitution and answers the question of guarding the harmful effects of factions
• Federalist 51 – Discusses checks and balances and advocates a separation of powers
• Making an Amendment – Proposal must be made and ratified by the states (3/4), must receive 2/3 vote in House and Senate OR 2/3 at national Constitutional Convention (look at class notes for detail on informal process)
• Bill of Rights – First ten amendments to the Constitution preventing tampering of fundamental rights
• First and Second Continental Congress – First) a convention of delegates from twelve of the thirteen North American colonies that met on September 5, 1774 | Second) succeeded the First Continental Congress, which met briefly during 1774, also in Philadelphia. The second Congress managed the colonial war effort, and moved incrementally towards independence, adopting the United States Declaration of Independence on July 4th, 1776
• Virginia Plan – Set of proposals submitted to the Constitutional Convention in 1787; gov’t separated into three branches, division of legislature into two houses and representation in legislature (wanted strong national gov’t)
• New Jersey Plan – Set of nine resolutions that would have amended the Articles of Confederation instead of eliminating them (wanted decentralized gov’t)
• Cases
o Marbury v. Madison – Supreme Court claims the power of judicial review
o US v. Lopez – Set limits to Congress's power under the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution
• Anarchy – Opposition of gov’t in any form
• Confederation – Organization of states who agree to cooperate on specific matters
• Direct Democracy – Dependence on citizens who choose to represent the majority to lend to government decisions (same as pure democracy)
• Democratization – Process of transitioning to a democratic regime
• Republic – Government rooted in consent of the people to whom elected representatives are responsible
• Checks and Balances – Gov’t structure that gives each branch some scrutiny and control of the other branches
• Supremacy Clause – Power to declare congressional and presidential acts invalid because they violate the constitution
• Elastic Clause – Gives Congress the means to execute its enumerated powers
• Powers
o Implied – Needed to execute enumerated powers
o Enumerated – Powers explicitly granted to Congress via the Constitution
o Inherent – Powers that the sovereign state holds, derived from loose statements of the Constitution
o Reserved – Powers that the United States Constitution does not give to the federal government, or forbid to the states, are reserved to the states or the people
o Restricted – Powers known to be inaccessible by Congress (double check this)
• Sovereignty – Quality of being supreme in power or authority
• Restraint – a theory of judicial interpretation that encourages judges to limit the exercise of their own power

Lol if only i was still taking Govt and all this was on our test ha.

seems like a lot of work. is this is a difficult class?

Thanks Connor for posting that, I'm sure it will be a major help in the future. Especially on the final exam.

This sounds like a major workload, and I am still debating whether or not I should take it next year.

Lol connor is just such a great guy looking out for everone. Honestly though that probably took a short while to type up.

If anyone in AP gov needs my notes, tell me. I type everything in BuhlerDocs so I have it all. I can post it on here if you guys would like me to in the case that you don't have your reading assignment finished, your sick or whatever