MIDTERM 2 STUDY GUIDE

Chapter 5
● The Coming of the Revolution
○ Taxation without representation - taxes placed on colonists during revolutionary
period by parliament and had no representation (broke the rule of law)
○ Stamp Act- required the purchase of government stamps for a variety of legal
and commercial documents
○ Tea Act Boston - gave british east india company a monopoly on tea in colonies
○ Committees of correspondence - organized groups by colonial government to
coordinate written communication with other colonies, spread colonial
interpretation of british actions
○ Continental Congress - british colonies representatives responding to intolerable
acts (declared independence and drafted Articles of Confederation)
○ Patrick Henry- “Give me liberty or give me death” shouted at the House of
Burgesses
● The Declaration of Independence
○ Patriots - those committed to total independence
○ Tories - those who supported British rule
○ John Adams - “atlas of independence,” persuades people to vote for
independence
○ Thomas Jefferson - principal author of declaration and founding father of US,
promoted classical liberalism (less government) and republicanism and
separation of church and state
○ Locke's Influence on the Declaration of Independence- Second Treatise of
Government was similar to the Declaration of Independence; 5 main points
■ in a state of nature there is no government
■ men create a social contract
■ governments only job is to protect people's natural rights
■ government exists by consent of the governed
■ if government violated social contract, the people have the right and duty
to revolt
○ free societies make free people
○ 4 premises:
■ all individuals are created equal
■ all are endowed by their creator with inalienable rights
■ government with power from people, should secure these rights
■ if government fails to do this, it should be removed
○ language of declaration:
 ■ ideals: there are atlas of nature that entitle people to something; truths =
self-evident, men created equal, inalienable rights; right of the people to
consent, alter, abolish government
■ grievances
■ actions: severing all ties with great britain; mutually pledge to each other
their lives, fortunes and honor
● The Revolutionary War
○ Thomas Paine - helped instigate american revolution through writings
○ Common Sense - a political tract written by thomas paine that helped convince
colonists about the necessity to fight against britain and to become independent
○ Paul Revere - patriot in american revolution, role as messenger in battles of
lexington and concord, organized alarm system to keep watch on british military
○ George Washington: led american continental army to victory over britain in
revolutionary war, 1st president of US, “father of his country”
■ Father of the Country
■ Symbol of a whole host of things; symbol for nationhood
■ His courage and a symbol virtue
● He was willing to return his power to Congress (in 1783 he
tendered his resignation)
■ Greatest President/ Greatest American
○ Demi God: being half human and half godlike, a trait sometimes wrongly
attributed to the Founders
Chapter 6
● State Governments
○ Oligarchy: a form of government where most or all political power effectively
rests with a small segment, of society, typically the most powerful, whether by
wealth, family, military strength, ruthlessness, or political influence
○ Republican Problem - how can benefits of self-interest be enjoyed without
inherent problems?
