Exam 1

Question 1

What is a collective dilemma

Answer 1

A situation in which there is a conflict between group goals and individual goals or self interest

Question 2

What are some everyday examples of collective dilemmas from the text?

Answer 2

Housework with roommates
- everybody in the house wants a clean kitchen, but only you clean. No way to enforce a everybody cleans rule

Traffic jams because of a road obstruction
- there would be no jam if somebody stopped to move the obstruction but it is easier and quicker for each individual to drive around the obstruction

Question 3

What is a free rider problem

Answer 3

When people benefit from the public good while avoiding the cost of contributing to the public good.

Question 4

What is a coordination problem

Answer 4

A situation in which two or more people are all better off if they coordinate on a common course of action but there is more than one possible course of action. Often faced because they cannot communicate or because of fundamental disagreements

Question 5

Give examples of coordination problems in politics

Answer 5

The republican national party choosing their 2016 presidential candidate

International adoption of traffic signal colors

Question 6

What is the solution to collective dilemmas

Answer 6

A strong external actor to enforce that everybody contributes

Question 7

What is a prisoners dilemma

Answer 7

An interaction between two strategic actors in which neither actor has an incentive to cooperate even though each of them would be better off if the cooperated with each other

Question 8

Why are prisoners dilemmas relevant to governing

Answer 8

Collective action problems are multi-person versions of prisoners dilemmas and the government is a series of collective action problems. The prisoners dilemma is also a generic version of situations that regularly occur in American politics

Question 9

What is a principal-agent or delegation problem

Answer 9

In instance in which one actor (the principal) contracts another actor (the agent) to act on the principals behalf. However, they may not share the same preferences and the principal lacks the means to observe all of the agents behavior

Question 10

Why are principal-agent or delegation problems relevant to governing?

Answer 10

The government often acts as a principal and has smaller bureaucracies act out as agents to do tasks for the government

Question 11

Where are principal-agent in your life

Answer 11

When your car has a problem you act as a principal and trust the mechanic to ask as an agent and properly fix your car

Question 12

What was the relationship between the colonists and the crown like prior to the revolution?

Answer 12

States had a large amount of des region in self governance but were expected to pay back large amounts of taxes back to england,

Question 13

Describe the relationship between state and national identities in the founding era

Answer 13

State identity was much stronger than national identity

Question 14

What is a collective dilemma in when designing a constitution

Answer 14

State governments are more interested in doing what is best for their state rather than what is best for the country

-all states benefit from a stronger national government but no individual state wants to pay the cost

Question 15

What are the constitutional rules of government rooted in

Answer 15

High minded philosophical concepts of democracy and liberty. And the political maneuvering son 18th century politicians

Question 16

How did the articles of confederation fail

Answer 16

National government held war debt but the individual states held purse strings

Free rider problems

Transaction cost- currency varied state to state and had different taxes

Legislative decision making- action required unanimous consent and nothing could ever get done

Question 17

What events convinced most people that the articles needed to be overhauled

Answer 17

Shays rebellion
The articles couldn’t keep peace
Daniel shays led a rebellion to protest unfair tax policy and the practice of locking up individuals who couldn’t pay their debt

British and French threats as foreign powers

Question 18

What happens after the articles of confederation are thrown out and the constitution is written

Answer 18

Constitution is signed by all but 3 Pennsylvania delegates.

9 state legislature must ratify
- public debate in the newspapers

Bill of rights is promised to limit the national government

Is ratified in 1788

Question 19

How did the bill of rights alleviate concerns of anti-federalist

Answer 19

The bill of rights gaur tees individual rights and and limits the powers of the national government

Question 20

How did the federalist papers alleviate concerns of anti-federalist

Answer 20

The papers allow both sides to be heard and allows public debate for both sides

Question 21

What plan did large states want for national government

Answer 21

Virginia plan
2 house legislature
Upper house: nominated by state legislatures
Lower house: nominated by popular vote

Congress stronger than the single and independent executive that is appointed by legislature

Delegation size is based on population

Question 22

What plan did small states want for national government

Answer 22

New Jersey plan

One house of congress
1 representative per state
Multi-person executive branch appointed by the legislature

Question 23

How did the founders reconcile conflicts between large and small states

Answer 23

Connecticut compromise

2 houses
Lower house based on state population
-all spending must originate here
-southerner want slaves to be counted in representation (3/5 compromise)

Upper house- 2 members per state that are nominated by their state legislatures
(Changed by 17th amendment to popular vote)

Election of president by electoral college

Question 24

What is rule of law

Answer 24

A system in which all people in society, including governing officials, are subject to legal codes that are applied without bias by independent courts

