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GOVT 2306 > Lectures: Test 1 > Flashcards

Lectures: Test 1 Flashcards

1
Q

What are the who, what, when, and how of politics?

A

Who: elected officials, lobbyists, the public, media.
What: laws and public policy.
When and how: the political process.

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2
Q

What is the government?

A

The body charged with making policy (and law).

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3
Q

What makes the government different from any other group?

A
  1. Rules extend to all of society.

2. Can legitimately use force.

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4
Q

What is the purpose of government?

A
  1. Justice and tranquility: (social contract / golden rule).
  2. Provide for common defense.
  3. Promote general welfare: public things that everyone uses.
  4. Secure blessings of liberty: idea that justice is not discriminatory.
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5
Q

What is the social contract?

A

Basically the golden rule; it is an informal agreement that everyone is born into containing the essence of elementary morality.

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6
Q

Why do people obey laws?

A
  1. To avoid fines/prison; these types of sanctions are basically “annoyances” put into place by gov’t to incentivize people to obey laws.
  2. Legitimacy: governments are usually established through a mandate that they are legitimate arbiters of justice, the social contract, general welfare, and common defense. When this breaks down, civil war and revolution typically occur.
  3. Democracy: laws are democratically decided, which means that the public generally gets a say. Thus, if the public doesn’t like laws, they can affect change rather than just disobey them.
  4. Out of patriotism: people feel allegiant to their country and obey out of that emotional connection.
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7
Q

What are the requirements of a democracy?

A
  1. Recognition of dignity – natural rights, classical liberalism; right to life, liberty, property, etc.
  2. Equality before the law.
  3. Participation of the public.
  4. Majority rules.
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8
Q

What is classical liberalism?

A

Basically says you have rights on the basis of being born, of being a human.

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9
Q

What did John Locke say that is relevant to classical liberalism and democracy?

A

Said the natural rights were to life, liberty, and property. This was adopted in the US constitution but changed to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

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10
Q

What is the paradox of democracy? What is the basic solution to the paradox of democracy?

A
  1. Basically the question of majority rules: what if the majority makes the wrong choice?
  2. Limited government: generally good idea for every gov’t to have a document that limits what the gov’t can do in order to prevent the majority to rule awfully.
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11
Q

What are the two kinds of democracy?

A
  1. Direct democracy: everyone votes on everything – generally unviable for things like the US; typically only works on a small scale.
  2. Representative democracy: occasional elections to vote for representatives.
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12
Q

Explain elite theory (elitists) and its relation to representative democracy.

A

Elitists say a wealthy elite should have / has more influence in representative democracies, because they have the wealth and resources (and also time) to influence representatives, whereas the public generally lacks sufficient money and time to influence representatives.

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13
Q

What is the pluralist solution to elitism? What is the main dilemma with this solution?

A
  1. No one group should have lasting control of the political process / government.
  2. There must be two (or more) sides; also generally it fails to stop the fact that the poor don’t have time or money to influence representatives (either by lobbying or just expressing their POV), whereas the rich do.
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14
Q

What does it mean to say Texas has a citizen legislature?

A

Legislators have jobs external to government.

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15
Q

What is political culture?

A

Rooted values and beliefs about government; American political culture emphasizes support of liberty, freedom, private property, equality of opportunity, and individualism.

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16
Q

Explain the facets of American [political] culture.

A
  1. Destiny: individual liberty / self determination.
  2. Equality: political and legal equality, but not equality of outcome.
  3. Social mobility: ability of people or groups to move up and down the social latter generationally and throughout their lives.
  4. Separation of church and state.
  5. Melting pot: one controversy is that it’s really a “salad” where people have set up miniature cultures/societies, rather than a fully integrated “melting pot”, where all the cultures are mixed together and share a common American identity.
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17
Q

Ideology is different from party because _____

A

It is personal; differences in ideology occur on the individual level, whereas party and political culture correspond to overall trends.

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18
Q

Ideology is defined as _____

A

set of beliefs about order of society; how each individual person thinks government should work.

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19
Q

Explain conservatives and their place in Texas.

A
  1. Conservatives are skeptical of state/gov’t involvement in economy: they do not like high taxes, regulations; say inequality is an inevitable outcome of free-market capitalism. They support low taxes, low (gov’t) debt, high military spending, and the free hand of the market. They are big gov’t in social issues: they want to regulate morality. No abortion, no gay marriage, no gambling, no porn.
  2. Conservatives are the majority in Texas.
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20
Q

Explain liberals and their place in Texas.

