Xauen Zirpolo

Mr. Diamond
AP Government
November 4, 2014
1. The colonial mind was set on fighting to protect liberties it believe Great
Britains constitution could not. Specifically, property rights needed to be kept
safe, and natural rights could never be infringed on by any human power.
2. The articles failed to give Congress power to levy taxes or regulate commerce.
States were basically independent countries, and there was no national judicial
system to settle disputes. The military was weak and barely regulated as well,
made up of militiamen from all states.
3. Shays rebellion was when ex-Revolutionary War soldiers attempted to stop the
Masschusetts courts from sitting. With no federal or state military, a privately
funded force of soldiers had to be made to quell the rebellion. It clearly showed
the lack of power the government as well as the states held, and pushed for a
quicker change to the Articles.
4. Democracy could lead to a government too weak to protect the many, or too
strong and protect only the few. The delicate problem was to form a strong
enough government that would not compromise personal liberty.
5. The three compromises were
a. Virginia Plan-Proposed to create a strong national government in 3 parts:
executive, legislative, and judicial.
b. New Jersey Plan-Proposed to reform the Articles of Confederation to
protect smaller states rights and limit the power of the government
c. Great Compromise-Created 2 houses, one based on population (The House
of Representatives) and one with 2 senators from each state (The Senate).
6. There was debate over whether or not congress should choose the president and
justices; eventually, they decided on the electoral college to choose the president,
and direct executive nomination for the justices.
7. A democracy, literally coming from demos kratia is where the people rule
directly. A republic is where the government is controlled by a set of elected
officials. A balance between popular vote for president and congressional choice
for senators made a good mix of the two.
8. Judicial review is the process by which the Supreme Court can declare an act of
Congress unconstitutional. After an amendment is proposed by either 2/3 of
congress or 2/3 of the states, it then needs to be ratified by of each,
respectively. After such, it is submitted to the Supreme Court for review.
9. The two are
a. The role of government is to protect rights, which are summarized as life,
liberty and property. That is, the premier function of the US government is
to ensure people can live their lives freely.
b. Government power is derived from the power of the governed. That
indicates that all power to make decisions must stem from popular vote of
some sort.
10. Checks and balances

a. Congress
i. Refuse to pass presidential bill
ii. Overturn veto
iii. Impeach
iv. Refuse to ratify treaty
b. Supreme Court
i. Declare law unconstitutional
ii. Declare presidential actions unconstitutional
c. President
i. Veto bills from congress
ii. Nominate Supreme Court Judges
iii. Exercise presidential authority
11. The founders were afraid peoples relentless pursuit of self interest would lead, as
it had before, to the downfall of the government. Ancient philosophers reasoned
that the best thing to do in a government was install virtue amongst the governed,
but Madison feared it would require too much governmental power to enact such
a thing. Instead, he relied on the virtue of the shared liberties held by citizens, and
that it would keep the system in check.
POLITY QUESTIONS
1. The founders believe men were inherently selfish and greedy, and that a
government of freedom and opportunity went directly against human nature. They
reasoned that instead, a government that could control the evils of men would
succeed.
2. The three advantages of a federal govt. were
a. It could maintain order against popular uprising or majority rule
b. A representative government could regulate the views of the people and
enact them as such
c. An executive governing the two branches would exercise control and
prevent the severe inequality that was present in European monarchies.
3. The founders believed liberty was synonymous with property, and that democracy
(by extension, government of any sort) was harmful to the ultimate liberties. The
greatest liberties, to them, were those that granted the most profit.
4. The founders were afraid democracy would degenerate into tyranny or
aristocracy, and that eventually the system would collapse upon itself. They
hoped that the ownership of land by multiple individuals would prevent this.