○ Constitutional Structure -mechanisms in a constitution that organize government
○ Constitutional drift: when power in the government does not remain where it
was originally placed
● The Confederation
○ Confederation
○ Articles of Confederation
■ Weaknesses:
● Individual states were sovereign
● no executive
● no power to enforce conflicts between states
 ● no power to tax
● no common currency, exchange disputes
● not binding if passed
● state wars (Penn-Con)
● conflicts between state laws
● state trade problems
● states made own international treaties, states were played off
each other
■ Strengths
● experience gained helped in the creation of the Constitution
● States acted as experimental labs
● provided some solutions in convention
● Got through the Revolutionary War
● Ended western land claiming by states
● was a product of the people
○ State sovereignty: when ultimate political power resides in the state rather than
the federal government
● The New Constitution
○ John Adams - founding father and proponent of bicameral legislature, 2nd pres.,
part of the federalist party
○ Bicameral legislature - 2 separate divisions or houses
○ Strengthening State Government
○ Strengthening the Confederation:
○ James Madison - 4th president and founding father; “father of the constitution”;
helped create democratic-republican party
● Creating a Federal Government
○ Gouverneur Morris - pennsylvania rep at constitutional convention, authorized
large section of constitution, “why are we counting people towards south if they
cannot vote”
○ Charles Pinkney - s. carolina rep, strong promoter of federalism and helped
persuade ratification of constitution in s. carolina
○ George Mason - virginia rep, refused to sign constitution because it didn’t
contain declaration of rights, authored virginia declaration of rights
○ Troubled Politics
○ Virginia Plan - (Madison) each state has proportional representation in congress
■ gives large amounts of power to bigger states and little to smaller states
○ New Jersey Plan: (Paterson) each state has equal representation in congress
(regardless of size/population)
 ○ William Paterson: New Jersey representative at the constitutional convention
who presented the New Jersey Plan, which gave equal representation to states
regardless of size or polulation
○ The Great Compromise - proportional representation only applied to lower house
of bicameral legislature, equal rep only applied to upper house
○ Popular sovereignty - power created by and subject to will of people
○ Benjamin Franklin - “mankind may give up established government by human
wisdom and leave it to chance, war, and conquest,” oldest delegate, most famous
world-wide (printer, diplomat, statesman), endorsed constitution and backed it
with his prestige
○ The Compromise on Slavery:
■ slave trade could not be abolished for 20 years
■ slaves counted as ⅗ of a person for taxation and representation
■ fugitive slaves were to be returned to their owners
○ 3/5ths Compromise - ⅗ slaves were counted as part of state population for tax
and representation
○ The layers of Federalism:
■ state: police force, education
■ national: national defense, interstate commerce y
● Behind the Constitution
○ Auxiliary precautions - backup system to virtue (difficult for power to be in 1
persons hand), following aristotle
○ Constitutional mechanism: parts of constitution that helped organize and control
power
○ Three structural devices
■ bicameral legislature
● upper house: represent the states, distanced from the people,
serve 6 years, “cool” with wisdom and reflection
● lower house: represent people as whole, serve 2 years, “hot” in
responsiveness to public opinion, responsive to people desires
■ indirect election - government officials elected by previously chosen reps,
not directly by people
■ enumeration - written listings of the powers of government
○ Indirect election: when government officials are elected by previously chosen
representatives, and not directly by the people
○ Hume's filter or filters of consent:
■ when the people select the most virtuous representatives, who in turn
select even more virtuous government officials
○ Enumeration
 ■ the written listing of the powers of government
○ Separation of Powers - dividing powers of government and the three branches
of government
○ James Wilson - proposed the ⅗ compromise and election of the president by the
people, key in pennsylvania ratification of the constitution
○ Checks and balances - placed part of each power within 2 separate branches
(bridging separation of powers and branches of government), how separation of
powers keep within bounds, total separation risked one group from gaining total
power
○ Three branches of Government
■ legislative
■ executive
■ judicial
○ The extended Republican
○ Factions - group of individuals who share same specific political agenda (feared
they would become large and powerful and never be controlled), actually made
body politic stable
○ Counterpoise - force, influence, weight that counter-balances another (ex: roles
of prosecutor and defense attorney in trial)
Chapter 7
● Ratification
○ Poleis
■ City or city-state, often self- governed
○ Supermajority - specified majority of voters; 70% (9/13) required to ratify
○ Samuel Adams - opposed strong federal government in boston, organizer of
boston tea party
○ Anti-Federalists - against ratification of constitution, emphasized healthy
diversity, virtue, personal sovereignty
○ Alexander Hamilton- Hamilton served as the 1st secretary of the Treasury under
Washington and founded the Federalist party. He also co-wrote The Federalist
and championed a strong central government
○ Federalists - for the ratification (republican government)
○ Edmund Randolph - proposed Madison’s virginia plan, refused to sign
constitution because no bill of rights later instrumental in persuading virginia
leadership to ratify
○ John Jay: A Founding Father, Jay served as a President of the Continental
Congress, co-wrote The Federalist with Hamilton and Madison
○ The Federalist Papers - series of essays published in new york newspapers for the
purpose of gaining support for ratification of the constitution
● First Captain of the Good Ship USA
● The Bill Of Rights
○ Natural rights - fundamental rights granted by nature that government couldn’t
arbitrate and had to protect
○ Broad versus Narrow Rights
■ broad - conscience, expression, privacy
■ narrow - bear arms, no quartering, speedy trial
○ Civil rights: Rights defined using narrow, concrete language, full specific terms
and qualifiers
○ Three Great Oughts
■ freedom of conscience
■ freedom of expression
■ right to privacy
○ The Great Oughts: Natural that don’t proclaim an “is” so much as an “ought”
about the world - the ways things “should” be.
