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American Government Mid-Term Review
Chapter 1
Americans’ View of the Government
• Americans’ trust in the government has decreased to only 19% of Americans trusting the
government
• As government grows, trust diminishes
• Americans believe that they can do little to influence government’s actions (political efficacy)
• Blacks and Latinos express the most confidence in the government
• Diminishing levels of trust on government is important because politically engaged citizens
and public confidence are essential for a healthy democracy
Politics and Government
Politics- Conflicts and struggles over leadership, structure, and policies of governments; who
gets what, when, and how; political issues and allocation of resources
Government- Formal institution through which a land and its people are ruled
Political Values- Liberty, equality, democracy
Political Apathy- Indifference towards political activities including elections, civic
responsibility, politicians
Political Knowledge- Having a few opinions to offer a pollster or guide decisions in voting
booth; attentive and engaged in politics; understand how and why politics is relevant; knowing
limits on pursuing one’s own individual interest through political action
Pluralism- Theory that all interest are and should be free to compete for influence in the
government; outcome of this competition is compromise and moderation
Public Good and Private Good
Public goods- Services that benefit everyone (maintenance of public order, stable currency,
foreign aggression) that no individual or group can solely afford to supply
Private Goods- Rival and excludable; only benefit certain people
*Public goods are provided by the government’s power to tax and regulate
Democracies
Direct Democracy- System of government that permits citizens to vote directly on laws and
polices; directly in control in the system

Main challenges: mob rule, knowledge of the issues, time constraint, larger the group the harder
it becomes to manage it
*Mob rule: angry and irrational people in charge (ration vs
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S
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Taxation is how we achieve equality

Chapter 2
Events leading up to the Revolutionary War
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French and Indian War (1754-1763)

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Sugar Act (April 5, 1764)

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Stamp Act (March 22, 1765

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Boston Massacre (March 5, 1770)

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Boston Tea Party (December 16, 1773

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First Continental Congress (Philadelphia September 5- October 26, 1774

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Second Continental Congress (Philadelphia 1775)

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Declaration of Independence Adopted (July 4, 1776)

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Declaration of Independence Signed August 2, 1776

Timeline
Colonial Period Mid 1400-1776
-13 colonies under the monarchy
-Self-governing
Pre-Revolutionary Phase 1760-Late 1770’s & Early 1780’s
-Tension between the British and colonists
-Over taxation (Stamp, Sugar)
-Colonies are trying to pay for the war
-No taxation without representation
Declaration of Independence 1776-All men are created equal
-In term of politics: justification for independence; government we have is not based on the
consent of the people/we have to get rid of that government and replace is with representative
government

-Philosophical term: People have unalienable rights (right to live, right to own property, liberty)/
(Right to a different government)
War
Articles of Confederation 1777-1789
U
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Constitution 1789-

Articles of Confederation (1777-1789)
•

November 1777- Continental Congress adopted the AOC, which was the United States’
first written constitution

•

The AOC was not ratified until 1781; however, it was U
...
’ operative constitution for 12
years until 1789

•

Primary goal of the Articles was to limit the power of central government

*Relationship between states and national government was a confederation, as provided under
Article II, each state retains its sovereignty, freedom, and independence
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National government had to rely on state
militias
• No taxing authority

Key Differences Between AOC and Constitution
Articles of Confederation
-No President
-No militia
-Weak national government
-States retain power
-No taxation power
-Confederal government (power is divide; states retain most powers/run confederation)
-Congress of the United States (unicameral)
Constitution
-Federalism
-Separation of Powers
(coequal)
-Checks and Balances (ability of each branch to counter the other)
-Bicameral Congress
-Bill of Rights/Civil Liberties

Checks and Balances
Mechanisms through which each branch of government is able to participate in and influence the
activities of other braches
*Ensures that no branch is more powerful than the other
Examples:
• Legislative branch overriding a veto
• Executive branch vetoing a legislative bill
• Judicial branch checking congress by declaring laws unconstitutional

Shay’s Rebellion (1787)

Daniel Shays led a mob of farmers in a rebellion against the government of Massachusetts
...

