Comprehensive Study Guide for American Government Test 1

Chapter 1: American Political Values and Systems

• American Political Values: The core philosophies that underpin the United States government system, centered on three primary pillars:

  • Liberty: The principle that citizens should be free to act and think as they choose, provided they do not infringe unreasonably on the rights and freedoms of others.
  • Democracy: A system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives.
  • Equality: The state of being equal, especially in status, rights, and opportunities. In American politics, this often refers to equality of opportunity or political equality ($1$ person, $1$ vote) rather than equality of outcome.

• Aristocracy: A form of government in which power is held by the nobility or a small, privileged ruling class. This stands in contrast to the American democratic ideal.

• Democracy Types:

  • Direct Democracy: A form of democracy in which people decide on policy initiatives directly, rather than through elected representatives.
  • Indirect Democracy: Also known as a representative democracy, where citizens elect officials to make laws and decisions on their behalf.
  • Republic: A state in which supreme power is held by the people and their elected representatives, which has an elected or nominated president rather than a monarch.
  • Monarchy: A form of government with a monarch (such as a King or Queen) at the head. The United States rejected this form during the Revolution.
  • Theocracy: A system of government in which priests rule in the name of God or a god.

• Collective Action Problems: Situations in which the members of a group would benefit by cooperating, but each individual is better off potentially refusing to cooperate and reaping benefits from those who do. Examples include:

  • Free Rider Problem: When individuals can enjoy the benefits of a public good without contributing to the cost of providing that good.
  • Tragedy of the Commons: A situation in which individuals with access to a shared resource (also called a common) act in their own interest and, in doing so, ultimately deplete the resource.

• Public Goods: Services or products that are non-excludable and non-rivalrous, meaning individuals cannot be effectively excluded from use and where use by one individual does not reduce availability to others (e.g., clean air, national defense).

• Political Ideologies:

  • Conservative: A political and social philosophy promoting traditional social institutions and limited government intervention in the economy.
  • Liberal: A political and social philosophy that promotes individual rights, democracy, and often government intervention to provide for social justice and economic equality.
  • Libertarians: Those who advocate for minimal state intervention in the free market and the private lives of citizens; they maximize individual liberty and minimize government power.

• Economic Concepts:

  • Economic Individualism: The belief that individuals should be able to make their own economic decisions without government interference.
  • Free Market: An economic system in which prices are determined by unrestricted competition between privately owned businesses.
  • Redistributive Tax Policies: Tax policies designed to reduce income inequality by taking a larger percentage of income from high-income earners and providing benefits to low-income earners.

• Additional Frameworks:

  • Polity: An organized society, such as a nation, state, or church, having a specific form of government.
  • Texas Creed: A set of ideas—primarily individualism, liberty, and constitutionalism—that define the political culture of Texas.
  • Critical Consumer of Politics and News: The practice of evaluating political information and news sources for bias, accuracy, and logic rather than accepting them at face value.
  • Culture Wars: Political conflict in the United States between groups appearing to have different sets of social values.

Chapter 2: The Constitution and the Founding

• Articles of Confederation: The first constitution of the United States ($1781$-$1789$), which created a weak central government and strong state governments. It lacked the power to tax or regulate commerce, leading to its eventual replacement.

• The Constitutional Convention: The meeting in Philadelphia ($1787$) intended to revise the Articles of Confederation, resulting in the draft of the U.S. Constitution.

  • Virginia Plan: A proposal for a strong central government with a bicameral legislature where representation was based on population.
  • New Jersey Plan: A proposal for a unicameral legislature where each state had one vote, favoring smaller states.
  • Great Compromise/Connecticut Compromise: The agreement that created a bicameral legislature with the House of Representatives based on population and the Senate with equal representation for each state ($2$ senators per state).
  • Three-fifths Compromise: The agreement to count each enslaved person as $\frac{3}{5}$ of a person for the purpose of taxation and representation.

• Key Clauses and Powers:

  • Elastic Clause (Necessary and Proper Clause): Found in Article I, Section $8$, granting Congress the power to pass all laws necessary and proper for carrying out its enumerated list of powers.
  • National Supremacy Clause: Article VI, Section $2$, establishing that the Constitution and federal laws are the "supreme Law of the Land."
  • Full Faith and Credit Clause: Article IV, Section $1$, requiring states to recognize the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of all other states.
  • Enumerated Powers: Powers explicitly granted to the federal government by the Constitution.
  • Implied Powers: Powers not specifically mentioned in the Constitution but considered necessary to exercise the enumerated powers.
  • Reserved Powers: Powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people ($10^{th}$ Amendment).

