PSCI 183 Midterm study guide Remember this is just a guide.

. Most of the questions on the midterm are covered by these topics and questions. These questions are much broader than the multiple choice and short-answer quest ions on the exam but are a good indication of the breadth of essay and take-home questions. **Essay questions will also cover Week 4 readings ** Important terms and concepts: You should be able to identify, compare and explain the following terms. You may be asked to provide examples. Classical liberalism - Political philosophy founded on the notion that individua l human beings are autonomous agents with inviolable rights and that the powers of government arise from the people. It was committed to the ideal of limited go vernment and liberty of individuals including freedom of religion, speech, press , assembly, and free markets. Classical republicanism - A form of republicanism, the ideology of governing a n ation as a republic where the head of state is appointed by means other than her edity, often elections. Classical republicanism is built around concepts such as civil society, civic virtue and mixed government. At the core of republicanism is the concept of the social contract. Federalist Papers - A collection of essays written under the pseudonym Publius by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison, addressed to The People of the S tate of New York, first published in New York City newspapers between October 178 7 and August 1788. The purpose of The Federalist was to persuade New Yorkers to ratify the Constitution adopted in Philadelphia in September 1787. The authors o f The Federalist wanted both to influence the vote in favor of ratification and to shape future interpretations of the Constitution. Manifest Destiny - The 19th-century doctrine or belief that the expansion of the US throughout the American continents was both justified and inevitable. Manife st Destiny was always a general notion rather than a specific policy. The term c ombined a belief in expansionism with other popular ideas of the era, such as Am erican exceptionalism. The concept of American expansion is much older, but John L. O'Sullivan coined the exact term "Manifest Destiny" in the July/August 1845 issue of the United States Magazine and Democratic Review in an article titled " Annexation." Mud Sill - Mud Sill theory is a sociological theory which proposes that there mu st be, and always has been, a lower class for the upper classes to rest upon. Th e inference being a mudsill, the lowest threshold that supports the foundation f or a building. The theory was first used by South Carolina Senator/Governor Jame s Henry Hammond, a wealthy southern plantation owner, in a Senate speech on 4 Ma rch 1858, to justify what he saw as the willingness of the lower classes and the hegemony of non-whites to perform menial work which enabled the higher classes to move civilization forward. With this in mind, any efforts for class or racial equality that ran counter to the theory, would inevitably run counter to civili zation itself. Providence - The area that is now Providence was first settled in June 1636 by R oger Williams, and was one of the original Thirteen Colonies of the United State s. Williams' Providence soon became a refuge for persecuted religious dissenters , as he himself had been exiled from Massachusetts. ("The Bloody Tenet of Persec ution") Separation of powers - A constitutional structure of government where legal auth ority is divided between various institutions. In the United States, the Constit ution divides federal authority between the President, Congress and the Supreme

