Midterm Flashcards
How did the Madisonian system thwart tyranny of the majority?
- Limiting Majority Control – To keep most of the government beyond the control of the masses.
- Separating Powers – Branches are relatively independent of the others so no single branch could control the others.
- Creating Checks and Balances – Each branch needs the consent of the others for many actions.
- Establishing a Federal System – Federalism divides power between national and state governments.
What did the 17th Amendment do?
Allowed for the direct election of senators
Why did Madison create a system of checks and balances?
Since power was not completely separate, each branch required the consent of the others for many of its actions; setting power against power to constrain government actions.
How does each branch engage in the system of checks and balances with another branch?
The president checks Congress by holding the veto power.
Congress holds the “purse strings” of government, and the Senate has the power to approve presidential appointments.
Judicial review
What is judicial review? What Supreme Court case asserted its power?
the power of courts to hold executive and congressional policies unconstitutional; was not explicit in the Constitution; asserted by the Supreme Court under John Marshall in Marbury v. Madison (1803).
Examples of checks & balances
- president nominates Supreme Court judges & Court can rule presidential acts unconstitutional
- Congress approves pres. nominations, controls budget, pass laws over pres veto, and impeach pres & pres can veto congressional legislation
- court can declare laws unconstitutional & Senate approves president’s court nominations and can impeach judges
Is the system of checks & balances and the separation of powers conservative or progressive? Explain
The system of checks and balances and separation of powers has a conservative bias because it favors the status quo; that is, people desiring change must usually have a sizable majority rather than a simple majority
What are the two aspects of the formal Constitutional amendment process?
- proposal
2. ratification
How do you propose an amendment to the Constitution? (2 ways)
- An amendment may be proposed by a 2/3 vote in each house or chamber of Congress
- a national convention called by Congress at the request of 2/3 of the state legislatures
How do you ratify an amendment to the Constitution? (2 ways)
- by the legislatures of 3/4 of the states
2. special state conventions called in 3/4 of the states
What effect has the amendment process had?
made the Constitution more egalitarian and democratic
Which was the one amendment ratified not at the state legislatures but at a state convention?
the 21st Amendment, which repealed Prohibition
In Federalist 10, what was Madison’s conclusion about factions?
can’t remove causes; “sown in nature of man;” faction must be controlled:
1. Minority factions can be controlled by the principle of majority rule.
2. Minority factions can be controlled by creating a large republic and by creating a system of representation to “refine and
enlarge” the views of the public
What does the 10th Amendment state?
“The powers not delegated to the U.S. by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are
reserved to the states respectively, or to the
people.”
What did the Necessary and Proper clause establish?
Congress can make laws that are “necessary and proper” for carrying out the other listed powers of the Constitution
What are the two conditions for the necessary and proper clause?
The law or power must be
1) directly applicable to the main, enumerated power
2) lesser than the main power
What are implied powers of the Constitution?
Powers of the nat’l gov’t that are not specifically mentioned in the Constitution but are based on the “necessary and proper” clause
What is another name of the Necessary and Proper Clause?
elastic clause
What are the delegated powers?
powers specifically granted to the nat’l gov’t in the Constitution
What is the Supremacy clause?
Article VI of the Constitution states the U.S. Constitution, laws of Congress, and treaties are supreme.
Examples of enumerated powers of Congress
- coin $$
- regulated commerce with foreign nations and among states
- provide an army and a navy
- make laws necessary and proper to carry out powers
The notion of implied powers was based on what clause of the constitution?
Necessary & Proper (elastic clause)
What did the decision of McCulloch v. Maryland state?
Congress had implied powers in addition to its enumerated powers
What is Dual Federalism? What cake is it analogous to?
A system of government in which both the states and
the national government remain supreme
within their own spheres, each responsible
for some policies; layer cake
What time period did Dual Federalism operate during?
Founding era up to 1930s
States had (greater/less) power during dual federalism
greater i.e. public education, race relations
T/F During Dual Federalism, the federal gov’t only had jurisdiction if it was clearly stated in the Constitution
True i.e. coin money, foreign affairs
Dual Federalism was a (wide/narrow) interpretation of Constitution
narrow
What is Cooperative Federalism? What cake is it analogous to?
National government clearly supreme over the
states with wide interpretation of the “necessary
and proper clause” aka elastic clause; marble cake
What time period did Cooperative Federalism operate during?
New Deal in the 1930s to present day
Describe the national supremacy with regards to commerce.
Gibbons v. Ogden (1824) defined commerce very broadly to encompass virtually every form of
commercial activity.
What are the states 3 obligations to each other? Describe them
- Full Faith and Credit – requires each state to
recognize the public acts, records, and
judicial proceedings of all other states - Extradition - requires a state to surrender a
person charged with a crime to the state in
which the crime is alleged to have been
committed. - Privileges and Immunities – requires states to give
citizens of each state the privileges of citizens
of other states.
