Gov20 Midterm 1

Question 1

Constitutional Convention

Answer 1

The 1787 meeting that led to the formation of the U.S. Constitution

Question 2

Federalism

Answer 2

system dividing powers between national and state governments

Question 3

Dual Federalism vs. Cooperative Federalism

Answer 3

Phases of federalism where power is either clearly separated or shared.

Question 4

McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)

Answer 4

Expanded federal power through the necessary and proper clause

Question 5

Civil Rights Movement

Answer 5

The struggle for African American equality, including landmark events like the March on Washington

Question 6

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

Answer 6

Declared racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional.

Question 7

13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments

Answer 7

Abolished slavery, granted citizenship and equal protection, and secured voting rights.

Question 8

Bill of Rights

Answer 8

First ten amendments to the US Constitution guaranteeing civil liberties. Necessary for the anti-federalists

Question 9

Mapp v. Ohio (1961)

Answer 9

Established the exclusionary rule for evidence obtained illegally

Question 10

Miranda v. Arizona (1966)

Answer 10

Required informing suspects of their rights before interrogation

Question 11

Bicameral Legislature

Answer 11

Congress is divided into the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Question 12

Committee System

Answer 12

Essential for the detailed review and passage of legislation in Congress

Question 12

Executive Orders

Answer 12

Directives issued by the president that carry the force of law without congressional approval

Question 13

Veto Power

Answer 13

The president’s ability to reject bills passed by Congress

Question 14

Commander-in-Chief

Answer 14

The president’s role as leader of the military

Question 15

Prisoner’s dilemma and Free Rider

Answer 15

a situation where two parties, separated and unable to communicate, must each choose between cooperating with the other or not. The highest reward for each party occurs when both parties choose to cooperate. Gov address the Free rider problem by forcing compliance (lack of coercion can enable free riding)

Free riding; Individuals benefiting from collective action without contributing

Question 16

Tragedy of the commons

Answer 16

a shared resource is overused or destroyed by individuals acting in their own self-interest (without controls, goods will be exhausted)

Question 17

Articles of Confederation

Answer 17

Reasons they failed:
Weak Congress (ex no tax power)
Three year term limit (anti-elitism)
Little ability to defend nations (coordination and free rider problems)
Unanimity require for many important decisions (coordination problems)

Question 18

The Great Compromise

Answer 18

Virginia vs new Jersey Plan: solved issue of big vs small states
- Senate: each state has equal representation (2 per state)
- House of Representatives: representation based on population

Question 19

Checks and balances

Answer 19

way of constraining and sharing power
Branches
- veto, “take care” clause, elected by electoral college, appointments to judiciary approved by Congress

Powers are divided among the three branches (Executive, Legislative, Judiciary) to prevent any single branch from dominating.

Question 20

Amendment

Answer 20

27 amendments today… process:
Amendment: either proposed by ⅔ of the House and Senate OR ⅔ of the states at the Convention, then must be ratified by either ¾ of the states legislatures OR ¾ of the states at Convention

Question 21

10th Amendment

Answer 21

“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 22

How government forces states to comply

Answer 22

Force states to comply with Necessary and Proper Clause and Supremacy Clause (also carrots and sticks):
Carrots: congress can provide $ to encourage states to carry out programs; they can also threaten to remove money if failed to comply (block grants: funded without specific instructions/regulations; categorical grants: funded with specific instructions/regulations)

Question 23

Civil Liberties

Answer 23

limits on government interference in personal freedoms (Freedom of/to Speech, Religion, Assemble, Bear Arms, the Press, Right to Privacy, to Due Process, a Fair Trial, etc)

Question 24

Civil Rights

Answer 24

right to vote, equal protection under the law, right to marry, education, fair trial, disability rights

Question 25

First Amendment - free speech limitations

Answer 25

Dangerous messages (incite lawlessness, true threats) ~ Brandenburg v Ohio (1969) “Brandenburg Test” with “imminent danger” two conditions: speaker must have intent to incite others, illegal action must be likely to occur
Fraud
Speech that violates intellectual property rights
Commercial Speech
Disturbing speech (obscenity) ~ Community Standards applied from Rother v US (1957)

Question 26

1857: Dred Scott v Sandford

Answer 26

Scott sued for his family’s freedom in a free state, but court ruled that Black people were not citizens and could not sue in federal court

Question 27

1863: Emancipation Proclamation

Answer 27

by Lincoln, declared slaves free

Question 28

1896: Plessy v Ferguson

Answer 28

“separate but equal” doctrine allowed state sponsored segregation

Question 29

1920: Passage of 19th amendment

Answer 29

Right for women to vote

Question 30

1954: Brown v Board of Education

Answer 30

ruling that U.S. state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional, even if the segregated schools are otherwise equal in quality

Question 31

1964: Civil Rights Act

Answer 31

banned employment discrimination; required most businesses serving the public to be integrated; cut off federal funding to states that discriminated in administering federal programs

