Midterm Material

Question 1

Australian Ballot

Answer 1

Secret Ballot - so people could vote in privacy and avoid being harassed due to their votes. It’s implementation would greatly protect voters.
A ballot that does not only show certain candidates but all of them and a ballot that would be universal across states…

Question 2

Balance of Slave States VS Free States

Answer 2

Balance of power in Congress between slave and free states

• Missouri Compromise (1820) where there is a balance from states
• Missouri (Slave) Maine (Free)
• Years later Missouri Compromise was declared unconstitutional by Supreme Court in the Dred Scott decision, which ruled that Congress did not have the authority to prohibit slavery in the territories.

Later on for Spanish War…
-New added states (TX, CA, AZ) divided over whether these new states should be assigned whether to be Slave or Free states, or whether they would be granted the choice to become whatever they wanted to be.

Question 3

Black Codes

Answer 3

Black Codes - Slavery “Southern style” (post civil war)
•Restarted slavery by banning people from renting or owning land (cropsharing, red lining (later on the years), assembling voting, interracial marriage, etc.
•Rise of loitering, vagrancy, idleness laws (Criminalization of black and poor) relates to the modern Jim Crow laws that refer to encarceration)
• President Johnson says southern states can still join the states

*Jim Crow Laws…?

Question 4

Checks and Balances

Answer 4

Counterbalancing influences by which an organization or system is regulated, typically those ensuring that political power is not concentrated in the hands of individuals or groups.
Each branch is impeached by the other two. (Judicial, Electorial, Legislative)
E L (veto/overwrite)
L J (impeach/confirm)
J E (judicial review/appoint)
Supreme Court may check Congress by declaring a law unconstitutional. The power is balanced by the fact that members of the Supreme Court are appointed by the POTUS. Those appointments have to be approved by Congress. So just a check in between states/departments to make sure none of these are using their power unlawfully.

Question 5

Civil Rights Act

Answer 5

1964
• Main provisions:
– Banned segregation in education and public accommodations (unfunded mandate).
– No federal funds for states/agencies that discriminate (shared federalism at work).
– Barred job discrimination on the basis of race, religion, and gender. Create EEOC to enforce.
-Helped overcome collective problems

Question 6

Compromise of 1850

Answer 6

Mexican-American War
-Political confrontation of which state should be what (break of Second Party System - Democrats (A. Jackson) VS Whigs
• Texas is slave state
• California is free state
• Territories (New Mexico, Utah) get to decide on their own
• Part of bargain is the Fugitive Slave Law
– Escaped slaves must be returned to slaveowner by law, even from North (story of 12 Years a Slave) – Harriet Tubman and Underground Railroad

Question 7

The “old story” of Reconstruction

Answer 7

-The evil Northeners
-Slaves were evil (book about black man raping a white woman)
…

Question 8

Tragedy of the commons

Answer 8

When people all have access to the same common resource but are not too considerate of taking care of it because their effort is worth nothing comparing it to the bigger picture. Then everyone suffers
(ex- water)… and the English sheep example.
Solution: everyone is held accountable for their own portion of the land.

Question 9

Virginia Plan (as opposed to the New Jersey Plan)

Answer 9

VA: get seats in the HoR by number of people in the state (they get majority as they are one of the biggest states)
NJ Plan: called for two houses of Congress both elected with apportionment according to population - bicameral. At least one vote per stat
CT:

Question 10

Haitian Revolution

Answer 10

THREAT OF SLAVE REVOLT (more slaves than white people in some parts)
-Haitian revolution (majority black slave plantation – French colonists)
•big freak out – Slavery is a major part of the American economy
-Slave resistance
•Destruction of property, sabotage plantation work
•Black art, culture, speech (started a legacy throughout time)

Question 11

Fiscal Federalism

Answer 11

Part of nationalization where the govt. has more power over the states.

The federal government regulates, subsidizes, taxes, provides goods and services, and redistributes income. In federal systems like that of the United States, fiscal policies have also sought to empower the states through deregulation.

Money is distributed top down (gvt to states) (dad > mom > children) distribute money through federal grants.

Codependency is important as it builds intergovernmental relations. More efficient way of distributing money (in accordance to the 10th amendment).

