Exam 1 Flashcards
Political Efficacy
the belief that ordinary citizens can affect what government does.
Digital Citizenship
the ability to participate socially and politically online.
Pluralism
theory that all interests are and should be free to compete for influence in the government with competition leading to the best outcome either through compromise or mass appeal.
American Political Culture
emphasizes the values of liberty, equality ,and democracy
Liberty
freedom from governmental control
Equality
the right to participate in politics and be subject to laws and protections equally.
Democracy
a system of rule that permits citizens to play a significant part in the governmental process, usually through the election of key public officials.
Popular Sovereignty
power in the hands of the people.
The Relationship between Political Knowledge and Political Participation
Cyclical relationship that reinforces itself.
When people have less political power they tend to have less political efficacy, apathy and therefore are less likely to participate
politically.
Western Philosopher John Locke influenced
civil liberties and the protection of property. Argued that the government needed consent of the people
American Trust in Government and How it Has Changed
Trust has declined while dependence has increased.
British Taxes and Colonial Interests
Reason for British Taxes
Britain incurred debt driving French from North America
Protecting colonial trade routes with British Navy expensive
Expansion into Native American territories required Army.
-
Elites only wanted an end of British taxes while the Radicals wanted independence.
Once British taxes ended, the Elites made scapegoats of the Radicals as being extremists.
Groups that Made Up Colonial Interests
Elites:
New England Merchants
Southern Plantation Owners Royalists (held royal land, offices, and patents)-
Radicals:
Laborers, Shopkeepers, and Artisans
Small Farmer
Popularity of Independence
The merchants had hoped to force the British government to rescind the Tea Act, but they did not support any further demands and did not seek independence from Britain.
Not very popular
First Attempt at a Constitution
The Annapolis Convention, 1786 FAILED. Only 5 states sent delegates, though the resolution called for a convention in Philadelphia that eventually became the Constitutional Convention.
Articles of Confederation and its Weaknesses
Adopted in 1777 America’s national government until 1789.
no executive of judicial branch
Congress had little power – members were delegates from state legislatures
Each state – no matter the size – had 1 vote
9 of 13 were required to pass a law; 13 for an amendment
No power to tax or raise an army
No method of enforcing treaties or defending itself with an army.
No army also meant no means of preventing conflict among the states.
Constitutional Convention and the Controversy of a New Constitution
The Constitutional Convention took place from May to September, 1787 at Independence Hall in Philadelphia,
Ginsberg, Benjamin; Lowi, Theodore J.; Tolbert, Caroline J.; Weir, Margaret. We the People (Eleventh Core Edition) (Page 48). W. W. Norton & Company. Kindle Edition.
The portion of Randolph’s motion that became most controversial was called the Virginia Plan. This plan provided for a system of representation in the national legislature based on the population of each state or the proportion of each state’s revenue contribution to the national government, or both.
Principles of Limited Government
a principle of constitutional government; a government whose powers are defined and
Great Compromise (Representation based on population or equally distributed).
Merger of New Jersey Plan and Virginia Plan
The Great Compromise creates a bicameral legislature
House: representatives apportioned by population in state
Senate: states with equal representation regardless of population
Bill of Rights and How it was Adopted
citizens are guaranteed a list of rights
the framers, lacking the power to force the states or the public at large to accept the new form of government, sought to identify principles that would help secure support.
Most delegates sincerely believed that since the federal government was already limited to its expressed powers, further protection of citizens was not needed. The delegates argued that the states should adopt bills of rights because their greater powers needed greater limitations. But almost immediately after the Constitution was ratified, a movement arose to adopt a national bill of rights.
Federalism
a system of government in which power is divided, by a constitution, between a central government and regional governments
Necessary and proper clause
Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution, which provides Congress with the authority to make all laws “necessary and proper” to carry out its expressed powers
Commerce clause
Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution, which delegates to Congress the power “to regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several States and with the Indian tribes”; this clause was interpreted by the Supreme Court in favor of national power over the economy
Reserved powers
powers, derived from the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution, that are not specifically delegated to the national government or denied to the states
Full faith and credit clause
provision from Article IV, Section 1, of the Constitution requiring that the states normally honor the public acts and judicial decisions that take place in another state
Dual federalism
the system of government that prevailed in the United States from 1789 to 1937 in which most fundamental governmental powers were shared between the federal and state governments
Supremacy clause
this means than when a federal and state law collide, the federal one will dominate.
Article VI of the Constitution, which states that laws passed by the national government and all treaties are the supreme law of the land and superior to all laws adopted by any state or any subdivision
Gibbons v. Ogden
Commerce clause
established the supremacy of the national government in all matters affecting interstate commerce.
McCulloch v. Maryland
Necessary and proper clause
Congress had, through its implied powers, the right to charter a national bank.
Federalism, How it has Changed, and Why
Great Depression and Demand for Economic Involvement under FDR pushed America from Dual Federalism to Cooperative Federalism
The role of federal government increased during the Great Depression because under the commerce clause to protect the rights of workers, extend low-interest credit to farmers and small businesses, and restrict the activities of corporations in their dealings in the stock market.
Role of the Supreme Court as Establisher of Limits on States and Federal Government
the Supreme Court had selectively “incorporated” into the Fourteenth Amendment only the property protection provision of the Fifth Amendment and no other clause of the Fifth or any other amendment of the Bill of Rights. In other words, although according to the Fifth Amendment “due process” applied to the taking of life and liberty as well as property, only property was incorporated into the Fourteenth Amendment as a limitation on state power.