A
  1. Believe state can/should be used to promote welfare: use gov’t to promote economic welfare to guard against discrimination, protect workers, and defend against the excesses of capitalism. They are small gov’t in social issues: gay marriage is okay, abortions are okay, don’t incarcerate for victimless crimes (like drug use), and drug use is okay. They are big gov’t in economics: personal responsibility is not a key determinant in economic outcome; institutional factors are, so gov’t should intervene. More regulations, clean environment, less military: US should keep from policing the world.
  2. Liberals are a minority in Texas.
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21
Q

The “blueberries” of Texas refer to _____

A

Liberal spots around Texas; mainly the big cities.

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22
Q

The percentage of the population that is neither Republican nor Democrat in Texas is _____ compared to the rest of the country

A

very small

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23
Q

Explain the other political configurations aside from liberals and conservatives.

A
  1. Fascists: gov’t in charge of everything; everything – all profits and work – done for the good of the nation and its glory.
  2. Marxists: everything done for the people, class warfare is necessary, and wages must be based on cost of living / equality of outcome.
  3. Communism: seeks a form of marxism through violent overthrow of the bourgeoisie
  4. Socialism: seeks a form of marxism through political action rather than (explicit) violence.
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24
Q

Explain the “horseshoe configuration.”

A

Idea that the political spectrum, rather than being a straight line from communism to socialism to liberalism to conservatism to fascism, is instead a horseshoe so that the extremes bend around to each other.

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25
Q

Political socialization is the process by which _____

A

ideology is determined.

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26
Q

Political socialization begins in _____

A

early grade school, when kids get ideas about race, gender, get familiar with nationalism, and are told fanciful stories about America and its history.

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27
Q

Explain the relationship between education and political socialization.

A

Generally, more education leads to more liberal attitudes, and less education corresponds to more conservative views of the world. Less educated people tend to view politics as a game for elites, whereas educated people tend to be more involved in politics.

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28
Q

Explain the life cycle effect. Explain the generational effect.

A
  1. Older you get -> generally more involved/interested in politics you are.
  2. People who grew up in the the 50s and 60s were more preoccupied with the civil rights movement, whereas today’s generation is more concerned with “making room for everyone.” Each generation has certain slants.
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29
Q

_____ has the greatest impact on people and is normally where individuals get their party affiliation.

A

Family

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30
Q

What is the relation between race and political affiliation?

A

Minorities are more likely to be liberal and are also more likely to express pessimism.

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31
Q

What is the relation between gender and political affiliation?

A

Women are more likely Democrat. However, this is on party lines mostly, rather than specifically on gender issues. Women are also generally less politically active than men. Women tend to support activist gov’t, oppose military, support gun control, support welfare, and support affirmative action.

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32
Q

What is the relation between religion and political affiliation?

A

Americans are more religious than most countries. Religious people (like mormons and evangelicals) heavily favor GOP; tend to be conservative. Frequency of church attendance correlates with support of the GOP.

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33
Q

What is the relationship between students, voluntarism, and political activism?

A

Students tend to like voluntarism, but aren’t very political, whereas people more into politics tend not to volunteer as much.

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34
Q

What is the relationship between age and politics?

A

Older people are more conservative and vote more often. Young people are more liberal.

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35
Q

What is the relationship between media consumption and politics?

A

Newspaper consumption by one individual correlates with how informed that person is. Conservatives generally watch Fox News; liberals favor PBS and CNN.

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36
Q

What is the relationship between geography and American politics?

A

Southerners are more likely to support the military and are more nationalist. They, along with midwesterners, express greater pride in being American.

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37
Q

Explain the political culture of Texas.

A
  1. Generally conservative
  2. Believe in self-reliance (rugged individualism).
  3. Big business is good because it creates jobs.
  4. “Southern charm,” Texans tend to be more friendly.
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38
Q

What are the three political subcultures of Texas?

A

Moralistic, individualistic, and traditionalistic.

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39
Q

Explain moralistic political culture.

A
  1. Gov’t is a positive thing. Police, public schools, etc. = good.
  2. Voluntary service: ppl. in gov’t shouldn’t get rich off of “political careers.”
  3. Progressive
    - These are the blueberries.
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40
Q

Explain individualistic political culture.

