GOVT 2306 Midterm

Bill of Rights

added to constitution to please antifederalists who were worried about individual rights

1st Amendment

Freedom of speech/religion/press/assembly/petition

2nd Amendment

Right to bear arms

3rd Amendment

No quartering of troops (private property)

4th Amendment

No unreasonable search or seizure

5th Amendment

Due process/self incrimination (right to remain silent)/no double jeopardy

6th Amendment

Speedy public trial by jury in criminal cases

7th Amendment

Speedy public trial by jury in civil cases

8th Amendment

No excessive bond/cruel or unusual punishment/excessive bail

9th Amendment

Rights not listed go to states (people)

10th Amendment

Rights not denied go to states (people)

Ways to change the consitution

amendments- not frequently used (27 amendments total)

court rulings/interpreting laws- most common way bc constitution is vague

legislation- congress + supreme court

practice- things that aren’t listed in constitution but we have made by practice (political parties)

Theories of Representation

Delegate Theory

Trustee Theory

Politico Theory

Delegate Theory

constituents delegate issues to Congress people and they’re supposed to vote based on how you feel about certain issues

• voting trends and demographics

Trustee Theory

constituents trust congress people to vote however they want

Politico Theory

Congress people will use both Delegate and Trustee theory

• Delegate theory in domestic issues

• Trustee theory in international issues

Types of Committees in Congress

Standing Committee

Special/Select Committee

Joint Committees

Conference Committees

Standing Committee

the “workhorse” of Congress > based on bureaucracy and permanent

Special/Select Committee

Temporary committees set to investigate (questioning the CEO of Tiktok)

Joint Committees

house members + senators

deal with unimportant issues on Capitol Hill

• should we call French Fries Freedom Fries?

• What should be the hours for the Library of Congress

Conference Committees

house members and senators > take bills from House and Senate and combine the two versions into one final bill

Causes of 2 party system

• historic dualism (federalists and anti-federalists) set tone for nation

• moderate voter as average voter so both parties become centrists (try to be moderate too)

• electoral structure; plurality system (winner takes all, votes of minorities in a district are wasted)

• self-perpetuation: suggests you will vote like parents when you’re older because they teach you their values

• flexibility of parties: will adopt 3rd party candidates if that candidate is popular with the electorate

Redistricting

redrawing of Congressional district lines done primarily by state legislature

Redistricting Criteria

• compact districts

• contiguous (no breaks)

• commonality of interests (majority in same conditions for better representation)

• consider political subdivisions (try not to divide a county)

• BONUS: protection of incumbent congress member

Gerrymandering

redrawing district lines with a political purpose

Partisan Gerrymandering

illegal but we still do it, technically unconstitutional

dividing districts based on party affiliation

Racial Gerrymandering

originally not illegal but it is no

dividing districts based on race

majority/minority districts

cracking

dividing the electoral strength

packing

packing and concentrating the electoral strength

Incumbency Advantage

incumbent will probably win

• name recognition

• funding

• experience/track record

  • relationships

• credit-claiming

  • pork-barreling: federal funding to your state

• media attention

• Franking Privilege: free mail/taxpayer mail sent to constituents

• experience running campaigns

  • careerism: people make careers out of Congress

Problems with Incumbency Advantage

• Party advantages: if a party is in congress, they’ll stay in congress

• no term limits in congress

• unconstitutional for states to make term limits for senators

  • also, by doing so, states put themselves at disadvantage because seniority rule exists

Washingtonians

offered some of the president’s prestige through the President campaigning for people running/in Congress

• president must be popular

Power to Persuade of the President

• prestige

• Washingtonians

• “going public” to persuade the people

  • usually done if Congress isn’t agreeing with President

Electoral College

vote for a slate of electors

• 270 electors to win

• 538 total electors (435 House, 100 Congress, 3 DC)

considered a buffer for uneducated votes, moderate what people felt

Problems with Electoral College

candidate who wins popular vote might not win electoral vote

faithless electors: when electors vote for someone who they didn’t pledge to vote for

Judicial Activism

more liberal policies

does not read constitution literally > applies it to current times

act as creative partners with other two branches

shaping policy, legislating from the bench

very active

Judicial Restraint

more conservative policies

literal meaning of the constitution

strict constructionist

believe in original intent or framer’s intent

very passive, only get involved with clear violations of constitution

precedent/stereo decisis

a previous court decision upholds and decides new court decision

judicial review

interpreting the constitution, ability to say if something is unconstitutional or not

dixiecrats

White southern conservative democrats