PS 201 NCSU Test 1

3/5th's Compromise

Allocating house seats -a slave would generate 3/5th's as much as free people, thus they would could as 3/5th's of a person

Conservatives

Americans who believe in reduced government spending, personal responsibility, traditional moral values, and strong national defense. (right wing)

Liberals

Americans who value cultural diversity, government programs for the needy, public intervention in the economy, and individuals' right to a lifestyle based on their own social and moral positions. (left wing)

American political decisions are shaped by four "I" factors:

Ideas Institutions Interests Individuals

Declaration of independence: two parts

Part 1: the American ideal, all people are "created equal" and "endowed by their creator with certain UNALIENABLE rights" including life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness Part 2: lists colonial grievances, emphasizing the rights of free people to elect their legislatures

Constitution

a body of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is acknowledged to be governed. unclear on many contemporary issues, leading us to interpret its meaning

Democracy

a government in which citizens rule directly and make government decisions for themselves

Republic

a government in which citizens rule indirectly and make government decisions through their elected representatives

grand jury

a jury that does not decided on guilt or innocence but only on whether there is enough evidence for the case to go to trail

Unitary government

a national polity governed as a single unit, with the central government exercising all or most political authority ex: the king and parliament in England Americans rebelled against Britain's unitary government

miranda warnings

a set of rights that police officers are required to inform suspects of, including the right to remain silent

New Federalism

a version of cooperative federalism, but with less oversight by the federal government (which still provided funds) and more control on the state and local level -Block grants: national government funding provided to state and local governments, with relatively few restrictions or requirements on spending newer version of cooperative federalism

Social equality

all individuals enjoy the same status in society

Articles of Confederation

alliance of independent states that maximized popular participation This government had some great successes, but many leaders felt that it was too weak and left the United States vulnerable to foreign powers

Equality

allows each citizen to enjoy the same privileges, status, and rights before the law

symbolic expression

an act, rather than actual speech, used to demonstrate a point of view (burning something) -intimidating people is not protected by the first amendment

Rational-choice Theory

an approach to political behavior that views individuals as rational, decisive actors who know their political interests and seek to act on them

unfunded mandates

an obligation imposed on state or local government officials by federal legislation, without sufficient federal funding support to cover the costs -requires close cooperation between states

Nationalism

attitudes of members of a nation when they care about national identity helps to bind together a large and diverse nation with a fragmented government there is not a strong sense of nationality among the articles of confederation because they gave all the power to the states, this means the states were not unified

Ratification of the Constitution

battle between anti-federalists (opposed the constitution) and federalists (who supported it) The first 10 amendments: Bill of Rights came out of the ratification debates and were approved by the first congress 17 more amendments followed in the next 215 years

Virginia plan

big states, vote based on populations, stronger national government, bicameral legislature

New Deal

brought the United States out of the great depression

Planned Parenthood v. Casey

challenges to roe v. wade led to a string of supreme court decisions

1833 Barren v. Baltimore

city is taking property without just compensation Ruling: did not apply to the states (only applicable to national government)

Dual Federalism

clear division of governing authority between national and state governments -layer cake federalism: has a clear division of governing authority between national and state governments (1781-1937)

Griswold v. Connecticut 1965

contraception case: is contraception a private concern or a government concern? Ruling: right to privacy

Constitutional Convention

convened to fix problems with the first American government, focused on six broad issues: popular involvement, national versus state power, big versus small states, checks and balances, the presidency, and slavery created a new hybrid form of government: a federal system of shared and overlapping powers, power is divided and shared between national and state government

clear and present danger

court doctrine that permits restrictions of free speech if officials believe that the speech will lead to prohibited action such as violence or terrorism

8th amendment

cruel and unusual punishment shall not be inflicted

the ____ institutionalizes American ideas

declaration of independence

5th amendment

defendants in federal cases are entitled to a grand jury before trial

the colonists favored the ____ of representation because members of the legislature responded to their constituents' desired

delegate model

in 1776, for the first time in world history, the American colonists made the claim that government _____

derives its power from the consent of the governed

Social movement Theory

emphasizes the power citizens wield when they organize and rise up in protest

judicial standard

establishes a more general guiding principle rather than a hard and fast rule (planned parenthood v. casey)

fighting words

expressions inherently likely to provoke violent reaction and not necessarily protected by the first amendment

Lawerence v. Texas

extended right to privacy to same-sex couples

selective incorporation

extending protections from the bill of rights to the state governments, one right at a time

Laboratories of Federalism

fosters political innovation by giving states opportunities to try new things out ex. legalizing marijuana in Colorado

Negative liberty

freedom from constraints of the interference of others (even if constraints are intended to help others)