TESLA Example
• States compete with each other to attract rich residents and corporations
– Companies pit state governments against each other to see who will provide the most giveaways
• Example: Tesla gets $1.25 billion in tax breaks/subsidies from Nevada
• National government increasingly faces this too as corporations become transnational

Question 12

Medicaid expansion under the ACA (Obamacare)***

Answer 12

• Medicaid Expansion in ACA (NFIB vs. Sebelius, 2012)
– Law requires states to expand Medicaid (funded by natl govt) or lose all Medicaid funding.
– Court rules that this is too coercive. Does not leave states with a choice.
– Result: Republican states refuse to expand Medicaid and 17,000 people die each year due to lack of health insurance
-First suggested by Nixon. Implemented in MA by Mitt Romney. Blocked by Congree with Obama
-Free rider problems. Everyone must be part of it.**

Question 13

Necessary and Proper Clause

Answer 13

– Necessary and Proper Clause, Elastic Clause (McCulloch v. Maryland)

• The elastic cause grants congress the power to create laws that are necessary and proper
• Granting Congress the power to pass all laws necessary and proper for carrying out its list of enumerated powers (powers specifically granted to Congress by the Constitution
• Helps understand federalism = division of power between the Federal Government and the states (defined by the US constitution)
• States power rests in the 10th amendment (reserved powers)

Question 14

Party in government

Answer 14

Alliance of current officeholders cooperating to shape public policy.

Question 15

Party in the electorate

Answer 15

– Composed of those voters who identify with the party and regularly vote for its nominees.

Question 16

Party organizaion

Answer 16

– Dedicated to electing the party’s candidates.

– Consultants, staff, donors, former officeholders, etc.

Question 17

Reconstruction Amendments

Answer 17

13: Ban Slavery
14: Equality under the Law
15: No state can deny right to vote on account of “race, colour, previous condition of servitude”

Question 18

The New Deal Coalition (Fifth Party System) **

Answer 18

• New Deal Coalition is dominant; Democrats win everyone except wealthy (FDR)

• When parties start shifting again and the Democratic Party (led by FDR)
• Party systems are when there is a change of how the political parties are assigned/defined throughout American History.
• Increase in varied demographic support for politics (especially for Democrats): Catholic and Jewish immigrants in cities, Union workers, Intellectuals (higher education), Black people (especially in Northern cities), Latinos and Filipinos on West Coast, Poor farmers, and Southern segregationists (“Solid South”)

Fifth Party System refers to the period of the New Deal and FDR (Great Depression)

• System dominated by the Democratic Party.
• Democrats being referred/established as the Social Liberals and GOP as the Social Conservatives.
• Debate on whether America is still in the 5th Party System or in the 6th one
• GOP was split into liberals (bit more successful till 1980) and conservatives.
• Nixon appealed to both GOP branches (won his election through “southern strategy” aka showing support against black people. Got those really icky southern GOP supporters (said to be responsible for why GOP is so strong in the South - through very conservative ideologies)

Question 19

Three compromises in ratifying the Constitution

Answer 19

1. Slavery
2. Small states vs.big states
3. Populism
   Compromises were necessary to ratify the Constitution

Question 20

Three ways the Civil Rights Movement was cut short (The New Jim Crow) **

Answer 20

• Fairy Tale story: MLK had a dream that black kids and white kids would play together
– Brownv.Board,CRA,VRA:
Problem solved!
• Real story: MLK wanted to end “materialism, racism, and militarism,” but was cut short

“The New Jim
Crow?”
• Answer: Mass Incarceration
– U.S. imprisons more people than all other countries, including dictatorships
– More black people under correctional control (jail, prison, parole) than enslaved in 1850

• Section V of Voting Rights Act dismantled by SCOTUS
– Now states don’t need federal approval to change election laws, even when it impacts people of color
• Result: Voter ID Laws in Republican- controlled states (discourages many people from voting- especially minorities

Question 21

Virginia Plan (as opposed to the New Jersey Plan)

Answer 21

VA: get seats in the HoR by number of people in the state (they get majority as they are one of the biggest states)
– Bicameral legislature, with seats apportioned by population
– National government can veto state laws
– Executive (POTUS) appointed by lower house of legislature

NJ Plan
– One legislative chamber
– Representatives selected by state legislatures
– Equal # of representatives per state
– National government only has power to tax and regulate commerce

Question 22

Way to increase incentive for collective action (or overcome collective action problems)

Answer 22

Appealing to emotions, morality, duty
– Why people join the military
• Offer selective incentives or make goods excludable
– You get a cookie if you clean the house
– You must be part of the union if you take the job
• Monitoring, enforcement, coercion
– You go to jail if you don’t pay your taxes
– You get kicked out of the house if you don’t clean

