American Government and Politics: Exam 1 Study Guide

American Government and Politics: Exam 1 Study Guide What is Government? - A social institution that controls the behavior of people What are the Government's main functions? - 1. Providing security (Trying to protect citizens from such harms as unfair business practices, discrimination, and denial of constitutional rights) 2. Serving the public good (A policy or action that benefits the society as a whole rather than a specific individual: laws and regulations) 3. Managing and resolving conflicts (Compromise process: Congress balances arguments from groups of people who could be affected by legislation actions) 4. Offering Services (Supporting the postal system, education, hospitals, transportation, and Social Security for the elderly) What is a Public Good? - A government policy or action that benefits society as a whole rather than a specific individual What is a Democracy? - A system of government in which political power is exercised by the people What are the different forms of Democracy? - 1. Direct Democracy: a democracy in which the people are able to participate directly in the decision making 2. Indirect (Representative) Democracy: a democracy in which people do not participate directly in decision making and instead elect individuals to represent their interests 3. Constitutional Democracy: a government that derives its authority from a constitution What kind of Democracy do we have in the United States? - An Indirect (Representative) Democracy What is a Republic? - A state in which supreme power is held by the people and their elected representatives, and which has an elected or nominated president rather than a monarch What are the 3 major political philosophies that influenced the founding? - 1. Classical Liberalism 2. Classical Republicanism 3. Inegalitarianism What evidence of the 3 major political philosophies influence can you see in the structure of American government or in the political issues we still debate on? - 1. Classical Liberalism; limited government 2. Classical Republicanism; checks and balances 3. Inegalitarianism; religion & this still plays a role in government today What is Hobbes' view of the nature of man? - Hobbes' believed that human beings naturally desire power to live well and that they will never be satisfied with the power they have without acquiring more power What is Federalism? - A political system where the powers of government are divided between a national government and regional (state and local) governments What were the major reasons for the colonists to declare independence? - They believed the British were treating the colonists unfairly,the British passed many tax laws that impacted the colonists, and the colonists had no representatives in Parliament to vote on or discuss these laws. What was our first attempt at national government & what are it's weaknesses? - The Articles of Confederation. Some weaknesses are that it gave Congress no power to control or regulate trade among states, it provided no common currency, regardless of size, it only gave each state one vote, and it provided for no judicial or executive branch, no president or any judges. How were some of the weaknesses addressed in the Constitution? - The Constitution fixed the weaknesses by allowing the central government certain rights and discussing things that the Articles of Confederation did not. Federalists - Federalists believed the Constitution granted too much power to the federal courts, at the expense of the state and local courts. They argued that the federal courts would be too far away to provide justice to the average citizen.