A
  1. Rugged individualism: “I’m going to get successful with zero outside help.”
    - Ranchers, farmers; roots in the “wild west” / early settlement by white ppl and cowboys.
  2. Big business = good; promotes business.
  3. Limit gov’t involvement
  4. Like career politicians.
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41
Q

Explain traditionalistic political culture

A
  1. Gov’t must maintain traditional values; sort of the opposite of moralistic; pro-caste, segregation.
  2. Supports castes.
  3. Benefits upper class: very hierarchical (pro-slavery back in the day), closer to the Deep South.
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42
Q

What is provincialism?

A
  • Goes back to individualism
    1. Texas’s political culture is rooted in provincialism: a narrow view associated with rural values and limited gov’t.
    2. Results often in self-interested view of the world and an intolerance of diversity.
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43
Q

What is the key feature of Texas’s geography that plays into its politics?

A

Texas is massive.

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44
Q

What are the main regions of Texas?

A
  1. Interior lowlands.
  2. Gulf-coastal plains.
  3. Great plains.
  4. Basin and Range province.
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45
Q

Explain Texas’s Interior Lowlands.

A
  1. Agricultural economy and rural population.
  2. Many of the states’ largest ranches.
  3. Conservative political values and lots of small towns; associated with rural regions.
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46
Q

Explain Texas’s Gulf-Coastal Plains.

A
  1. Where all the timber production takes place.
  2. Home of Texas’s most famous oilfields (like Spindletop)
  3. Foundation of plantation life / antebellum.
    - From slavery times.
  4. Urban areas = Dem; rural = Rep.
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47
Q

Explain Texas’s Great Plains.

A
  1. Midland is here.
  2. Economy centers on agriculture, ranching, and production of cotton and oil.
  3. More conservative.
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48
Q

Explain Texas’s Basin and Range Province.

A
  1. Mountains, not much rain, few ppl.

2. Large Latino population; Democratic bastion.

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49
Q

Explain the urbanization of Texas.

A

Much of Texas’s history is linked to ongoing urbanization: ppl. are getting out of farms and into urban and suburban areas.

  • Now, 85% of Texans are in urban areas.
  • Urbanization + suburbanization are the forces driving politics in Texas.
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50
Q

Describe Houston.

A
  1. Generally tied to economy [of what???]
  2. 2nd or 3rd busiest deep-water port in the US.
  3. Oil transformed Houston area and made it one of leading energy centers in the world.
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51
Q

Describe Dallas-Fort Worth.

A
  • Lots of resources meet money [originally a meeting point for peeps trading materials for money]
    1. The metroplex: Dallas, F.W., and a number of areas.
    2. Oil: 1930s, led to Dallas being a major financier of petroleum.
    3. Dallas embodies the more corporate culture from the East.
    4. Huge aviation industry in F.W.
    5. Lots of big banks.
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52
Q

Describe San Antonio.

A
  1. Increasingly Latino due to immigration.
  2. Lacks high-paying manufacturing jobs, and therefore have lower avg. income than Houston and Dallas.
  3. Economy rests on national military bases, education institutions, tourism, and a large medical research complex.
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53
Q

Explain the economy of Texas and its relation to Joseph Schumpter.

A
  1. Generally indifferent to the state of the US economy.
  2. Waves of transformation are fueled by tech. innovations in production and distribution.
  3. Capitalism / creative destruction creates new economies and destroys old ones.
  4. Schumpter’s idea of creative destruction explains the historical development of Texas’s economy.
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54
Q

Explain cotton in the economy of Texas.

A
  1. One of the oldest crops grown in Texas.
  2. Production cycles have gone up and down like boom/bust.
  3. In 1930, 61% of farmers in Texas were tenant farmers; one third of those were sharecroppers. Basically huge plots of land owned by one family with ppl. working them (huge estates were from slavery times; broken up slowly after slavery).
  4. By ‘87, 12% of farmers were tenants.
  5. 1/4 of cotton production in the US comes from Texas.
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55
Q

Explain cattle in the economy of Texas.

A
  1. History of ranching and cattle parallels that of cotton in many ways, with the boom/bust kind of cycle.
  2. Industry took off during Civil War and it expanded throughout the state.
  3. Neither cotton nor ranching are as important now asa they used to be.
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56
Q

Explain oil and gas in the economy of Texas.