Question 32

1965: Voting Rights Act

Answer 32

required preclearance of changes in election practices, mostly in the South; empowered federal officials to register voters; abolished literacy tests and poll taxes
highlights:
- Reiterated and clarified 15th amendment protections
- Outlawed literacy tests
- Appointed federal examiners to oversee enforcement of VRA and register qualified citizens to vote in certain jurisdictions
- Required covered jurisdictions to obtain “preclearance” from either the District Court for the District of Columbia or the U.S. Attorney General for any new voting practices and procedures

Question 33

2013: Shelby v Holder

Answer 33

held that it is unconstitutional to use the coverage formula in Section 4(b) of the Voting Rights Act to determine which jurisdictions are subject to the preclearance requirement of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, Shelby County v. Holder, 133 S. Ct.
The Supreme Court decision allowed states to implement voting changes without federal approval, swung open the door for states to enact restrictive voting laws

Question 34

Congress: size, functions, issues they face, committees, and two reasons for this structure

Answer 34

535 elected officials in Congress

Some functions given to Congress: Legislation, Oversight, Appropriations/Budgeting (‘power of the purse’), Declare War, Ratify treaties, Approve judicial/cabinet nominations, Impeachment, Regulate interstate commerce, Raise army, Currency
Bicameral (Senate and House of Reps)

issues faced:
Need for information - Solution: committee system
Coordination problems - Solution: party leaders
Agreements and resolving conflicts - Solution: rules and norms to resolve conflict + party leaders and coalitions
Collective Action - Solution: committee system + electoral rewards
Transaction Costs - Solution: rules to reduce transaction costs (e.g. seniority rule)
Time pressures

Committees:
Standing - bills, hearings, investigations
Select or special - special investigations
Joint - mainly info
Conference - resolve differences in the House and Senate bills (majority party has majority seats in committees ~ except Ethics committee has 5 and 5)

Why this structure:
Distributive Theory: allows members to participate in committees most important to their districts (e.g. farming district in agriculture committee) and exchange favors with other members better benefits to district + logrolling
Informational Theory: hard to become an expert in everything, easiest to engage in division of labor with members who can become experts and share knowledge with rest of Congress → better policies

Question 35

Main goals of policymakers

Answer 35

getting re-elected: Advertising, Credit-claiming, Position-taking

Question 36

Filibuster and Cloture

Answer 36

continue to debate as long as possible, requires 60 senators to end debate (cloture)

Question 37

Gridlock

Answer 37

Gridlock is the political stalemate that occurs when the government is unable to act or pass laws because rival parties control different parts of the executive branch and the legislature. When there are more bills waiting to be voted on than being considered, gridlock occurs.

Gridlock in the U.S. government generally happens when parties work against each other to block legislation until their demands are met.
A primary cause of gridlock is the filibuster, where a senator or group of senators use the concept of unlimited debate to stall the vote on a bill.
Rule 22 allows the Senate to invoke cloture—the only means to end a filibuster—which calls for a supermajority of 60 senators.

Question 38

Federalist Papers

Answer 38

Federalist Papers: Key documents, such as Federalist 10 and 51, that argued in favor of the Constitution and its structure

Question 39

Civil Liberties vs Civil Rights

Answer 39

Civil Liberties vs. Civil Rights: Civil liberties protect individuals from government interference, while civil rights ensure equal treatment under the law.

Question 40

Selective Incorporation

Answer 40

Selective Incorporation: The process through which the Bill of Rights has been applied to the states via the 14th Amendment

Question 41

Amendments that expanded voting rights

Answer 41

15th: cannot be denied based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude
19th: gave women the right to vote
24th: It abolished and forbids the federal and state governments from imposing taxes on voters during federal elections
26th: established the minimum voting age at 18 years old

Question 42

Presidency: powers

Answer 42

Enumerated powers:
Veto (Congress can override with ⅔ majority) → negative power
“Take Care” clause → execute laws (ambiguous)
Appointments to judiciary (Congress must approve) → personnel/patronage
Commander-in-chief (Congress is the one declaring war) → act in time of war
Elected by Electoral College

Today:
Unify the country in times of crises
Policymaker
Television/Social Media
Bully Pulpit
Lead a BIG bureaucracy

Question 43

Presidency: influence policy

Answer 43

Influence policy making:
- Traditional: lobby Congress to push preferred policies
- Going Public: public announcements to sell his programs directly to public
State of the Union
“Fireside” chats with FDR
Press Conferences
Social media
- Setting the budget: sets priorities – though congress ultimately decides

Executive order: “defined as a declaration by the president or a governor which has the force of law, usually based on existing statutory powers.”
Response to Congressional gridlock or used to fast track campaign promises
Different from normal legislation: limited to scope of POTUS powers, temporary (can be repealed later), can be challenged in courts

Question 44

Divided government

Question 45

Why would congress allow POTUS to push policy unilaterally

Answer 45

Gridlock
First mover advantage
Blame avoidance
Coordination problems
Principal-agent problem