US GOVERNMENT

Obergefell v. Hodges

Legalized same sex marriage federally

Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act

Made it easier for women to sue for unfair treatment or wages

Confederation congress

National legislative body formed by the Articles of Confederation; needed unanimous approval from states for Article amendments

Democracy

People have the power to rule; direct democracy involves voting and making all decisions; indirect democracy or a republic have elected officials to manage democractic system; representative democracy; all people should hold power regardless of class or wealth

Monarchy

Ruled by one person; absolute monarchy is equal power, constitutional monarchy limits their power

Plessy vs. Ferguson

Separate but equal; Homer Plessy, a mixed race man, protested these laws by sitting in the "whites only" section of a train. He was arrested immediately, and in 1896, his case was heard before the Supreme Court. The Court ruled that the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment did not protect Plessy. According to the Court, it was acceptable for African Americans to be required to sit separately from white people as long as the part of the train designated for African Americans was "equal" to the sections reserved for whites.

Before the 20th century:

Women couldn't vote, only property owners could vote, and representatives were only elected 2 years per term

US Court of Appeals

-13 courts in 12 circuits; review decision of district courts; no jury trials -Can be remanded for retrial to uphold lower court decision -Only reviews lower court's records for fairness reassurance

District courts

-94; general trial courts with judge/jury; original jurisdiction -Generally determine liability (civil cases) or guilt or innocence (criminal cases) of a defendant

Campaign spending

-Buckley vs. Valeo: spending on political campaigns was a First Amendment-protected activity by drawing a distinction between money given and money spent on campaigns; Congress may not regulate the amount of money spent by candidates on their campaigns because this restriction violated their First Amendment rights; when candidates contribute to themselves, corruption is not a likely concern, but when outside groups contribute to a candidate, there is potential for corruption; for this reason, the court clarified that outside groups such as for-profit corporations and unions may have their spending on political campaigns restricted; however, the Court also argued that political advertisements were a form of speech and therefore constitutionally protected speech, so spending for political advertisements was not restricted; -Independent expenditures: political advertisement ruled protected by the First Amendment -Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission: independent expenditures; allows any organization or individual the right to participate in elections by sponsoring independent communications, or any type of political communication that is not coordinated with a candidate or party, but it also opened the door for future court rulings that would influence the way interest groups and others could participate politically; decision affected campaign legislation the most -Issue ads: seek to persuade the public to a position -Electioneering communications: persuade the public to vote for or against a candidate or issue; must be targeted for a specific purpose by using language such as, "vote for," "vote against," "defeat," or "support," and must run within sixty days of a general election, or thirty days before a primary election -SpeechNow vs. Federal Election Commission: struck down McCain-Feingold's limit for independent expenditures to groups so long as it does not "directly coordinate with a candidate"; Court reasoned that independent expenditures can't corrupt -Super PACs: technically independent, expenditure-only committees;" regulations allow super PACs to spend unlimited amounts of money for issue advocacy so long as they follow the reporting and disclosure requirements; since these are independent expenditures, this differs from contributions from corporations and other groups that are not allowed to provide independent expenditures -Social Welfare Organization: must "be operated exclusively to promote social welfare, an organization must operate primarily to further the common good and general welfare of the people of the community (such as by bringing about civic betterment and social improvements)"; able to protect the anonymity for their large donors; anonymity of undisclosed large individual or corporate donors creates the conditions for the cynicism of many who fear the implications of the Citizens United decision; Citizens United allows interest groups as well as others to even become more politically active; social welfare organizations allow individuals or groups to spend money on advocacy of any issue, partisan or not; they do not have the stringent reporting requirements that PACs and super PACs have; orgs can give unlimited amounts to political ads -Dark money: unreported or underreported funds received by social welfare organizations; when they use dark money, they must only report the disclosure of who donated the funds for issue ads, independent expenditures, or electioneering communications, disclose contributors for independent expenditures, relax electioneering communications reporting for unions and corporations, and not to itemize many of the expenditures they're required to report

County governments

-Derive their authority from their state governments; usually, counties are governed by a board of elected officials known as a commission or council -Registering to vote

Executive branch

-Enforces laws -President, VP, and cabinet (secretaries of 15 departments/agencies)

BOR 10

-I. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. -II. A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. -III. No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law. -IV. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. -V. No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation. -VI. In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defense. -VII. In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, then according to the rules of the common law. -VIII. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. -IX. The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. -X. The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people. -Amendments 1, 2, 4, and 5 protect rights; Founders wanted these inalienable to ensure citizens could remain educated and informed -Reconstruction amendments: 13, 14, 15; post-Civil War -14th Amendment: 1868; ensured implementation of BOR after slavery abolition; privileges/immunities clause protects all citizens' privileges/immunities from states; equal protection clause (both clauses affecting marriage freedoms); states can't deny citizenship; Brown vs. BOE

Other political ideologies

-Libertarianism: Locke; Libertarians believe that all people should be left free to exercise their rights to life, liberty, and property to the greatest extent possible so long as they do not infringe upon the rights of others; govt should exist only to protect these rights and should do nothing more; most libertarians would say that government's only functions should be to maintain a police force to protect life, liberty, and property and a small army to protect the United States from invasion by foreign countries; other libertarians believe that the government should maintain roads and bridges to enable people to exercise their right to do business and acquire property; believe justifying taxation to the extent that it is necessary to maintain the basic scope of government outlined above; think that, aside from its security function, the government should not interfere in people's lives for any reason; some take a more extreme stance by arguing that all taxation amounts to theft, in their view, which means that the government should not give assistance to the poor or regulate businesses to ensure that no selling of unsafe products, or that workers receive a minimum wage; libertarians believe the influence of market forces naturally controls dangerous or unethical practices and becomes a self-correcting mechanism, voiding the need for most laws and government regulations; the government has no right to regulate business activities, provide social safety nets, or monitor how we use our bodies, so long as those involved are consenting adults and the events are not detrimental to others -Progressivism: Falls in the liberal tradition of positive freedom; describes both a philosophy and a social movement; progressives believe that human society can and should improve by promoting economic and social equality; US progressivism developed as a reform movement to better society and to improve the lives of poor people; industrialization left the poor open to exploitation; as production processes became mechanized, work became unskilled and workers easily replaceable; mechanization limited their liberty to leave a place of employment to find better wages and working conditions elsewhere; it also made possible the replacement of adult labor by the labor of children, who were paid less; the growth of factories led to the growth of cities where underpaid workers lived in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions; increased mechanization and unsanitary living and working conditions led to high rates of injury and disease among the working poor; realizing that substantial changes could not take place without the support of government, American progressives sought to pass laws to provide compensation for injured workers, ban child labor, clean streets, and ensure the quality of food and medicine; Roosevelt; modern liberalism has incorporated many of the ideas of progressivism, such as advocating for programs to assist the poor, legislation to protect consumers, and regulations to improve workplace safety; today, many modern liberals even prefer to call themselves "progressives" -Populism: began as a rural version of the progressive movement; not an ideology but a style of political discourse that appeals to the values and fears of everyday people as opposed to those of wealthy, educated elites; establishment of the Populist Party (also known as the People's Party), in the United States grew out of farmers' movements to curb the power of banks and railroads in the late nineteenth century; called for, among other things, government ownership of telegraph and telephone systems and railroads, an eight-hour day for workers, a graduated income tax, the direct election of U.S. senators and the president, and the use of the initiative and the referendum to pass legislation; initiatives allow those not in office to propose legislation; referendums allow people to vote directly for proposed legislation; also supported calls for the free coinage of silver, which would have indirectly reduced the money that debtors needed to repay; the Populist Party was short-lived, but populist discourse remains an essential part of American politics as both Democrats and Republicans employ populist rhetoric and claim that they, not their political opponents, represent the interests of ordinary people; democrats appeal to populist rhetoric when they denounce Republicans as caring only for millionaires and big business; famous American populists include William Jennings Bryan, Theodore Roosevelt, Huey P. Long, Father Coughlin, and William La Follette, Sr. After taking office in 2007 as Vermont's Senator, Bernie Sanders

Conditions for executive orders

-Must receive an opinion from the director of the Office and Management Budget as to its compliance with the federal budget -Must receive an opinion from the attorney general regarding its constitutionality and confirming that it does not conflict with existing law -If OMB and the attorney general approve the executive order, it must be entered into the Federal Registrar -Congress can refuse to provide the funds necessary to enforce an executive order; also has the authority to pass laws that oppose executive orders and counter the president's power

Impeachment process

-Started by HOR, voting to accuse president of a specific wrongdoing -Senate serves as a jury and decides guilt/innocence

Filibustering

-The Senate tradition of unlimited debate undertaken for the purpose of preventing action on a bill -3/5 of Senate have to vote for cloture and then debate

Voting

-Voter participation measured through VAPs and VEPs -Voting age population or VAP: ratio of those who voted divided by the total population 18 years of age and older. This group includes all people living in the United States including non-citizens and disenfranchised citizens -Eligible voting population (VEP) and is the ratio between those who participated in an election divided by the total number of those who are likely to vote. In other words, all citizens who are legally permitted to vote. -Voter apathy is the lack of interest by many in the electorate to vote or participate in any other political activity; lack of coherent political knowledge and dislike the political process are two of the major reasons for voter apathy -Millennials, people of color, and unmarried women comprise the rising American electorate.

Foreign policy

-War of 1812 set the US's path for expansionary foreign policy -1823 Monroe's Doctrine: helped the United States become the foremost power on the American continents; broadly stated that European powers would neither colonize nor meddle in the affairs of countries and territories in the Western hemisphere; three prongs (separate spheres of influence, non-colonization, and non-intervention) and Manifest Destiny, which championed the nation's goal to procure additional land and occupy all of the North American continents from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean -1941 Bretton Woods agreements: established the international institutions of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund; would become the backbone for international economic security by providing financing vehicles that countries could change currency, loan money, and have standard units of payment; NATO established a cooperative military alliance between the United States and Western European countries as a means of stopping Soviet expansion into Western Europe; these two positions dominated American policymakers' perspectives until the collapse of the Soviet empire in 1990; the Presidential doctrines from Truman to Reagan centered on containing communism around the world -1991 NAFTA, GATT, and WTO meant for prevention of mass atrocities and to prevent genocides -9/11 and Bush doctrine: may be summed by the following; preemption, unilateralism and regime change; the Bush Doctrine was an extremely aggressive approach to foreign policy that included "enhanced" interrogation techniques, secret renditions of prisoners to foreign countries, and military detentions and tribunals away from federal courts where prisoners had a measure of due process; Bush doctrine encompassed preemption, unilateralism, and the expansion of freedom -Bush doctrine: containment deemphasized in favor of preemption, which argues that when dealing with terrorists and threatening organizations, it may be necessary to attack first; the United States needs to stop terrorists before they have the opportunity to do harm to the United States; if necessary, the Bush Doctrine advocated for unilateralism or acting alone in the world to fight terrorism; to achieve the nation's foreign policy goals to fight terrorism, the Bush Doctrine promoted diplomacy while beginning new military bases around the world, advancing defense technology, and increasing intelligence collections; Doctrine argued that the United States has a responsibility to promote freedom and the protection of human dignity around the world by encouraging things such as the rule of law, freedom of religion, and respect for women; advocated for the United States to encourage economic growth around the world through capitalism with free markets and free trade. -2016 Obama Doctrine: selective application of past doctrines; Obama combined neoliberal multilateralism that emphasized cooperation and collaboration coupled with the continuation of certain elements of the Bush Doctrine; president Obama has used special forces and drones to attack suspected terrorist targets around the world when cooperation and collaboration failed to achieve the desired goals -Isolationism: a foreign policy approach that resists involvement in faraway wars and engagement in permanent military coalitions -Internationalism supports active involvement in engagements that seek to obtain political freedom and ensure the territorial borders of other nations -Containment is a foreign policy limiting a terrorist threat to its geographic area overseas and not in our nation -United States Agency for International Development (USAID), an independent agency of the federal government, distributes various forms of developmental aid throughout the world such as infrastructure, food programs, and economic development programs

Republic

A form of government in which is built on a constitution; separates gov into branches; combats political corruption; elected representatives make and enforce laws

Which statement most closely describes how the Fourteenth Amendment makes the protections of the Bill of Rights applicable to the states by incorporating them into state law?

