American Gov't Test 1

Gov’t Purposes (Uncontroversial)

Maintain order, provide public goods

Gov’t Purposes (Controversial)

Freedom and equality, social order

Gov’t Dilemmas

Freedom vs Order (OG), Freedom vs Equality/Social Order

Order (Narrow)

Preserving life and protecting property

Order (Broad)

Established patterns of authority/traditional behaviors

Equality of Opportunity

Gov’t ensures each person has the same opportunity to succeed in life

Equality of Outcome

Gov’t aims to redistribute wealth/status so economic/social equality can be achieved

New Deal Liberalism

Gov’t provides certain rights

Liberals

Favor gov’t in economic issues but not social issues

Conservatives

Favor gov’t in social issues but not economic issues

Communitarians

Favor gov’t in both economic and social issues

Libertarians

Opposed to gov’t in both economic and social issues

Liberalism

Accept capitalism but want gov’t to regulate it

Democratic Socialism

More critical of capitalism, want more gov’t economic control, advocate for aggressive wealth redistribution

Socialism

System where gov’t controls/owns the main means of production/distribution

Police Power

Authority of state gov’t to enact laws to protect the public

Procedural Democracy

Emphasizes processes that let the people rule

Procedural Principles

Universal Participation, Political Equality, Majority Rule, Responsiveness, Peaceful Transition of Power

Participatory Democracy

System where members of a group, not elected reps, make decisions (Small societies)

Substantive Democracy

Substance of gov’t policies regarding individual liberty and rights

2nd Continental Congress

Created Declaration of Independence and Articles of Confederation

Declaration of Independence

Written by Jefferson, Inspired by Locke

Articles of Confederation

Weak central gov’t, high state power, 1 vote per state, important decisions require consent of most states

Articles failed because…

Gov’t couldn’t tax, had no leader, couldn’t regulate interstate commerce, couldn’t be amended without all states, and couldn’t keep order

Virginia Plan

Strong central gov’t, bicameral, privileged large pop states

New Jersey Plan

Equal state representation, unicameral, made out of fear of large pop state dominance

Great Compromise

Representation is apportioned to state pop, 2 senators per state, electoral college added to assuage fears of pop election, only House + Senate can charge/convict the President

Federalism

Power divided between a central gov’t and regional gov’ts

Article I

House/Senate, enumerated powers (including implied via proper/necessary clause)

Article II

Presidential terms, election procedure (electoral college), qualifications, duties/powers

Article III

Judicial, left purposely vague due to disagreements, doesn’t explicitly give judicial review

Article IV

Full faith/credit clause, requires judicial acts be followed in all states, forbids state discrimination

Article V

Specifies Amendment method

Article VI

Supremacy Clause

Supremacy Clause

Asserts that when they conflict with state laws, national laws take precedent

Article VII

Ratification process

Framers’ Motives

Inability of Articles to maintain order, combine unitary framework and confederation

Madison said…

Constitution would prevent mob rule

State Ratification

New Hampshire 9th state to ratify

Bill of Rights

Concession for unrest about civil liberties

Amendment Process

Proposal and Ratification

Proposal

2/3 of all Congress vote/national convention called by 2/3 legislature

Ratification

¾ of state legislature vote/constitutional conventions in ¾ states

Political Practice

Gov’t provisions fall out of use

Commerce Clause

Gives Congress power to regulate interstate commerce (3rd clause of Article I)

Reserved Powers

Left to people/states, police powers

Delegated Powers

Expressly granted to the national gov’t

Dual Federalism

Responsibilities split between federal and state (Layer Cake)

Conservative Federalism

Responsibilities shared by federal and state (Marble Cake)

Pragmatic Federalism

Emphasizes problem-solving rather than strict theory, no prescription on how to act

Coercive Federalism

Federal pressures state

Preemption

Power to enact laws where national gov’t takes full/partial responsibility for a state gov’t function

Grant-in-Aid

Money that a level of gov’t pays to another level/NGO for a given purpose

Categorical Grants

Target specific purposes, usually have rules

Block Grants

Awarded for broad/general purpose, less strings

Formula Grants

Distributed according to rules that define eligibility and amount

Home Rule

Right to enact/enforce legislation in certain administrative areas

Plural Executive

Executive power is divided among multiple independently elected officials

Dillon’s Rule

Local gov’ts only possess powers explicitly granted by the state

Civil Liberties

Guaranteed freedoms

Civil Rights

Guarantees of equal treatment under the law

Due Process Clause

Made it possible for civil liberties to be protected by state laws

Selective Incorporation

Process where courts decide whether a liberty applies to states

Establishment Clause

Prohibits laws sponsoring/prohibiting religion

Lemon Test

Laws must have a secular purpose, the primary effect can’t be to support/prohibit, can’t entangle the gov’t with religion

Free-exercise Clause

Prevents gov’t from interfering with religious practice

Strict Scrutiny

Standards used to decide whether a law/policy should be judged constitutional

Supreme Court doesn’t interpret the free religion clauses

Amalgam that collectively maintains that freedom to believe/not believe is unlimited, but freedom to practice isn’t

Free Expression Clauses

Speech and press clauses of the 1st Amendment

Prior Restraint

Censorship before publication

Free Speech Clause

Right to unrestricted discussion as long as public order isn’t threatened

Clear and Present Danger Test

Right to restrict freedom of speech when public order is threatened

Brandenburg v. Ohio

Threats have to be immediate and real for free speech to be threatened

Fighting Words

Statements made to incite fighting/disturb peace; can be protected if they have public importance

Obscenity

Isn’t allowed by free speech

Miller Test

Encourages sexual content, portrays sexual conduct offensively, lacks value

Bills of Attainder

Laws that deem individuals guilty without a trial

Ex Post Facto Laws

Laws that punish people for actions that were legal when performed, but are now illegal

Miranda Warnings

Set of rights that police must read before asking questions about a crime

Exclusionary Rule

Prosecutors can’t use evidence if it came from an illegals search and seizure

Good Faith Exception

Evidence from a mistakenly issued warrant can be used if the mistake was made in good faith