A
  1. Oil took off in 1901 with the discovery of Spindletop.
  2. Oil fever persisted for next decade in Texas.
  3. Rise and decline of oil can be traced with oil and gas production levels over time.
  4. Any major discovery can collapse oil and gas prices, reinvigorating the market, which led to a “boom and bust mentality” among Texans that still persists.
  5. Oil+gas transformed Texas gov’t and economy.
  6. Power of gov’t was expanded through Railroad Commission: this controls private oil.
  7. Oil and gas taxes generally benefit higher education.
  8. Environment and water supply concerns resulted from expansion of oil recently in Texas (with fracking / horizontal drilling).
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57
Q

Explain the relationship between high-tech industries and the Texas economy.

A
  1. Oil prices collapsed in 1982; Texas tried to keep going, diversify the economy.
  2. Texas emerged as a leader in high-tech industries in 1980s.
  3. Around 331,000 jobs in Texas were supported by tech exports in 2012.
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58
Q

What are the 3 [main] factors contributing to the growth of population in Texas?

A
  1. Natural increase (births > deaths)
  2. International immigration.
  3. Domestic immigration.
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59
Q

Describe whites in Texas.

A
  1. For most of the 19th and 20th centuries, Texas was majority white.
  2. First wave [of immigrants] were encouraged by emprasarios such as the Austins.
  3. White pop peaked in 1950 at 74%
  4. 43.5% were white in 2005; cont. to fall.
60
Q

Describe Latinos in Texas and their political status.

A
  1. Most Latinos in Texas are ppl. from Mexican descent.
  2. Until 1900, Latinos were concentrated in South Texas; by 2000, Latinos are a majority in San Antanio, El Paso, and sizable minorities in other cities.
  3. Elected Latinos rose from 1460 in 1986 to 2521 in 2011.
  4. Political status of Latinos has shifted towards more accepting attitudes in the past 100 years; whereas before Mexicans often got the same discrimination as black people.
61
Q

Explains primary elections vs. general elections.

A

A primary election narrows candidates of a specific party, and the general election occurs after this and is the “general” competition between candidates from the respective parties.

62
Q

Describe African Americans in Texas.

A
  1. Black people were among the earliest explorers of Texas.
  2. Most black people went to Texas as slaves.
  3. Mexican authorities’ antislavery kept black population relatively low until the Texas Revolution and subsequent expansion of slavery into Texas.
  4. Emancipation (June 16, 1865) didn’t bring equality.
  5. …
  6. Black codes restricted rights of former slaves.
  7. Federal court cases in 40s and 50s offered relief, and the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act both helped blacks in Texas.
63
Q

How did Texas try to get around Brown v. Board of Education?

A

Since Latinos are considered white legally in Texas, after Brown v. Board, Texas put Latinos in black schools and said it was a “job done” basically in terms of desegregating. They kept this up for 20 years until the Federal gov’t shut it down, threatening to suspend Texas’s education funds if it didn’t comply.

64
Q

Describe Asians in Texas.

A
  1. In 2015, 1 million Asians in Texas; 4.5% of the state.

2. Tend to be concentrated in urban and suburban areas.

65
Q

What is the overall age of Texas compared to the rest of America?

A

Population of Texas tends to be young compared to the rest of the US. Austin, in particular, is quite young.

66
Q

What is the relationship between the economy of Texas and its military bases?

A
  • Closely tied
    1. Expanding military -> stimulated economy and employment.
    2. 173,000 citizens employed from this in 2014.
67
Q

How was discrimination of Latinos different from discrimination of black people?

A

It was more cultural than legal. During civil rights era, black ppl. could point to specific black codes / Jim Crow laws as injustices, but such laws were rare for Latinos, so they had to advocate for cultural, rather than legal, change.

68
Q

Explain poll taxes, reading tests, and other electoral means to discriminate against minority races.

A

There were white-only primaries that prevented Latinos and black people from voting in them. Poll taxes were exercised on individuals intending to vote, and reading tests that gave English tests to white people and German or other obscure languages to Latinos or blacks in order to nullify their vote.

69
Q

The first Latino representative was _____

A

Henry Gonzalez in 1956.

70
Q

Who was Barbara Jordan and why was she significant?

A

In 1972, she was elected to HoR for Texas. She was black and a woman – both groundbreaking for Texas.

71
Q

Legally, in Texas, Latinos are considered _____

A

white, as Latino is considered an ethnicity; due to black laws.