BOR must apply to the states; it nationalizes or equalizes rights through the 14th Amendment

States' rights and federalism

Broad powers to states in 10th Amendment; reserves for the states, or to the people, all powers not enumerated for the federal government unless those powers are expressly forbidden to the states

14th Amendment

Civil War; no state can deny privileges and immunities of a citizen; due process and limited ability of states to deny legal rights; all are equally protected under the law -For example, if a state has a law that requires that all residents of the state who graduate from a public high school with at least a 3.5 GPA be given free tuition at a state college or university, a student who meets these criteria cannot be denied free tuition if other students who meet the same criteria are given free tuition.

Enumerated powers

Coin money, collect taxes, regulate interstate commerce, raise and support armies

Requirements for president

Must be 35+, resident of US at least 14 yrs, and a natural born citizen

Federal agencies

-"The Fed," which regulates banks and the money supply, is an example of an independent agency; the president appoints a chair for four years, and people known as governors for fourteen-year terms; once these individuals assume their positions, the president cannot remove them -Congress has no authority over the agency beyond the ability to rewrite the legislation that created it in the first place -The Fed directs the nation's monetary policy; lowering interest rates during a recession to release money into the economy and by raising interest rates during times of inflation to contract the money supply -Other independent agencies include CIA, National Endowment of the Arts, and National Science Foundation

Iron Triangle

-A close relationship between an lobbyists, public officials, and interest groups -Interest groups seek congressional support by lobbying and electoral support from Congress and pressure public officials to pass legislation furthering their agenda -Lobbyists directly contact elected officials and lobby administration officials to pressure the officials in the iron triangle -Revolving door: former government officials who become lobbyists or work for the industries they used to regulate and then they return to work in government or run for office, then return to the private sectors they used to regulate; the revolving door advantages lobbyists by making it easier for them to access public officials over average citizens; it creates problems for Congress in its attempts to regulate lobbying activities because it obscures the line between lobbying and other forms of contact; many lobbyists are former colleagues of current public officials so if a former congressional staffer and a current one -Political Action Committees: PACs; solicit money privately and spend it in ways, such as for political advertisements, that influence political campaigns as well as legislation; many interest groups have PACs, that act as their financial arm, raise money and contribute to candidates' campaigns; donations are usually made to incumbents, regardless of party, who have a record of supporting their positions; the NRA, for instance, does not care if a candidate is a Democrat or a Republican, liberal or conservative; its PAC will contribute to whoever has a record of voting in favor of less regulation of guns

Modern liberalism

-A ritique of classical liberal thought in 1800s; reacted to the economic and social conditions that classical liberalism refused to, or could not, address; social and economic inequality produced political inequality -Modern liberalism emphasizes positive freedom or liberty which utilizes the power of the state to provide for equality of outcomes as a means of ensuring freedom and promoting; modern liberals critiqued the alienation and atomization produced by industrialization in the United States and Great Britain during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, societies in which all people are legally free but felt isolated and disadvantaged; favor govt intervention in regulating businesses and strong use of government intervention to support rights for disadvantaged groups, but restrict the use of government in regulating social behavior -Positive liberty advocates contend that true freedom and equality are fictions if people have no practical opportunities for a better life; they argued without access to such things as quality public education, the chance for a living wage job, or access to health care; people are stuck in the chains of their societies; for example, Franklin D. Roosevelt and his New Deal; modern liberals argue the best way to achieve equality and freedom is a more expansive role for government, precisely because society is no longer as simple as it once was; our modern, complex economy produces market failures that have as much potential to deprive individuals of their "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" as does government itself; further, proponents of modern liberalism believe the corporate power to be as threatening to individual liberty as a state power, so the state must regulate private affairs to (1) protect individuals from harm caused by others, and (2) maintain a framework where individuals can freely choose for themselves their lives as they would like to live -American/modern conservatives: place the individual, political equality, freedom, economic innovation, and limited government at the center of their belief system; some refer to conservatives in the United States as classic liberal conservatives because their beliefs resemble those of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries; American conservatives promote citizens' freedom to pursue their self-interests in the marketplace; believe the best way to encourage the American public interest is for individuals to follow their private economic interests, a belief that places them squarely in the liberal tradition, but they reject New Deal positive liberalism; American conservatives do share some classic conservative views such as a reverence for American tradition including publicly acknowledging religion, law and order, and social duties and obligations; restrict govt intervention in the economy and favor the use of strong govt for regulation of behavior

Federal judicial systems

-Article III created them -Article I Section 8 gave Congress power to create lower courts -State constitutions give states power to create their own judicial systems -Federal jurisdiction:

Bureaucratic regulatory function

-Bureaucracy administers the laws and policies through regulations, which can be defined as an official statement of how something is supposed to be done -Regulates federal tax code and IRS, workplace safety and OSHA -Bureaucracy does not make laws, as only Congress has the authority to do so; bureaucracy does effectively make law through its rule-making function; the basis for this is the delegation of authority -When Congress passes a law, it delegates authority to the department or agency that will be responsible for implementing that law; in other cases, the president may delegate authority to an agency -Preparing and enforcing regulations; may not give the agencies authority that violates the Constitution or goes beyond the statutory authority granted by Congress or the executive authority delegated by the president; simply specifies how the agencies will carry out directives from Congress and the president -Regulation is reviewed/debated; then given to Congress and Government Accountability Office

Bureaucracy's 6 major principles

-Bureaucratic organizations have a formal hierarchical structure -Written rules guide the bureaucracy's activities -Those working in bureaucracies are specialists; organized based on the skills they possess and the type of work they do -To be hired to work for a bureaucracy, one must have technical qualifications -The bureaucracy has a clear mission -The bureaucracy functions in an impersonal manner, treating everyone equally -Federal bureaucracy's structure and functions are ongoing regardless of which political party is in power; do not change significantly as a result of elections -15 Cabinet groups -The bureaucracy in the executive branch enables the president and Congress to carry out functions of government

Government-owned corporations

-CPB: public television; much of the funding for these stations comes from viewer and listener donations; Congress also contributes a sizable portion of the financing through an appropriation to the CPB; while the government funds much of the enterprise, the CPB's independence from the executive branch enables the corporation to do news stories that may be critical of the government -NPR: public radio

Proportional representational systems

-Citizens who belong to more radical parties, or to parties with special interests that differ from those of the major parties, can vote for candidates whose political views closely match theirs; socialists in most European countries thus can vote for a socialist candidate and know that there preferred representative has a reasonable chance of election to office -4 choices of socialists: vote for one of the very small socialist parties in the United States if these parties even field candidates; if a socialist runs as an independent, they can vote for this candidate, but the likelihood of election is minimal for either the socialist party or the independent candidate; they can vote for the Democratic candidates, who moderately support social justice issues but in ways that disagree with most socialists; or they can forgo voting altogether; proportional representation systems overcome this preferred-choice dilemma -Multiparty systems tend to have more stable platforms, are referred to as the responsible-party model, and are more common in parliamentary systems; in the responsible-party model, issues are primary, and candidates are secondary; planks in the party platforms tend not to shift according to changing voter preferences; instead, voter preference affects whether the party gains or loses votes making them more ideological -When people contribute money to the responsible-party model, they help to parties; party leaders, not primary elections choose the candidates who run on behalf of the party; a candidate is merely a spokesperson for the party; stable parties refer to the responsible-party model; usually, the person who would be prime minister is the leader of the party, and the only way he or she became party leader was by working up the ranks and demonstrating loyalty; officeholders who challenge the party leadership or buck party ideology may face displacement from the ballot in the next election; in the responsible-party model, then, party discipline tends to be tight; political parties can be more ideological because there are more of them; parties would rather lose an election than compromise on principles, but even a strongly ideological party is still likely to have seats, also if there are fewer of them -Proportional representational systems (PR) tend to be party-centric; can be wide variation in the performance of a PR system depending on whether the country uses open or closed candidate lists; open lists allow voters to choose candidates directly, whereas closed list elections voters select a party and the party officials will select the candidates and the order the representatives on the ballot -Advantages of PR system: allow multiple views to have seats in the legislature because the seats are proportioned according to the distribution of votes the parties receive; diminish regionalism, or the ability of one region to dominate others; allows for power sharing of minority views that cannot exist in two-party-dominant systems -Disadvantages of PR system: its weak connection to voters in closed-list systems; entrenched relationships within the party do not allow for new leadership; extremist parties are often elected to office, weak governing coalitions and gridlock

Classical liberals vs. classical conservatives

-Classical liberals: individualistic; uses and embraces reason; optimistic, has positive outlook, and is forward thinking; rejects tradition if it interferes with changes necessary for a just society; comfortable with rapid social changes to accomplish goals; believes in a limited government where religion is a choice -Classical conservatism: sees society as organic skeptical of reason; pessimistic, have a negative outlook and is backward thinking; reveres tradition thinks a change should be slow, gradual, and ordered believes in strong institutions including religion to maintain society

Elections

-Closed primary elections: most states; only members of a party can vote in that party's primary -Open primary elections: one can vote for whoever regardless of their registered political party -Caucuses: smaller states like Iowa; greater time investment; voters discuss and majority recommendation made -Delegates: represent the party at nominating conventions -Pledged delegates commit to voting for candidates based on their performance in the party state conventions or caucuses -Unpledged delegates are not committed and may vote for whomever they choose at the convention; these delegates may commit to a particular candidate but are not bound to vote for the candidate with whom they commit -Democratic district delegates; at-large delegates statewide; alternate delegates -Republican at-large delegates 10 per state; 3 congressional district delegates; 3 RNC member delegates -Selecting delegates: Democrats use winner-take-all method; Republicans use both methods of winner-takes-all and proportional representation depending on the state -Candidates must appeal to funders, essential supporters, and mass appeal -1947 Taft Hartley Act banned unions from contributing to political candidates

Interest groups

-Educate politicians -Litmus tests discipline candidates -American Bankers Association and American Institute of Certified Public Accountants are examples of trade interest groups -Trade, business, labor interest groups make up economic interest groups -Narrow membership; don't seek to elect president

