Exam 1 Flashcards
Federalism
- the division of powers between state and national governments
Why federalism?
The federal system was a compromise in the Constitutional Convention for those who were advocates of a strong national government and the state rights advocates.
Sovereignty
Power and the legitimate authority to use it
Gibbons vs Ogden 1824
- steamboat case/Hudson River
- ruled in favor of Gibbons, gave only congress/fed the ability to regulate interstate commerce
- was decided by Marshall
- Issues…
- The first issue was how the term commerce should be defined
- The second issue was whether the national government’s power to regulate interstate commerce extended to commerce within estate (intrastate commerce), or was limited strictly to commerce among the states (interstate commerce)
- The third issue was whether the power to regulate interstate commerce was a concurrent power or an exclusive national power
McCulloch v. Maryland
- Bank Of US - 1st experiment with privatization
- State can not tax feds
- Enforced doctrine of national supremacy
Marbury v. Madison
- Starts with the disputed election of 1800 (Jefferson vs Adams )
- John Marshall (Sec. Of State, them chief Justice SCOTUS)
- Power of judicial review (see federalist papers)
Conflict of interest by marshall - SCOTUS overturned Judiciary Act of 1789
- created checks and balances/separation of powers
Cherokee Nation v. Georgia (1830-1831)
- Doctrine of “Domestic Dependent Nations”
- EST. Tribal sovereignty under national government
- Georgia’s vigilante-ism
- Andrew Jackson’s failure to enforce
Forced Removal Policy
Trail of tears/Indian wars/ethnic cleansing (along with slavery) demonstrate that separation of powers and federalism don’t necessarily protect people as intended*
John Marshall
- John Marshall (Sec. Of State, them chief Justice SCOTUS)
- advocated for a strong central government
- decided the McCulloch vs md and gibbons vs Ogden
Thomas Jefferson
Main writer of Declaration of Independence
James Madison
Main writer of Constitution
* and established the madisonian model in which powers of gov are separated into 3 branches
Social contract/theory
An agreement between people and government
Police power
- the authority to legislate for the protection of the health, morals, safety, and welfare of the people
- gives states the right to pass laws governing activities such as crimes, marriage, contracts, education, intrastate transportation, and land use
- this power is reserved to the states
Judicial review
- the power of the Supreme Court or any court to examine and possibly declare unconstitutional federal or state law and other acts of gov
- established by John Marshall in Marbury vs Madison
Judicial power
- interpreting the meaning of law
- applying law to individual cases
- deciding if law violates the constitution
- is held by the supereme court
Thomas Hobbes/ hobbes natural law
- All individuals were free & equal in the state of nature
- State of nature was warlike: “life was rude, brutish, and short”
- Order in the form of a single ruler (tierany) was needed to protect life and liberty
John Lock /lockes popular consent
- people must give their consent to be governed
- government must protect “life, liberty, pursuit of property”
- gov must also ensure justice
- if gov fails to carry out its functions or abuses its power, the contract is broken
Functions of Gov
- Maintain order
- through laws
- through the justice system (local government, like the police, county sheriff)
- Regulate the economy
- counties encourage jobs, income
- the state regulates the economy through tax codes
- the federal government regulates the macroeconomic (congress and federal reserve)
- the government (president) is blamed when the economy isn’t doing well
- Build and maintain infrastructure*
- update roads, bridges, schools, hospitals, airports, military bases, and public utilities
- usually governments job
- Provide benefits and services
- Insurance, financial aid, retirement, etc
- Most benefits go to older americans
Montesquieu Seperation of Powers/ Articles of Conf 1, 2,3
- Articles 1 (longest) ,2, 3 (shortest, about judiciary)
- Federalist papers (written by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay)
- Marbury vs Madison*
Bicameralism
Bicameral (two chamber) legislature - a legislature made up of two parts, called chambers. the U.S Congress, composed of the HOR and the Senate, is a bicameral legislature
Staggered terms
elections where only some of the places in an elected body are up for election at the same time. For example, United States senators have a six-year term, but they are not all elected at the same time. Rather, elections are held every two years for one-third of Senate seats.
Anti-democratic features
- women denied right to vote
- slavery reataines: slaves counted as 3/5 of a person
- only people with property could vote
- electoral college
Staggered terms
Articles of Confederation 1777
- each of the 13 states retained their sovereignty
- congress held most of the central government’s power
- unable to tax, pay army, regulate economy effectively
- PA & VA went to war; Shay’s rebellion
Federalist papers
- written by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay
- urged the ratification of the US Constitution
Native American Forms of Gov
Enumerated vs Implied powers
Enumerated
- powers specifically granted to the national government by the Constitution. The first seventeen clauses of Article 1, Section 8, specify most of the enumerated, or expressed, powers of the national government
Implied
- powers not necessarily stated in the Constitution
BOTH ARE POWERS OF NATIONAL GOV
Infrastructure
Roads, bridges, schools hospitals airports military bases and public utilities
Restriction on voting rights
Only people w/ property could vote
- women denied right to vote
Popular consent
Lockes popular consent
- people must give their consent to be governed
- government must protect “life, liberty, pursuit of property”
- gov must also ensure justice
- if gov fails to carry out its functions or abuses its power, the contract is broken
Institution
An ongoing organization that performs certain functions for society.
