US Political System Midterm

The Authoritarian Playbook

Weaponize fear, undermine institutions, exploit religion, target outsiders, rewrite history, divide and conquer, and erode truth

Weaponize fear

Embrace a language of violence, promote a more punitive culture, leverage military might at home. Give critics reason to believe they’ll be harmed if they oppose.

Who feared factions?

James Madison

Government

The institutions through which a land and its people are ruled

Autocracy

Singular person rules

Oligarchy

Small group of powerful people rule

Constitutional Government

Systen with established limits to the government

Authoritarian Government

Governments power is not limited by law

Totalitarian

Governments power is not limited by law or social institutions

Politics

The conflicts over who gets what resources when and how.

Democracy

A government in which the people vote on policy and action

Representative Democracy

A government in which citizens elect political representatives to act on their behalf and make decisions in their best interests

Constitutional Democracy

A government in which the constitution is regarded as the supreme law of the land.

Parliamentary democracy

The government is formed by the party winning the most seats and typically the Prime Minister is the leader of the majority party.

Public Good

A good enjoyed by everyone for free

Federalist Paper #10

Written by Madison, explains how factions are the biggest threat to democracy

Early American’s view of the government

distrustful and distant

What was the first attempt at government in the US?

The Articles of Confederation

What did the Articles of Confederation propose?

Each state will be independent, yet, friends with each other

Why the Articles of Confederation failed

• Didn’t give the government the power to tax

• Didn’t establish a president

• Didn’t establish a federal court to settle state arguments

• Didn’t allow the government to regulate trade or taxes

• Didn’t establish a national currency

• 9/13 state vote rule led nothing to get passed

Shay’s Rebellion

Farmers uprise in massachussetts responding to high taxes.

Who said rebellion was necessary?

Thomas Jefferson

Effects of shay’s rebellion?

Stronger federal government, the constitutional convention

What did Shay’s rebellion prove?

The government couldn’t manage finances and enforce laws.. aka the articles of confederation weren’t working

The Federalist Papers

Newspaper articles attempting to convince Americans to accept the new constitution

Faction

groups with high self interest that goes against the common good

How to control minority factions

Vote them out as a collective

Ways to control a majority faction

1. Prevent an interest from taking hold of a majority

2. Make sure the majority is spread out so they cannot scheme

3. Federalism

4. A republic

5. checks and balances

How can a republic prevent factions?

Elected representatives will (hopefully) act to support the public good

Federalist paper #51

Written by Hamilton and Madison. Argued that every branch should be financially independent, and also hold each other accountable with checks and balances. Branches will follow the constitution naturally to preserve their powers. The legislative branch will be split into two- the house and the senate.

What motivates factions, according to Madison

Human passions

Tyranny of the minority

When minority factions possess a lot of power due to their wealth

Undemocratic elements of constitution

• left suffrage to be qualified by the states

• kept slavery lawful

suffrage

the right to vote

things absent from the constitution

• the right to vote

• political parties

• presidents cabinet

• the word “slavery”

• executive privilege

• right to privacy

• separation of church and state

• judicial review

Main principals of constitution

• popular sovereignty

• limited government

• separation of powers

• checks and balances

• federalism

How has democracy changed since the constitution?

Voting rights have increased, and more government positions such as senators are elected directly by voters

Original Intent

the notion that the judiciary should interpret the Constitution in accordance with the understanding of its framers

How does Warzel view the "misinformation crisis"? 

People who spread misinformation due so to help echo their (often) false worldview. When the world goes dark, people feed into delusion.

Who did low-information voters vote for?

Trump

Judicial Activist

A judge that makes rulings based on their own ideology instead of an unbiased interpretation. (This label is often placed onto any judge that someone doesn’t agree with)

Who were federalists?

Property owners, creditors, merchants

Who were antifederalists?

Small farmers, debters, shopkeepers

Federalist belief

Elites are fit to govern and excessive democracy is dangerous

Antifederalist belief

Too much power to the elites is dangerous, the government should work close to the people

Federalist’s preferred system of government

Strong national government untouched by public opinion

Anti-federalists preferred system of government

State government power, protection of individual rights

The great compromise

An agreement reached that decided that the senate will have an equal amount of senators, and the house of reps will have representatives based off of state population

legislative checks and balances powers

impeach and remove president, change size of supreme court

executive checks and balances powers

veto over legislation, refuse to enforce judicial decisions

judicial checks and balances powers

declare executive actions unconstitutional, declare laws from legislators unconstitutional

Federalism

The system of government in which a constitution divides power between a central government and regional governments

Implied Powers

Powers derived from the necessary and proper clause of the constitution (not explicitly stated)

How voter ID laws effect turnout

POC are less likely to have proper photo ID, and therefore have suppressed votes

How to accomplish democratic revolution

Blue states could instill pressures on republican governments. Ex: hiring OBGYNS from banned abortion states to leave a shortage of care in red states. Dems could also make their state so ideal that other states follow suite.