Education policy

-Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965 offered federal grants to school districts serving low-income students, created special education centers, and created college scholarships for impoverished students; provided state educational agencies with federal grants to use to fund improvements in the quality of elementary and secondary education -No Child Left Behind Act: reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA); changed the standards that public schools must meet; it required states to develop minimum criteria and test students annually to determine how much they are learning and whether they have achieved a basic level of knowledge; also correlated federal funding with the standards, and if schools continue receiving federal funds, they must meet the minimum standards; teachers "teaching to the test" and not focusing on other material is one of the most cited reasons by those who oppose the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) -Every Student Succeeds Act: returned control of the schools to the states and local governments; although the revised bill still requires schools to pass standardized tests mandated by the federal law, it removed the punitive measures imposed on schools that performed poorly; states and local governments will now have the authority to determine how to handle underperforming schools

Public opinion

-Encompasses values (deep-rooted goals, aspirations, and ideals that shape an individual's perceptions of political issues; political scientists prefer the term attitude over opinion), political ideologies (a system of related beliefs that structure our thoughts about a general philosophy concerning our government), and attitudes (a specific view, or judgment, about a particular issue, personality, or event) -Example: if people subscribe to a libertarian ideology, they will most likely vote for the candidate who promises to lower taxes since that candidate most closely reflects his or her view of the appropriate role of government. They will say that they value personal freedom and their political ideology is one of limited government, which in their view entails lower taxes. Their attitude toward particular candidates for office, whether they are good or bad for the country, is determined by their ideology, which was shaped by their values -Agencies of socialization are family, social groups, education, and prevailing political conditions -Cleavages: divisions between people's world views and the ideologies on which these world views are based; affected by race, religion, occupation, and socioeconomic status -Occupation effect on cleavage: those who make more have different views on taxation -Race effect on cleavage: white people tend to oppose affirmative action plans -Religion effect on cleavage: religious people wanting to end abortion or gay marriage

Political right/political left

-Far right and right wing: disparaging terms used to label extremely conservative political positions in which government is supreme and people are deprived of all rights, such as is the case in fascism (the political ideology on which Nazism was based) -Far left and left wing: derogatory terms for political ideologies that favor extremely radical social, economic, and political change, such as fascism or communism. -Today, very few Americans who refer to themselves as conservative or liberal can truly be described as belonging to either the far right or the far left; their political beliefs tend to be more centrist, or moderate, in nature -Most Americans fall under the broad philosophical tradition of liberalism, regardless of whether they identify with the ideological labels of liberal or conservative; Americans generally do not subscribe to one single ideology but combine and incorporate preferences from several ideologies into their belief systems; beliefs differ along two broad questions: how and why government intervention should be used to implement their agendas and enforce their preferences -Liberals are typically Democratic left; Republicans are typically Conservative Right

Federal Register and Code of Regulations

-Federal Register is the official journal of the federal government, and it contains most routine publications and public notices of government agencies -The CFR is the codification of the rules that the federal government's departments and agencies have published in the Federal Register

Mass media

-First Amendment; fourth estate/journalism -1996 Telecommunications Act: a sliding scale determined the number of stations any one owner could control in a market -Media consolidation occurs when one media company buys others and takes one of three forms—horizontal, vertical, or conglomerates -Horizontal consolidation: when like-type companies buy one another; Clear Channel Communications horizontally consolidated when it purchased over 1,200 radio stations nationwide after 1996 -Vertical consolidation: media companies purchase associated businesses that complement the primary business; for example, Time Warner, Inc. purchased HBO as well as Turner Broadcasting; Warner Brothers Entertainment, a subsidiary of Time Warner, produces movies, television programs, and music programs; each division becomes a principal vendor to its other holdings -Conglomerates: large vertically integrated companies with unrelated businesses began to merge with each other; mega-mergers

Federal economic policy

-Fiscal policy encompasses all of the government's policies regarding taxes, spending, and management of the government's debt; intended to help promote the nation's macroeconomic objectives, which focus on large-scale economic issues, particularly control of unemployment rates, the stability of prices for goods and services, and overall growth of the economy -Economic stability occurs when the employment rate is high, pricing levels are stable, and the economy is growing, including an increase in average income levels -Fiscal policy established when Office of Management and Budget (OMB) prepare the federal government's proposed budget; Congress reviews and analyzes the proposal through its Congressional Budget Office; Congress revises the administration's proposal to implement congressional objectives, and then enacts the budget through appropriations bills and amendments; decisions made during the budget process determine the federal government's overall spending levels as well as how that spending will be prioritized among federal government programs and activities; tends to be established on incremental basis -Monetary policy: process of controlling the U.S. money supply and interest rates through government regulation to help achieve the nation's economic goals and meet the goals of its fiscal policy; tight money supply means that consumer and investor demand for money is higher than the amount of money available and circulating in the economy, when the money supply is tight, interest rates tend to be high, and goods and services tend to cost less; loose money supply means that consumer and investor demand for money is lower than the amount of money available, when the money supply is loose, interest rates tend to be low, and goods and services tend to cost more -Tight money supply: consumer and investor demand for money is higher than the amount of money available; interest rates tend to be high; goods and services tend to cost lost -Loose money supply: consumer and investor demand for money is lower than the amount of money available; interest rates tend to be low; goods and services tend to cost more -Federal Reserve Board: a seven-member board that oversees the United States banking system; each member of the Fed is nominated by the president and approved by the Senate; works through the Federal Reserve System, which was created in 1913 and includes the Federal Reserve Board, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), and twelve Federal Reserve Banks; twelve banks are located in regions throughout the United States; owned by the Fed and do not do business with the public; instead, they act as the bankers for commercial banks, circulating currency and coin and providing other services such as processing checks -Federal Open Market Commission: has twelve members, including the seven members of the Federal Reserve Board, the president of New York's Federal Reserve Bank, and four of the presidents from the other eleven Reserve Banks; the four members serve one-year terms on a rotating basis; FOMC meets eight times per year to review the nation's economic and financial situations, gauge the risks to the nation's goals of price stability in the marketplace and overall sustainable growth in the economy, and determine the proper position for the nation's monetary policy -The Federal Reserve Board is politically independent of the federal government 's executive branch. Neither the president nor Congress has authority over the Fed. The president does have the right to remove members of the Fed for certain reasons, but in the history of the Fed, no president has ever exercised this power

Political parties

-Functions: seek to run candidates and win elections, mobilize constituents for action, such as getting people out to vote, organize the government, generate symbols of identification and loyalty, and implement policy objectives -Whigs: similar to Federalists; supported industry and robust federal govt; absorbed remaining Federalists; largely vanished as a result of their inability to form a consensus on the most important political issue of the day: the expansion of slavery to the western territories; Republican party was born with goal of opposition to the expansion of slavery, appealing to northern middle class; after the war, African Americans joined the Republican Party, and white southerners remained members of the Democratic Party -Republicans: traditional, more radical; fairly conservative positions on social justice issues and civil liberties. Republicans also tend to favor classical economic liberalism, calling for the abolition of government regulations on businesses and environment as well as lower taxes; Modern Republicans tend to be white, evangelical Protestant, conservative, and in favor of states' rights. The position of a member of the Republican base on abortion would likely be the opposite of the liberal Democrat; party of the elite -Democrats: supported the interests of urban artisans and small farmers in the first half of the nineteenth century; as immigrants began to make up increasing numbers of the nation's working class in the late nineteenth century, the Democrats also came to be the party of the foreign-born; concern for immigrants and workers also led the Democrats to support labor unions; still has a base of low-income and blue-collar groups with a high school education, but the Democratic Party also has many highly educated professionals, academics, and business people who are more liberal on social issues; immigrants (with some exceptions) and unionized members of the working class continue to be more attracted to the Democrats than to the Republicans; the concern for civil rights and social justice has also attracted many people, such as African Americans and Latinos, who have benefited from both civil rights legislation passed by Democrats and social welfare programs; younger people and women also tend to be attracted to the party as are white college graduates in general because Democrats have been more willing to embrace social change in the late twentieth century than Republicans -Cleavage necessary before political party realignment can occur

Effects of media

-Gatekeeping and deciding which stories are most important -Agenda setting; press can tell us what to think about or what is considered relevant -Priming: media coverage affects the way the public evaluates political leaders or candidates for office; provides viewers of a news story a stimulus that activates their prior knowledge of an event or associations; suggests that an audience ought to use specific benchmarks to evaluate a public official's performance -Propaganda: any technique or action that attempts to influence the emotions, attitudes, values, beliefs, or actions of a group;" ropaganda is not lies but distortions of some aspect of a story in an attempt to persuade; a contested term and carries a loaded connotation that implies falseness, deceit, and unethical or immoral motives; the persuader's intent closely associates with the term; moreover, whether or not an attempt to persuade is propaganda rests on the point of view of the person or group who uses the term -Spin: manner as well as the techniques someone uses to manage the information to which the public is exposed; a spin doctor refers to the person who tries to manage a politician's political messages and image -Propaganda types: glittering generalities, name calling, transfer, testimonial, plain folks, bandwagon, and logical fallacies -Feeding frenzy: reporters focus on mostly one detail -Hard news: investigative crimes and foreign and domestic affairs -Soft news: human interest stories; almost entertaining quality

Managing the economy

-Govts use fiscal and monetary policies to manage the economy -Fiscal policies affect consumers and businesses by government adjustments to spending levels and tax rates; monetary policies affect the overall economy by changing the money supply and interest rates. The government's spending and taxing actions encourage consumers and businesses to spend more or less money -The goal of these policies is to control inflation and recession in the economy; inflation is a period when the economy experiences a sustained increase in the price of goods and services. When goods and services cost more, consumers are able to get fewer commodities for their money. With a recession, overall economic activity experiences a decline. Unemployment may increase, and consumers may spend less. In response, businesses may produce fewer goods and services -Through taxing and spending appropriations Congress can establish budget surpluses and deficits. The president may only spend money that is appropriated by Congress but has leeway in when that money is spent or not. -Total spending: consumer spending combined with private investments and government spending -Discretionary fiscal policy is when the president and Congress deliberately take actions to create budget surpluses or deficits -When deciding on tax rates, Congress has to determine whether it will follow a progressive tax structure—which taxes higher incomes at a higher rate than it taxes lower incomes—or a proportional tax structure—which taxes everyone at the same rate, regardless of income level -Automatic stabilizers have been designed to function without manipulation by policy makers; automatically increase government spending and/or reduce taxes to work as safeguards when the economy is in a period of instability; f. For example, social welfare programs such as Medicaid, food stamps, and unemployment insurance provide benefits to individuals who indicate a need based on their economic status -Classical economics argues that the market is self-regulating and does not need government manipulation to achieve the correct balance of stable prices, full employment, and optimal productivity; economists who espouse this theory reason that if the market is allowed to move freely, without government interference, prices and employment levels will go up and down as needed and automatically check each other to keep both inflation and recession under control -Keynesian economics argues that economic instability is to be expected and government intervention is necessary to control the economy and achieve optimal economic outcomes; became prevalent during the Great Depression and is based on the philosophy of the British economist John Maynard Keynes -Supply-side economics argues that the most efficient market is created when businesses invest in capital and government limits regulations that produce barriers to the production of goods and services; focuses on long-term economic growth rather than the manipulation of short-term economic activity

