exam 1,2,3 fed gov final

Government

is the system for implementing decisions made through the political process

John Locke

the condition of man in the state of nature is a condition of unlimited freedom

Thomas Hobbes

The condition of man in the state of nature is a condition of war of everyone against everyone

Social Contract

protect their life, liberty, and property

Separation of powers

is the division of government across the 3 branches of government

The 3 branches

are co-equal, meaning one does not have absolute authority over another

Federalism

Is the division of power between the local, state, and national levels of government

This provision

within the constitution is supposed to function as a powerful barrier to prevent a strong central government from obtaining power

Political culture

is broadly shared values, beliefs, and attitudes about government

Pluralism

everyone

Politics

is the process that determines what government does

Purpose of gov

to protect the life, liberty, and property

• social contract

• the people give their consent to be governed

• popular sovereignty

• created and sustained by the consent of its people

Federalism

system of government in which power is divided by a constitution between the national and state governments

Autonomy

each level can carry out some policies without interference from the others (independent)

Expressed powers

written in the u.s constitution for congress

Implied powers

necessary and proper clause

shared powers

shared by federal and state government

reserved powers

given to the states by the u.s constitution

Necessary & proper clause

congress shall have the power to make any laws which shall be necessary & proper

10th amendment

all other powers are reserved for the states

Dual federalism

layer cake

cooperative federalism

marble cake

The federal gov creates

unfunded mandates when it requires states to pay for implementing federal policies

the supremacy clause

constitution is supreme law (article vi) if conflict —> federal prevails overstate

• due process clause

• respect liberties of everyone, refers to 4-8th and 14th amendments

• equal protection clause

states must protect the same rights as the national gov, 14th amendment

Articles of confederation

were the first attempt at a centralized american government

separation of powers

is the division of powers and duties across the judicial, executive, and legislative branches

Checks and balances

is a system in which each branch of government has some power over the others

federalism

is the division of power between the states and national levels of government

Limited gov

is when a governments power is restricted by a written constitution

purpose

is to elect the president (and vp) of the united states

Each state’s

number of electors is determined by how many members they have in congress

13th amendment

made slavery illegal

14th amendment

establishes citizenship and extends due process and equal protection to the states

15th amendment

gave the right to vote to men of color

The civil war amendments

passed as a result of the united states winning the american civil war

Civil rights act of 1866

all persons born in the u.s. are citizens and cannot be denied rights based on race or color. Failed to protect political or social rights like voting and equal treatment.

Jim crow was

“de jure” in the south and “de facto” in the north

Civil rights act 1964

ended segregation in public places and banned employment discrimination based of race, color, gender.

14th amendment

due process and equal protection

Hernandez v. texas

ruled that excluding latinos from civil service is unconstitutional

Brown v. board of education

ruled that “separate but equal” is unconstitutional

In 2013 the supreme court

struck down section 5 of the VRA

5th amendment

Right against self incrimination, right against double jeopardy, right of indictment by a grand jury, and right against seizure of property without compensation (imminent domain)

Right to bear arms

mcdonald v chicago (2010)

Campaigns spend more on

media than anything else

The supreme court ruled in citizens united v. FEC (2010) that individuals, corporations, and unions can

contribute unlimited amounts to PAC’s sometimes anonymously

Raise unlimited money from individuals and groups

Super PACs

Raise unlimited money from corporations, nonprofits & unions

Super PACs

Donate directly to a candidates official campaign

Normal PACs

Coordinate with a candidates official campaign

Neither Normal PACs or Super PACs

Citizens united did not

affect how campaigns raise and spend money, only PACs

PACs can now raise unlimited amounts of money from individuals, corporations, unions, etc

so they changed from PACs to SUPER PACs

Functions of elections

select representatives, give citizens the ability to influence the direction of policy , and provide citizens the opportunity to reward or punish officeholders

Delegate representatives

The mouthpiece of their constituency

Trustee representatives

they are given autonomy to vote

Who is responsible for managing elections?