Full Faith and Credit Clause and the Challenges of Implementation
provision from Article IV, Section 1, of the Constitution requiring that the states normally honor the public acts and judicial decisions that take place in another state
Marriage Licenses
Gun Licenses
Environmental Regulation
Commerce Clause, Supremacy Clause, and Necessary and Proper Clause as a means of expanding federal power.
Commerce clause - control of economy
Necessary and proper clause - interpret its delegated powers expansively, the Supreme Court created the potential for an unprecedented increase in national government power.
Shared powers of taxing, chartering banks, etc.
the states share concurrent powers with the national government, whereby they retain and share some power to regulate commerce and affect the currency—for example, by being able to charter banks, grant or deny corporate charters, grant or deny licenses to engage in a business or practice a trade, regulate the quality of products or the conditions of labor, and levy taxes. Wherever there is a direct conflict of laws between the federal and the state levels, the issue will most likely be resolved in favor of national supremacy.
Partisanship
causes politicians to change opinions on federalism depending on the issue
14th amendment
Amendment: guaranteed equal protection under the law, due process of the law, and defined citizenship
Strict Scrutiny
test used by the Supreme Court in cases of discrimination involving civil liberties and rights that places the burden of proof on government to show that the law in question is constitutional.
Must have a compelling governmental interest
Must be narrowly tailored
Must be the least restrictive means of achieving the specified governmental interest
Selective Incorporation
the process by which different protections in the Bill of Rights were incorporated into the Fourteenth Amendment, thus guaranteeing citizens protection from state as well as national governments
Prior Restraint
an effort by a governmental agency to block the publication of material it deems libelous or harmful in some other way; censorship; in the United States, the courts forbid prior restraint except under the most extraordinary circumstances
Lemon v. Kurtzman
Lemon Test to determine separation between church and state.
Obergefell v. Hodges
Recognized same sex marriage as being inalienable to all regardless of sexual orientation.
Mapp v. Ohio
Established exclusionary rule
Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey
Established undue burden test
Korematsu v. United States
Justified the internment of Asian Americans, predominantly Japanese, without due process
DeGraffenreid v. GENERAL MOTORS ASSEMBLY
Rejected claims of intersectionality in Civil Rights cases.
History of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
Ruled the Civil Rights Act of 1875 unconstitutional for targeting private actions.
Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) upheld the concept of separate but equal.
President Harry Truman brings issue of racial discrimination to national attention through the 1946 President’s Commission on Civil Rights.
The Supreme Court, beginning in 1938, sets stricter criteria for separate facilities under “separate but equal.”
After small victories by the Legal Defense and Education Fund of the NAACP, the Legal Defense Fund in 1948 begins filing federal lawsuits to enact constitutional change.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 – outlawed job discrimination – by public and private employers with more than 15 employees.
Outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin
Two new agencies: Dept. of Justice Civil Rights Division and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
Voting Rights Act of 1965 requires districts with a history of voter discrimination receive authorization to change voting laws by proving such laws are not intended nor will they have the effect of discrimination.
1977 – Community Reinvestment Act – overcoming redlining – requiring banks to lend in the neighborhoods where they do business
1988 – Fair Housing Amendments Act – added enforcement – authorizing Dept. of Housing and Urban Development to initiate suits
History of Civil Rights from the Founding including Abolitionists and Women’s Rights Advocates
Franklin v. Gwinnett County Public Schools (1992) (Title IX of 1972 Education Act – monetary damages could be awarded)
United States v. Virginia (1996) – ending all male schools supported by public funds (Virginia Military Institute; Citadel – in SC)
Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson (1986): sexual harassment may be legally actionable even w/o tangible economic or job-related losses (quid pro quo AND hostile environment harassment)
2007 Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire
2009 – Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act – first legislation Obama signed
Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act
the first bill that President Obama signed into law. The new law gave workers expanded rights to sue in cases, such as Ledbetter’s, when an employee learns of discriminatory treatment well after it has started.
Right to Privacy
through 4th Amendment used to establish constitutional right to an abortion.
Strict Scrutiny
Forces government to defend constitutionality of laws and policies that limit rights of citizens.2. Reserved for cases regarding speech, race, ethnicity.a. Not reserved for cases of sexual orientation.
Civil War Amendments
13th Amendment – abolished slavery
14th Amendment – equal protection, due process, and defined citizenship
15th Amendment – guaranteed voting rights
Statue of liberty is a woman which is ironic to women since
“Not one single woman through the length and breath of the Land is as yet in possession of political liberty.”
Autocracy
one person rules (king, queen, or dictator)
Oligarchy
Small group rules (landowners, military, officers or wealthy merchants)
Democracy
many people rule
Constitutional
Codified,legal substantive and procedural lists on what government can or cannot do
Authoritarian
Few legal limits; some limits imposed by social groups
Totalitarian
no limits
Western Philosopher John Stewart Mill influenced
relationship between government and the individual such as civil liberties (speech, assembly, etc.)
Shay’s Rebellion
Daniel Shay a former army captain led an army of farmers against the government of Massachusetts. State militia dispersed the mob. Several days later in February 1787 they attempted to capture the federal arsenal provoking an appeal to congress to help.
This provided critics of the Articles of Confederation with precisely the evidence they needed to push the Annapolis resolution through the Congress.
Checks and Balances
mechanisms through which each branch of government is able to participate in and influence the activities of the other branches; major examples include the presidential veto power over congressional legislation, the power of the Senate to approve presidential appointments, and judicial review of congressional enactments