Presidential commissions

-Grace commission studied governmental inefficiencies -National Commission of Fiscal Responsibilities and Reforms: Identify policies that would improve the financial situation of United States in the near future and create financial stability and sustainability for the long term; the Commission was instructed to make recommendations that would allow the federal government to balance the budget; also was given the responsibility of making recommendations to address the growth of the nation's entitlement spending as well as the gap between the federal government's projected revenues and projected expenditures -Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities of the United States Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction, Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future

Dept of Homeland Security

-Includes customs/border protection, citizenship/immigration services, Coast Guard, FEMA, Immigrations Customs Enforcement (ICE), TSA, and Secret Service

Influence of interest groups

-Lobbying: meeting with officials; include elected representatives, administrative staff, even the courts. Lobbies provide information about their stance on policy issues to public officials and attempt to explain to them why supporting their position is important to the interest group's members; try to influence public officials by emphasizing how many people their organization represents; stress that the people represented by the lobby vote in elections, and they vote for candidates who demonstrate support for the lobby's positions; if candidates do not support the lobby's positions, those represented by the lobby will vote for the opposing candidates -Inside lobbying: direct meetings between lobbyists and public officials -Outside lobbying: broad indirect action, such as public information campaigns and grassroots activities; also called grassroots, or "bottom-up," lobbying; uses broad-based efforts to influence policymakers through protesting and demonstrating, advertising, e-mail, letter writing, and phone campaigns, or in some way try to sway public opinion, such as through public rallies -Astroturf lobbying: originates in corporate communications departments, PR firms, and other interest groups; sponsored by large organizations that have a political agenda and have access to public relations resources that can be used to promote their agenda; generally, an industry lobby will hire a public relations firm to manufacture a communications campaign that, on the surface, appears to originate as a mass-based swell of support; often these organizations work in concert with one another by organizing and coordinating strategy, messaging, and the execution of the lobbying campaign

Dillon's Rule

-Local governments do not have any inherent sovereignty but instead must be authorized by state government; states still have ultimate control; if a home rule charter is not in place, Dillon's Rule is the guiding principle for a local government's operations -Local governments, in other words, are creatures of the state; any dispute between a local government and a state must be resolved against the municipality and in favor of the state; local governments have only those powers that have been expressly granted to them by state legislatures or by their state constitutions; in practical terms, this means that the state government has the sovereign authority to define a local government's legal boundaries, its form of government, and its powers and authority -If a home rule charter is not in place, Dillon's Rule is the guiding principle for a local government's operations

Regulating lobbying

-Loopholes lobbyists use: the principal activity was not lobbying; they did not "solicit, collect, or receive" money from their activities; their efforts were grassroots; the contacts [with Congressmen] were not direct.; lobbyists would target staffers and not Congressmen; reporting was not necessary when lobbying executive staff; allowing the lobbyist to define when they were "lobbying"; there was not enforcement by the Justice Department -Tillman Act forbade lobbyists from giving money to elected officials for personal benefit; 1907 -1910 Federal Corrupt Practices Act limited campaign contributions and created campaign laws -1938 Mandatory Registration required lobbyists working for foreign interests and governments to register -1945 Lobbying Registration Act: all lobbyists had to register with the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the HOR and fill out quarterly reports -1995 Lobbying Disclosure Act: LDA; limitedly successful attempt to close lobbyist loopholes -2002 Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act: limited the amount of money that organizations, corporations, unions, and special interest groups could contribute to directly advocate for a candidate; hard money goes directly to a candidate; soft money is given to a candidate through donation to a political party -2007 Honest and Open Government Act: HOGA; reformation of lobbying regulations after Abramoff; strengthened LDA by restricting gifts to Congress and staffs by requiring disclosure; and earmarks

Plurality representation

-Majority representation; plurality method of counting votes and single-member districts are the reasons why the United States has only two major parties that can realistically influence the American political process; countries that use a proportional representation have many more political parties and often have multiple members that represent their districts; US has winner-takes-all or FPTP (first-past-the-post); single-member districts or SMDs permit only one representative for each congressional district unlike multimember districts found in some proportional representational systems -Duverger's Law: states having a plurality election system tend to produce two-party-dominant political systems -Mechanisms to overcome the plurality problem: runoff elections, supplementary method (Two-round voting, instant runoff, or rank order voting such as first and second choices), and Borda count (Assigning points associated with each candidate on a list of multiple candidates -Other factors influencing the two-party dominant system: Single-member congressional districts; tend to produce centrist policies since the 2 parties must complete for those in the middle of the political spectrum; swing voters are non-aligned; 2 party systems often introduce middle of the road policies; tend to be broker party models because the primary purpose is to win elections; as voter preferences change, so does the platform of parties -In the broker party model, the party is non-ideological and is a medium for voters to express their preferences for candidates -Strengths of SMDs and FPTP systems: clear accountability of representatives, reps tend to be more moderate, protecting from extremists, policies are broad-based and require officials to appeal to the people to stay in office -Weaknesses of SMDs and FPTP systems: underrepresented preferences, because policy is broad-based, people are forced to pick the candidate/policy they dislike the least rather than their preferred choice, some regions may dominate other regions with the SMD-FPTP system, and SMDs are subject to frequent gerrymandering as well as the spoiler effect, where more than two candidates split the votes of one of the two dominant parties -Plurality contributes most in the two-party system

Third parties

-Many are ideological parties such as socialism or Nazism; single-issue parties -Form when form when their members break away from a larger party because of a difference in opinion over a particular issue or because of a shift in ideology; new parties are often called splinter parties; for example, the Democratic Party split into the Northern Democrats and the Southern Democrats over the issue of slavery; Progressive Party, also sometimes called the Bull Moose Party, was formed by Theodore Roosevelt in 1912 after Roosevelt broke away from the larger Republican Party; after World War II, many white southern Democrats broke away from the main Democratic Party, which favored the advancement of civil rights, to form a party called the Dixiecrats, which opposed civil rights -Libertarian party -Green party: unsuccessful at electing members to national office, although it has run candidates in five presidential elections; like other Green Parties in Canada and Western Europe, the Green Party in the United States calls for social justice, grassroots democracy, sustainability in the economy and environment, gender equality, and a nonviolent foreign policy -Constitution party: United States has moved away from its founding principles, and asserts a fundamentalist reading of the Constitution with an emphasis on states' rights -Reform party: Perot; favors a balanced federal budget, ethics reforms for Congress including campaign finance, a fairer tax system, lobbying reforms, elimination of many current trading treaties such as NAFTA -America First party: nationalist reform party that believes in restoring morality and ethics to government; most third parties in the United States are truly minority parties -Communist/socialist parties: farther to the political left than the Democratic Party; many third parties' ideas appeal to a broad range of Americans, yet they do not attract large numbers of constituents -Can endorse a major party or bring attention to specific issues -Tactical voting: major party will support an opposition, third, or weaker major party candidate by organizing part of its base to vote for the third candidate; for example, if a district is heavily Republican, a Democratic strategist will support the Republican primary candidate who he or she believes will be the weakest Republican candidate against the Democratic candidate in the general election the following November -Ideological parties advance specific ideas that two parties will not

Media in politics

-Media's role in politics is to be a watchdog or signaler for the public, to be a common carrier or point of contact between the public and elected officials, and a representative role -Narcotized dysfunction: signaler role; consumers of mass media may experience intense interest in a news story but simply turn off; they feel psychically connected to an event but fail to act -1934 Communications Act granted broadcasters licenses in the name of public interest and necessity; doctrine of localism asserts that that commercial broadcast television and radio stations have a duty to assess the needs of a local community, and address those needs by providing it with "programming that is responsive to the needs and problems of its local community of license" -Politicians maintain media presence by holding press conferences, press releases, and having public relations staffs or managers -Whistleblowers protected by law if conduct is ethical/illegal -Doctrine of the common carrier: regulation of the airwaves and philosophy of journalism

Single/multiparty systems

-Multiparty: found in many authoritarian regimes; their role is not to provide credible alternatives as in a democratic system but to provide a veneer of legitimacy to the authoritarian regime; parties have realistic chances of exercising control over the political process and electing candidates to political office; in some, only two political parties have likely probability of holding office and are called two-party-dominant systems; in other multiparty systems, such as the many European democracies, three or more political parties can exert control over the electoral and legislative process; differentiator of multiparty systems is according to their place on the liberal-conservative spectrum; in two-party systems, one party tends to represent the conservative position on issues, and the other depicts the liberal view; in the United States, the Republican Party is conservative, and the Democratic Party is liberal; there are other political parties in the United States too, but they do not have a realistic chance of electing candidates to Congress or the presidency -Multiple political parties in authoritarian regimes provide a veneer of legitimacy -Single party systems in authoritarian regimes

Bias types

-Omission/selection: media determining which stories they will report or when critical details are left out of stories -Labeling: choosing words carefully; for example, terrorist vs. freedom fighter, to tell the audience what they should think or feel -Image: the photo accompanying the writing could be biased -Placement: placement of information in a story; for example, inside the newspaper rather than on the front page -Emphasis of particular events -Source bias -Profit bias -Repetition: using a label or image in a story multiple times -Interpretation bias: the language, sequence, images, or accompanying commentary can create bias -Authority claim: adds "corroboration" through an official or leader

Ideologies

-Political ideology refers to a set of linked beliefs and values that structure the way people think about government and society -Political philosophies rest on sets of proofs that use the rules of logic -Belief system: a configuration of ideas and attitudes in which the elements are bound together by some form of constraint, or functional interdependence -Ideologies help us to conceptualize such things as the proper role of citizens in the state as well as the optimal size, scope, and configuration of government; provide justifications for social, economic, and political relationships as well as helping us understand our complex political selves in straightforward, easy-to-understand terms; help people to develop common sense ways of interpreting the world -2 concepts of ideologies: how the world is, and how the world should be -4 functions of ideologies: evaluative, explaining how the world is; normative, comparing how the world is with a moral or ethical standard; prescriptive, provide us with solutions to world problems; and identification, provide identities

Measuring public opinion

-Polls are best; surveys/questionnaires/opinion polls are good for generalizing the US population's opinion; benchmark polls probe who likely voters are or their demographics and the positions of voters on issues; tracking polls track political attitudes over time; exit/entrance polls measure how people vote on specific candidates or issues; push polls done to influence attitudes; straw polls are ad-hoc and informal to gauge interest in a candidate or issue -Margin of error is the range of differences between the actual parameter value of the population and the estimated parameter value of a sample -Parameters are measurable characteristics; mean, median, mode, or standard deviation -Confidence level: percentage of times the sample parameter is within a certain percentage point away from the true population parameter -Causation: the direct relationship between the changes in one variable based on the change of one or more other variables; very difficult to show; one survey or questionnaire will not definitively show causation; but, the results are often used as evidence with other types of measure such as experiments, or repeated surveying to build a body of conclusions that point to a definitive relationship -Correlation: the observation of change -Non-scientific polls: push polls, straw polls, cross-sectional polls and opinion polls -Scientific polls use probability theory and rigorous methods

Municipalities

-Ran by charter; municipalities - the smaller geographic areas within counties that have corporate status and operate under a government that is separate from the county or state -Ran in 5 forms: council-manager, mayor-council, commissioners, town meetings, and representative town meetings