Five rights of the 1st amendment

freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and the right to partition the government

up until the ______, england largely ignored its American colonies, so the colonies were left alone to govern themselves

french and Indian war

texas v. johnson

government may not prohibit the expression of an idea simply because society finds the idea offensive or disagreeable

concurrent powers

governmental authority shared by national and state governments, such as the power to tax residents ex: raise taxes, build roads, construct bridges, borrow money

commerce clause

grants national government authority over international and interstate commerce. The commerce clause was used to forbid racial discrimination in restaurants

6th amendment

guarantees a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury and representation by an attorney powell v. alabama: right to an attorney gideon v. wainwright: the state must provide an attorney if you cannot pay for one

Political equality

guarantees every citizen the same rights and opportunities to participate in politics

the framers added a bill of rights to the constitution because they

had an abiding faith in individualism

some states grant their local government broad powers, known as ______

home rule

hate speech

hostile statements based on someone's personal characteristics, such as race, ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation

Conclusion for terrorism/liberty

if we tilt too far toward combating terrorism or outlawing practices considered socially unacceptable, Americans will lose the liberties

American Dream

if you are talented and work hard, you will succeed and grow wealthy. Critics argue that the system is rigged or that the dream promotes the wrong values, however, the dream remains a powerful force in American politics

the palladium of all liberties

in mcdonald v. chicago, the supreme court incorporated the constitutional right to bear arms to state and local governments

Individualism

individuals, not society or the government, are responsible for their own well being

____ powers are those implied by, but not specifically named in, the constitution

inherent

Lemon Test

judges what government actions are permissible -the law must have a secular purpose -its principal effect must neither advance nor inhibit religion -it must not excessively entangle the government in religion

Confederation

leaves most power in the states or provinces while weak central authority provides common defense or economic benefits Americans tried this system under the articles of confederation which proved to be TOO WEAK

Prior restraint

legal effort to stop speech before it occurs, in effect, censorship

Pragmatism

legal interpretation of the Constitution, constitution evolves

USA Patriot act

legislation that sought to enhance national security, passed in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks

Originalism

literal meaning of constitution

Diffusion works best when _______ officials have authority to implement pilot programs and advertise their success of failure

local

Economic equality

minimizes the gap between citizens' wealth and earnings

Progressive Federalism (Obama era)

modern federalism variant in which the national government sets broad goals for a program, and relies on state innovations to achieve them -education, healthcare

Block grants

money given from the federal funding, but with less restrictions and instructions on how to use it, countered the grants-in-aid

Grants-in-aid

money given to the local and state governments with very specific instructions on how to use the money; heavy restrictions

Inherent powers

national government powers IMPLIED by, but not explicitly named in the Constitution

granted powers

national government powers listed explicitly in the constitution (article 1, section 8, 19 powers)

the story of civil liberties is the story of managing the collisions between two principles--- the ______ of the community versus the rights of the individual

needs and desires

"freedom from want" entails helping

needy people who have fallen on hard times

Individualism points toward limited government, faith in economic markets, and strong emphasis on what

negative liberty

under the articles of confederation, __________ votes were required on important matters

nine

fourteenth amendment

no state shall deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law; nor deny any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws

Obscenity

not protected by the first amendment, defined by the MILLER TEST -the average person would find the work as a whole sexually stimulating -it depicts sexual conduct in a "patently offensive way" -the work lacks "serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value"

Libertarians

people who believe in minimal government, specifically that public officials only role should be defending borders, prosecuting crime, and protecting private property

Elite Theory

power actually rests in the hands of a small number of wealthy and powerful individuals, especially corporate executives and top government officials

freedom of speech

preferred position among all of the amendments to the constitution

the desire for fairness causes critics to worry that competition between states and localities leads to a ________, resulting in a bidding war in which each state tries to cut programs and taxes more than neighboring states in order to attract middle class people and new business

race to the bottom

Neutrality test

replaced the Sherbert test thanks to the employment division case -the new test only asks whether the same law applies to everyone, so long as the law does not target a religious group, the court will permit it

Brandenburg v. Ohio

replaced the clear and present danger test: a state may not interfere with speech unless the speech "incites imminent lawless action" and is likely to actually produce such action

Religious freedom restoration act of 1993

required federal and state governments to use the old sherbert balancing test

Civil liberties

restrict government action to protect individual rights negative freedom enforcing rights for some people often limit the liberty of others

Georgia's antisodomy law

ruled that the right to privacy did not extend to same-sex couples

the english policy is ignoring colonies was known as _____; it permitted the colonies to develop their own political institutions

salutary neglect

Judicial rule

sets clear boundaries between what is lawful and what is not (roe v. wade)

