Chapters 1 & 2, pages 1-65 (including the Constitution of
the United States, pages 37-43).
Click on the link immediately above in order to
go to "Notes on Constitutional Democracy & Other
Governmental
Systems."
Click on the link immediately above in order to go
to "Notes on the Federal Constitutional Convention
of 1787 & the Constitution of the United States."
Click on the link immediately above in order to go
to "Notes on the Principal Characteristics of the
American Constitutional System."
Click on the link immediately above in order to go
to "Notes on Federalism & the American Federal
System."
(NOTE: The numeral or numerals in the brackets at the end of each question indicate the textbook page or pages on which the answer to the question can be found.)
a. Constitutional Democracy & the American Constitutional System
The Nature of Constitutional Democracy:
(1) At the time of the founding of the American Republic,
how was the word "democracy" used? As understood by
the men who drafted the Constitution of the United
States, what did "democracy" mean? [3]
(2) According to modern usage, what does "democracy"
mean? What is the distinguishing feature of democ-
racy, or democratic government? How do the authors
of the textbook define "democracy"? [3]
(3) What is the difference between direct democracy and
representative democracy? How do the textbook au-
thors define the term "direct democracy"? How do
they define "representative democracy"? [3-4]
(4) What was James Madison's view of direct democracy, as
expressed in FEDERALIST 10? [3]
(5) What did the Framers of the U.S. Constitution mean by
the term "republic"? Why did they use this term,
rather than "representative democracy"? [4]
(6) As a system of government, modern constitutional de-
mocracy contains two essential ingredients--(a) dem-
mocratic government, i.e., representative democracy,
and (b) "constitutionalism," also known as constitu-
tional government. In modern "constitutional democ-
racy," to what does the word "democracy" refer? To
what does the word "constitutional" refer? What is
constitutionalism, or constitutional government? [4]
(7) How do the textbook authors define "constitutional
democracy"? Separate and identify the DEMOCRATIC and
CONSTITUTIONAL ingredients in their definition. [4]
(8) Describe PERSONAL LIBERTY as a basic constitutional
democratic value. What is meant by "individual self-
determination"? What is meant when liberty is charac-
terized as both "freedom FROM" and "freedom TO"? In
what sense is individual liberty the key to social
progress? [4]
(9) Describe RESPECT FOR THE INDIVIDUAL as a basic consti-
tutional democratic value. From what belief does POP-
ULAR RULE in a constitutional democracy flow? What is
meant by "the individual person as the central measure
of value"? [4]
(10) What is STATISM? How does the central idea underlying
statism differ from the constitutional democratic be-
lief that the individual member of society should be
the central measure of value? [5]
(11) What is meant by "equality of opportunity"? What dis-
agreements have arisen over the true meaning of this
expression? [5]
(12) Describe POPULAR CONSENT as basic democratic value.
What is involved in a community's commitment to demo-
cratic government and popular consent? [5]
(13) Among other things, constitutional democracy is a sys-
tem of interacting values. How do these values come
into conflict with one another? Cite examples. [5]
(14) Much of the political conflict in the U.S.A. revolves
around how to strike a balance among conflicting con-
stitutional democratic values. Cite examples. [5]
(15) What is the relevance of political process or proc-
esses to a successful constitutional democracy? What
is the essence of the political process or processes
of successful constitutional democratic government?
[5-6]
(16) What is the importance of free and fair elections to
successful operation of a representative democracy?
Under what circumstances, do such elections enhance
political competition, free choice, and holding gov-
ernment officeholders accountable? [6]
(17) Do free and fair elections require that all adult
citizens have equal voting power? Does holding such
elections mean that every adult citizen must or will
have equal political influence. Explain. [6]
(18) What is meant by "majority rule"? What is meant by
"plurality rule"? Under majority or plurality rule
in a constitutional democracy, do minorities have any
political rights? Explain. [6]
(19) In an effective constitutional democracy, must the
will of the majority prevail in all cases? Explain.