Creating voting districts

-Reapportionment: redistribution of congressional seats from the Census -Redistricting: process of redrawing district boundaries; legislatures have sole control of the redistricting process in 42 states, however, there are a number of states that have commissions that act as safeguards to help ensure the redistricting is done in a fair manner; these commissions include political, independent, backup, and advisory -Political commissions are comprised of elected officials who are responsible for redrawing their Congressional district boundaries. -Six states draw their Congressional boundaries with independent commissions, not the legislatures. But, unlike political commissions, independent commissions are comprised of non-elected officials that are appointed. Most independent commissions are evenly divided between the major parties to ensure fairness of the redistricting results. -Backup commissions act as arbiters if the legislatures cannot agree, or there are disputes from the redistricting efforts. -Advisory commissions complete their work before the state legislatures decide on the Congressional boundaries by recommending provisional boundaries for the legislatures to consider. -Malapportionment: Districts become malapportioned when states construct their districts to disadvantage some of their citizens by decreasing their representation. Often, state and local officials use malapportionment as a means of social and/or economic exclusion and discrimination towards disadvantaged groups. Examples of malapportioned districts are creating boundaries across geographic areas evenly, and not readjusting them to reflect the proportions of the populations that resided in their states' districts -Fairest creation of districts rests on three principles: compactness, likeness of interests, and contiguity. Compactness is the special proximity with which people live next to each other. Urban areas and suburbs are more tightly compacted than rural communities. Likeness of interests assumes people that live next to each other will have similar demographic, regional, or social similarities. Contiguity describes the continuous shape of the district. When districts are contiguous, it is not necessary to leave the district boundaries to travel to another section of the district. -Gerrymandering: when politicians either aggregate or separate blocks of voters with like preferences to manipulate election outcomes

Welfare organizations and public policy

-Social Security Act provided income for elderly, assistance for blind or disabled, and unemployment benefits -Entitlement programs (Social Security, Medicaid) -Public assistance programs are means-tested, and entitlement programs do not require verification of financial need or means

Effects of political parties

-Tea Party lacked structure so it is not considered a political party; consists primarily of loosely affiliated local groups that espouse a conservative-libertarian ideology, but it does have support from national organizations such as the Tea Party Express and Freedom Works; activists are primarily interested in government reform and would like to return government to its "original" state," the government they imagine as it was created by the Founders at the end of the eighteenth century; favor reducing the size and power of the federal government and cuts in government spending and a reduction in taxes; some suggested that the federal income tax be repealed; oppose large, expensive government programs like the Affordable Healthcare Act, and believe that the government should not regulate the economy; some believe that the movement's focus should be on cutting government spending and reducing the size of government; however, many Tea Party groups have adopted conservative positions on many social issues; these tend to oppose same-sex marriage, gun control, and abortion; also call for stricter controls on immigration; many are religiously conservative, and this influences their position on many social issues as well; usually vote for conservative Republicans; endorses and contributes money to the campaigns of only very conservative Republicans, more moderate Republicans, who might be more willing to compromise with the Democrats, find it more difficult to get elected in parts of the country where the Tea Party has the most support and is most active; furthermore, conservative Republicans who might wish to take a more moderate position on certain issues are discouraged from doing so for fear that they will lose the funding that they need to get reelected; Tea Party moved the Republican party to the right; encourages less cooperation or compromise with Democrats -Gridlock: legislative impasse; occurs in the American political system when neither Democrats nor Republicans are strong enough to impose their will on the other, and neither party wishes to compromise; can happen when one party controls the House of Representatives and the other controls the Senate; as a result, legislation passed by one chamber of Congress stalls in the other; may occur when one party controls both houses of Congress but does not have enough seats in the Senate to overcome a filibuster by the minority party; can happen even if the same party controls both houses of Congress, but the president is of a different party; in this case, when Congress sends a bill to the president's desk, the president is likely to veto it; often leads to government shutdown

Supreme Court nominations process

-The Senate Judiciary Committee does review the nomination and hold hearings -Senators from the nominee's home state do give their opinions of the nominee, but the Senate, not the House of Representatives, votes on the nomination -Supreme Court justices do not have term limits as long as they demonstrate good behavior -Original jurisdiction cases include states suing one another, a disagreement between circuit courts, disputes between the states and the national government, a state suing the residents of another state, state suing the citizens of a foreign country, and foreign diplomats -Like lower appellate courts, the Supreme Court does not review the facts of the case; instead, each side submits a written argument for its position, called a brief; representatives for each side then present oral arguments to the Court, during which the justices may interrupt the lawyers to ask questions -First, they discuss the case, each taking a turn in order of seniority, starting with the Chief Justice; the tradition is that every justice must have a chance to speak once before any justice may speak twice; after the discussion has concluded, the justices vote; after the vote, the opinions are written before the results of the vote are announced

Liberalism/Conservatism

-US founded in liberal position -Both place the individual, not the society, at the center belief systems as they seek to answer questions over the best way to use government to promote freedom and equality; also share other similar characteristics such as supporting natural rights, are optimistic and forward-thinking, readily accept and embrace rapid social change in support of their objectives through government intervention, emphasize equality (although the types of balance are often different), accept the rule of law, and embrace internationalism -Liberalism: Thomas Hobbes; stresses individual freedoms; individuals could rationally consent and submit to political authority; Locke formalized a coherent liberal philosophy that led to the ideology of classical liberalism; liberalism is a diverse set of philosophies that seek to explain how individuals can obtain the most considerable amount of freedom balanced against the equality of the individual -Locke's Classical liberalism of the seventeenth century asked, "How may an individual best achieve equality and liberty?" And, "How does society balance equality and liberty through the structure of government?"; Enlightenment era, which prioritized the rights of individuals; protection of individuals' rights through negative freedom; believed the best way to promote freedom and equality was by limiting government intrusion into the economy and society -Liberalism negative freedom means restraining the government from acting; US BOR is a model of negative freedom; or example, First Amendment restricts government from acting in many instances: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances; rationalism; many Classical Liberals promoted laissez-faire or let it be; -Popular sovereignty: individuals hold political authority and leaders can't govern without their consent -Classical conservatism: Burke; maintain/protect social and political conditions before the rise of liberalism, so often described as political reactionaries; role of the state is to preserve existing institutions, all social and economic relationships; state should uphold religion because it helps provide and promote reasoned order; tradition is to be revered, not tossed aside, because traditions mean society maintains its continuity; Burkean conservatives have a pessimistic outlook and generally dislike rapid change of any kind; instead, classical conservatives acknowledge change eventually comes through the application of technology; but when a change occurs, it must be gradual, measured, and ordered

Cooper vs. Aaron

1958, the Supreme Court ruled in Cooper v. Aaron that the state of Arkansas was not allowed to pass laws to maintain segregated schools because the Court had already settled the issue in its Brown ruling. Cooper v. Aaron struck a severe blow to the states' rights position, saying that states do not have the authority to declare federal actions unconstitutional or to refuse to enforce federal law

Oligarchy

A government ruled by a few powerful people; possibly a particular political party, church, etc.; one type is a theocracy, where religious leaders have power, example Shariah in Islamic law; communist parties

The Framers of the Constitution faced a dilemma. They wished to prevent the national government from becoming too powerful by allowing ordinary people to influence national politics. At the same time, they did not wish ordinary people to have too much influence over national politics. What did the Framers do to check and balance the power of the people?

Constitution allowed direct voting for HOR members, Senate passes laws, President signs them into law Allow voting for president but introduce electoral college Allow direct voting for HOR members for 2 terms

Title IX

Education Amendments of 1972; made it illegal for educational institutions that receive federal funds to discriminate on the basis of sex in all areas of education, including access to academic programs, the provision of living arrangements and health care, and access to and funding of athletic programs and school clubs or organizations; schools cannot provide money to pay for men's sports teams while giving none to women's sports teams or build residence halls for women but not for men. In 1988, the Civil Rights Restoration Act applied the provisions of Title IX to all schools receiving any form of federal aid, whether directly in the form of federal grants or indirectly through federally funded financial aid to students

President

Head of the Executive Branch; commander in chief of armed forces with no power to call a war; negotiates treaties for Senate to ratify; 4 yrs to serve; can veto legislation; can impose taxes

Difference between English BOR and American BOR

Only American BOR protects right to free speech

Local governments

Responsible for functions such as policing and firefighting, emergency medical services, municipal courts, parks and recreation services, wastewater treatment, zoning and building code enforcement, animal control, public transportation, trash removal, and public works such as street maintenance and snow removal; the larger local governments tend to provide public housing, operate public hospitals, and administer social welfare programs funded by the city, the state, or the federal government; many also own or regulate public utilities such as water, electric power, natural gas, and telecommunications -State legislatures have two chambers and depending on the state and the chamber, members serve either a two- or four-year term" describes how state legislatures are structured in all states except Nebraska, which has only one chamber -Discretionary authority: functional (can self-govern in limited fashion), structural (can choose form of gov and charter), personnel (an determine employment policies, establish pay scales, and participate in collective bargaining), and fiscal (can decide revenue sources, establish tax rates, and borrow monies)

Nullification Crisis of 1832

South Carolina Legislature refuse to pay tariff and was forced to militarize against fed gov't until peaceful solution

Rights of the accused

-4th amendment: unreasonable search and seizure; Mapp vs. Ohio (warrant needed for search/seizure, items found during a search for something else cannot be used as evidence in court); Riley vs. California (warrant needed for phone search unless in extreme cases) -5th amendment: due process (twofold: procedural due process (covers someone's right to a fair process/trial) and substantive due process (right to enjoy fundamental liberties like the right to privacy without governmental interference; also includes right to be protected from arbitrary or unjust laws) -Miranda vs. Arizona: one must be informed of rights before being arrested -6th amendment: criminal trials only; fair trial; speedy trial, impartial jury; must disclose charges against the individual, the law supposedly violated, right to a hearing, must provide credible evidence against person, and supply explanation for any adverse findings -7th and 8th amendments: 7th amendment is trial by jury for civil cases only with certain protections existing; 8th is no excessive bail or cruel/unusual punishments -Brewer vs. Williams: right to counsel before/at time of hearing -Strickland vs. Washington: right to effective counsel -Gideon vs. Wainwright: legal counsel necessary for fair trial

Affirmative Action

-A policy designed to redress past discrimination against women and minority groups through measures to improve their economic and educational opportunities -Supreme Court currently thinks white men are the repressed group now

Other protections

-Age Discrimination in Employment Act: 1967 law that prohibits discrimination, of employees 40 years and up -Americans with Disability Act: 1990 -Lawrence vs. Texas: states can't interfere with same-sex relationships as long as they're consenting adults

Line-Item Veto Act of 1996

-Allow the president as chief executive to reject only part of a bill -Constitution does not provide for a line-item veto, so when the president vetoes a bill, he has to veto the entire bill -Declared unconstitutional

Enumerated Powers of Congress

-Article 1 Section 8 -The power to collect taxes -The ability to borrow money for use by the federal government and to pay the nation's debts -The authority to regulate interstate commerce and trade with foreign countries -The authority to create rules regarding the naturalization of immigrants and the declaration of bankruptcy -The right to coin money and punish counterfeiters -The ability to grant copyrights and patents -The authority to declare war and to raise an army and a navy -The power to make laws regulating the District of Columbia (Washington, DC) -Direct the state militias -Authorize the seizure of enemy ships -Punish piracy -Create the federal court system -Establish the national postal system -For example, one enumerated power is "To raise and support armies," but the Constitution does not specifically say how to do that. Fortunately, the Necessary and Proper Clause gives Congress the implied power to create laws to raise and support armies. In fact, Congress has created several different solutions for raising armies since the time of the Framers, including the current all-volunteer military, mandatory conscription, and even the ability for those who could afford it to pay someone to serve in their place. The Necessary and Proper Clause gives Congress the implied power to execute the raising and supporting of armies by creating laws to respond to military needs and changes in society as they arise.