Federalism

shared power between state, national, and local government

New Jersey plan

small states, votes based on states (equal number for them all), equal representation, stronger state government, unicameral legislature

Diffusion

spreading of policy ideas could be problematic when spreading policies from state to state because not every citizen thinks the same, especially across states

a Judicial ______ is guiding principle that helps government make judgement calls

standard

engel v. vitale

starting the school day with a nondemonatinal prayer violates establishment clause

Pluralism Theory

suggests that people can influence government through the many interest groups that spring up to champion everything from climate change to banning abortions

Freedom

the ability to pursue one's own desires without interference from others

Positive Liberty

the ability, and provision of basic necessities, to pursue one's goals (calls on community)

Necessary and proper clause

the constitutional declaration that defines congress's authority to exercise the "necessary and proper" powers to carry out its designated functions also called elastic clause because it stretches national government authority over everything from creating banks to regulating airlines to overseeing zoo's

Supremacy clause

the constitutional declaration that the national government's authority prevails over any conflicting state or local government's claims, providing the power is granted to the federal government

reserved powers

the constitutional guarantee (in the tenth amendment) that states retain government authority not explicitly granted to the national government. ex: public health, morality, commerce within the state, and organizing state elections police, prisons, and local courts are also in each state's hands

full and faith clause

the constitutional requirement that each state recognize and uphold laws passed by any other state

Right to privacy?

the court discovered a right to privacy implicit in the shadows of the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 9th amendment ex: roe vs. wade (1st trimester), striking down antisodomy laws in 2003

the bill of rights barely touched American life because it only applied to

the federal government

student speech

the first amendment offers students, in high schools or colleges, less protection that adults. school officials may regulate speech as long as they do not do so arbitrarily

Civil rights

the freedom to participate in the full life of the community, to vote, use facilities, and exercise equal economic opportunity require government action to help secure individual rights positive freedom

Self-rule

the idea that legitimate government flows from the people "government by the people, for the people" -Abraham Lincoln

Institutions

the organizations, norms, and rules that structure government and public action

double jeopardy

the principle that an individual cannot be tried twice for the same offense

accommodation

the principle that government does not violate the establishment clause as long as it does not confer an advantage to some religions over others

Community/Social Democracy

the public interest is best served when members of a society use government to take care of one another

Bureaucratic Theory

the real control lies with the millions of men and women who carry out the day to day operations of modern government

second amendment

the right to bear arms -some see it as an important individual right -others see it as outmoded defense of citizen militias

exclusionary rule

the ruling that evidence obtained in an illegal search may not be introduced in trail Mapp v. Ohio

Strict seperation

the strict principles articulated in the lemon test for judging whether a law establishes a religion

American Exceptionalism

the view that the Unites States is uniquely characterized by a distinct set of ideas such as equality, self-rule, and limited government

the framers did not allow the public to directly elect a president because ______

they did not think the people had enough information or wisdom to make the proper choice

A relic of the revolution

this view interprets the second amendment as simply forbidding the government from disarming the local militias; it does not involve a personal right to tote weapons

under dual federalism, the division of labor left the national government in charge of _____ major areas

three

an elected official voting and acting in what one believes to be in the best interests of one's constituency is an example of ______

trustee representation

Roe v. Wade

using right to privacy, US supreme court struck down a Texas law banning abortion -right to privacy encompasses a woman's right to terminate her pregnancy; 1st trimester

American paradox

"strong nation, weak national government" a weak government mean that American institutions (and officials) rank relatively low on three dimensions: size, authority, and independence -emphasis on citizen participation, the importance of building alliances, and reliance on power and money

Advantages or National Policy

-enhances fairness (avoiding a race to the bottom) -equalizes resources -promotes national standards and best practices -facilitates coordination

Advantages or State-Level Policy

-it responds to local needs -enables innovations in the laboratories of democracy -protects individual rights -enhances choice

cooperative federalism

-new deal of the 1930's (when dual arrangement collapsed) -mingled governing authority with functions overlapping functions across national and state governments -marble cake federalism: overlapping functions across state and national government -grants in aid: national government funding provided to state and local governments, along with specific instructions about how the funds may be used (1933-1981)

Main reasons why federalism was introduced into the Constitution

-the ability to tax: war debt -adheres to logic: checks and balances -retains power for the states -compromise between unitary and confederate forms of government -allows for dual sovereignty

two commands regulating religion

-the federal government may not establish an official religion (establishment clause) -it may not interfere in religious practice (the free exercise clause)

Sherbert or balancing test

-was the government imposing a "significant burden" on his/her ability to exercise faith? -did the government have a "compelling interest" for imposing the burden