Court, all of which have delimited powers and responsibilities. In 1690, John Lo cke, in his work "On Civil Government", wrote that a government can only functio n effectively and justly if the three functions (powers) of government are indep endent of each other. The constitution of the United States of America is very i nfluenced by this idea. Social contract / compact - An implicit agreement among the members of a society to cooperate for social benefits, for example by sacrificing some individual fr eedom for state protection. Theories of a social contract became popular in the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries among theorists such as Thomas Hobbes, John Locke , and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, as a means of explaining the origin of government a nd the obligations of subjects. The Mayflower Compact is an example of a social contract. Sovereignty - In a political context, the authority of a state to govern itself or another state. In general, the idea of having complete, autonomous control. The limited forfeiture of individual sovereignty in return for stable governmen t is one of the main principles of a social contract. Tyranny of the majority - The phrase "tyranny of the majority" (or "tyranny of t he masses"), used in discussing systems of democracy and majority rule, is a cri ticism of the scenario in which decisions made by a majority under that system w ould place that majority's interests so far above a dissenting individual's inte rest that the individual would be actively oppressed, just like the oppression b y tyrants and despots. Separation of powers is implemented to prevent such an ev ent from happening internally in the government. The phrase "tyranny of the majo rity" originates with Alexis de Tocqueville in his "Democracy in America". Broad questions and topics to review: What is the significance of the Mayflower Compact? How was it received by Britai n? The Mayflower Compact was the foundational document for the Plymouth Colony. Rec ognizing that they would be landing outside of the land allocated to them by Eng land, the settlers took it upon themselves to establish this social contract and create a form of self-governance. The fact that it was a covenant whereby the settlers would subordinate their rights to follow laws passed by the government to ensure protection and survival made it a unique document, a social contract t hrough which the settlers each willingly sacrificed some individual freedoms to enter into a system of stable government and ensure the good of the colony. How did early colonists view the relationship between liberty and authority? How did this change over time? What were the arguments for and against religious toleration among the New Engla nd colonists? How much experience did the colonists have in self-government prior to the Revol utionary War? Give examples. What were the major colonial grievances regarding the Tea Act? To what extent did Enlightenment philosophers influence revolutionary and consti tutional thought? According to revolutionary-era readings, what natural laws and rights did the Br itish violated with respect to the colonies? How should the colonies and England respond? What are arguments for revolution and reconciliation? Burke lists six mitigating factors to consider in handling relations with the co lonies. Identify them and explain how they relate to his suggested course of act ion. What characteristic does Hamilton believe is most important in the new nation? I n the executive branch? According to Federalist #9 & 10, what is the difference between a republic and a

democracy? What do Madison and Hamilton mean by the term faction? Why are factions a problem and how did the Federalists propose to address them? What are the general Anti-Federalist and Federalist arguments regarding a) stand ing armies; b) representation; c) the purpose and origins of government; d) sove reignty? What does George Washington advise in his farewell address? To what extent were his cautions heeded? Identify & discuss major points of dispute between Federalists and Jeffersonians regarding national economic authority, including over establishing a national b ank, government subsidy of manufactures and infrastructure development. How did the arguments on each side, as well as language and justifications change over time? Which arguments do you find more convincing and why? Which arguments preva iled? We read several authors who sought to evaluate underlying patterns and tendencie s in American society from an outsider position Tocqueville and Burke as foreign o bservers, Thoreau and Douglass as outsiders-within. Compare their perspectives and arguments about the origins and potential of American political society. According to Thoreau, why is voting and petitioning the government for change no t enough in the face of ethical and moral problems? What alternative does he sug gest? Compare the arguments for supporting womens independence made by Stanton and Beec her. Identify and compare the role Christian beliefs and liberal democratic ideals pl ay in debates over abolition and womens rights. What other ideas and arguments ar e used to convince predominantly white, male audiences? What, if anything, do th ese arguments suggest about the universality or inclusiveness of liberal princip les? How did Stanton, Douglass, and Grimke appeal to American ideals in arguing for w omen s rights and black freedom? How, according to each of them, would society a s a whole benefit from the victories of these struggles? What are the main points in Fitzhugh s critique of Northern liberal democracy? D escribe his model slaveowner republic and that suggested by Calhoun. To what extent were the American founding, expansion, and civil war related to m atters of empire and imperial assertion? Can an imperial foreign policy be made compatible with internal liberty? How can/should we understand the role of liberal ideas about universal natural r ights and republican ideals of self-government in these writings in relation to the treatment and status of women, blacks, Native Americans, and other outsider gr oups in a given period? Was the American belief in white, male, European cultur al superiority a self-serving justification for state-building and maintaining h ierarchical institutions? In what ways, if any, did it stem from other needs, am bitions, or anxieties? Indicate how some of the authors weve read justified belie fs and actions based on cultural or racial superiority. What is the meaning and significance of Providence and the notion of America as a city upon a hill? How has this idea influenced writings and thought from the col onial through the Progressive era?