POSC 225 1st EditionFinal Exam Study Guide Midterm 1 and 2 Why did the Americans identify with the British, what conflict helped solidify this, and when did it begin to change?When does the American revolution really began? What were John Locke’s three major arguments?1.Glorious revolution ushered in an era of peace and progress that would be based on deliberation and free choice. 2.Natural law tradition - government by consent since all are equal.3.Social contract theory (with montesquieu's theory of separation of powers)4.John locke wrote to justify what major event in Britain in 1688?What four major acts of parliament helped begin the American revolution? Include date and content. 1.Sugar act (1764)2. (Stamp act - 1765)3. Declaratory act - 17664. Townsend Acts 1767These succession of parliament grievances did what to the American opinion of their own rights?Went from believing that parliament had limited authority, to no authority, but they obey the king and have allegiance to King George III, to believing that all parliamentary grievances were a conspiracy and concerted design to oppress and strip americans of their rights, and that they should not have any control over the colonies. Then Americans address a declaration of independence to the King.Why do the Americans address the Declaration of Independence to the King??parliament already doesn’t have the authority over us, and the king broke contract not to tyrannize us, therefore we claim our legal right to throw him off.When was the D.of.I really declared? When was it signed?the 2nd of July. The 4th of July. 1776What were state constitutions composed of at the time (4 things)?1.Weak executives;2. term limits (annual elections to end tyranny. This was an institutional way to establish accountability)3. a bill of rights (comes before the constitution in the document as a way to defend liberty -this institution is TO defend the rights of individuals); 4.Separation of Powers. What 6 things composed the political culture and american creed of the day?1.Popular sovereignty2.Federalism3.Natural and individual rights4.Individualism5.Pervasive fear of power6.EqualityWho was Thomas Paine? What did he write and what were his main ideas?What were the 2 most important paragraphs of the D. of. I?1st and 3rd paragraph “we are a sovereign nation and a world power”.What is the myth of the founding fathers?They were not demigods nor did they see themselves this way - God did not hand down the constitution.What was wrong with the articles of confederation?1.Congress must be able to tax - it’s in great debt and needs revenue2.Must be able to regulate commerce3.Must be able to raise an army4.Unequal representation because each state only has one flaw.5.“enormous doctrine of legislative repeal” - state governments have power over national government to declare federal law unconstitutional. National government must be able to govern without each state deciding which rules to follow. What is the significance of Article 1 Section 2?1.It defines who can vote. You can vote if you can vote in your state legislature. a. NOTE: it didn’t forbid the vote for woman or african americans - we had to add the amendment to overthrow STATE law. 2.Representation AND taxation linked in this clause.The philadelphia convention was originally supposed to be….“a tweaking convention” Who wanted to throw out the articles of confederation originally?VA and James Madison. What’s the central conflict around this issue?Where is the stress going to be - United STATES of America, or UNITED states of america? What about the founding father’s democracy is different from democracy as we think of it today? Why did they think this?They didn’t believe in a true democracy - to vote you needed a stake in society. They believe this incentivized responsible voting because you needed a stake in order to make rational decisions. What did the founding fathers generally think about slavery?There was a push to abolish it “a horrendous institution” but they wanted to preserve theunion and put slavery on the path to annihilation.When was the constitutional convention and what events lead to it’s convening?1787 - Potential rebellion in newburgh NY. the stationed army hadn’t been paid. Shay’s Rebellion 1786It was a secret meeting to tweak the articles of confederation given the fact that crisis waslooming but nowhere did it say they would throw out the articles of confederation.They were tasked with rendering the constitution capable and workable, an adequate government.Why does madison argue to throw out the articles of confederation?You can’t make the articles workable, we must re-write them completely.What is the main thrust and the main 6 points of the VA plan for a new constitution?main thrust: to increase powers of national government while reigning in the powers of the states.- bicameral legislature for checks and balances, proportional representation in both chambers. House is popularly elected. Senate chosen by house from a list of nominees provided by state legislature. - Executive chosen b y the Congress; ineligible for reelection.- Judges serve during “good behavior” aka life terms until voluntary retirement- Council of revision with absolute veto power over congressional law (- congressional veto over state laws - ratification of the proposed constitution via a popularly elected ratifying conventions in each state, 9 required to ratify.What are the new powers under the VA plan?- Power to tax (unlimited)- power to regulate commerce- power to raise an army- courts have original and appellate jurisdictionWhat is the main thrust of the NJ plan and what are its three main points?Main thrust: modest increase in national power, while preserving more of the structure of the Articles. - Unicameral legislature.- Plural executive aka a panel of presidents- National judiciary with only appellate jurisdiction.- Note, the debate is really about representation.What are the new powers under the NJ Plan?- power to tax (limited)- power to regulate commerceWhat are the ratification debates?Newspaper war between Federalists and Antifederalists as the constitution is being ratified by the states.What was A. Hamiltons PR stunt?He calls the constitution’s opponents the Anti-federalists. At the time “federal man” meant that you wanted to retain the union. Anti federalists WANTED to retain the union, they were just concerned with other aspects of