The rebellion revealed the weakened of the new central government which lacked power
to tax and a national army and served as a focal point for those who would draft the new
constitution
States were asked to send representatives to Philadelphia to discuss revision
...
Antifederalists
Federalists:
• Favored a stronger central/national government
• Federal control over the economy
• Clear property rights
• Government by elites
• Problems with everything
Antifederalists:
• Favored the balance of power being with the states
• Clearly articulated rights (not just property)
• Government by leaders who shared the economic interests of the people
• States continue to run the union (reform them)
What Came Out of Debate
The Bill of Rights (1791)
Concession to win approval to the Constitution
Separation of Powers
The division of governmental power among several institutions that must cooperate in decisionmaking
Declaration of Independence
In 1776 the Second Continental Congress appointed a committee consisting of Thomas Jefferson
(Virginia), Benjamin Franklin (Pennsylvania), Roger Sherman (Connecticut), John Adam

(Massachusetts), and Robert Livingston (New York) drafted a statement of American
Independence
...
(This statement was dramatic in the world of divine 1700’s monarchs and was
influenced by the works of John Locke)
*As a political document it stated that the king had violated those rights and the colonists had
the right to separate
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Lower levels of government primarily implement
decisions made by the central government
...
Nations with diverse ethnic or language groupings
...
3 billion to $607 billion in 2014)
Formula Grants- Grants in aid in which a formula is used to determine the amount of federal
funds a state or local government will receive
Powers of National Government
Powers of National Government (Emanated/listed)
Expressed powers- Found in Article 1 Section 8 (17) and include power to collect taxes, coin
money, declare war, and regulate commerce
Implied Powers- Found at end of Section 8
...
States also have the power to regulate individuals’’ livelihoods and
define private property

Police Powers- Power reserved to the state government to regulate the health safety, and morals
of its citizens
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By requiring the states to recognize
actions and decisions taken in other states as legal and proper, the framers aimed to make the
states less like independent countries and more like components of a single nation
Full Faith and Credit- Means that each state is normally expected to honor the public acts,
records, and judicial proceedings that take place in any other state
Strong Public Policy- If a practice in one state is against this policy of another state then the state
against the practice is not obligated to recognize it
Comity Clause- Guarantees that all citizens from outside a given state to enjoy privileges and
immunities granted to all citizens of that state
Interstate Compact Clause- No state shall without the consent of Congress enter into any
agreement or compact with another state
Local Government and the Constitution
Local governments have always been subject to ultimate control by the states
...
Maryland involved the question whether Congress had the power to charter
a national bank such an explicit grant of power was nowhere to be found in Article 1 Section 8
1824- Gibbons v
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Madison)
Obamacare- Affordable Care Act is a united states federal statute enacted by Obama on March
23, 2010; hospitals and primary care physicians must transform practice for better health
outcome, lower costs, and improvement of methods and distribution and accessibility
Chapter 4
Civil Liberties and Civil Rights
Civil Liberties (Freedom) – Protections from improper government actions
Substantive- Limits on what the government can or cannot do
Procedural- Rules regarding how the government must act
*Allow people to live according to their preferences
Civil Rights (Equality)- Protections of citizen equality provided by the government
Bill of Rights (1791)

Bill of Rights ensure certain rights to the people; grant them unalienable rights; understanding
that all powers not expressly delegated to the national government or explicitly prohibited to the
states were reserved to the states; protections against improper government action
Amendments:
I-Freedom of speech, religion, press, assembly
II- Right to bear arms
III- Government cannot force people to quarter troops in their homes
VI- Protects against unreasonable search and seizure
V- Rights of the accused
VI- Right to a speedy and fair trial
VII- Right to a jury
VIII- Excessive bail and fines; protection from cruel and unusual punishment
IX- Rights retained by the people that are not specifically enumerated in the Consitution
X- 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
Freedom of Religion
First amendment provided for freedom of religion in two clauses: “Congress shall make no law
representing an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof
...

Establishment clause interpretations:
First- Government is prohibited from establishing an official church
Second- Government may not take sides among competing religions but may provide assistant to
religious institutions or ideas as long as it shows no favoritism
Third- Wall of separation between church and state
Free Exercise Clause- Protects the citizen’s right to believe and to practice religion; right to
choose not to practice a religion
Second Amendment

The right to bear arms
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Point of the second amendment is the provision for militias
The right of the people to keep and bear arms is based on and associated with
participation in state militias
In 2008, Supreme Court made the first of two rulings in favor of expansive rights of gun
ownership to individuals

Alexander Hamilton and the Bill of Rights
Alexander Hamilton argued that the bill was “not only unnecessary in the proposed Constitution
but would even be dangerous”
Supreme Court and Citizens United
In the latest decision on the case (Citizens United in 2010), the Supreme Court has held that the
Constitution prohibits the government from regulating political speech and that therefore the
government could not ban this type of political spending by corporations

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