States and local governments manage elections in america because of federalism

Primaries

a primary election lets political party members choose their party’s nominee for upcoming general election

Winner take all

the candidate who gets the most votes wins (plurality)

Duverger’s Law

that election systems with both single member districts and winner take all results will have two party electoral system

Electoral college

270 electoral votes and each states electoral college vote is equal to the number of senators and representatives.

Redistricting

is the process each state goes through every 10 years to determine the number of congressional districts each state has, according to the result of the Census

Gerrymandering

is when state lawmakers redistrict in a way that benefits their party

Supreme court overturned

section 5 of the VRA in 2013

Political ideology

is a set of ideas, attitudes, and values about the issues of government and politics that are held by individuals

Political Parties

privately owned organizations w a specific set of values and beliefs that want to gain control of government so that they can influence policy

Party platforms

Parties have a set of policy goals and preferences that change
every four years at the national convention this is called

Majority Party

Has the most seats in either the House or the Senate

Minority party

Has a minority of seats in either the House or the Senate

Plurality vote

when there are more than two candidates whoever gets the most votes wins, not necessarily a majority of votes

Duverger’s law

An electoral system with winner-take-all, single-member-district
elections will produce only two viable political parties

party polarization

is when the two parties become more distant from each other in their ideology

realignment

a substantial number of voters switching party allegiance & creating a long term political change

republican party rise

Nixon’s “Southern Strategy” in the 1970s directly appealed to
white Southerners racial grievances.

Ronald Reagan built the most powerful voting coalition in American history in the 1980s

How we choose house representatives

SUPREME COURT has consistently reaffirmed constitutional
rules for redistricting; the most significant being that each district
must have equal population (Westbury v Sanders, 1964)

REDISTRICTING is

mandated by the Constitution

GERRYMANDERING is

when you redistrict to keep your party in power

TWO WAYS INTEREST GROUPS USE THEIR INFLUENCE

Grassroots: Appeals to the general public on issues that the
group care about.

Direct: Influences elected officials & policy makers to pass policy
favorable to group

Lobbyists have

access to lawmakers

Lobbying requires extensive

knowledge of the issues and the legislative process

Lobbyists Provide

• Time that regular citizens do not have

• Expertise on issues and policies

• Information that Congress members rely on

In politics the revolving door

is the movement of people between roles as government employees to lobbyists

Iron triangles

Mutually beneficial relationships between the bureaucracy where civil servants have expertise,
Congress where the work of creating law is done,
and interest groups promoting a specific policy that favors their group

ELECTIONEERING IS

THE ACT OF SHAPING ELECTIONS BY PARTICIPATING IN CANDIDATE RECRUITMENT, VOTER REGISTRATION AND
VOTER MOBILIZATION, POLLING, AND ADVERTISING

PAC’S VS SUPER PAC’S

Political action committee (PAC) is a legal entity through which interest groups contribute money to candidates and campaigns

Raise unlimited money from individuals and groups

Super PACs

raise unlimited money from corporations, nonprofits, & unions

Super PACs

Donate directly to a candidates official campaign

Normal PACs

Campaigns spend more on

media than anything else

The supreme court rules in citizens united v. FEC (2010) that individuals, corporations, and unions can

contribute unlimited amounts to PAC’s sometimes anonymously

coordinate with a candidates official campaign

neither normal PACs or Super PACs

citizens united did not

affect how campaigns raise and spend money, only PACs

PACs can now raise unlimited amounts of money from individuals, corporations, unions, etc

so they changed from PACs to SUPER PACs

Functions of elections

select representatives, give citizens the ability to influence the direction of policy , and provide citizens the opportunity to reward or punish officeholders

Delegate representatives

The mouthpiece of their constituency

Trustee representatives

they are given autonomy to vote

Who is responsible for managing elections?

States and local governments manage elections in america because of federalism