7 articles of the Constitution

-Article I: legislative branch and its powers; division of Congress; enumerates Congressional exercisable powers -Article II: executive branch and its responsibility to execute legislative decisions; outlines presidential qualifications, election process, and powers -Article III: judicial branch, central government, powers of Supreme Court -Article IV: government of states and their relationships with one another; states must treat others' residents the same way and recognize others' laws; allows fugitives to be transported to crime's jurisdiction; outlines creation of new states; requires each state to provide residents with a republic styled government -Article V: amendment and its processes; must be passed by 2/3 of both chambers and ratified by 1/3 of states - now 3/4 of states -Article VI: central government's superior to state governments and requires public officials to declare US loyalty -Article VII: Constitutional ratification; 9/13 states becomes law -Limitations on power, divisions of power -9th Amendment does not limit the rights to just discussed

Succession of president

-Article II doesn't t explain clearly what should be done if both the president and vice president are dead/incapacitated; says only that another "Officer" will assume power; Twentieth Amendment gave Congress the authority to establish rules for presidential succession; Congress passed laws specifying that should both the president and the vice president be unable to exercise the duties of the presidency, the Speaker of the House of Representatives follows them in succession; if the Speaker of the House cannot assume these duties, then the president pro tempore of the Senate becomes president, followed by the secretary of state, and then each of the heads of executive departments in the order in which their departments were created -25th Amendment: Amendment allows the president to temporarily vacate the office if needed so long as he or she transmits a letter, "to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that he is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, and until he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary, such powers and duties shall be discharged by the Vice President as Acting President."

Supremacy Clause

-Article VI of the Constitution, which makes the Constitution, national laws, and treaties supreme over state laws when the national government is acting within its constitutional limits -Example, The Constitution allows the President to make treaties that the Senate must ratify before they become law, and it specifies that those treaties are then the supreme law of the land. On top of this, however, the Constitution adds: "No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or Confederation.. . ." In this way, the Constitution expressly grants authority to the national government and withholds that same authority from the states—a clear illustration of the principles at play in the Supremacy Clause.

Factors influencing presidential powers

-Composition of Congress -A "lame duck;" nearing end of term and can't run for reelection -Approval ratings -Military actions and foreign policies -Midterm elections if the president's party loses power

Select committees

-Congressional committees appointed for a specific purpose, such as the Watergate investigation; doesn't fall under jurisdiction of standing committees -Global warming committee

Joint committees

-Congressional committees on a few subject-matter areas with membership drawn from both houses -Legislative capabilities

Mixed forms of government

-Constitutional monarchy (UK) -Absolute monarchy (Saudi Arabia)

Federal judicial system

-Created by Article III; Article I Section 8 gave Congress power to create lower courts -May hear any case involving the Constitution or any law passed by Congress, such as laws regulating bankruptcy, interstate commerce, or patents and copyrights -State constitutions give states the power to create their judicial systems -Federal jurisdiction also covers any law created by any federal agency, such as the Internal Revenue Service or Environmental Protection Agency; treaties and executive orders issued by the president are also forms of federal law -Specifically, federal courts hear criminal, civil, and bankruptcy cases; after a case is decided, it can frequently be appealed

Discrimination types

-De facto: unequal treatment that results not from law but from socioeconomic or cultural conditions; "from the facts"; in other words, from the conditions or situation; personal bias makes some employers reluctant to hire women, people of color, and many other groups, few Native Americans attend college because of poverty and the relative isolation of many tribal groups on reservations, neighborhoods become homogeneous by skin color, language, religion, or for other reasons—sometimes by choice, other times because poverty inhibits mobility -De jure: unequal treatment mandated/supported by the law; contracts that prevented homeowners from selling their houses to African Americans or Jewish people and were upheld and enforced by the courts, laws that prevented people of different races from marrying, laws requiring African American children to attend separate schools

Constitution ratification

-Debate between Federalists/Anti-Federalists over creation of national BOR -BOR protects freedom of speech, right to bear arms, jury trials, due process, and privacy; 10 amendments

American primary documents

-Declaration of Independence: 1776 -Constitution: 1789 -Bill of Rights: 1791

Roman Republic

-Division of power between 3 branches; allowed input from people

War Powers Resolution of 1973

-Enacted to give Congress a greater voice in presidential decisions committing military forces to hostile situations overseas -Requires that the president notify Congress within 48 hours of deploying troops, to bring troops home from hostilities within 60-90 days unless Congress extends the time

Amendments

-Examine original intent versus or as a living document with changing ideas of justice -Strict constructionists: narrow, word for word interpretation of the law -Loose constructionists: laws are ambiguous; must do our best to follow closely to the law -EX: Minnesota v. Carter; strict construction: a household visitor such as drug dealer isn't protected under the 4th amendment from unreasonable search and seizure (the amendment reads it only protects you in your own home) -EX: Loose construction: The U.S. Air Force was created in 1947. Congress may "raise and support Armies," and "provide and maintain a Navy," and make "Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces." (A loose constructionist would argue that the creation of the Air Force was a "necessary and proper" set of legislation, which is one of the powers of Congress.") -Commerce Clause: Congress can pass laws governing trade in states (strict construction); Congress can pass laws regarding anything affecting interstate business (loose construction) -19th century amendments: protect slavery; 20th century: prohibit interracial marriage and Ludlow amendment requiring direct voting by Americans to go to war; and 21st century: require recitation of Pledge of Allegiance, limit US citizenship, prohibit abortion, same-sex marriage, and desecration of the flag -All recent amendments have been politically and socially conservative

EXAMPLE OF STATES RIGHTS POWER: Colorado, Washington, and Oregon have legalized the production, distribution, sale, and possession of marijuana for recreational use. The District of Columbia has decriminalized the simple possession of marijuana. Another 20 states have legalized the limited production, distribution, sale, and possession of marijuana for medical uses under the supervision of a licensed medical professional. Thus far, the federal government has chosen to not intervene despite the 2005 ruling in Gonzalez v. Raich in which the Supreme Court ruled that regulation of marijuana, whether for home or medical use, would undercut the federal enforcement of laws governing commodities and would, therefore, affect the supply and demand of marijuana nationally.

-Expands equality, decreases federal powers -Currently, the federal government chooses to not enforce the current drug laws in the states that have either decriminalized or produce marijuana. The federal government's inaction expands equality and individual freedom but decreases its own power in relation to the states

Diversity of citizenship cases

-Federal cases involving citizens of different state due to possible bias by differing states

Federalism

-Federalists: BOR is unnecessary because of states' BOR and a threat to individual liberties; favored strong, central gov; gov can't threaten personal rights -Nat'l gov has supreme authority over states but are both sovereign entities -Anti-Federalists worried that without BOR the nat'l gov would violate people's AND states' rights -A relationship in which the states are subordinate to nat'l gov's supreme power; a continuum of state and federal power, with one end being states' rights and the other end the nat'l gov's absolute authority -Framers established a federal system sharing power with the states, rejecting the concentration of power/authority in hands of a central government -Unitary system: power and authority are concentrated in one central, sovereign government. The emphasis on the concept of sovereignty and the fact that the central government does not act directly upon the people are the factors that distinguish a unitary system from a federal system. In such a system, state and local governments act directly upon the people because a large unitary system with one government fulfilling all functions would be cumbersome. Unitary systems are often organized into provinces, which are essentially administrative subdivisions of the central government. Provinces have only the powers granted to them by the central government; however, they are not sovereign entities. (UK); gov controls weaker power of state governments and power is unshared -Confederacy: sovereign states joined by treaty/constitution (union); central government within a confederacy exists only for the purposes of dealing with shared or critical issues, such as the issues related to foreign affairs or national defense, supports member states; historically unsuccessful in the US because of weakened central government; central government derives power from the states -Federal system: power shared by central/state govs

Impeachment process

-HOR passes articles of impeachment with formal accusation of wrongdoing -President is tried in the U.S. Senate w/ chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court presiding -HOR selects "managers" to prosecute the president in a Senate trial, to remove the president from office two-thirds of the entire elected Senate must convict him -If convicted, he is removed from office immediately, and the vice president is sworn in -EACH STATE HAS AS MANY ELECTORS AS THEY HAVE MEMBERS OF CONGRESS

Bill to law

-Idea, introducing bill to Congress by a member sponsorship; assigned to standard committee -Bill goes to committee that may rewrite it and then goes onto be debated by full court; Speaker of House decides who speaks on bill -Congress debates and votes; must agree on final draft; majority vote required -President must pass/veto, pocket veto -Joint committees can rewrite bills to be acceptable by both parties; conference committees

EOP

-Includes the president's advisors and PAs, speech writers, Offices of Management and Budget, National Security Agency, Press Secretary, White House counsel (president's lawyer), and the Office of Communications -Presidential powers addressed in Article II; enforce laws and monitor the government; commander in chief of forces and chief diplomat -Chief executive roles: enforce laws, grant pardons, appoints officials with advice from the Senate, and appoint Senators in case of possible vacancies -Commander in chief roles: authorize any force; decides how military force will be used; civilian control promotes democracy -Chief diplomat title allows president to create treaties with 2/3s approval from Senate for ratification -Presidential foreign policy: can respond to foreign events, submitting legislation proposals, negotiating international treaties, issuing and implementing policy statements, and taking independent action -Congressional foreign policy: resolution policy statements, legislative pressure and directives, funding denials or restrictions, and Congressional oversight -Overriding of veto by Congress possible by 2/3s majority vote in Senate and HOR

Election cycle

-Intent to run: spring of year before election -Primary debates and caucus debates: Summer-Spring of previous year to election year -State primaries and caucuses: January-June of election year -Nominating conventions: July-September of election year -Presidential debates: September-October of election year -Election day: early November -Electoral College: December; electoral vote count in early January -Inauguration day 1/20 -Primary Season: January-September; includes the Iowa Caucus, New Hampshire Primary, and Party Nominating Convention -Office Presidential Campaign: includes the Presidential Election Debates, Election Day, Electoral College, and Inauguration Day

Judicial branch

-Interprets laws -Supreme Court and other federal courts

Primary season

-Iowa caucus: a participatory caucus; people gather at local meeting place and move to a section of the room designated for their favorite candidate's supporters; they can be challenged by another candidate's supporters; at the end of the exercise, the number of delegates apportioned to a candidate is based on the percentage of support they have; in lieu of primary election -New Hampshire Primary: An election rather than a caucus; delegates are apportioned based on the percentage of the vote that each candidate receives -Party nominating convention: each party chooses a nominee; candidate who wants to win the nomination of his party must win either the Iowa Caucus or the New Hampshire primary; nominees are usually the ones who obtained the most delegates; delegates do things such as update their party's platform, which is a statement of the party's values and the actions that party members are expected to perform to support these values -Presidential election debates: begins in September of the election year; main candidates engage in a debate; discussed in the debate are often the most controversial issues of the time -Election day: Federal law specifies that all electors must be selected on the same day; must take place between November 2 and November 8; states and the District of Columbia each conduct their own popular election on Election Day; Presidential election is really an amalgamation of separate and simultaneous state elections instead of a single national election run by the federal government. -Electoral college: 538 electoral votes cast (including three for the District of Columbia,) and a candidate needs 270 to win; for most states, the candidate who wins a majority of votes in that state takes all of its electors; only exceptions are the states of Maine and Nebraska, which split their electoral votes in proportion to the popular vote -Inauguration day: only inauguration element mandated by the United States Constitution is that the President make an oath or affirmation before that person can "enter on the Execution" of the office of the Presidency; over the years, various traditions have arisen that have expanded the inauguration from a simple oath-taking ceremony to a day-long event, including parades, speeches, and balls

