Cal Poly POLS 112 Midterm 1

Limited Government

strict legal limits on power, no majority rule

Representative Government

people govern through voted representatives, majority may rule

Constitution

Fundamental law, Limits government by defining and dividing powers

-Articles 1-3: grants of power

-Articles 4-7: How to amend

-Bill of Rights

-checks and balances

-27 amendments

Articles of Confederation

-weak national government

-no judiciary or independent executive

-no taxes (couldn't fund anything)

-no power to conduct foreign affairs

-no power to enforce laws

-difficult to amend

The great compromise

Virginia Plan (Big states) VS. New Jersey Plan (small states)

result: 2 chamber congress

1. Equal Representation (Senate)

2. Population Based (House of Reps)

3/5 compromise

For apportionment of taxes and house representatives slaves were 3/5 of a person

Ratification Debate

Constitution

-Antifederalists: government is too powerful, threatens liberty, need for more ecoonomic cooperation, allows political elites

-No Bill of rights yet (scared people)

-Election districts too large, disconnected from people

Federalists: new government will correct defects, have power necessary for prosperous union

Framers Goals

Constitution

1. Gov't strong enough to meet nation's needs

2. Gov't that wouldn't threaten separate states

3. Gov't that wouldn't threaten liberty

4. Based on popular consent (direct + indirect elections)

5. Limited and representative gov't

Grants of powers

powers granted expressly

Denials of powers

powers expressly denied, limits gov't

Shared Legislative powers

congress checked by president (veto powers)

Shared Executive Powers

Legislative + Judicial checks (constitutionality, advice of senate)

Shared Judicial Powers

President appoints judges

Bill of Rights

10 rights that cannot be denied

high demand, needed for constitution to be passed

precise expression of limited gov't

Judicial Review

power to decide where institution has acted within the limits of the constitution

(Marbury v. Madison)

Democracy

power of majority unlimited

Republic

responsive to majority, not captive to it

-designed to filter reckless policies

Electoral College

Voting

States have same number of votes as members in the House

decreases popular majority rule

Jeffersonian Democracy

power to the people, national gov't belongs to all, not privileged few

Jacksonian Democracy

Linked people and presidency

-urged states to reward electoral votes to candidate who wins the state popular vote

Progressives

sought to weaken influence of large corporations and party bosses by placing power in the hands of the people

Initiative and Referendum

vote directly on state legislative issues

Constitutional Democracy today

-representative gov't

-only major democracy to rely on primary elections

- senate elections more frequent than most

Social Contract

-give up some rights for protection

-Nation of laws not men

Constitutional Government

form of government that exists when there are both informal and formal legal limits to what a gov't can do

-balance of power v. authority

-Legitimacy:

1. pluralism (freedom)

2. right to vote

3. Limited Gov't/Rule of law

Oligarchy

form of government, rule by the few

Federations

voluntary assemblies of nations

Early American Governance

Influenced by:

1. English reliance on contracts

2. English developments in democracy

3. Pilgrims on Mayflower (mayflower compact)

4. Colonial Assemblies vs. Royal governors

American Revolution

Causes:

1.Financial: colonists paying for protection, taxation "unfair"

2. Ideological:colonists felt they deserved rights as British citizens

-Conservative in nature

-fought to preserve their "rights" as englishmen

-began new gov't with lots of experience

Constitutional Convention

-gathering to discuss articles of confederation

-delegates primarily supportive of a strong national system to replace articles

Antifederalists

-Samuel Adams, John Henry, Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe

-Concerned that:

1. large gov't would be too distant to be responsive

2. too many constituents per representative

3. president would dominated other branches

Election of 1800

-1st truly peaceful transference of power in a democracy

-1st political parties (Federalists v. Democratic-republicans)

Federalism

-not a fixed principle for allocating power

- changes with time in response to political needs and partisan ideology

-national and state sovereignty

Supremacy Clause

National law before state law

Elastic Clause

-implied powers

-congress has the power to make necessary laws for executing enumerated powers

Dual Federalism

precise separation of national and state authority

-became a barrier to effective response to protection of blacks and regulating business

Era of Federalism

-state supremacy in racial policy

-business supremacy in commerce policy

Plessy V Ferguson

"Separate but equal" legal segregation

New Deal

Roosevelt

-created jobs, relieved great depression

Great Society

LBJ

-social welfare programs

Interdependency

transportation, commerce, and communication transcended state boundaries

-americans were affected by everything happening in every state

Categoral Grant

Grant

restrictive, only for a designated activity

Block Grant

Grant

Less restrictive, general area specified but states decide specifics

Federalism Benefits

benefits of Government form:

-multiple access points to gov't

-local accountability at all levels

-sensitivity to local concerns, industries, culture

-local gov't as policy laboratories

Political socialization

process by which we acquire our political beliefs

Results:

-enduring beliefs about gov't and politics

-drives political behaviors

-hard to override/evolve

Public Opinion

aggregated total of individual's opinions on various topics

-acquired and analyzed by researchers through polls

PS and PO connection

Public socialization->ideology->public opinion

1. learn about gov't and politics

2. develop ideas

3. develop specific opinions

Agents of political socialization

1.Family (most important)

2. Peers

3. School

4. Media

5. Religious organizations

Ideology

beliefs about gov't + politics one develops as the result of political socialization

*not party affiliation*

reactionary - no change

radical - love change

terms like: conservative, liberal

Partisanship

political party labels (democrat, republican)

American Ideology

-individual rather than group

-individualism over equality/community

-selfish "american exceptionalism"

Polling Techniques

-Samples (random)

-Developing questionnaires (proper wording, neutrality)

-Interpreting Public Opinion polls (margins of error)

Primary

agent of socialization that interacts closely and regularly with individual, usually in early life

ex) Family, school

Secondary

agent of socialization that has a less intimate connection with individual, later in life

ex) media, peers

Economic Liberal

government should help disadvantaged

economic conservative

free market

cultural liberal

leave lifestyle choices to individual

cultural conservative

use gov't to promote traditional values

populist

economic liberal + cultural conservative

libertarian

economic conservative + cultural liberal

Public Opinion Influence

-limited by inconsistency in policy preference and lack of understanding

-public opinion places boundaries on actions

-leaders try very hard to gain public support for their policies