72
Q

Explain the poverty and wealth of Texas.

A
  1. Despite growth of the 90s, incomes in Texas have lagged behind the nation as a whole, primarily because Texas is behind everyone else in terms of education.
  2. Per capita personal income in Texas has lagged behind the rest of the nation as well.
73
Q

Texas was discovered by what [European] country and when?

A
  1. Spain

2. 1519

74
Q

Originally a claim of _____, the country _____ settled Texas, creating conflict between the two powers. This occurred in _____

A
  1. Spain; the conquistadores
  2. France
  3. 1685
75
Q

In _____, France relinquished their claims on Texas.

A

1762

76
Q

In 1799, Spain gave France _____ as part of a treaty. France then proceeded to _____, but _____ eventually created conflict between Spain and the US.

A
  1. Louisiana and part of North Texas.
  2. Sell all that to the US.
  3. a hazy idea of what was actually in the possession of France in the first place
77
Q

In 1819, in order to get their claim on Texas again, Spain _____

A

gave Florida to the US.

78
Q

Explain Mexican independence and the general colonization law?

A
  1. Mexico gained independence from Spain in 1821 and set up the “general colonization law.”
  2. The purpose of the law was to settle Texas by giving free land to Americans who immigrated to it, which they needed to do because it had lots of Native Americans sitting about and claiming it.
79
Q

Explain the constitution of Coahuila y Tejas.

A

[First constitution of Texas]
Set up in 1827, this was the first Constitution of Texas; under Mexican rule, this constitution combined Texas and Coahuila. It made Texas a district of Bexar with a unicameral legislature. Catholicism was set as the state religion.

80
Q

Why did Texas rebel?

A
  1. They wanted unrestricted trade with the US.
  2. They believed they had racial superiority.
  3. Mexico’s abolition of slavery was a problem because immigrants from the US wanted to bring their slaves with them to set up plantations.
  4. They wanted a more liberal immigration policy for people coming from the US. Illegal immigrants came from the US and wanted to bring their families with them.
  5. They had insufficient representation.
  6. There was a lack of English government and schooling.
  7. They were annoyed by the lack of separate statehood for Texas apart from Coahuila.
81
Q

When did Texas rebel from Mexico?

A

1836

82
Q

Explain the “frontier experience” of the Republic of Texas.

A

Sam Houston was the first President of Texas. The general features of the country were:

  1. Individualistic
  2. Frontier justice – “shoot now, ask later.” Lack of due process or trials.
  3. Self-reliance
  4. Little gov’t
  5. Free enterprise
  6. Stubborn
  7. Land was importance
  8. Helpful
  9. Friendly
  10. Pride in nation (Texas).
83
Q

Explain the 2nd constitution of Texas.

A

[The Republic of Texas constitution]. Established 1836:

  1. Resembled US Constitution.
  2. Established bicameral legislature
  3. Guaranteed white male suffrage
  4. Defended slavery as an institution
  5. Under this, Texas population skyrocketed.
  6. Called for annexation by US, but Texas remained independent. At this time, it was forced to be independent because it was a slave state and there was the slavery controversy in the US.
  7. Had a President: 3 year term, no (immediate) reelection: the Presidents historically went Sam Houston -> Lamar -> Houston again.
84
Q

Explain the 3rd constitution of Texas.

A

[The being annexed by the US constitution] 1845:

  1. Entrance into US
  2. Bicameral legislature
  3. Debt limit under $100k.
  4. Texas can be broken into 5 states (which it then did).
  5. Retained ownership of public lands, resulting in Mexican-American War, then the treaty of 1848 recognizing the Rio Grande as Texas’s southern boundary.
    - President Polk decided to annex Texas and war Mexico bc. Manifest Destiny and shit.
85
Q

Explain the 4th constitution of Texas.

A

[The joining the Confederacy constitution] 1861:

  1. Secession convention in 1861 proclaimed the laws and constitution of the Union trampled rights of Texans, especially with regard to slavery.
  2. Texas approved secession, and the state entered the Confederacy (Confederate States of America).
  3. New constitution said freeing slaves was illegal, but there were few changes otherwise.
86
Q

Explain Reconstruction era 1

A
  1. CSA lost the war.
  2. Under Andrew Johnson
  3. 10% plan: if 10% of a state’s population wants to rejoin the Union, they can.
  4. 1865-66
  5. Said black codes / black inequality was fine.
  6. Ex-Confederates were allowed to be in office.
  7. Did not really end up lasting very long because Radical Republicans.
87
Q

The two conditions for readmission of a state into the Union after the Civil War were _____

A
  1. The state must accept the 13th amendment.