Legislative branch

-Makes laws -Congress, Senate, and HOR -Congress only can declare war, may impeach president, hold disciplinary hearings for officials, confirm appointments, ratify treaties, influence foreign policy, spend/raise money -Powers granted to Congress: imposing taxes (Article I), regulate foreign trade/commerce (Article I), protect national security, and supervisory function (Congress is Senate and HOR) -Senate has powers HOR doesn't; 17th Amendment allowed direct voting for senators with 2yr elections; Senate majority leader schedules bills for hearings; min age 30, citizen for 9+ yrs - each state has TWO (2) SENATORS -HOR 2yr terms; majority leader decides who can speak in meetings; 25yo and 7+ yrs citizen; HOR sole source of bills and funding -HOR and Senate can both draft, debate, and vote on bills, but Senate ratifies treaties/confirms appointments for officials and HOR can only draft bills to increase revenue/impose taxes -Senate majority leader schedules bills, alerts people to vote

Athenian democracy

-Oldest democratic form and Roman republic too; direct democracy -All males allowed to participate in legislative processes, proposals, jury duty, etc.; men selected from lottery; wealth didn't matter

British influences

-Parliament: only property owning men could vote; right to have elected officials consent for taxation -English Bill of Rights: Magna Carta required king to get consent before taxation and furthered legal protections from royal people; not freedom of speech; right to bear arms

Cabinet

-Presidential advisors -Role is largely undefined by statutes and other formal guidelines -Washington created the standards for how the Cabinet members would interact with the presidency, establishing the Cabinet as the president's personal advisors; other presidents have built on this standard to more clearly define the Cabinet as the president's trusted advisors -A president may seek the counsel of his Cabinet and call for regular meetings; often uses the Cabinet to demonstrate that he is not acting alone -Today, Cabinet includes VP and secretaries of agriculture, commerce, defense, education, energy, health and human services, homeland security, housing and urban development, interior, labor, state, transportation, treasury, and veterans affairs, as well as the attorney general -Other positions also have the status of Cabinet rank, including the White House Chief of Staff, United States Trade Representative, Council of Economic Advisers, and the heads of the Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Management & Budget, United States Mission to the United Nations, and Small Business Administration -President nominates people for Cabinet positions; usually chosen either from among senior members of the president's party, often members of Congress, from those who hold prominent positions in state government, or from the business world -Senate must approve presidential nominations; except for the vice president, the president can dismiss Cabinet members without the Senate's approval; when a new president takes office, he usually dismisses the former president's Cabinet and chooses his own; once approved by the Senate, Cabinet members can serve in office for as long as the president is willing to keep them on staff

Other American documents

-Proclamation of 1763 forbade west Appalachian settlement -1765 Stamp Act; widespread tax on British materials and paper; revenue went to war debt -1773 Boston Tea Party; no taxation without representation; Parliament taxing American colonists without them having any right to do so -Coercive Act in response to Tea Party, 1774 Quebec Act allowed Quebec to retain its French law for civil matters after British took control of them, Continental Congress drafted the US's AOC, creating a firm league of friendship between states, highlighted British Government grievances; 2nd one broke colonies free of England and separated into 13 sovereign states -Revolutionary war between Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts -1783 Newburgh conspiracy: uprising of army officers over continental gov's promise of pensions -Shays' Rebellion: Daniel Shay; unable to pay taxes for debts incurred during the war; fought against seizure of property -1764 Sugar Act: strengthened 1733 Molasses Act, reduced tax rate of 6 pence per gallon -1764 Currency Act abolished paper money; only use hard money and coins; colonists caught smuggling in goods would be prosecuted; trial by jury -1765 Quartering Act: American colonists house and feed British troops, feeding into English BOR grievances -1766 Declatory Act: British Parliament had absolute power to make laws for colonial govts, even though colonial govts had no say in Parliament -1767 Townsend Acts: Taxes on glass, lead, paper, paint, tea

Events leading up to Civil Rights Act of 1964

-Reconstruction era: 1865-77; reconstruction amendments 13, 14, 15; abolishment of slavery, granted equal citizenship and protection, and guaranteed voting rights -1877 post-reconstruction disenfranchisement: literacy laws, poll taxes, grandfather clauses, and violence -Jim Crow laws: required African American men to find jobs or face being arrested for vagrancy; prohibited interracial marriages; and segregated schools, public transportation, and all public facilities, such as hotels, restaurants, bathrooms, and water fountains; laws and would remain in effect until the beginning of the civil rights movement in the 1950s -Plessy vs. Ferguson; doctrine of separate but equal -Brown vs. BOE -1954 Civil Rights Movement: peaceful protests; Montgomery Bus Boycotts -Civil Rights Act of 1964: Article One, Section 8 as well as the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments provided Congress with the authority to legislate and led to the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Civil Rights Act was landmark legislation that outlawed discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, or national origin

Reserved powers

-Reserved powers are any powers not specifically granted to the federal government and not forbidden to the states by the Constitution. -Regulating marriage, divorce, and adoption; regulating commerce within the state; regulating transportation within the state; and many other powers. -States can create own criminal codes; pass any law as long as it doesn't violate nat'l gov's enumerated powers or violates Constitution

Veto

-Returned to Congress by president; Congress can override the veto with 2/3s vote in both chambers -Pocket veto: failure to send bill back to Congress

Second Amendment protections

-Right to bear arms: to ensure nat'l gov's can't overwhelm right to a militia; US vs. Miller, 2 men charged with violating the law by transporting a double-barrel, 12-gauge, sawed-off shotgun across state lines; Supreme Court disagreed with the men, who argued that the arrest had violated their right to bear arms. The Court ruled that possession of such a gun has no reasonable relationship to the maintenance of a well-regulated militia and that individuals do not have the right to possess such weapons; DC vs. Heller, DC passed law regulating personal firearms, a group of private citizens filed suit based on Second Amendment; Court ruled that the Second Amendment does protect an individual's right to possess a firearm unless it is for use in a militia or for legal purposes, such as self-defense or hunting); Mcdonald vs. Chicago, Court in McDonald ruled that the Fourteenth Amendment makes the right to bear arms for self-defense applicable to the states and the bans on gun ownership in Chicago were lifted) -Right to privacy: Griswold vs. Connecticut (penumbra of privacy: privacy of self, home, property; substantive due process (guarantees the fundamental rights that are "implicit to the concept of ordered liberty" despite being unenumerated in law)

Standing committees

-Separate subject-matter committees in each house of Congress, handles bills in different policy areas, may watch fed agents -All Congress members assigned to a committee

Concurrent powers

-Shared -Tax impositions; levy taxes; provide for public welfare -Highway systems (Sometimes the balance of power is pulled toward the federal government, other times toward the state. For example, the national highway system is funded in part by the federal government, but each state maintains its portion of the road and sets laws for driving in its state. When the federal government wants to change driving laws—by requiring seat belts or setting a maximum driving speed, for example—it can force states to pass such laws by withholding funding until they do.)

First Amendment protections

-Speech: West Virginia BOE vs. Barnette, right not to speak or salute flag; Tinker vs. Des Moines, wearing armbands to protest war in schools; Cohen vs. California, protected use of profane words; Buckley vs. Valeo, right to contribute money to political campaigns; Virginia Board of Pharmacy vs. Virginia Consumer Council, right to advertise commercial products/services; Texas vs. Johnson, US vs. Eichman, right to engage in symbolic speech such as burning flag; unprotected rights: words inciting violence, burning cards in antiwar protest, permitting students to print articles unapproved by schools, obscene speeches at school events, advocating for illegal drug use at school events -Religion: prohibition of government-established/sanctioned religion; ensures freedom to exercise any religion (the Establishment and Freedom to Exercise Clause); Engel vs. Vitale (school prayer is unconstitutional); Zelmans vs. Simmons-Harris (school vouchers constitutional because of offering a public and private school option); Lemon vs. Kurtzman (Lemon test, courts now use to determine what constitutes an establishment of religion; the government can assist religion organizations only if the primary purpose of the assistance is secular, the assistance neither advances nor inhibits religion, and if it does not foster "an excessive government entanglement with religion") -Line between free speech and harm: limited speech when there can be clear and present danger (Schenck vs. US) OR Sullivan Principles (For speech to be considered libel, it must damage someone's reputation, must be false, and must have arisen from malice, or a deliberate intention to cause harm) -Freedom of assembly: govt may prohibit people from knowingly associating in groups that engage and promote illegal activities; if the Court finds that governmental interests in requiring a group to register and disclose its membership outweigh interference with First Amendment rights, the rights protected by freedom of assembly may be curtailed; freedom of assembly has to be balanced with other people's rights if it disrupts public order, traffic flow, freedom to go about normal business, or peace and quiet. Usually, a group must apply for a permit, but a government must grant a permit provided that officials have the means to prevent major disruptions -Freedom of press: govt can't censor before press is printed unless in cases of extreme national security

State courts

-State Constitution and state laws make up state courts; some states may have an intermediate Court of Appeals -State trial courts, some referred to Circuit or District Courts, sit below the appeals courts; additionally, states may have specific courts to handle particular legal matters such as probate courts, family courts, or juvenile courts -If dissatisfied with an outcome from a trial court, one may ask the case to be heard in the intermediate Court of Appeals; they also have the right to ask the highest state court to hear the case; however, only particular cases qualify for review by the U.S. Supreme Court, which is typically the highest court -The distinction between state judicial systems and the federal judicial system is that state judicial systems are concerned with matters arising under state law and the federal judicial system deals with matters arising under federal laws

Interposition

-The act of a state or group of states placing state sovereignty between its citizens and the federal government to oppose a federal law. In the 1950s, several southern states attempted to use interposition to fight the Supreme Court's ruling in Brown v. Board of Education. Arguing that the decision infringed on states' rights, several states, such as Arkansas, refused to desegregate their public schools until they were forced to do so by the federal government. More recently, in 2016, a federal judge held that the state of Alabama could no longer enforce laws banning same-sex marriage due to U. S. Supreme Court rulings recognizing the right of same-sex couples to marry under the U. S. Constitution -States have the right to oppose federal laws

Enumerated powers of the President

-The authority to appoint judges, ambassadors, and other high-ranking government officials; Veto legislation; call Congress into special session; grant pardons; issue proclamations and orders; administer the law; and serve as commander in chief of the armed forces.