What “R” word refers to the rights discussed in the 10th Amendment?
reserved (for the states)
In Gonzalez v. Raich, what did the Supreme Court about the gov’ts use of the commerce clause?
The Court in Wickard decided that
Congress did have the power, under the Commerce Clause, to regulate an activity even though
it was completely intrastate if that activity had a substantial effect on interstate commerce. The majority relied on the ruling in U.S. v. Lopez in which the Court established that only a
“rational basis” was needed for deciding the activity would affect interstate commerce.
What are categorical grants?
can be used for specific purposes and have strings attached; i.e. sewage treatment facilities or school lunch programs; may require matching funds from state or local gov’ts
What are the two types of categorical grants? Describe them
- project grants- awarded on the basis of a competitive application i.e. university research grants
- formula grants- awarded on the basis of an established formula i.e. Medicaid
What are block grants?
general grants that can be used for a variety of purposes within a broad category i.e. education, health care, or public services
Which do states prefer, categorical grants or block grants? Why?
block grants; fewer strings attached so state and local governments have greater freedom in how the money is spent
What are grant-in-aid programs?
money and resources provided by the federal gov’t to the state and local gov’ts to be used for specific projects or programs; earliest grants covered public works projects such as building canals, roads, and railroads, and land grants for state colleges.
What are mandates?
requirements that are imposed by the nat’l gov’t on the state and local gov’ts i.e. the Americans with Disabilities Act mandates that all public buildings be handicap accessible
What are unfunded mandates?
mandates that require states or local gov’ts to meet the requirement at their own expense
Describe mandate blues
Mandates direct state governments to comply with federal rules under threat of penalties or as a condition
of receipt of a federal grant
What is revenue sharing?
proposed under LBJ, popular under Nixon; no strings attached form of aid to state and locla gov’ts; can be used for virtually any project but never exceeded more than 2% of revenues; Reagan eliminated them
What was the decision of US v. Lopez?
Gun Free School Zone Act was intrusion by nat’l gov’t on state sovereignty; law not substantially related to interstate commerce
Name some advantages of federalism
- allows more ppl opportunity to participate
- promotes innovation by allowing states to act as laboratories
- regional interest groups get a strong political voice on the nat’l scene
- encourages diversity on policy issues
Name some disadvantages of federalism
- leads to fragmentation of American politics
- iniquity among states
- states can obstruct implementation of nat’l policy
What is a cleavage in public opinion?
a concept used in voting analysis and is the division
of voters into voting blocs
Name and describe 3 factors of political socialization
- The Family – Parents give their children political attitudes; central b/c of its monopoly on two crucial resources in the early years—time and emotional commitment; may even be genetic predispositions towards attitudes.
- The Mass Media – TV gives people information about politics; referred to as “new parent”
- School – Schools socialize the youth into political culture; gov’ts use schools to instill a commitment to the basic values of the system.
Aging (increases/decreases) political participation and (increases/decreases) strength of party attachment
increases; increases
What are the three parts of a political party?
- Party in the electorate: individuals who perceive themselves as party members; many voters have a party identification that guides and influences their votes. American parties do not require membership cards
- Party as an organization: has a national office, a full-time staff, rules and bylaws, and budgets. Party activists keep the party running between elections and make its rules. Although American parties are loosely organized at the national, state, and local levels, the party organization pursues electoral victory.
- Party in government: consists of elected officials who call themselves members of the party (such as president and Congress).
These leaders do not always agree on policy; but they are the main spokespersons of the party.
Definition of Third Party
- “Parties that promote certain causes”
- Are usually splinter parties (offshoots of the GOP & Dems)
- Are usually an extension of a popular individual with political aspirations
Contributions of Third Parties
- have brought new groups to electorate (youth)
- Serve as a place for “popular discontent” (protest vote?)
- bring new issues to political agenda (controversial issues)
- Push major parties to include underrepresented concerns/groups
Roles of Third Parties
- Spoiler Role: minor party candidates can pull decisive votes away from one of the major party candidate, esp. if the minor party candidate is from a splinter party. i.e. Ross Perot in 1992
- Critic: minor parties, esp. single-issue parties, often take stands on and draw attention to controversial issues that the major parties would prefer to ignore
- Innovator: often, minor parties will draw attention to important issues and propose innovative solutions to problems. If these proposals gain popular support, they are often integrated into the platforms of the two major parties
What are the consequences of a two-party system?
- Moderation of Conflict
With only 2 parties, both GOP & Dems cling to centrist positions to maximize appeal - Political Ambiguity: parties will not risk taking a stand on a controversial issue if it antagonizes voters
- “Winner-take-all” system:
winning party only needs a plurality of votes (the most); other small parties get nothing!