Question 25

Give an example of an official being subject to rule of law

Answer 25

Ray nag in - New Orleans mayor sentenced to 10 years for fraud and bribery

Question 26

What was the primary concern that made founders adopt a federal system

Answer 26

The states feared they could not protect themselves from foreign invasions or internal strife without a strong national government to solve collective dilemmas
Geography didn’t allow for unitary stystem
History made them fear unitary systems like the British government that they felt had too much power

Question 27

Why are states sometimes call laboratories of democracy

Answer 27

States can test policies on smaller levels with less cost and consequence

Other governments learn from state experience

Learn from successful state policies in certain areas

National governments can take up successful policies

Question 28

What advantage does a confederation system provide

Answer 28

States retain supreme power over events within their boarders

National government only exercises powers the state chooses to give it

National government is responsible for foreign relations

On legislative branch

Question 29

How do historical events such as the new deal, the great society , and devolution trigger realignments in the relationship of the state and federal government

Answer 29

New deal- national government becomes the more important level of government in people’s lives over state governments + social security

Great society- national rather than state government correct various social programs to care for citizens + rise of bureaucracy

Devolution- laws return power to the states

Question 30

Which amendment secures reserved powers to the state and what does it say

Answer 30

Tenth amendment (X)

The powers not delegated to the United States by the constitution nor prohibited by it to the states are reserved to the states respectively or to the people

Question 31

Which type of grant provides the federal government the most influence

Answer 31

Grants in aide provide the most influence because the government can narrowly define how the grant money is spent by lower level governments

Question 32

Which type of grant provides state government the most influence

Answer 32

Block grants because the money is given to the state to determine how the money is spent as long as it meets the general purpose of the grant

Question 33

What is revenue sharing

Answer 33

When national and lower- level governments coorperate in funding a project

Question 34

Which sections of the constitution empower the federal government

Answer 34

Article I section 10 - lists what state cannot do: like make treaties or coin money

article IV section 2-4 - declares national government responsibility to protect states

Article VI - supremacy clause: national law supreme over nation and mandates offals allegiance to us

Question 35

What sections of the constitution are ambiguous but can be interpreted to empower the federal government

Answer 35

Article I section 8 clause 18

• necessary and proper clause/ elastic clause
• government can make and carry out laws as deemed necessary

Article 1 section 8 clause 2

• commerce clause
• congress has power to regulate commerce

Question 36

What sections of the constitution empower state governments

Answer 36

Article 1 section 9- restrictions on federal government

Bill of rights- first 10 amendments

10th amendment- reserves power for the states

Question 37

Name one Supreme Court case that expanded the rights of individuals and empowered the federal government

Answer 37

Gibbons v Ogden
- national commerce law trumps New York State laws

Brown v board of education
- separate but equal schools are unconstitutional because racial segregation is outlawed by the federal 14th amendment

Question 38

What is the difference in government being restrained versus empowered to deal with discrimination

Answer 38

Restrained means the government cannot be involved in individual activities
- Texas cannot have anti-sodium you laws because sec is a private individual activity

Empowered means to government is obligated to step in to protect individual rights
- civil rights act of 1964 protects all voting rights

Question 39

What is affirmative action

Answer 39

Efforts to redress previous discrimination against women and minorities through active measures to promote their employment and educational opportunities

• example is college admissions taking gender and race into account as one of several factors of admissions decisions

Question 40

What is redlining

Answer 40

The practice of denying services ( mostly financial) based on racial or ethnic composition without regard to residents qualifications or creditworthiness
mostly used in loans and credits for housing

Question 41

What are the legacies of redoing

Answer 41

Racial covenants and economic sorting

• people live in areas based on color because of the loans they could get
• white washed and black neighborhoods
• price of living and houses depends on the color of neighbors

Question 42

What is incorporation

Answer 42

The process by which rights and liberties established by the bill of rights are applied to state and local governments through the 14th amendment

Question 43

What is due process

Answer 43

The right to legal protections against arbitrary deprivation of life, liberty, or property

Question 44

What is equal protection

Answer 44

The principle that laws passed and enforced by the states must apply fairly to all individuals

Question 45

How has the 14th amendment been used to empower the federal government

Answer 45

Gives power to the people in courts as citizens of the United States and restricts power of the states to enforce laws that abridge privileges or immunities of US citizens or deprive and person of life liberty or the pursuit of happiness without the dues process of law and equal protection of the laws

-citizen clause, privileges or immunities clause, due process clause, equal protection clause