2. They must formally admit secession was illegal in the first place.

88
Q

Explain the 5th constitution of Texas.

A

[Rejoins the Union] 1866:

  1. Passed with slim majority.
  2. Black codes were put in place: free black people were allowed to have property and sue but they couldn’t vote or hold office.
  3. Salaries for officeholders increased, the size of state supreme court increased.
  4. Congressional appointments would be based only on number of white men.
89
Q

Explain era 2 of Reconstruction.

A
  1. Radical Republicans get in charge of Reconstruction.
  2. 1867-1869
  3. No representation for former Confederacy states.
  4. They were also under martial law.
  5. Established carpetbaggers: politicians who came from the North to fulfill government jobs, as ex-Confeds were not allowed to serve.
90
Q

Explain the 6th constitution of Texas.

A

[Put in place by carpetbaggers / North] 1869:

  1. Strong state gov’t.
  2. Strong gov’t–4 year terms.
  3. Congress meets yearly.
  4. High spending
  5. High taxes.
  6. Former slave equality.
  7. Mandatory school.
  8. Abolished county courts.
  9. Raised salaries for gov’t officials.
91
Q

Explain E. J. Davis.

A
  1. Former Union Army general.
  2. Governor of Texas, put in place 1870 to 73 by Federal gov’t.
  3. Very unpopular in Texas.
  4. Extravagant public spending
  5. Property taxes increase.
  6. Public funds to private interests.
  7. Intimidation of newspaper editors / threw them in jail for criticizing him.
  8. Control of voter registration: couldn’t register to vote unless you were a radical republican.
92
Q

Explain era 3 of Reconstruction

A
  1. Military left
  2. States given more rights
  3. Ex-confeds can run for public office.
93
Q

Explain Grangers

A
  1. Grangers (granger party) wanted to retrench and reform (aka get rid of everything that happened under Reconstruction).
94
Q

Explain the conflict between EJ Davis and the Grangers/Texans.

A
  1. During Era 2, Freemen are employed in public spaces, particularly Texas rangers. Texans start rioting, they get into conflict with former slaves who are now rangers.
  2. Davis was super unpopular
  3. As a result of Era 3 and Grangers, Democrats take control of Texas legislature in 1872; Richard Coke won governor in 1873; get rid of carpetbaggers; etc.
  4. Davis things corruption is involved in him not getting reelected; sits out, demands recount. Grangers use ladder to get up in the governor’s mansion where the legislature is because the Texas rangers (under Davis) won’t let them in the first floor of the building where Davis lives.
95
Q

Explain the 7th constitution of Texas.

A

[Written by Grangers, reactionary to EJ Davis; one still in use today] 1875:

  1. Low taxes
  2. Low spending
  3. Governor has 2 terms only
  4. All executive offices are elected
  5. Congress meets biennially (every other year)
  6. Local gov’t is strengthened
  7. Judges are elected and local courts are reestablished
  8. Segregation
  9. Mandatory school attendance repealed.
  10. Only taxpayers can vote on local bond issues.
    - Has 491 amendments; huge.
96
Q

What is the role of a State Constitution?

A
  1. Establish political institutions and explain the source of power and authority.
  2. Delegate powers to institutions and individuals and define how those powers are used.
  3. Protect against the concentration of political power in one institution or individual (checks and balances).
  4. Define the limits of political power.
97
Q

Explain article 1 of the Texas Constitution.

A

[Is the Texas Bill of Rights]:

  1. Rights listed up front, in order to stress limits upon the state’s power.
  2. Right to republican government is powerfully articulated.
  3. Much more detailed than the Federal Bill of Rights:
    - No discrimination on basis of gender
    - No imprisonment for debt
    - Limit monopolies
    - No long-term imprisonment for being mentally ill.
98
Q

Explain article 2 of the Texas Constitution.

A

[Powers of the gov’t]:

1. Three branches: legislature, executive, judicial; doesn’t really describe them.

99
Q

Explain article 4 of the Texas Constitution.