● Judicial Review
○ Alien and Sedition Acts - to try and stifle the “seditious” writings of french
propagandists
○ Marbury versus Madison - supreme court case where judicial review was est.
■ Judiciary act of 1789- supreme court has original jurisdiction with writs of
mandamus;
■ Adams Administration
● John Adams: federalist
● Legislature- federalist majority
● Secretary of State- John Marshall
■ Jefferson Administration
● Thomas Jefferson - republican
● Legislature- republican majority
● Secretary of State: James Madison
● Chief Justice- John Marshall
■ Judiciary act of 1801- expanded the National Judiciary ( more circuit court
judges); so they could appoint federalists
■ John Adams appoints Federalist to the new positions=Senate ratifies=
John Marshall doesn’t deliver all the commissions= TJ tells Madison to not
deliver commissions= William Marbury sues in the supreme court fro a
writ of mandamus telling Madison that he must deliver the commission
■ Opinion:
● Marbury should have received his commission
● Constitution doesn’t say anything about writ of mandamus
 ● Judiciary act of 1789- unconstitutional
● Judicial review- power of the Supreme Court to rule a law
unconstitutional
○ Original Jurisdiction - authority of court to hear certain kinds of cases before
waiting for those cases to be tried in a lower court
○ Judiciary act of 1789 - passed to form the federal court system and authorize
writs of mandamus (expanded realm of supreme court jurisdiction)
○ Lame duck: the time between the election of a new political official and when
they take office. Refers specially to the outgoing official’s frequent lack of
influence or power during that period.
○ Midnight appointments - judiciary appointments of federal judges (by john
adams) in response to democratic-republican victory in congress and presidency
○ William Marbury - a midnight appointment by john adams, who sued secretary
of state james madison for delivery of his commission
○ Writ of mandamus - a court document forcing an action by a certain party)
○ Judicial review - (weakest branch) power of supreme court to rule on
constitutionality of laws, look at laws and determine if they are constitutional
Chapter 8
● Two American ideologies-
■ two dominant figures in Washington’s Administration- Alexander
Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson
○ Loyal opposition - when losers in the political game continue to support the
system, even when the system is against their ideology
○ Washington's Cabinet:
■ President- Washington’s Cabinet
■ Vice PResident- John Adams
■ Secretary of State- Thomas Jefferson
■ Secretary of Treasury- Alexander Hamilton
■ Attorney General- Edmund Randolph
■ Secretary of War- Henry Knox
○ The Birth of Political Parties:
■ federalist and Democratic-Republican(republican) party
○ Jefferson's Ideology- democratic-republican party
■ ideal society: Self-reliant individuals with small government that protect
rights
■ supported french revolution and alliances with france
■ smaller federal government
■ narrow interpretation of constitutional powers
○ Hamilton's Ideology-great and powerful nation with mercantilism
 ■ Ideal Society: Great empire that would dominate the Western
Hemisphere and compete with European powers
■ Supported alliances with Great Britain
■ Powerful federal government
■ Broad interpretation of constitutional powers
○ Federalist Party: political party founded by HAmilton and John Adams that
envisioned a great Western Empire with strong federal government and a broad
interpretation of Constitutional powers.
