POSC Exam 2

Terms, cases, and concepts

Substantive freedoms & liberties

limits on what the government can or can’t do

ex. can’t seize property w/o compensation

Procedural freedoms & liberties

rules regarding how the government must act

ex. recieving due process of law

Establishment Clause

prohibits government from establishing a national religion & supporting one religion over the other

Free Exercise Clause

the government can’t stop someone from exercising their religion or lack thereof

Freedom of Expression Protections

1. Freedom of Press

2. Petition Government

3. Freedom of Assebly

4. Freedom of Speech

What speech is protected and what isn’t?

Protected: political speech & symbolic speech

Unprotected: fighting words, slander, libel

Blasphemy Laws

prohibition from denying the existence of God

Sunday Closing Laws

businesses required to close on Sunday’s

The Lemon Test (Lemon v. Kurtzman, 1971)

1. Government involvement must have a secular purpose (removed from religion, spiritual matters, and churches)

2. Its effect is neither to advance nor inhibit religion

3. It doesn’t entangle government and religion intstitutions in each other’s affairs

Sherbert v. Verner, 1963

overturned state decision to deny unemployment benefits for refusing to work on Sundays

Ruling: governments need a “compelling interest” (ex. national security)

Employment Division v. Smith, 1990

states could deny unemployment benefits to a person fired for violating a state prohibition on the use of peyote(drug)

Ruling: must be “rationally related” to a legitimate government interest (lowered standard)

Religious Freedom Restoration Act, 1993

brought back “compelling state interest” standard

Supreme Court later overturned RFRA for states, only applied to federal

many states have created their own RFRA

GDP

monetary value of outputs (final good and services) produced in a country in a given time (measure of economic productivity)

Programs in welfade state spending

Retirement, health care, unemployment benefits, childcare, disability benefits, etc.

Why are Americans so religious?

Economic - disestablishment to GB led to religious competition, leading to higher religious commitment

Psychological - small welfare state = lack of economic security = seeking assistance from a divine being

Historical - religion is decentralized in US & never unified behind political causes that later became unpopular (church & state)

Federalism

sharing of power across at least 2 levels of government

What must each level of government have to constitute federalism?

separate governments, independent revenue sources, lawmaking authroity, and control of borders

Presedential System

Separation of Powers - country chooses its legislature & head of executive branch through different processes

Parlimentary System

Fusion of Powers - head of executive branch is directly responsible to the legislature (and can be deposed by)

Unicameral

one chamber of legislature

Bicameral

two chambers of legislature

Majority vs. Supermajority

Majority - 50%+1

Supermajority - >/=60%

4 concepts of liberalism in 17th-19th centuries (Europe)

1. the individual is the besis of society

2. individual rights

3. limited government & power limits

4. rule of loaw and due process

4 key concepts of conservatism in 17th-19th centuries (Europe)

1. community is basis of society

2. conserve traditional institutions and practices

3. respect for authority and religion (allied w/ monarchy & elite)

4. preserve order and stability

What defined the use of the terms liberal & conservative in the US?

The Great Depression & The New Deal

Liberalism (now)

supports the welfare state (governemnt action, not the individual)

supports economic regulation (sector regulations, minimum wage, etc.)

Conservatism (now)

smaller welfare states & fewer economic regulations (figure it out on one’s own)

respect for authroity and religion

emphasis on preserving order and stability

supporting individual rights, rule of law, and due process (preserving family units)

Political Socialization

forming beliefs through influencing factors like families, schools, peer gorups, religon, media, etc.

What is the significance of someone’s underlying beliefs and values?

It tends to shape how someone approaches new information whether that’s acceptance or rejection

Why are political parties necessary?

1. build stable legislative & electoral alliances

2. mobolize voters

3. recruit candidate & develop new electoral strategies

4. provide important information cues/shortcuts to voters

What are some critiques of the 2-party system?

1. interests of low-income citizens are largely ingnored

2. parties controlled by organized interests instead of giving equal attention to all members

Why are ther 2 parties?

1. a social consensus in the US

2. 2-sided conflicts

3. legal barriers to 3rd parties (ballot access issues, finances, & limited media exposure)

4. electoral system uses single member plurality districts whcih tends to favor 2 parties

Proportional Representation

encourages more parties

citiznes vote for parties instead of individuals (voting on issues rather than personal qualities)

Instant Runoff Voting

hybrid system of SMPD & PR

voters rank candidates and those w/ most votes wins

What powers do 3rd parties have?

1. pushes dominating parties to adopt their ideas

2. advocated for neglected ideas that can mobilize voters

Why are presidential expectations so high?

1. news media coverage

2. citizens lack of knowledge of political system means they think the president has much more influence

3. overpromising on the campaign trail

Commander in Chief

civillian control of the military

authority to negotiate treaties (senta must agree by 2/3 vote)

Executive Agreements

similar to treaties but less formal, doesn’t require approval from congress (ex. Paris Agreement)

Executive Orders

gives formal written instructions to executive branch and agencies, has the force of law

Formal Powers

powers given to the president in the constitution (CinC, veto, appoint justices, treaties, appoint ambassadors)

Informal Powers

“Necessary and Proper Clause”, powers are implied to be able to successsfuly carry out the president’s civic duty

Delegated Powers

powers assigned to the president with permission from another branch (ex. department of homeland security)

Inherent Powers

often asserted in times of war or crisis, inferred from the constitution (ex. declaring war w/o congressional approval

Structure

environment, context, constraints

Agency

individual choices, goals, or behaviors

Marxism (structural)

it was inevitable that feudalism would lead to capitalism which would lead to communism; explanation of the development of history

Predestination (structural)

everything is god’s choice, predetermination

Movies & Biographies (agency)

individuals choices = certain outcome

Presidential Leadership

working w/in political constraint to accomplish a president’s goals (agency)

What are examples of President’s expanding their power?

Lincoln w/ suspension of habeus corpus; FDR w/ internment camps; Nixon w/ executive privilege in context to watergate; Biden w/ covid mandates; Trump w/ executive orders

Geographic Sorting

districts becoming more homogeneous b/c people live near like-minded individuals & becoming more partisan in voting behaviors

Apportionment

process of allocating congressional seats among the 50 states every census

Redistricting

redrawing election districts that occurs every 10 years (reflects shifts in populations)

Gerrymandering

district lines are often drawn to create “safe” districts where one part’s candidates have an advantage

What are 2 reasons for growing partisanship?

1. Geogrpahic sorting (main explanation)

2. Apportionment (secondary explanation)