POLI2010 Exam 3

Congress is the national legislature of the United States of America. It is a bicameral legislature that is responsible for crafting what?

Congress is the national legislature of the United States of America. It is a bicameral legislature that is responsible for crafting what?

national public policy.

The bicameral national legislature was established in which article of the Constitution?

Article 1.

In the House of Reps, the “lower house” representation is allotted how?

proportionally.

Representation in the Senate is allotted how?

equally with two senators for each state.

What is the main purpose of party caucuses?

to elect the party leadership.

Political parties were formed because of necessity for what?

organizing political conflict.

What is the majority party?

party with majority of members - guide the agenda.

What is the minority party?

party with a minority of members - opposition party.

What is the Speaker of the House?

the highest ranking member of the majority party - most powerful position in the House.

What are some of the responsibilities of the Speaker of the House?

• preside over meetings of House

• appoint members of committees

• schedule legislation for floor action

• interpret house rules

• refer bills to committees

What is the House Majority Leader?

official spokesman for majority party - supports speaker of the house.

What is the House Minority Leader?

ranking member of the minority party - official spokesman for minority - supports minority platform.

What are Whips?

congressman who support party leaders - “whip” up votes for party’s bill - promote party cohesion.

What is the Seniority system?

a custom of giving preference to longer serving congressman when selecting chairman and members for committees.

What does the Seniority System provide?

a predictable means of assigning positions of power within congress.

What are committee chairs?

very powerful position in congress - usually granted by seniority.

What do committee chairs do?

• preside over bill discussion in committees

• wield a great deal of power in shaping bills in their committees

What are standing committees?

committees that are permanent - over major, ongoing areas of policy. These committees have many subcommittees with even narrower areas of policy jurisdiction.

What are special/select committees?

limited time and for specific legislative purpose.

What are conference committees?

members of both chambers work out differences between versions of a particular bill.

What are the steps of the legislative process?

bill → read 1st time → committee → review/amend → die or go back to floor → schedule → debate → amendments (if necessary) → floor vote → other chamber → president → sign or veto,

What is important about George Washington?

• one of the most influential presidents

• all the precedents he set for office

• set the expectations for all presidents to follow

What is important about Thomas Jefferson?

• vision of America as a nation of small farmers

  • was very influential to future policies.

• was the first real leader of his political party

What is important about Andrew Jackson?

• presented the image of a real common man, a man of the people

• helped to found the democratic party

• increases power and influence of the president

What is important about Abraham Lincoln?

• guided the country through its worst crisis during the Civil War.

• exercised lots of power → even actions considered extra - constitutional

What is important about Teddy Roosevelt?

• 1st real proponent of the stewardship theory → president is only limited by specific points of law

• 1st to use the direct appeals to the public to sway public opinion

• 1st to push America to be a strong global power

What is important about Woodrow Wilson?

• advocated for America to be a major player in the international community

  • League of Nations

  • use power of diplomacy

What is important about Franklin Roosevelt?

• guided the country through 2 major crises:

  • Great Depression and WWII

• greatly expanded the power and role of the president

• ushers in the era of the modern presidency

What does the president’s role of Head of State entail?

• performing symbolic and ceremonial duties

  • receive diplomats/dignitaries

  • award medals

  • give ceremonial speeches

  • pardon turkey

What does the president’s role of Chief Executive entail?

• “take care that the laws are faithfully executed”

  • head of all executive branch/bureaucracy

  • direct how policies are enacted

  • appoint members to executive and judicial offices

What does the president’s role of Commander-in-Chief entail?

• make important decisions about the waging of war

• initiate defensive actions

• send American troops abroad - War Powers Resolution 1973

• nationalize state national guards

What does the president’s role of Chief Diplomat entail?

• chief representative of US to foreign nations

  • promote America’s standing in international community

  • negotiate treaties

  • make executive agreements

  • diplomatic recognition

What does the presidents role as Chief Legislator entail?

• important policy-making duties

  • state of the Union address

  • sign or veto laws

  • drive policy agenda → use “power of persuasion” to make appeals to American people to support policies

What does the president’s role as Chief Politician entail?

• most influential politician in US

  • head of party - guide the agenda, give political patronage, influence party organization

  • maintain public support → public approval ratings.

What is bargaining?

• using political clout to bargain with other political actors to achieve goals

  • mutual backscratching

  • arm twisting

  • needs plenty of political capital to bargain well

What is the power of persuasion?

• using the power of words and persuasion to accomplish goals

  • some presidents better than others

  • persuade other politicians or the public to support goals

  • use the media in a savvy fashion to present message

  • with social media, presidents can appeal directly to people

What are emergency powers?

president can exercise “extra” authority in a time of national emergency (most influential power)

What are executive orders?

• a legislative-type power

  • can be to direct the enforcement of legislation

  • to enforce the Constitution or treaties

  • establish or modify bureaucratic rules and regulations

What is executive privilege?

• claim of power to refuse to release certain information or refuse to appear before congress or courts

  • most claims of executive power go unchallenged

What is the power of signing statements?

• statements attached to bills signed into law by president

  • can be merely rhetorical mention of support for law

  • can be written to say president will enforce law differently from intention of Congress

What occurs during presidential elections?

potential candidates must begin fundraising pretty early on to have sufficient funds to run a serious campaign.

America follows what tradition?

english common law.

What is english common law?

law as a whole is based upon accumulated rulings = precedent/state decisis.

What are the different kinds of laws?

• substantive

• procedural

• criminal

• civil

• constitutional

• statutory

Article III of the Constitution does what?

• grants all judicial power in the US to the Supreme Court and any inferior courts Congress creates

  • outlines original and appellate jurisdiction for court

What did the Judiciary Act of 1789 do?

established the framework of the federal judiciary in use today.

What did the case of Marbury v. Madison (1803) do?

court made a ruling that established its role in determining the ultimate constitutionality of legal decisions, executive actions, and congressional acts.

What is the lowest level of federal judiciary?

district courts.

What do the US Court of Appeals do?

• also known as circuit courts

• hear appeals from decisions of lower courts

• each serves a geographic area

• reviews issues of law that may have interpreted incorrectly - not issues of fact

What is the highest court in America?

US Supreme Court.

The US Supreme Court is?

• court of last resort in the American judicial system

• hears appeals from circuit courts and state supreme courts

• current size is 9 justices

  • has original jurisdiction in certain cases (trial court)

What is the writs of certiorari?

appellants file a writ of cert (“to be shown” records) requesting court review a case.

What are three factors that could affect justices’/judges’ decisions?

• judicial philosophy

• political ideology

• constructionist views

What is judicial philosophy?

the way in which a judge understands and interprets the law.

What is political ideology?

set of political beliefs about the nature of society and role of government.

What is constructionist views?

how to adhere to letter or spirit of the law/constitution.

What is judicial restraint?

deferring to policies emanating from elected branches or established doctrine in absence of a clear constitutional violation

What is judicial activism?

belief in taking an active role in changing doctrine to conform to their view of the constitution, especially in a changing society

What is conservative?

belief in fewer regulations on business/economy and more government role in upholding traditional societal values.

What is liberal?

belief in more regulations on business/economy to protect public and less government role in upholding societal values.

What is strict constructionism?

stick closely to the “letter of the law” when interpreting Constitution/statute.

What is broad constructionism?

try to determine the “spirit of the law” through the context and purpose of the law.