A

[Legislative and executive departments]:

  1. Texas House of Representatives has two year terms; Senate has 4 year.
  2. Limits on salaries
  3. Texas Ethics Commission is a thing
  4. Comptroller of public accounts is a thing: no overspending beyond however much income this guy says he thinks they’ll get.
  5. Largest portion addresses variety of polling issues.
  6. Plural executive: 6 offices [5 are elected]
  7. Governor is in charge of executive department.
  8. Secretary of State is appointed by governor with Senate approval.
  9. Independently elected offices limit governor; different parties may control executive power simultaneously.
100
Q

Explain article 5 of the Texas Constitution.

A

[Judicial department]:

  1. Texas effectively has two supreme courts:
    - criminal cases: Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.
    - civil cases: Texas Supreme Court
  2. All justices and judges are elected.
101
Q

Explain article 6 of the Texas Constitution.

A

[Suffrage]:

1. Who votes in Texas and the legislative rules in elections. [Basically, men, at least at first].

102
Q

Explain article 7 of the Texas Constitution.

A

[Education]:

  1. Both Fed. and state gov’t share power here–concurrent power.
  2. Public schools promote republican form of gov’t
  3. Requires Texas to support, maintain, and fund an efficient system of public schools; and to create Board of Education.
103
Q

Explain article 8 of the Texas Constitution.

A

[Tax and revenue]:

1. Concurrent power–no income taxes in Texas.

104
Q

Explain article 9 and 11 of the Texas Constitution.

A

[Local gov’t]:
1. Pretty powerful here in Texas. Breaks things into mayors, city councils, school boards, etc. [don’t really like centralized stuff].

105
Q

Explain articles 10, 12, 13, 14 of the Texas Constitution.

A

[Other crap]:

1. Railroads, private corporations, Spanish and Mexican land titles, and public lands.

106
Q

Explain article 15 of the Texas Constitution.

A

[Impeachment]:

  1. Impeachment: formal charge to remove state official before the election cycle.
  2. House brings charges; Senate and the justices from the Supreme Court decide what is an impeachable offense.
107
Q

Explain article 16 of the Texas Constitution.

A

General provisions, like when builds are gonna be cleaned, hourly rates, etc.

108
Q

Explain article 17 of the Texas Constitution.

A

[Amending the Constitution]:

  1. 4 stage process
  2. Legislature proposes amendment.
  3. 2/3 of Congress agree to do the amendment
  4. Explanation of it must be published two times in recognized newspapers.
  5. A majority of state voters must approve.
109
Q

What is an absolute majority?

A

51% or more.

110
Q

What things does the Texas Constitution require the public to vote on?

A
  1. Income tax
  2. Congress salary
  3. Amendments
111
Q

Why do amendments pass so easily in Texas?

A

You only need an absolute majority (51% or more) of the public, and 10-15% of the public votes on amendments, as there is exceptionally low turnout unless voters already wanted the amendment beforehand and advocated for the vote in the first place. This means that in reality only like 6-7% of Texas has to actually want the amendment. As a result, 70%+ amendments pass

112
Q

How many amendments does the Texas Constitution have?

A

491

113
Q

Why does Texas have so many god damned amendments?

A
  1. Not a whole lot of distinction between amendments and laws.
  2. Deadwood: lots of amendments that are not longer enforced.
  3. Overturning court rulings / nullifying precedent
  4. Limits gov’t
  5. Lobby interests / protecting specific big business
114
Q

Explain the Sharptown attempt to rewrite the Texas Constitution.

A
  1. 1979; was a drive to rewrite Texas constitution.
  2. It grew out of stock fraud involving the Sharptown state bank and the Natural Bankers Life Insurance Company.
  3. Resulting convictions created a “throw the rascals out” mentality in 1972 election.
  4. Attempted 8 amendments to get rid of deadwood in the constitution; this failed.
  5. Special interests mobilized to derail rewriting the constitution.
115
Q

Define intergovernmental relations

A

Any interaction between national/state/local gov’t.

116
Q

What are the systems of intergovernmental relations?

A
  1. Unitary: large gov’t has all the power
  2. Confederate: strong states, weak federal
  3. Federalism: divided power
117
Q

What are concurrent powers?

A

Things like taxes, courts, and laws; shared between states and federal government.

118
Q

What are reserved powers?

A

Supposed to belong to one entity

119
Q

What is the 10th amendment of the federal constitution?

A

Says if a power is not directly given to the federal government, it goes to states or the people.

120
Q

What is an expressed power? (or enumerated power)

A

Belonging to one particular branch

121
Q

What is an implied power?