What is a single-member district?
Single member district: an election district that sends only a single member to a legislative body
The representative is chosen on the basis of winning a plurality within the district (discourages third parties)
Used in the United States and Great Britain
What is proportional representation?
Proportional Representation: where there are plural member districts and the seats in the assembly are distributed among the parties on the basis of the proportion of the vote each party receives
Gives more encouragement to the proliferation of third parties
Encourages ‘coalitions’ with major parties (a voice!)
Used in several European countries
What are some impediments for third parties?
- The Constitution: winner-take-all system
- Fundraising $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
- Public Awareness (TV time/Press)
- Election Laws: Dems & GOP automatically get on ballot, but third parties have to jump through petitioning hoops (election laws vary by state…51 different ballot restriction challenges!)
Define national convention, national committee, and national chairperson
- The national convention of each party meets every four years to write the party’s platform and nominate its candidates for president and vice president.
- The national committee, composed of representatives from the states and territories, keeps the party operating between conventions.
- Day-to-day activities of the national party are the responsibility of the national chairperson.
How do political parties act as linkage institutions?
Political parties link the people of the United States to their gov’t and its policies; Parties are supposed to taking ‘inputs’ from the public and make them into ‘outputs’ from policymakers
What are realignments?
Realignments are very rare and usually occur as a result of some major traumatic event, such as an economic depression or war; signaled by what is called a critical election, when a new party comes to dominate politics
When was the last realignment?
The last realignment took place in 1932, as a result of the Great Depression, when the GOP became the minority party and the Democratic Party became the majority
What is dealignment?
- Dealignment is usually a result of party members becoming disaffected as a result of some policy position taken by the party
- These disaffected party members join no political party and vote for the candidate rather than the party he or she belongs to
- Since the 1960s, membership in the Dem. Party has declined while the number of independents has increased
What is the trend in political parties and government?
Divided government
Who does gerrymandering favor?
Redistricting can especially favor a particular
political party in single-member electoral systems
that elect representatives to represent voting
districts
What are the two methods for gerrymandering?
packing and cracking
What are the effects of gerrymandering?
Gerrymandered districts favor incumbents that are difficult to unseat in elections, thus creating safe seats.
Safe districts with incumbents with less incentive to govern by constituents’ needs
‘Meaningful’ campaigns are also diluted, further
demoralizing voters
Define malapportionment. What is the difference between gerrymandering and malapportionment?
drawing the boundaries of
political districts so that districts are very
unequal in population
Malapportionment is the creation of electoral districts
with divergent ratios of voters to representatives. For
example, if one single-member district has 10,000
voters and another has 100,000 voters, voters in the
former district have ten times the influence, per
person, over the governing body.
Name 1 pro and con of caucasus
pro: only hard core party faithful who have biggest stake in election outcome participate
con: relatively undemocratic b/c most voters, particularly independents, are excluded
Name 1 pro and con of primaries
pro: more democratic b/c “average” registered voters choose the state’s delegates to the party convention
con: expensive and ppl don’t pay attention
Name 1 pro and con of closed primaries
pro: relatively democratic as only party voters go to polls
con: completely shuts out independents
Name 1 pro and con of open primaries
pro: every registered person can vote; most democratic
con: political parties lose control over who is nominated
What did the election process used to be like?
used to be party dominated, few primaries, short campaigns, limited media covered, late decisions, easy money, open nat’l party convention
What is the election process like today?
candidate dominated, many primaries, long campaigns, difficult fundraising, media focused, front-loaded, closed conventions
What is soft money? What law banned it?
the term for donations made to national political party committees for party building activities; McCain Feingold banned it
What did McCain Feingold do?
Increases from $1,000 to $2,000 per candidate per election (adjustable for
inflation)
Remains $5,000 per year to a political action committee (“PAC”);
Increases from $20,000 to $30,400 per national party committee (e.g.,
Democratic National Committee, Republican National Committee) per year;
Increases from $5,000 to $10,000 per state or local party committee per year
What was the effect of Citizens United?
As a result of Citizens United, corporations, unions and other independent groups can run ads all the way up to Election Day, with unlimited donations and unrestricted
donations, and clearly express who to vote or not vote for. Super PACs
What was the 24th amendment?
banning polling tax
What was the 22nd amendment?
presidential term limits
What was the establishment clause?
the clause in the First Amendment of the US Constitution that prohibits the establishment of religion by Congress.
What was the 26th amendment?
voting age 18
What was the free exercise clause?
The Free Exercise Clause protects citizens’ right to practice their religion as they please, so long as the practice does not run afoul of a “public morals” or a “compelling” governmental interest.