Def of politics: Scmudt, Shelley, bardes (writers of book)
struggle over power within orgs or groups, especially where benefits can be withheld
Def of politics: Lasswell
Who get what, when, and how.
- gov does this to maintain stability
Def of politics: O’Connor and Sabato
the process by which policy decisions are made
Def of politics: Easton
authoritative allocation of scarce resources (water fuel money) and values (culture)
Def of politics: Dahl
Who governs? And power
Def of politics: Knott and Miller
who gets what based on different institutional arrangements; how the rules are written
Def of politics: Stones and Sanders
how we conduct our lives together
Direct democracy
a system of government in which political decisions are made by the people directly, rather than by their elected representatives
Dangers:
people are too uneducated to govern themselves and
people are too prone to influence of manipulative political leaders
Legitimacy
popular acceptance of the rights and power of a government or other entity to exercise authoritY
Tyranny
Cruel or oppressive government/rule
Oligarchy
A small group of people having control of something
Jefferson’s limited government (libertarianism)*
- borrowed heavily from Locke
- Believed executive power should be limited by law (checks and balances & terms served in gov); gov could be overthrown
- As president advocated an “Empire of Liberty”
Federal madates
Requirements in federal legislation that force states and municipalities to comply with certain rules
Concurrent powers
- powers shared by states and national government
- example, the power to tax, power to borrow funds, to establish courts, and to charter banks and corporations
Transaction costs
Expenses a company or person incurs during buying and selling process
Philosophical foundations of Gov - social contract
- individual freedom and private property rights
- Progressive reform add on — good gov, social mobility, etc
The three most important clauses governing interstate relations in the constitution (article IV) require each state to do the following
- Give full faith and credit to every other states public acts, records, and judicial proceedings
- Extend to every other states citizens the privileges and immunities of its own citizens
- Agreed to return persons who are fleeing from justice in another state back to that state when requested to do so
Devolution
the transfer of powers from a national or central government to a state or local government
republicanism
Requires representation
democracy
Requires citizen participation
Treaties
Are the highest form of law under the constitution
Elite theory
the argument that society is ruled by a small number of people who exercise power to further their self interest
Libertarianism
a political ideology based on skepticism or opposition towards most government activities
(Jefferson’s limited gov)
What is a citizen
A member of the political community
What is a government
institution with the ultimate authority to make decisions, resolve conf;cit, allocate benefits and privleges within a society. A collection of individuals and institutions; the formal vehicles through which policies are made affairs of the state are conducted
What is a federalist
individual in favor of the Us Constitution and was for a strong central government
Manga Carta 1215
- considered first constitution of Britain
- between king John and aristocracy (a peace treaty)
- created grand council
- guaranteed rights of landlords and tenants
- creates grand jury system which protected people from being prosecuted by king
Doctrines of natural supremacy
regulation of interstate commerce* (these two were missing from the articles of confederation but added to the constitution)
Tarriffs
a tax or duty to be paid on a particular class of imports or exports
Limited government features
- separation of powers aka checks and balances
- bill of rights
The dec of Ind established…
Unalienable rights if life, liberty and pursuit of happiness
Types of governmental structure
1) unitary
- places ultimate governmental authority in the hands of national, or central government
- only 1 level of gov that has sovereignty
- questions of education, police, use of land, and welfare are handled by the gov
2) confederal
- league of independent States in which a central gov handles only those matters of common concern expressed by the states
- opposite of the unitary system
- the central gov has no ability to make laws directly applicable to the states unless the states supporr
- the U.S. was a confederal system under the Articles of Confederation
3) federal
- authority is divided between central and regional governments
Powers of national gov
1) enumerated powers
2) implied powers
3) inherent powers
Powers of state gov
1) reserved powers
2) police power
Powers of both gov and state
1) prohibited powers
2) concurrent powers
Just know
Country has a federal system of gov but each state has a unitary system of government
Totalitarian regime
a form of government that controls all aspects of the political, social, and economic life of a nation
Majoritarianism
political theory holding that in a democracy, the government ought to do what the majority of the people want
Authoritarianism
a type of regime in which only the government itself is fully controlled by the ruler. Social and economic institutionI exist that are not under the government’s control
Egalitarianism
System where power is redistributed more equally