A

Bit fuzzy: implied by other powers.

122
Q

What are the benefits of federalism?

A
  1. Multiple leadership: layers, shared power.
  2. Participation: ppl. participate more
  3. Efficiency: local branches make lots of things easier.
  4. Policy is local
  5. Laboratories of democracy: can experiment with policy..
123
Q

What are the downsides of federalism?

A
  1. It’s confusing. Unclear who does what and what does what.
  2. Inequality: some areas are better off than others because they manage to govern more effectively.
  3. National interests are sacrificed for local interests.
  4. Small groups can obstruct projects
124
Q

List the clauses interfering with federalism

A
  1. Supremacy clause
  2. Commerce clause
  3. Necessary and proper clause
  4. General welfare clause.
125
Q

Explain the supremacy clause

A

If there is conflict between the state and federal law, fed wins. Has been upheld by…

  1. McCulloh v. Maryland
  2. Gibbons v. Ogden
  3. Nullification crisis of 1833
126
Q

Explain the commerce clause.

A

Fed can regulate interstate stuff, between states, countries, etc. Gives Fed. a lot of power.

127
Q

Explain the necessary and proper clause.

A

Gov’t can do anything to carry out laws in Constitution.

128
Q

From which clause do implied powers come from?

A

The necessary and proper clause

129
Q

Explain the general welfare clause.

A

Fed power to provide for “general welfare of US.” Very vague, could be used to justify pretty much anything.

130
Q

Explain Texas v. White.

A
  1. 1869
  2. SC resolved debate over whether states can secede from Union.
  3. Said there is no leaving; nullified secession.
131
Q

What are the three obligations that states have to each other?

A
  1. Full faith and credit
  2. privileges and immunity
  3. Extradition
132
Q

Explain full faith and credit.

A

Article 4, section 1 of the US constitution says a legally binding document in one state is legally binding in all states.

133
Q

Explain privileges and immunity.

A

Article 4, section 2. When at a different place, you have to follow their laws. You also can’t be discriminated against in a state for being from a different state.

134
Q

Explain the state’s obligation to extradition.

A

States have to extradite, even if you commit a crime in one state and flee to a state where that action is not illegal.

135
Q

What is coercive federalism?

A

Incorporation of the Bill of Rights. Originally, BoR meant “Federal gov’t can’t do _____,” but the 14th amendment extended that to mean “Federal and state governments can’t do ______” for all the things in the BoR.

136
Q

When was the Bill of Rights incorporated?

A

1868

137
Q

Explain selective incorporation.

A

Rights in the BoR that are held to apply to states are part of “liberty” protections.

138
Q

The civil rights movement was spurred on by the _____ clause.

A

equal protections

139
Q

Explain Plessy v. Ferguson.

A
  1. 1896

2. Conclusion was the “separate but equal” doctrine.

140
Q

Explain Brown v. Board of Education.

A
  1. 1954
  2. End of “separate but equal”
  3. NAACP found most equal school they could in the South (Topeka, Kansas), gave psychological tests to students. Found that the separation itself was damaging self-esteem of students. Basically said “it’s as equal as possible, and yet segregation is still causing psychological damage.” SCOTUS agreed.
141
Q

What are the two main types of federalism?

A
  1. Dual (or layer cake)

2. Cooperative (or marble cake)

142
Q

Explain dual federalism.

A
  1. Layer cake
  2. Powers are strictly separated; states did most of the governing.
  3. Ends in 1930s with New Deal/FDR; he totally switched up how fed interacts with states.
143
Q

Explain cooperative federalism.

A
  1. Marble cake
  2. 1930s-60s.
  3. Boundary between fed and state blurred.
  4. New Deal + categorical grants.
  5. “Spots of fed in state and spots of state in fed” whereas in layer cake federalism, powers are strictly separated.
144
Q

Explain Nixon’s New Federalism.

A

Tried to use block grants to return power to states.

145
Q

Explain centralized federalism.

A
  1. aka picket fence
  2. 60s-80s
  3. States start to question why fed is having all this power.
  4. Fed is pickets and the states are used as boards between the pickets to “support” or prop up federal power.
146
Q

Explain competitive federalism

A
  1. aka new federalism
  2. Starts in 1990s, goes to today
  3. Ongoing conflict between states and the federal government over devolution.

GOVT 2306 (22 decks)

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