○ Democratic- republican Party: Political Party led by Jefferson and MAdison that
championed a society of self-reliant individuals to protect rights, a smaller
federal government, and a narrow and strict interpretation of the Constitution
● The Constitution and Politics
○ Original consent - giving consent to a provision/law the first time (ex: ratification
of constitution)
○ Periodic consent - giving continuing consent at certain intervals (elections) to a
provision/law to which original consent already given (legitimacy)
○ Filtered consent - selection of government officials distanced from direct election
by the people to protect against mob rule and public whim (indirect election,
time between elected and size of rep. regions)
○ filters of consent - house of representatives, president, federal judges, senators
○ Filters of consent in the constitution (scope of representation, method of
selection, term of office)
■ supreme court - large: US, nominated by president with consent of state,
lifetime/voluntary retirement
■ president - large:US; majority (more than 50%) of the electoral vote, if no
candidate has a majority, winner determined by state votes in the House
of Reps; 4 years w/ max of 2 terms
■ senate - medium:state; originally selected by state leg, now plurality
(largest % of votes) winner in state (amended in bill of rights); 6 years
■ house of representatives - small:districts proportional to population;
plurality winner in the district; 2 years
○ The house of Representatives
○ The Senate
○ The President
○ Electoral college - group of electors selected by people to select president
○ How Presidential Elections Work
○ The Supreme Court
○ Majority - more than 50%
○ Plurality - largest % of votes
 ○ Removal from office
● Effects of Structure of the U.S Electoral System
○ President elected Separately from Legislature
○ Single representative districts - representational structure where each
geographical region elects its one representative independent of outcomes in
other regions
○ Proportional representation - party representation in the legislative body is
closely tied to the national or regional vote of that party
○ Fixed intervals
● The Effect of Third Parties in the U.S
○ Effects of Two large parties
○ Middle of the Road Politics
○ Superficial Campaigning
● Contemporary Politics
○ Primaries
○ The rise of Partisanship
○ The Election of 2008
● Influence of Elections and Campaigns on government
○ Electoral Changes in the Constitution since the Founding
○ Why do Voters Vote?
Chapter 10
● The Problem of the West
○ Thomas Jefferson - principal author of the declaration of independence and an
influential founding father of the US, founded the democratic-republican party
and promoted the idea of a small federal government
● The Northwest Ordinance
○ Ordinance of 1784 - plan of thomas jefferson to organize the national domain
into discrete territories along with a 3-stage development of government
institutions
○ Land Ordinance of 1785 - called for the systematic survey of the Northwest
Territory and division into mile-square plots and organization into townships
○ Northwest Territory - lands north of the ohio river
○ Northwest Ordinance of 1787 - called for governmental development of the west
based on creating self-governing republics that would be systematically added to
the union
○ Louisiana Purchase - land purchased by thomas jefferson from france. consists of
much of the midwest US
○ Napoleon Bonaparte - french emperor and european conqueror who sold
france’s north american holdings to the US as the louisiana purchase
 ● The Age of Andrew Jackson
○ Public Togetherness: Aspect of party politics in which groups of political party
members would gather together in order to have more solidarity and support
○ Party Newspaper
○ Popular Campaigning
○ Political conventions
○ Get out the Vote Activities
● Costs and Benefits of the New politics
○ Political machine - group of party loyalists organized to deliver the vote on
election day. Historically they often used questionable or illegal means such as
buying votes or intimidation at the polls
○ John Quincy Adams - known for formulating the Monroe Doctrine
○ Daniel Webster - leading american statesman and senator during the pre-civil
war era
○ Henry Clay: American statesmen and congressman who founded the Whig party
● The American Character
○ Frederick Jackson Turner - american historian who studied and wrote about the
american experience and what made it unique
● Politics today
Chapter 11
● Finishing the Founding
○ Robert E. Lee - confederate general and commander of the army of northern
virginia during the civil war, urged reconciliation with the north after
surrendering at appomattox
○ Confederacy: Alliance of southern states that seceded from the Union over
slavery
○ George B. McClellan - union general who failed to press his advantage at the
battle of antietam and was later relieved of his command by pres. lincoln
● Unfinished Business- Slavery and Federalism
○ Antietam: A severe Civil BAttle that took place on September 17, 1862. It was the
bloodiest day in American History. After the battle Abraham Lincoln issued the
Emancipation Proclamation
○ Emancipation Proclamation - presidential order issued by abraham lincoln on jan.