Overcoming CAP (Collective Action Problems)

• Increase p? (but c will always be low for large groups)
• Increase b? (but be is always high!)
• Decrease c? (Yes!)
• New term for social benefits of participating is R = p*b – c + s
• Decreasing C: Selective incentives (you can only get the public good if you participate (very hard to do) ex. paying $5 teacher union member to potentially getting higher wages), social media, organisation (boycotting, share rides, free food, supporting each other, etc.)
• Increasing S: Organizations: Social pressure and messaging (ex. church groups, unions)

Question 23

Brown (John Brown) v. Board of Education

Answer 23

Desegregating the school system - end of the legal segregation of public schools
-the story of little rock??
1950s
-Einsenhower (R) sends the National Guard to help with this.
_____ v. _____ (landmark United States Supreme Court Cases)

Question 24

Dred Scott v. Sanford

Answer 24

Another landmark Supreme Court Case of the US (worst actually)
-Denying citizenship to African American slaves. Impacted the Balance of Slave and Free states- supreme court cant say anything about what each state can be (slave or free)

Question 25

Duverger’s Law

Answer 25

Plurality System VS PR System
Plurality: Whoever gets the most votes wins
PR (Proportional Representation): multiparty system (knit coalition)

A third party cannot happen in the current system according to this law. As it allocates the majority of the votes into more efficient elements to achieve maximum number of notes. (Hence the term “wasted votes” especially when voting for not the Dems or GOP)

2014 Midterm elections won by Democrats but GOP wins more seats in Congress… yeah

Question 26

Free Rider Problem

Answer 26

When everybody gets the benefit, regardless of whether they contributed or note.

Group of people dont have the incentive to do something because they believe that their contribution to the group is minimal so it wouldnt matter if they backed out. Then everyone starts backing out because they all have different incentives. Incentives clash and there is a coordination problem

Question 27

Federalism

Answer 27

The division of power between the central government and the states. Established by the founders.
There are 2 types of Federalism:
Dual Federalism 1789-1945) layer cake
-FDR much like because higher gvt intervention and international policy (trade, globalization, industralization).
Cooperative Federalism (1945-1969) + New Federalism (1969- present) marble cake
-Nixon advocated for marble cake federalism)
-Dual and New are the same but more power to the state now
(examples of North Dakota and CA not a same-fits-all type of thing)

Question 28

Mann and Ornstein’s argument for why “Republicans are the problem”

Answer 28

Republicans are only trying to save their reputation instead of working for the collective good aka working for the reason that they got voted in the first place.

• Trying to just differentiate themselves as a party from that of the Democratic as they are dabbing on to a lot of issues (wide variety) hence getting votes from many different demographics (reputation).
• Fear that GOP will lose its faithful southern/conservative voters = end of the GOP
• One senator wanted to enhance Congress’ reputation, with a bit of compromise for Prez Clinton. But he went too farther he “destroyed whatever comity existed across party lines” and “drove out moderate Republicans out of Congress” (keeping up with the Radical Republicans)
• Too much filibustering that leads to gridlock or vice versa
• “Republican co-sponsors of a Senate resolution voted against their own resolution, solely to keep it from getting to the 60-vote threshold”
• Both parties worked hand-in-hand for papa Bush “No Child Left Behind policy” (striking difference against the current situation with Obama
• Republicans are more conservative than they had been a century ago
• Filibusters and the 60 vote hurdle should not be a routine at Congress

Question 29

Matthew Yglesias argument that “American politics are doomed”

Answer 29

American politics is to be doomed because of gridlock and nothing has been done to help the problems of America and its people because party’s seek their own benefits.

• Parties are becoming much more polarizes than they were in the past (no long seek for a collective good as there is no collective good)
• Rise of filibusters (political tactic to not settle on anything + Congress lock down)
• “But over the past 25 years, it’s set America on a course of paralysis and crisis”
• “The best we can hope for is that when the crisis does come, Americans will put a better system in place”

Question 30

Michelle Alexander’s argument about the “new Jim Crow”

Answer 30

Mass incarceration. Minorities and black people are more likely to be criminalized

Question 31

Nat Turner and John Brown

Answer 31

-Nat Turner (Rebellion) was like Django: he led a rebellion of slaves that killed many whites (that was one of the objectives too) (Turner is then captured and executed)
South: v scared -thought of him as a savage black slave
North: he demonstrates the level of anger and oppression of slavery - symbol for the rise of abolitionism

