PAC Exam 2 Flashcards
What was the title of Tocqueville’s piece?
Democracy in America
French political philosopher who did a tour of America and gave his perspective on democracy
Tocqueville
Believed the strengths of America were: popular sovereignty, civic associations and religion, individualism, equality, and liberty
Tocqueville
love of equality is the most prominent feature of American democracy, the benefits of equality are more obvious than the benefits of liberty; ideally equality and liberty need to be balanced; the goal is to be equal and free
Tocqueville
What piece did Niebuhr write?
Christ and Culture
Believed Christ was crucified and raised from the dead, Christians accept him as their authority; Culture is the social life of humanity, the environment created by humans
Niebuhr
Niebuhr’s three ways in which Christians seek to live under Christ while being in culture
- Opposition to culture (Christ against culture)
- Agreement between Christ and Culture (Christ of culture)
- Combinations that incorporates insights from both views (Christ above culture)
What piece did Wells write?
The Courage to be a Protestant
What were Wells main points?
- critique of the modernized world and individualism
- postmodernism is characterized by skepticism, subjectivism, and suspicion of reason
- culture has turned away from meaning and objective truth
- the center is lost: no purpose to life, no absolute truth, God dies we die
What piece did Postman write?
Amusing Ourselves to Death
What piece did Woodrow Wilson write?
The New Freedom
What were Wilson’s main points in the New Freedom?
- progressives want to escape the American founding
- advocacy for more expansive government and regulation of markets
- state is increasingly seen as an agent for improvising human welfare
- the president should lead the movement
- government laws are “living” and need to change to adapt
What piece did Franklin Roosevelt write?
State of the Union Message to Congress
What did Roosevelt call for?
A New Deal (program to bring positive end)
What were some of Roosevelt’s main points?
- social justice calls for bigger government to help those who have been affected by the depression
- negative rights keep the government away but positive rights are needed to ensure more equality in society
- economic bill of rights: right to jobs, food, decent home, healthcare, etc.
What did Stanton write?
Declaration of Moral Sentiments
What was the Declaration of Moral Sentiments?
1848 document outlining the rights women should be entitled to as citizens; based on the Declaration of Independence, asserts the equality of men and women; facts illustration oppression: lack of property rights, lack of education, etc.
What did Friedan write?
The National Organization for Women’s 1966 Statement of Purpose
What was the National Organization for Women’s 1966 Statement of Purpose?
- Second wave of feminism, more of a shift to equality of outcome
- shift from focus on legal and political rights to focus on concerns about sexuality, narrowing the wage gap, healthcare, etc.
What did Ronald Reagan write?
A Time for Choosing
What does A Time for Choosing outline?
- advocates for popular sovereignty and smaller government
- expanding and over centralized government is a problem
- need of a free and competitive market
- taxes are too high and are wasteful
- strong US leadership in foreign affairs
What did Kirk write?
Ten Conservative Principles
Conservatives believe in a fixed moral order; human nature is permanent and moral truths are constant; stay with principles of convention, continuity, and custom; look at what has stood the test of time, change can be necessary
Kir’s Ten Conservative Principles
What piece did Murray N. Rothbard write?
For a New Liberty
Libertarian view of government, very negative view of the State; Libertarians seek to limit government in all areas of life
Rothbard’s For A New Liberty
What year was the Dred Scott v. Sanford case?
1857
What were the facts about the Dred Scott case?
Dred Scott was a slave in Missouri, brought to Illinois for 10 years, slavery in Illinois forbidden by Missouri Compromise, filed suit for freedom
What was the question in the Dred Scott case?
Wad Dred Scott free or slave?
What was the decision in the Dred Scott case?
No, Dred Scott is not free
What were the arguments in the Dred Scott case?
Majority said he couldn’t be a citizen or sue and slaves were property under the fifth amendment and that the Missouri compromise was unconstitutional
Lincoln’s Dred Scott Speech said what?
- Blacks are being treated worse now than when the constitution was written
- Declaration of Independence established a principle of freedom that this decision goes against
What did Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address say?
- Lincoln gives praise for the fallen and advice for the living
- the US has to stand as a country where all men are created equal and should be treated as equals
What Amendments were part of the Civil War Reconstruction?
13th, 14th, 15th
What was the 13th Amendment?
Abolished slavery in the entire United States
What was the 14th Amendment?
States shall not deprive anybody of life, liberty, or property without due process of the law, nor deny any person equal protection of the laws
What was the 15th Amendment?
Right to vote can’t be denied based on race
What year was the Plessy v. Ferguson case?
1896
What were the facts from the Plessy v. Ferguson case?
Louisiana enacted separate car act segregating railway cars, Homer Plessy challenged the act for violating the 13th and 14th amendments
What was the question from Plessy v. Ferguson?
Does the separate car act violate the 14th amendment?
What was the decision in the Plessy v. Ferguson case?
No, the state law is constitutional
What was the argument in the Plessy v. Ferguson case?
Segregation does not in itself constitute unlawful discrimination, separate but equal doctrine
What year was Brown vs. Board of Education?
1954
What were the facts from Brown v. Board of Education?