[6]
(20) Against what type of majority rule, did the Framers of
the U.S. Constitution seek to safeguard American soci-
ety? In this connection, what was the Framers' view
regarding effective representation of the people? [6]
(21) What is the relationship between freedom of expression
and free and fair elections? [6]
(22) What is meant by the right of the people to peaceably
assemble and protest? What is the importance of this
right to successful operation of a constitutional de-
mocracy? [6}
(23) Describe American constitutional democracy as a system
of interdependent political structures. [8]
(24) Identify and describe briefly four important elements
of the American constitutional system. [8]
(25) What conditions are conducive to survival and success-
ful operation of a constitutional democratic system of
government? Identify and explain each set of condi-
tions. [8-9]
(26) What is meant by "social capital"? [9]
(27) What do the textbook authors mean by the term "ideol-
ogy"? What is meant by "the democratic consensus"?
[9]
The Federal Constitutional Convention of 1787:
(1) What was the Federal Constitutional Convention of
1787? Where did it meet? What was its purpose?
According to the perception shared by most of the
delegates to the Federal Convention, what was the
primary problem or challenge facing the Convention?
[9]
(2) Describe the Convention delegates, in terms of educa-
tion, personal success, socioeconomic status, and po-
litical experience? [9]
(3) As America's first national Constitution, what were
the defects, or weaknesses, of the Articles of Confed-
eration? [10]
(4) On what matters was there consensus (widespread agree-
ment) among the delegates at the Constitutional Con-
vention? [10-11]
(5) What was the common political philosophy accepted by
most of the Convention delegates? What type of na-
tional government did they seek to create? What was
their primary concern? Why? [10]
(6) As regards the matter of the electoral franchise
(i'e', the suffrage, or right to vote), how did Ben-
jamin Franklin's preference differ from that of most
of the other delegates? Why did James Madison favor
a restrictive, or limited, franchise? How did the
Convention resolve the issue of voting rights? Why?
[10-11]
(7) There was substantial agreement among the Convention
delegates regarding the constitutional structure and
powers of the new national government they were creat-
ing. Explain. [11]
(8) At the Constitutional Convention, how did the the po-
sition of the delegates from the large states differ
from that of the small states' delegates, as regards
representation of the states in Congress? What was
the conflict of interest underlying this dispute?
[11-12]
(9) What was the Virginia Plan? Describe the scheme of
national government which this plan called for. [12]
(10) Why did delegates from the small states object to the
Virginia Plan? [12]
(11) In proposing the New Jersey Plan, was William Patter-
son questioning the need for a stronger central gov-
ernment? Explain. [12]
(12) What was the New Jersey Plan? Describe the scheme of
central government which this plan called for. [12]
(13) Why was the dispute between the large states and small
states a most critical matter? How was this dispute
finally resolved? [12-13]
(14) What was the Connecticut Compromise? How was this
proposal a setback for the large states? What com-
pelled the large states' delegates to agree to the
Connecticut Compromise? [12-13]
(15) What disputes arose between Northerners and Southern-
ers at the Constitutional Convention? How were these
North-South differences resolved? What was the Three-
Fifths Compromise? [13]
(16) What other issues had to be resolved at the Conven-
tion? How was each resolved? [13]
The U.S. Constitution--The Ratification Controversy:
(1) In Article VII, the proposed U.S. Constitution pro-
vided the procedure to be followed by the states in
ratifying and adopting the document as the supreme
law of the land in the U.S.A. Describe this proced-
ure. How did this procedure ease the path toward
ratification and adoption? What other reason did the
delegates have for incorporating the procedure into
the Constitution? [14]
(2) Who were the "Federalists"? Who were the "Antifeder-
alists"? What was THE FEDERALIST, or FEDERALIST PAP-
ERS? [14-15]
(3) What was the Antifederalists' most telling criticism
of the proposed Constitution? What was the reason for
this omission on the part of the Federalists at the
the Constitutional Convention? What arguments did the
Federalists present to justify their omission? What
arguments to the contrary were presented by the Anti-
federalists? [15]
(4) What advantages did the Federalists have in their
campaign to secure ratification and adoption of the
U.S. Constitution? What were the disadvantages of the
Antifederalists? [15]
(5) In most of the small states, ratification of the Con-
stitution was easily obtained. Why? [15]
(6) At the popularly elected Virginia Convention, what
tactic did James Madison employ to undermine Antifed-
eralist opposition and secure Virginia's ratification
of the U.S. Constitution? [16]
(7) At the popularly elected New York Convention, that
state's ratification of the U.S. Constitution was ob-
tained with great difficulty and by a very close vote.