-John Brown (Raid) was the anti-slave activist/abolitionist who was white. Battled against slavery advocates.
South: v disliked
North: praised as a martyr, representation of how slavery was on its downfall, a gem of hope for Northerners/republican advocates as there is one good southern hero.
-Brown helped the Civil War, made ppl realize slavery is real bad. Government starts showing more interest: Union (N). Confederates (S)

These movements further ignited the abolitionist movement and opposition (disagreement from N and S leads to Civil War)

Question 32

Plessy v. Ferguson

Answer 32

Upheld the “Separate but equal” Jim Crow laws that are in line with the 14th Amendment. As long as both separate groups would get the same equal treatment
(this stopped at Brown v. Board of Education).

Question 33

Polarization in Congress**

important topic

Answer 33

Referring this back to the article of “tech nerds” and the graph that show the polarization throughout the years

Question 34

Primary Elections

Answer 34

The elections in which no one votes? and also generally legislation is tested out (i.e. Marco Rubio’s GOP attempt to do something about immigrants although they didn’t really want to.

-A primary election is a preliminary election where political candidates to run for their party are selected.

• Closed primaries: only party members can vote
• Open primaries: all voters may cast a vote on a ballot of any party.
• Party may require members to express support to the party’s values and pay a small contribution to the costs of the primary. (fundraisers)

Question 35

Shared Federalism (as opposed to dual federalism)

Answer 35

Shared Federalism (marble cake). So shared power of both the govt. and states. New Federalism (Nixon) gives states more power over the govt. in their respective states. (10th amendment - reserved powers). Basically  if it doesn;t mention that Congress has to do it the state can do it individually (ex. marriage laws)
relates to the whole part of Elastic clause.

Question 36

Shays’ Rebellion **

Answer 36

• 1786 and 1787 Massachusettes by American farmers against state and local enforcement of tax collections and judgments for debt
• Revolutionary War Tax
• Government protects the wealthy
• Government uses legal system to tax farmers

Question 37

Skocpol and Hertel-Fernandez’s argument about “how the right trounced liberals in the states”

Answer 37

“Conservatives have mastered the art of cross-state policy advocacy, while liberal efforts have fizzled. Skocpol and Hertel-Fernandez trace historical changes in conservative organizational strategy and argue that liberal organizations have failed to keep up in Democracy Journal”

Question 38

Ta-Nehisi Coates’ argument in favour of reparations for black Americans

Answer 38

Red Lining article about how black people once again struggled to start living life as they were denied from the housing market.
Majority black neighborhoods would identified through a grading system (A-D)

Black people because from birth they would be at a disadvantaged.

Incarceration (record keeping is stronger and impacts these black communities even stronger)

• Something more than moral pressure calls America to reparations. We cannot escape our history.
• “The reason black people are so far behind now is not because of now,” Clyde Ross told me. “It’s because of then.”

Question 39

Voting Rights Act

Answer 39

LBJ (R) did it (1965) and Civil Acts Right (1964)

• End of literacy tests, poll taxes, grandfather clauses
• Federal Officers present when voting to protect black voters
• States had to obtain clearance from Justice Dept. before being able to change election laws.
• Movie Selma (LBJ portrayed unfairly because he actually wanted to help) also colour TV so people saw the senseless acts of violence against these people.
• Increased voter turnout due to new black voters
• # of black elected officials increased

Question 40

David Robert’s argument for why “tech nerds don’t understand politics” Decline of parties (1900-1980)

Answer 40

Nerds need to not look at Politics from a bad stance. They should be informed and actively involved.

• Environmental policies are considered to be in these “extreme zones” when really we know these zones are not extreme.
• Polarization is not assimilated (GOP is moving further to the right).
• There is no moderate middle.

Question 41

Spanish-American War (1898)

Answer 41

America wants to build their own empire so starts taking in territories overseas.

• Mexican Independence (Mexican territory later on becomes American states)
• Buffalo Soldier (Negro Cavalry)
• Beginning of US immigration from Philipines, Puerto Rico, Cuba (puppet regime- the Las Vegas for American Businesses) etc.
• Rise of Industrialism/Dominance
• Imperialism of military conquest and political diplomacy.
• “exceeding courage, honor, valor, and distinction in a field that was dominated by Whites and persevered despite endemic racism and prejudice” (black people try to be accepted into society by doing these types of things- and also sending the less worthy people)b