• Founding Documents and Theories:

  • Common Sense/Thomas Paine: A pamphlet published in $1776$ that argued for independence from Great Britain in plain language.
  • Declaration of Independence: The document announced on July $4$, $1776$, stating the reasons the $13$ colonies were seeking independence and outlining natural rights.
  • Federalist Papers: A series of $85$ essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay to promote the ratification of the Constitution.
  • Federalist 10: Madison's essay arguing that a large republic is the best way to control the "mischief of factions."
  • Second Treatise on Government (John Locke): Philosophical work arguing for natural rights (life, liberty, property) and the social contract.
  • Social Contract: The implicit agreement among members of a society to cooperate for social benefits, sacrificing some individual freedom for state protection.

• Structural Principles:

  • Checks and Balances: Provisions allowing each branch of government to limit the power of the other branches.
  • Separation of Powers: The division of government responsibilities into distinct branches (Legislative, Executive, Judicial).
  • Bicameralism: A legislature consisting of two chambers (House and Senate).
  • Popular Sovereignty: The principle that the authority of a state and its government are created and sustained by the consent of its people.

Chapter 3: Federalism

• Levels of Government Power:

  • Unitary Government: A system where the central government holds supreme power over sub-national units.
  • Confederal Government: A system where states hold primary power and the central government is weak.
  • Federalism: A system of government in which power is divided between a central authority and constituent political units (states).

• Evolution of Federalism:

  • Dual Federalism: The "layer cake" model where state and national governments operate in distinct spheres with little overlap.
  • Cooperative Federalism: The "marble cake" model where state and national governments share functional responsibilities (prevalent since the New Deal).
  • Picket Fence Federalism: A more refined version of cooperative federalism where specific programs and policies (pickets) involve all levels of government (local, state, federal) horizontal and vertical coordination.
  • Fiscal Federalism: The pattern of spending, taxing, and providing grants in the federal system.
  • New Federalism: A movement to return power to the states through block grants.
  • Coercive Federalism: Occurs when the federal government pressures states to change their policies by using regulations, mandates, and conditions (often through threats of withdrawing funding).

• Grants and Mandates:

  • Categorical Grants: Federal grants that can be used only for specific purposes, often with "strings attached."
  • Block Grants: Federal grants given more or less automatically to states or communities to support broad programs in areas such as community development and social services.
  • Formula Grant: Distributed according to a formula specified in legislation or administrative regulations.
  • Unfunded Mandates: Regulations or conditions for receiving federal funds that impose costs on state or local governments for which they are not reimbursed by the federal government.

• Legal Rulings and Clauses:

  • McCulloch v. Maryland ($1819$): Established the supremacy of the national government over state governments and confirmed the use of the Necessary and Proper Clause.
  • Dred Scott v. Sandford ($1857$): Supreme Court ruled that Americans of African descent were not citizens and that Congress could not ban slavery in the territories; fueled the fire leading to the Civil War.
  • Privileges and Immunities Clause: Prevents a state from treating citizens of other states in a discriminatory manner.
  • Nullification: The theory that a state has the right to invalidate any federal law which that state has deemed unconstitutional.

Chapter 10: Congress

• Structure and Representation:

  • House of Representatives: The lower house, based on population, with $435$ members serving $2$-year terms.
  • Senate: The upper house, based on equal representation, with $100$ members ($2$ per state) serving $6$-year terms.
  • Descriptive Representation: When a representative shares the physical or demographic characteristics of their constituents.
  • Substantive Representation: When a representative represents the interests and policy preferences of their constituents.
  • Models of Representation:
    • Delegate: Follows the expressed wishes of the constituents.
    • Trustee: Uses their own judgment to make decisions in the best interest of the nation or constituents.
    • Politico: Acts as a delegate on issues important to constituents and a trustee on more complex or less salient issues.

• Electoral Concepts:

  • Incumbency Advantage: The tendency for those already in office to win re-election due to name recognition, fundraising, and casework.
  • Gerrymandering: Redrawing legislative boundaries to benefit a party or group.
    • Packing: Concentrating the opposing party's voting power in one district.
    • Cracking: Diluting the voting power of the opposing party across many districts.
  • Reapportionment: The process of reassigning representation based on population after every census.

• The Legislative Process:

  • Filibuster: A tactic used in the Senate to delay or block a vote by speaking for an extended period.
  • Cloture: A procedure for ending a debate and taking a vote; requires a $\frac{3}{5}$ majority ($60$ votes) in the Senate.
  • Log rolling: An agreement by two or more lawmakers to support each other's bills.
  • Pork barrel projects: Legislative appropriations that benefit a specific constituency in return for political support.
  • Earmarks: Funds provided by Congress for specific projects or programs.