Why? [16]
The U.S. Constitution--The Supreme Law of the Land:
(1) The Constitution of the United States is a supreme and
binding law that both grants and limits the powers of
the national government. Explain. [17]
Balanced Government--Checking Power with Power:
(1) At the Federal Constitutional Convention, what dilemma
did the Framers of the Constitution face? How did
they resolve this dilemma? [17]
(2) Were the Framers willing to depend solely on free and
fair elections to make government officeholders ob-
serve the constitutional limits on their powers? Ex-
plain. [17]
(3) Did the Framers have complete and unlimited faith in
majority rule as the means of preventing tyranny and
protecting liberty? Explain. [17]
(4) What is meant by "separation of powers"? Explain
separation of powers as one of the "auxiliary pre-
cautions" which, according to James Madison, were
needed to prevent tyranny. [17-18]
(5) According to Madison and the other Framers, why was
separation of powers a NECESSARY but INSUFFICIENT con-
dition for prevention of tyranny? What else was
needed? [18]
(6) Describe in detail the system of "checks and balances"
that the Framers incorporated into the U.S. Constitu-
tion. In FEDERALIST 51, how did Madison argue in de-
fense of this system of checks and balances? [18]
(7) Explain each of the following: (a) the presidential
veto and the congressional override; (b) judicial re-
view; (c) impeachment; (d) Senate confirmation; (e)
bicameralism. [12 & 18]
(8) How can political parties get around the system of
checks and balances and serve as unifying factors
in the U.S. national government? How can the system
of checks and balances counteract and thwart such
efforts on the part of political parties? How may
political parties intensify checks and balances,
rather than moderate them? What is meant by "divided
government"? [19-20]
Changes and Developments in the American Governmental System:
(1) How did the Framers expect the Electoral College to
work? How does it actually work? [20]
(2) How did the Seventeenth Amendment change the method of
election of U.S. Senators? [20}
(3) How has the American electorate--the portion of the
population entitled to vote in elections--been expand-
ed during the past two centuries? How has the role of
the voters in the states been expanded during the past
100 years? Explain: (a) direct primary; (b) initia-
tive; (c) referendum; (d) recall. [20]
(4) What is an independent regulatory commission? [21]
(5) What impact have changes in technology had on American
national government and politics? [21]
(6) What impact have international crises during the 20th.
century had on the power and position of the U.S.
President? [21]
Judicial Review and the "Guardians of the Constitution":
(1) What is JUDICIAL REVIEW? [21]
(2) As regards the U.S. Supreme Court and the power of
judicial review, what was the intention of the Framers
of the U.S. Constitution? [22]
(3) What was the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in the
case of MARBURY V. MADISON (1803)? According to Chief
Justice John Marshall, what central legal question did
the case pose? In delivering the decision of the
Supreme Court, what answer did Marshall give to the
legal question? What was his reasoning? What is the
significance of the decision? [23-24]
(4) What important consequences follow from acceptance of
John Marshall's argument that judges are the official
interpreters of the Constitution? [24]
The British and American Systems--Comparison and Contrast:
(1) Describe the British governmental system. In Britain,
how do the leaders of a major political party acquire
political authority, i.e., the legal right to govern
society? How long do they remain in power? What is
the role of the Prime Minister and Cabinet in the
British government? [24]
(2) How do the British and American governmental systems
differ? [24-26]
Changing the Letter of the U.S. Constitution:
(1) In Article V of the U.S. Constitution, what two meth-
ods of proposing amendments to the Constitution are
provided? What two methods of ratifying federal con-
stitutional amendments are provided? [29-30]