1, 1863 that freed slaves in the areas of insurrection
● Slavery
● Constitutional Structure and the Slavery Crisis
○ Secession - formal withdrawal of states or regions from a nation
○ Faction - a group of individuals who share the same specific political agenda
 ○ Factionalism - when a city-state or nation has multiple factions that compete
against each other. madison felt that an extended republic would prevent
factionalism from leading to tyranny because no faction could be large enough to
dominate
○ Sectionalism: Factionalism on a larger; more regional scale, with fewer but larger
factions. Sectionalism during the 1800s over the slavery issue nullified the
benefits of Madison’s extended republic and led to the Civil War
○ Extended republic
○ Missouri Compromise - 1820 agreement between slavery and anti-slavery
factions in the US that regulated slavery in western territories, prohibiting slavery
above the border of arkansas (except missouri) and permitting it south of that
border
○ Stephen A . Douglass: An Illinois statesman who ran against Lincoln, BEll, and
Breckinridge in the 1860 PResidential Election on a popular sovereignty platform
for slavery, Douglas, also authored the Kansas- Nebraska Act, which repealed the
Missouri Compromise and heightened the slavery debate
○ John Brown - a controversial abolitionist who tried to start a slave rebellion and
used sometimes violent guerrilla tactics in fighting against the institution of
slavery
○ Republican Party - stems from the controversy over slavery, dedicated to keeping
future territories and states free from slavery
○ Stephen Douglass Kansas-Nebraska Act 1854
○ Dred Scott - slave who sued unsuccessfully for his freedom because he had lived
with his owner in several states where slavery was illegal. Ruling of Dred Scott v.
Sandford determined that slaves were property and could not be freed by state
laws. the ruling essentially nullified the missouri compromise and was a major
factor contributing to the civil war
○ Roger B. Taney - ruled in Dred Scott v. Sandford that the missouri compromise
was unconstitutional
● Politics and the Civil War
○ Presidential Election of 1860: The most consequential election in American
History
○ John Breckinridge- Democrat (South) - Pro-Slavery
○ John Bell: Constitutional Union- No firm stand on slavery must keep Union
together
○ Stephen A Douglass - Democrat (north) slave and free state status decided by
popular sovereignty
○ Abraham Lincoln- Republican - Nation cannot have both free and slave states and
survive ( the 16th PResident of the United States of America, Lincoln sought to
 end slavery and preserve the Union. He signed the Emancipation PRoclamation
and delivered his famous Gettysburg Address).
● Can States Withdraw from the Union?