• Committees:

  • Standing Committees: Permanent committees that handle bills in different policy areas.
  • Select Committees: Temporary committees appointed for a specific purpose (e.g., an investigation).
  • Joint Committees: Committees consisting of members from both the House and the Senate.
  • Conference Committees: Temporary committees formed to reconcile differences between House and Senate versions of a bill.

Chapter 11: The Presidency

• Roles and Authority:

  • Head of State: Represents the nation symbolically.
  • Head of Government: Directs the executive branch and manages the administration of government.
  • Commander in Chief: The President's constitutional role as head of the military.
  • Vesting Clause: Article II, Section $1$, which states "The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America."
  • Take Care Clause: The constitutional requirement that the president ensure the laws are faithfully executed.

• Powers of the President:

  • Formal Powers: Explicitly stated in Article II (e.g., Veto, Appointments, Treaties).
  • Informal Powers: Not explicitly in the Constitution (e.g., Executive Agreements, "Going Public," Executive Orders).
  • Executive Agreement: An agreement between the President and the leader of another country that does not require Senate approval.
  • Pocket Veto: An indirect veto by retaining the bill unsigned until it is too late for it to be dealt with during the legislative session.
  • Presidential Pardon: The right of the leader of a country to forgive someone for a crime or to excuse a person from a punishment.

• Institutional Structure:

  • Cabinet: The heads of the $15$ executive departments who advise the President.
  • Executive Office of the President (EOP): Agencies that perform staff services for the President but are not part of the White House itself (e.g., Office of Management and Budget).
  • White House Office (WHO): The President's closest personal and political advisers.

• Succession and Rules:

  • $25^{th}$ Amendment: Specifies procedures for filling a vacancy in the office of Vice President and for responding to presidential disabilities.
  • Presidential Succession Act of 1947: Establishes the line of succession (VP, Speaker of the House, President Pro Tempore, Cabinet heads).

Chapter 12: The Bureaucracy

• Foundations:

  • Merit System: Promoting and hiring government employees based on their ability to perform a job, rather than political connections.
  • Patronage/Spoils System: Giving government jobs to supporters and friends.
  • Pendleton Act ($1883$): The law that created the federal civil service and established the merit system.
  • Hatch Act: A federal law prohibiting government employees from active participation in partisan politics while on duty.

• Functions and Oversight:

  • Standard Operating Procedure (SOP): Precise, step-by-step procedures used by bureaucrats to make decisions efficiently.
  • Rule making: The process by which federal agencies implement laws passed by Congress.
  • Police Patrol Oversight: Constant monitoring of the executive branch to ensure laws are followed.
  • Fire Alarm Oversight: Oversight triggered by complaints from citizens or interest groups.
  • Bureaucratic Drift: The tendency of bureaucrats to implement policies in a way that favors their own political objectives rather than the intentions of the elected officials who created the policies.

• Key Roles:

  • Street-level Bureaucrat: Front-line government workers who interact directly with the public (e.g., police officers, DMV workers).
  • Whistle blowing: When a worker reports their employer's misconduct to those in authority.

Chapter 13: The Courts

• Legal Standards and Types:

  • Civil Case: A legal dispute between two or more parties (e.g., lawsuits over contracts or personal injury).
  • Criminal Case: A case involving a crime against the state (e.g., theft, murder).
  • Class Action Suit: A lawsuit filed by a large group of people with the same legal claim.

• Jurisdiction and Procedure:

  • Original Jurisdiction: The authority of a court to hear a case first.
  • Appellate Jurisdiction: The authority of a court to review decisions made by lower courts.
  • Writ of Certiorari: An order by a higher court directing a lower court to send up a case for review.
  • Rule of Four: At least $4$ Supreme Court justices must agree to hear a case.
  • Amicus Curiae: "Friend of the court" briefs filed by parties not directly involved in a case but interested in the outcome.

• Judicial Philosophy:

  • Judicial Activism: The philosophy that the Supreme Court should play an active role in shaping national policies by addressing social and political issues.
  • Judicial Restraint: The philosophy that the Supreme Court should defer to the decisions of the elected branches of government.
  • Original Intention/Strict Construction: Interpreting the Constitution based on the exact words and the intent of the framers at the time of writing.
  • Living Constitution: The idea that the Constitution's meaning should evolve according to the needs of a changing society.

• Court Structure:

  • $District Courts$: The lowest level of the federal court system where trials are held.
  • $Appellate Courts$: The middle level that hears appeals from district courts.
  • $Supreme Court$: The highest court in the land, consisting of $9$ justices.

• Legal Doctrines:

  • Stare Decisis: "Let the decision stand"; the principle of following precedent.
  • Marbury v. Madison ($1803$): Established the power of Judicial Review, allowing the court to declare laws unconstitutional.