Gerrymandering

-The drawing of legislative district boundaries to benefit a party, group, or incumbent -Outlawed in 1965 Voting Rights Act

Redistricting

-The drawing of new electoral district boundary lines in response to population changes -Usually ensures equal representation

Intergovernmental relations

-The entire set of interactions among national, state, and local governments -Federal funding/grants, grants-in-aid (any money given by one government entity to another; categorical grants, block grants, and general revenue sharing (GRS)) -Categorical grants: money given and only to be used for a specific function; no need to apply -Block grants: more flexible; block of several categorical grants that are grouped to achieve a single common, broader goal. For example, a city may use a block grant to revitalize an economically depressed neighborhood with a group of grants to fund housing, job training, parks, and schools. In addition, the city receiving the grant may choose to only use funds for job training because block grants allow for flexible implementation -GRS: 1972-1986 US; fed gov took the flexibility of a block grant even further by allowing the recipient full discretion over how to spend the money. Rather than specifying the approved uses of the grant money, GRS is the general aid -Coercive measures: crossover sanctions, forcing compliance through the courts, and the deployment of federal marshals -Crossover sanction: a threat to withhold national funding from a state in order to force the state to comply with national government policy. For example, Congress passed the National Minimum Age Drinking Act in 1984, which required states to pass laws changing the drinking age to 21 or lose federal highway funding. -Devolution: The federal government does not have the resources to manage all of the functions that it funds. Instead, through an arrangement called devolution, the federal government provides most or all of the funding to the state and also grants the state the authority to manage the funded program. Devolution was intended to limit the size and power of the federal government and to increase the power of the states. For example, many social welfare programs are created, regulated, and funded by the national government, but each state is free to run those programs as it sees fit. For instance, Food Stamps were created by an act of Congress that also included rules for the program, but each state/city/town/county determines the conditions of eligibility, the amount of assistance, and how the program will operate

Trial and appellate courts

-The first hearing of legal cases is in the trial court, which is the lower level of court in both the state and federal judicial systems -The second level of court is the appeals court, where defendants losing in trial courts ask for reconsideration of the lower court's decision -There are more state courts than there are federal courts; most cases are tried/decided in state courts;. generally, the federal courts do not try cases that begin in state courts; but if there is a concern that a state law violates the U.S. Constitution, a defendant may file a challenge in federal court

American Bill of Rights

-The first ten amendments to the Constitution; provides freedoms for all; influenced by Enlightenment and specifically John Locke (as well as English BOR too) -Mixed Greek democracy and Roman republic with British Parliamentary system and English BOR; new branches for distribution of power from Romans -US originated freedom of press, religion, and speech -Shields individuals/states from fed gov; protests freedom of speech/religion, right to bear arms, right to jury trial, right to due process, and right to privacy

Signing statements

-The use of signing statements may usurp the powers of Congress -Used by president when signing a bill

Civil Rights Act titles

-Title I: equal voting registration requirements -Title II: outlawing of discrimination in businesses or public places -Title III: equal accessibility to public/government spaces -Title IV: desegregation -Title V: expansion of Civil Rights Commission -Title VI: prevented the distribution of federal funds to agencies that did not comply with the Civil Rights Act -Title VII: prohibited employers from discriminating based on race, color, sex, or national origin

Vice President

-W/ ratification of the Twelfth Amendment, president and vice president would be chosen together on a single ticket -Constitutional functions are to do whatever president assigns, preside over the Senate, where he can cast a vote to break ties and to be on hand in case of the death of the president or incapacity of the president for any other reason, such as being under anesthesia for surgery -Most vice presidents opt not to preside over the Senate and only appear when a tie-breaking vote is necessary

Impact of Civil War on states' rights

-Was the United States a dissolvable confederation of sovereign states, or was it an indivisible nation with a sovereign national government? -Was this nation, based on a Declaration of Independence declaring that all men are created equal, going to continue as the world's largest slaveholding country? -1863 Emancipation Proclamation; 14th Amendment citizenship given to enslaved people

Brown vs. Board of Education

1954; separate but not equal; the Supreme Court issued a ruling that overturned Plessy. In Brown v. The Board of Education of Topeka, the Court found that the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment does not permit "separate but equal." After the ruling, African American children in Topeka, Kansas were allowed to attend school with white children. A year later, the Court ruled that schools nationwide would have to desegregate also. After the ruling, nullification and interposition and claims of states' rights were invoked, as states refused to follow the Supreme Court's order to desegregate schools. When Little Rock, Arkansas schools refused to desegregate, President Eisenhower ordered federal troops to escort black students to what had previously been an all-white high school.

Articles of Confederation

1st Constitution of the U.S. 1781-1788; first document of Founding Fathers; weak central government and inadequate support for new government; ratified in 1781; no commander in chief; representatives from states chosen and Congress needed approval to enact laws; govt could only make treaties, declare war, and seek peace; no power to raise an army; weakness: no ability to tax after Newburgh conspiracy; weakness after Shays Rebellion: govt didn't have a chief executive; all states needed to approve of decisions

Dictatorship

A form of government in which the leader has absolute power and authority; Mussolini, Hitler

US gov vs. Athenian democracy comparison

Ancient Athens was a direct democracy. All men could vote regardless of wealth. All men were allowed to participate in proposing laws, debating them, and voting for them. All men were also eligible to serve on juries. In the US, all adult non-felons can vote (including women), but people do not directly propose, debate, or vote on laws. They elect representatives to do this for them.

Framers

Believed direct democracy should include election of HOR; wanted primary protections on property

Civil cases

Court cases that involve a private dispute arising from such matters as accidents, contractual obligations, and divorce; regulating relationships among groups, organizations, or individuals; business and contract law; family law; property damage; usually no jailtime penalty

FEDERALISM SUMMARY

Federalism centralizes political control but shares authority with individual state governments and establishes shared powers between the state and federal authorities. The federal system was an elimination of the unitary system that had ultimate control over the populace. Unitary systems maintain power at the central level where the national level grants the only powers offered to states. The federal system also rejected the confederacy system where the majority of political control rests with the state government. Federalism intends to create a working relationship between the national and state system of government. However, the Supremacy Clause identifies federal law as superior over state law so long as it does not exceed Constitutional limits. Federal power guards state laws against infringing on the rights of individual citizens. By creating national programs, the federal system assists the state, yet allows states the power to implement these programs at the state level. When states do this, they have the authority to provide service levels that exceed minimum federal standards. The interpretation is an effort to protect state control or a result of the central government becoming too large to manage. Enumerated powers grant the federal government specific authority to conduct official business and deal with international issues. Powers invested at the state level are not as clearly defined but are considered to be the powers not enumerated by the Constitution. Advocates for States' Rights argue this issue provides individual states more power than federal law. That is where the Supremacy Clause is used to balance the power between the federal and state systems. The arguments between Federalism and States' Rights have influenced constitutional debates such as Dred Scott or Brown v. The Board of Education. They also have created military conflicts including the Whiskey Rebellion or the Civil War. Not every event turned into a constitutional debate or a military action, but state governments and federal authority continue to test and try each other's limitations of power.

John Locke

Government is a social contract; purpose is to protect life, liberty, and property; citizens can abolish government if rights are not protected; advocated for freedom of worship and religion; believed atheists and Roman Catholics were incapable of social order; favored constitutional monarchy

John Locke's inspiration to Jefferson

John Locke believed that all people had the right to life, liberty, and property, and that people could refuse to be ruled by governments that failed to protect these rights. Thomas Jefferson also believed this. His ideas are reflected in the Declaration of Independence, which explained why the American colonists had the right to rebel against the British government. Locke also influenced Jefferson's ideas on religious toleration.

Intermediate scrutiny

Legislative classifications such as sex and birth legitimacy have been a focus

Implied powers

National banks holding coin revenue and tax revenue, pass laws forbidding racial segregation because interstate commerce is harmed by racial segregation, pass laws setting a minimum wage, pass laws requiring men 18-25 to register for SS

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Outlawed the practice of requiring people to pass literacy tests to register to vote, authorized federal agents to register people to vote and to monitor elections in districts suspected of discriminating against African American voters, established extensive federal oversight of elections by providing that states with a history of discriminatory voting practices could not make any changes to their election laws without first obtaining the approval of the Justice Department

United Steelworkers vs. Weber

Private affirmative action programs, which reserved half of the spots in training program for African American workers, were constitutional

Dredd Scott

Slave who sued for his freedom after he argued that he became free when he lived in a free territory; the Supreme Court disagreed. The Court contended that under the Constitution, that black people were not considered citizens and, as such, Scott was the property of his owner. As such, you could not take the property from an individual without due process of law. Therefore, Scott could not be given his freedom, regardless of where he and his owner lived

Gratz vs. Bollinger

Struck down use of "bonus points" for race in undergrad admissions at University of Michigan

CONSTITUTION SUMMARY

The Americans' experience with the British authoritarian political system created anger and frustration. Earlier British military support during the French and Indian War encouraged a warm relationship between the Crown and colonies but was quickly tested by debt. Defending the colonies from the French and Indians was expensive. Great Britain believed colonists should share the cost. The colonists, willing to pay the debt, expected to have a voice within the British political system. The Crown's refusal led to colonial challenges against British authority. Colonists believed Parliament violated their protected rights under the English Bill of Rights. Americans found British taxes and actions intolerable and initiated revolution. British authority responded with greater force causing the colonists to declare independence. Assisted by the French, arch-rivals of the British Empire, the American colonies won, only to find how difficult it was to establish a system of rule. The Articles of Confederation, a weak form of government, provided very little centralized control over the population. Americans identified themselves as citizens of their states first and held their national identity second. The concept of the United States was based more on a plural rather than singular tense. Following a series of arguments and debates, the Articles of Confederation were replaced with the Constitution. Federalists who supported a strong centralized government convinced Anti-Federalists to accept the new government by offering a guarantee that individual rights would be protected. The Bill of Rights identified the Federal government's limitations. The national form of government held specific legal authority, while certain legal powers were granted to state governments. The Federalist and Anti-Federalist Constitutional stance developed into a political party system. Both parties held respect for the Constitution but interpreted the document with different ideals. Federalists called for a loose construction granting increased flexibility for Constitutional interpretation. Anti-Federalists, fearing increased Federal power, called for a strict interpretation of original content. Debates of Constitutional interpretation based on strict or loose construction continue to drive current political arguments.

Memphis Firefighters vs. Stotts

The Court held that white employees with greater seniority could not be laid off so African American employees with less seniority could maintain their jobs

Are individual states, such as Arizona and New Mexico, able to form treaties with foreign countries? Why, or why not?

The Tenth Amendment allows states to exercise powers not expressly denied to them by the Constitution. However, the Constitution expressly denies states the power to make treaties with foreign countries.

Strict scrutiny

The classifications of race and ethnicity, national origin, religion, and alien status have generally received the most significant attention, and actions such as denial or dilution of the right to vote, travel across state lines, access to the courts or other fundamental rights have been the primary focus.

Minimum or rational basis level scrutiny

There is typically a review of all other categorizations, although there has been flexibility in this when specific high-profile classifications, such as those involving sexual orientation or mental capability, are covered by a piece of legislation. Most classifications written into law have been subject only to rational basis review because the highest Court consistently rules most of them satisfy the equal protection requirement if the basis of a citing is factual in their support.

Grutter vs. Bollinger

Upheld affirmative action policy of the University of Michigan Law School, upheld Bakke that race could be a consideration for admissions but quotas are illegal