Schools were denying African Americans admission based on laws segregating students by race, challenged on violating 14th amendment
What was the question from Brown v. Board of Education
Does segregation based on race violate the 14th amendment?
What was the decision on Brown v. Board of Education?
Yes, segregation violates the 14th amendment
What were the arguments from Brown v. Board of Education?
Unanimous decision, separate but equal is inherently unequal violating the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment, segregation based on race instilled a sense of inferiority that was detrimental
King’s Letter from the Birmingham Jail - Why was he in jail?
He was peacefully protesting
What does King’s letter say?
- He responds to the injustice that is happening, advocates for direct action
- peaceful protests are a necessary action based on current conditions
- the church should shape culture instead of just reflecting culture
- just laws must apply to everyone equally, have in put from those possibly affected, and not degrade human dignity
- believed laws can be just on its face but still be applied unjustly
What year was the Heart of Atlanta Motel vs. United States?
1964
What were the facts from Heart of Atlanta?
Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 forbid racial discrimination by places of public accommodation, motel was racially discriminating
What were the questions from Heart of Atlanta?
Did congress exceed its commerce powers by depriving places of public accommodation of the right to choose their customers?
What was the decision of Heart of Atlanta?
No, government can keep motel from discriminating based on race
What were the arguments from Heart of Atlanta?
Congress has the power to do this because it has an impact on interstate commerce because most of the business to the motel came from outside of the state
What were the facts from Fisher vs. University of Texas?
Fisher applied to University of Texas and was denied admission, the university used race as a consideration in admissions decisions and Fisher challenged this as unconstitutional
What was the question for fisher vs university of texas
Does the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment allow the consideration of race in undergraduate admissions decisions?
What was the decision in Fisher vs. University of Texas?
Yes, the 14th Amendment allows this
What were the arguments for Fisher vs. University of Texas?
Compelling state interest and educational diversity is a compelling interest as long as it is a concrete and precise goal. “strict security”
What did Jefferson’s letter to the Danbury Baptists say?
- religion is a matter that lies between man and his God
- “no law respecting or establishment of religion”
- build a wall of separation between church and state
What were the facts from Lee v. Weisman?
Principal invited rabbi to speak at school graduation, Weisman’s daughter graduating and he sued
What was the question from Lee v. Weisman?
Does this violate the establishment clause of the 1st amendment?
What was the decision from Lee v. Weisman?
Yes, the prayers violate the establishment clause
What were the arguments for Lee vs. Weisman?
School-sponsored graduation prayers are like creating a state-sponsored religion, proscribing prayer for students, school is creating subtle and direct coercion.
On Liberty - Mill’s Main Points
- always allow free speech and unpopular opinions
- first the unpopular opinion may be right
- second, if the opinion is wrong, refuting it will allow people to better understand their own opinions
what were the facts from Texas v. Johnson?
Greg Johnson burned an American flag to protest Reagan Administration, tried under Texas law that outlawed this, sentenced but then appealed
Question from Texas v. Johnson?
Is the desecration of American Flag protected under 1st Amendment?
Decision from Texas v. Johnson?
Yes, Johnson’s flag burning is protected under the 1st amendment
What were the arguments from Texas v. Johnson?
Symbolic speech with political purpose protected by 1st amendment, government can’t prohibit an action just because the public finds it offensive
What did the Sedition Act say
- limits on freedom of speech
- made it a crime for Americans to “print, utter, or publish any false, scandalous, and malicious writing against the government”
- relationship between freedom and security
What were the facts from Obergefell vs. Hodges?
States had laws that banned same sex marriage, couples argued that this violated due process clause and equal protection clause of 14th amendment
What were the questions from Obergefell v. Hodges?
Are states required to license same sex marraige? Are states required to recognize marriages from other states?
What was the Obergefell v Hodges decision?
States are required to license and recognize same sex marriage
What were the arguments from Obergefell v Hodges
Majority said 14th Amendment due process clause protects the right to marry as a fundamental liberty because it is inherent to the concept of individual autonomy. Also, the equal protection clause protects marriage
what were the facts of Roe v Wade?
Texas had a law restricting abortion to protect the mother’s health and the fetus. Jane Roe argued that state laws violate her right to privacy
What was the question in Roe v wade?
Does the constitution recognize right to abortion?
What was the decision from Roe V Wade?
Abortion is a right and is protected by the constitution
What were the arguments from Roe vs. Wade?
Due process clause of 14th amendment implies a right to privacy that protects choice, states can’t broadly prohibit abortion, no regulations from states within first trimester
What were the facts in the Dobbs vs Jackson Women’s Heatlh Organization?
Mississippi passed a law which prohibits all abortions after 15 weeks, caused controversy because the Supreme Court precedent prohibits states from banning abortions prior to viability
What was the question in the Dobbs case?
Is the Mississippi law on abortion unconstitutional?
What was the answer on the Dobbs case?
No, the Mississippi law is constitutional?
What were the arguments in the Dobbs case?
