Politics Exam 4

What are civil liberties?

The rights that individuals claim against their government

What are some examples of major civil liberties that we enjoy as Americans?

Freedom of speech, freedom of religion, right to bear arms, right to petition, etc.

• When the Bill of Rights was first ratified, did it restrict the federal government, or the states?

It restricted only the federal government

What is the Incorporation Doctrine?

Allows the supreme court to incorporate the Bill of Rights against the states using the 14th amendment

• What amendment to the Constitution gave rise to the Incorporation Doctrine?

The fourteenth amendment

• The right to an abortion, the right to gay marriage, and the right to privacy are found nowhere in the Constitution or the Bill of Rights. So, how did the Supreme Court interpret the Constitution in the 1960s to impose them on our constitutional tradition?

They used the 14th amendment against the states.

• What is the significance of the 1925 Supreme Court case, Gitlow v. New York?

The first case that incorporated the first amendment against the states

• What was the impact of Miranda v. Arizona and Mapp v. Ohio on civil liberties for accused criminals?

Suspects must be read their rights. Exclusionary rule.

• What is Irving Kristol's argument for the censorship of pornography and obscenity? What did Kristol think about the Supreme Court cases from the 1960s that made it more difficult to restrict pornography?

He challenges the premises of the court's decisions.

• One major problem the Supreme Court has to deal with is the problem of "rights in conflict." What is this problem, and how is it connected to civil liberties?

The rights of one person or one group may be seen as a threat to the rights of others.

• How does Snyder v. Phelps demonstrate the problem of "rights in conflict"?

It is completely insensitive and it hurts families to have protesters at private family funerals. The rights of one person or one group may be seen as a threat to the rights of others.

Establishment Clause and Free Exercise Clause

guarantee the congress must respect religious liberty

Were the founders protecting religion from the government or government from religion?

They wanted to prevent the federal government from having an official state sponsored church.

Were states allowed to have established churches or promote religion in the early republic, before the Fourteenth Amendment was ratified or the incorporation doctrine developed?

Yes, states could promote the religion of their choice. Many states had established churches and even punished blasphemy as a crime.

• How has the incorporation doctrine changed the nature of the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause?

Now they restrict more than just the intended federal government and are used against the states.

• Which American Founder discussed a "wall of separation" between church and state? Why might it be misleading to focus so much on this one Founder's perspective?

Thomas Jefferson. He was not an author of the Constitution and his views of Christianity were outside of the mainstream of American culture.

How did the Supreme Court reconcile its ruling against polygamy in the Reynolds v. U.S. case from the 1880s with the claims of the Mormons that they were exercising their constitutional right to freely exercise their religious beliefs?

They said that they had the right to believe whatever they wanted, but that didn't mean that they could do whatever they wanted considering that polygamy promotes the oppression of women.

• What was the significance of the Everson v. Board of Education case from 1947?

It was a case in which it was attempted to overturn the decision to provide some tax-payer support to parents who chose to send their children to private religious schools. Wall of separation between church and state.

Engel v. Vitale (1962)

ruled any form of prayer in school, even when voluntary, was a violation of the Establishment Clause of the constitution

Abbington Township v. Schemp (1963)

public schools could have no Bible-reading

Lee v. Weisman (1992)

prayers, benedictions, and invocations can not be held at graduation ceremonies.

• What cases show that the Supreme Court has evolved in recent decades on the issue of religious freedom?

Town of Greece v. Galloway ruled that you could open a state legislature in prayer. Burwell v. Hobby Lobby and Little Sisters of the poor v. Pennsylvania (paying for contraception).

Is the supreme court moving more in favor of the rights of Christians than they were in the 1960s and 1970s?

They seem to be moving in a more favorable direction as the justices that have been recently appointed have come from republican presidents.

Realism

takes bearings from how man is- not how man ought to be. We should aim for stability and security not for the promotion of universal moral values.

Nationalism

favor a policy of isolationism and disengagement from world affairs. Balance of power is automatic. Security as the aim of policy, but factors force over diplomacy

Liberal Internationalism

America has a moral responsibility to reform world affairs and should aim for universal peace. Anarchy and war re unnatural and can be eradicated through multilateral institutions, free trade, and diplomacy

Neoconservatism

reconcile American powers with American values. America has a duty to spread democracy, freedom, and human rights around the world.

• Who is Henry Kissinger, and what foreign policy perspective did he represent while he served under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford?

He was a secretary of state and prominent republican political figure. Realism.

• In what way do realists and liberal internationalists disagree about the nature of the world order and the character of human nature? Realists see the world in a pretty negative light whereas liberal internationalists hold a more positive view of humanity

• Why is the "balance of power" an important idea in realist thought? How might it contrast with the emphasis of other realists on "hegemony"?

They believe that a balance of power is necessary for the world to function well. Think of the idea of mutually assured destruction. If one power is too strong and left unchecked (hegemony) than there is no one to stop them from being tyrants.

What are areas of agreement between realists and nationalists? Disagreement?

They agree in seeing security as the aim of policy. However nationalists favor the use of force over diplomacy.

• Why are multilateral institutions such as the United Nations and the European Union important elements of liberal internationalist thought?

They emphasize cooperation between the states for shared goals. Emphasis on diplomacy. World peace through cooperation.

• What is "neoconservatism"?

Wants to reconcile American power with American values. America has a duty to spread democratic values, freedom, and human rights around the world.

How does neoconservatism draw from each of the three other traditions and yet forge its own path for thinking about foreign policy?

It has similar ideologies as liberal internationalism when it comes to being involved in other nations. It rejects the isolationist standpoint that nationalists take. It agrees with realists on the promotion of values.

• What is Traditionalist Conservatism?

Liberty that is disconnected from virtue, religion, and community is not liberty at all. Worry about unrestricted individualism and extreme versions of equality

What is Classical Liberalism?

The purpose of government is to protect individual rights. Freedom begins where the law ends. Society is based on a social contract. Individuals consent to form a society to protect themselves and their rights.

How do these two perspectives view Nationalist Conservatism?

They both disaHow do they view the role of Christianity in a political society?

• Is the New Right entirely positive about the American Founding?

It criticizes the founding for opening the door to more radical forms of individualism

• Who is Robert Bork?

He is a major political figure that was nominated to the supreme court by Reagan, but was blocked. He valued following a very literal interpretation of the constitution based on the framers intent. He wanted to fuse tradition and virtue with individual liberty.

How does Robert Bork view the declaration of independence?

He is critical of classical liberal tradition and the declaration of independence.

• To what extent should the American Founding be considered a "liberal" or "individualist" Founding? As Prof. Arnold sees it in his essay, does James Madison's political and religious thought provide evidence for a philosophically liberal Founding?

It does not. Madison was attempting to destroy Christianity's influence in the political world, however, Christians played a fundamental role in the founding and he attempted to negate that.