● Saving the Union
○ The Confederacy versus The Union
● Structural Changes after the Civil war
○ 13th Amendment - abolished slavery
○ 14th Amendment - defined citizenship and overturned the ⅗ compromise for
slaves when determining representation, repudiated confederate debts,
prohibited confederate leaders from holding public office
○ 15th Amendment - all male citizens grated right to vote regardless race, color, or
previous condition of servitude

Course Reserves
● Federalist papers
○ No 10. factions are bad
■ Extended republic reduces power of factions
○ No. 39. federalism versus nationalism
■ We need to have a republic
■ people feared that the national government would have too much power
■ There will be a place for federalism
○ No. 51 Checks and balances and the separation of power
■ National government restricted through constitution checks and balances
○ No. 78 judicial branch is weakest branch b/c no power over the purse or sword
● Profiles in Courage
○ intro: pressures that congressmen/political leaders face -- they want to be liekd,
have to vote opposite of what they feel so people like them; want to be
re-elected by constituents; pressures of the party to vote a specific way
○ part 1: John Quincy Adams -- thought his duty was to god; federalist sometimes
voted against fed. side (embargo act); lost 2nd election to andrew jackson
○ part 2: Daniel Webster -- compromise 1850, anti-slavery but compromised with
calhoun because he loved his country and went pro-slavery, lost election.
Thomas Benton -- senator from missouri (“whenever I fight funerals follow”),
people loved him, fan of westward expansion and voted against slavery. Sam
Houston -- democrat in houston, governor at start of civil war, against succeeding
union
○ part 3: Edmund G. Ross -- voted against convicting Andrew Johnson. Lamar --
southern senator, wanted to change gold to silver standard but he voted against,
 eased distrust between north and south, couldn’t vote for something that he
thought would clearly harm the nation
● The papers back up the government and…
○ Brutus I
■ Federal government too powerful - too detached
■ Destroys states sovereignty
■ Congress too powerful
■ Reps. Too removed from people
○ Brutus V:
■ Leg. Can pass anything that they think is proper
■ Power to tax
■ Takes away sovereignty of the states
■ Separation of powers was necessary
■ Limited scope of government
■ Powers needed to be enumerated

○ Common Sense- pushed those that were on the fence for the war to join the war
effort
○ The Declaration of Independence- a list of grievances
○ Bill of Rights the first 10 amendments
○ Amendments (1-15)
■ Amendment 1
■ Freedom of speech, press, religion, assembly,
and petition.
■ Amendment 2
■ Right to bear arms.
■ Amendment 3
■ Citizens do not have to house (quarter) soldiers.
■ Amendment 4
■ No unreasonable search or arrest.
■ Amendment 5
■ No double jeopardy or no witness against
yourself.
■ Amendment 6
■ Rights of accused in criminal cases.
 ■ Amendment 7
■ Trial by jury.
■ Amendment 8
■ No excessive bail or cruel punishment.
■ Amendment 9
■ People get rights not listed in Constitution.
■ Amendment 10
■ Any rights not given to federal government are
given to the states and people.
■ Amendment 11
■ Individual cannot sue a state in a federal court.
■ Amendment 12
■ Separate ballots for President and Vice
President.
■ Amendment 13
■ Abolish slavery.
■ Amendment 14
■ If you are born or naturalized in the U.S. then
you are a citizen of the U.S.
■ Amendment 15
■ You cannot prevent a person from voting
because of race, color, or creed.
■
○ The United States Constitution
■ L -legislature
■ E-executive
■ J-judiciary
■ S-states
■ A- amendments
■ S -supremacy
■ R- ratification
■
○ George Washington's Farewell Address
■ isolationism
 ■
○ The Gettysburg Address
○ Abraham Lincoln 2nd Inaugural address
■ blames the war on both the North and the South and states that we
should move on with charity
○ Appendix B
○ Letters to the Danbury Baptist:
■ Jefferson states how church and state should be separate
○ The Significance of the American Frontier
○ What to a Slave is the Fourth of July:
○ Speech oh January 10th - Calhoun - justifies why slavery is good- Slaves were a
profitable investment-interest rates charges on loans for slave sales were
approximately 6-8%
○ Slaves were highly productive
○ Slaves counted for about 1/3 of the income of free Southerners
○ In terms of food, clothing and shelter, slaves were well-treated

Movies
● Glory
● The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence
○ territory, not a state (needed protection)
○ too little government
○ wanted rule of law
● A more Perfect Union
○ representation (how much should small states get)
○ sherman = compromising