Fragmentation

A large problem in federalism since the civil war

Supremacy Clause

federal law takes precedence over state law

Reservation Clause

Clause in the 10th amendment that ensures that the powers that don’t go to the federal government are reserved for the states

Why federalism is good

• Checks the government for tyranny

• encourages experimentation

• keeps government close to people

Granted powers

Powers to only the national government

Concurrent powers

powers to both the state and national government

Reserved powers

powers to only state governments

examples of reserved powers

establish local governments, conduct elections, establish schools, police powers

four less protected versions of speech

obscenity, defamation, fraud, incitement

First amendment

protecting religion, freedom of speech, assembly, and petition

examples of speech

• oral communication

• written communication

• symbolic speech (clothing, hand symbols, kneeling during national anthem)

• online posts

• art

• not speaking

• donating money to political organizations

things where the first amendment does no protect your speech

private business, private schools. private media companies

defamation

saying something about someone else that isn’t true

slander

vocal defamation

libel

written defamation

obscenity

publicly offensive language

fighting words

words that incite a hostile reaction

clear and present danger

creating mayhem in a public space

section 230 of communications decency act

prevents platforms legal trouble from what their users post

what are the arguments around section 230?

reducing 230 would allow only platforms with the proper resources for constant litigation would survive, the internet would be heavily censored.

keeping 230 broad gives social media companies too little responsibility over what their users post.. moral obligation?

Morse V. Frederick

the student’s that held up the “BONG RIPS 4 JESUS” were guilty of promoting illegal drug use, despite the students claiming free speech

Easton Area School District v. B.H.

Middle school students wearing “I heart boobies” bracelets for breast cancer awareness. A federal court ruled that this speech was protected as it could be interpreted as social or political commentary

Mahoney Area School District v. B.L.

A teenager posted a snapchat using fowl language against her school, she was suspended from her cheer team for a year. In an 8-to-1 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court argued that schools do have the right, in some circumstances, to
regulate students’ off-campus speech. However, because the snap was off school grounds, they ruled the school as unjustified.

The Miller Test of Obscenity

1. does the average person in a community define it as sexual?

2. does the material depict sexual conduct in a way that is offensive? 

3. does the work have literary, artistic, political, or scientific value?

establishment clause

religion cant be openly endorsed by the government

free exercise clause

government cant prohibit people from practicing religious practices and cermonies

Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. (2014)

hobby lobby refused to cover the insurance for their employees use of contraceptives due to religious objections

Allowed “closely held corporations” to be exempt from religious grounds.

Employment Division v. Smith (1990)

Indigenous use of peyote for ritual. The court decided that this use of the illegal drug was not justified by religion

The Religious Freedom Restoration Act

When restricting religious freedom, the government must use the least restrictive means of furthering a compelling government interest. Least restrictive way to limit a religion.

Kim Davis

County clerk that refused to marry a gay couple

Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Act

Ensures accommodations to religious employees, so long as it does not create undue hardship aka the job should still get done without burdening the employer or the employees

Griswold v. Connecticut (1965)

Overturned a connecticut law that prohibited married couples from using birth control. Griswold opened her own planned parenthood clinic that got shut down. Ultimately established the right to privacy.

Amendments that made up the right to privacy

First, third, fourth, fifth, ninth

The 1873 Comstock Act’s significance

Sparked state laws that limited access to contraceptives and information about birth control. Those who used or distributed condoms could serve jail time

Penumbral rights

not explicitly guaranteed rights that are nonetheless implied

Megans law

requires public to be notified if a sex offender moves into their neighborhood

Examples where right to privacy is breeched for safety

Airport screenings, google earth, megan’s law

Who was the woman behind Roe v. Wade?

Norma Mccorvey, a poor texan who couldn’t get an abortion

Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (2022)

Allowed states to individually make their own abortion laws

What’s the reasoning behind passing Dobbs?

A belief that Roe was wrong from the beginning, and threatens the rights of another individual (the fetus)

Roe on the first trimester

Abortion is protected because there are little risks to the mother that early

Roe on the second trimester

The state may regulate abortion in a way that protects the health of the mother

Roe on the third trimester

Because the fetus has the capacity for life outside of it’s mother’s womb, the state should be compelled to protect that potential life

Why does the US have capital punishment?

the constitution grants legislative power over criminal law to the states. death penalties prevail because politicians must respond to voters, and if voters want it, it stays.

What state has both the highest amount of murders as well as executions?

Texas