Overturned Roe, the Constitution does not confer right to abortion, the Constitution does not mention abortion, nor is the right rooted in the nation’s history and is not an essential component of ordered liberty
Postman argues (in Amusing Ourselves to Death) TV is not just an influence on our culture, but in some ways IS our culture
True
Postman (in Amusing Ourselves to Death) argues the Lincoln-Douglas debates were unsophisticated compared to modern political rhetoric
False
Postman (in Amusing Ourselves to Death) believes the “peek-a-boo” culture really began with the inventions of the photograph and the telegraph
True
Postman believes the contemporary American culture is more like what Orwell described in 1984
False
Postman believes the dominant mode of communication (oral, written, or visual) has a dramatic influence on how the culture perceives truth and authority
True
Cultures based on the written word tend to value argument and reason, while cultures build around visual communication value appearance and emotion
True
The transition to a visual culture went in this order: books/text –> photograph –> radio –> television/image
False
Postman believes television favors action and movement, so it struggles to portray thinking
True
Postman sees tv news as the one part of television that has largely remained factual and informative
False
Postman thinks religion, especially Christianity, is hard, doctrinal, and complex, which makes it a poor fit for tv portrayals
True
Politicians are essentially sold as products in a television culture, They veer toward slogans and simplicity and way from complexity and nuance
True
TV, for all its flaws, at least adequately prepares voters as they attempt to hold politicians responsible for their actions
False
Television has had a significant impact on education by conditioning students to require entertainment in the classroom – according to Postman
True
Wilson argues that America’s attachment to its founding documents is one of its strengths
False
For progressives, liberty, not equality, appears to be the key political value
False
Roosevelt sees rightly in largely economic, as opposed to legal terms
true
Wilson argues that constitutional limits on the powers of the presidency must be rigidly adhered to
False
Reagan shows a significant disconnect between himself and America’s Founders
False
Reagan emphasizes bigger government as the solution to the most significant problems that confront us
False
For Russell Kirk and his Ten Conservative Principles, human nature is a constant, unchanging aspect of political reality
True
Russell Kirk, in his Ten Conservative Principles, resists change of all sorts
False
In Rothbard’s For A New Liberty, he attempt to equate individual and governmental morality, thereby arguing what is immoral for one ought to be immoral for the other
True
Rothbard thinks ALL organizations are coercive, so governments are not meaningfully different from corporations or other entities
False
The Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the Missouri Compromise in the Dred Scott case
False
According to Abraham Lincoln in his Dred Scott Speech, the Declaration of Independence did not intend to declare each and every person free in every respect at that time, but rather to establish a principle of freedom
True
The Dred Scott v Sanford decision ruled that African Americans were included in the Declaration of Independence and that the Founders intended them to become citizens
False
King saw white Chrisrtians as an asset in his struggle
False
King believed laws could be just on their face but still be applied unjustly
true
King, in Letter from Birmingham Jail, believed that…
the church should shape culture as opposed to reflecting culture
In King’s Letter, he argues that to be just, laws must….
- apply to everyone equally
- be made using the input of people potentially affected
- not degrade human dignity
In Lee v Weisman, The Supreme Court determined that ____ are ___ because _____>
school sponsored prayers are unconstitutional because they are psychologically coercive
Jefferson thinks that government and religion must work together for the good of the country
True
In Lee vs. Weisman, the Supreme Court determined that prayer in a public school graduation violates the US Constiution’s Establishment Clause
True
Thomas Jefferson’s letter to the Danbury Baptists claims that government can regulate religious beliefs, but not actions
False
Mill thinks that if even one person holds a contrary opinion, the majority should not coerce that person to change their mind or suppress their freedom of speech
True
In Texas v Johnson, the Supreme Court determined that the state can punish people for burning an American flag without violating their free speech rights
False
In “On Liberty”, J.S. Mills urges governments to determine what is true or false before they punish some forms of speech
False
Mill argues that the best path toward truth is to allow all opinions to be challenged and questioned. Therefore, government should stay away as much as possible from defining or limiting speech.
True
According to the majority opinion in Texas v Johnson, only spoken words, and not actions, qualify as “speech” according to the First. Amendment
False
Chief Justice Rehnquist, in his dissenting opinion in Texas v Johson, reasons that burning the flag is not clearly articulating in a political point of view because the flag is a national symbol, not connected to any part or idea. Therefore, Johnson’s action could be punished because it was not a very political statement, but more like a “grunt”
True
In Roe, the Supreme Court decided that Texas
all of the above
As of Roe V Wade, women have the right to an abortion no matter what time of the pregnancy or the reason for the abortion
False
In Roe V Wade, Texas tried to restrict abortion to protect the mother’s health and to protect the fetus
True
In Obergefell v. Hodges, the Supreme Court decided states must recognize same-sex marriages becuase arguments to the contrary are unreasonable and deserve no place in modern society
False
Justice Kennedy, in Obergefell, reasons that requiring same-sex marriages be recognized legally will protect children an strengthen families
True
In his dissenting opinion, Chief Justic Roberts reasons that by requiring states to recognize same-sex marriage, the Supreme Court has improperly obstructed our reprsentative form of government
True
Which political ideology seeks to limit government intrusion in all areas of life?
libertarian
