Polisci Midterm Review

Liberal democracy: key features- religious neutrality, secularism, individual rights and liberties, limited government, free market capitalism, representation/voting



Totalitarianism: extreme authoritariasm, suppress rights, absolute dictatorship, disregard of civil liberties



Authoritarianism: system of government where individual rights and personal freedoms are sacrificed to government. usually involves some form of forced obidience



Declaration of Independence: not legally binding, but involves principles that our government and American identities are based. main points: rule of law, unalienable rights, limited government, right to alter/abolish oppressive government



Separation of powers: division of power between executive, legislative, and judicial branches --Articles I, II, III are only one part of the separation of powers



The Federalist Papers: essays published to urge people to ratify the constitution

                     1787 Philadelphia convention: initially to revise articles of confederation but then ended up producing the first written constitution

                     1789 ratification of the constitution: AOC handed power off to the new government under the constitution 

Madison’s concept of human nature: believed human nature is problematic, government is made to control the naturally selfish and selfishness and provide best situations for the public good 

Madison’s concept of factions: faction = special interest groups. factions are united group of people lead by an interest, passion, or belief

Madison’s concept of separation of powers --Madison’s solution to the problem of faction: federalist 10 says factions lead to the death of other republics. But to get rid of factions means to delve into tyranny. You need factions but can't allow them to get too powerful- control the effects of factions. How? diversity. When you follow and respect liberties, you generate a more individualistic nature

Politics: laymens, activities of government/decision making amongst people

Classical liberalism (classical political liberalism): political and moral philosophy based on the rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality, right to private property, and equality before the law, freedom of speech

Classical economic liberalism (free market economy): free market and laissez-faire economics, individual autonomy, limited govertnemt, economic freedom, 

Civil rights: personal rights guaranteed and protected by the Constitution and federal laws enacted by congress. include protection from unlawful discrimination (things to which you are entitled)

Civil liberties: freedoms guaranteed by the US constitution, primarily from the first amendment. protection of these rights from government interference or restriction (area of a citizens life where the government cannot and should not intervene, govt should protect you from intervention)

Civil rights vs. liberties: civil liberties are basic freedoms that government shall not infringe on, civil rights are the rights granted to be free from discrimination

Rule of law: all-encompassing accountability of law, all persons, institutions, and entititied are entitled to equally enforced law, nobody is exempt from the law  

Secularism: principle of separation of the state from religious institutions 

Representation: political representation is the activitiy of making citizens "present" in public policy-making processes, representatives speak, advocate, symbolize, and act on behalf of others in the political arena 

Democracy: a government by the people, supreme power vested in the people and exercised by them directly (direct: initiatives and referendums) or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections

Powers of congress (Article I, section 8): commerce, federal budget (taxation, other revenue and spending), military powers

The executive: he who runs the government, sees laws are carried out 

The federal judiciary: political power of the Supreme Court: “We live under a Constitution, but the Constitution is what the justices say it is.” aka justices has power to interpret law/change law 

Associate Justice of the Supreme Court: Charles Evans Hughes

Populism: range of political stances emphasizing the idea of "the people". often anti-establishment. ordinary people's rights over those of the wealthy/powerful 

Shays’ rebellion: 1786-1787, uprising in opposition to high taxes and stringent economic conditions. showed the weakness in the Articles of Confederation 

Federalists: advocate of the division and sharing of power between national and state governments, strong central government. supporters of the constitution

Antifederalists: opposers to the constitution. responsible for the bill of rights, opposed to a strong central government and believed in protection of personal freedom- the constitution created a central government that was too strong and would abuse power

Articles of Confederation: first constitution, weak central government and left most of the power with state government. constitutional convention in 1787 began to rewrite the constitution and was officially replaced in 1789

Political systems by degree of centralization of power: unitary (single power) → federal system (shared power, the US. Constitution makes us a federal system) → confederal system (smaller governments within a smaller political unit have the major power, and central government has very limited powers.)

The Constitution: (written in 1787, ratified in 1789) supreme law of the US

Bill of Rights: (ratified 1791) first 10 amendments to the constitution, spells out American's rights in relation to their government 

Bicameralism or bicameral system: a government that has a two-house legislative system, aka congress being made up of the House of Representatives and the Senate 

Three-fifths compromise: special enhancement of representation of slave states. kept them in the union, but did so at a great terrible cost- recognizing slavery as a part of the supreme law of the land. enhanced number of house of representative members, enhanced power of slave states in the electoral college 

Great compromise (Connecticut compromise): established the legislative branch as a bicameral legislature. included electoral college and ⅗ compromise 

Ratification of the constitution 1789: voting citizens elected delegates who supported or opposed the Constitution. The delegates then met and voted in each state. In effect, the Constitution was ratified by referendum.

Amendment process: the most commonly used method: 2/3rds majority at least in both houses of Congress is needed as a first step. Then, 3/4ths of all state legislatures approval is need as a second and final step. 

The Sedition Act of 1798: made it a crime for American citizens to "print, utter, or publish any false, scandlous, and malicious writing" about the government. proof that individual liberties were threatened if the central government was too strong

Peaceful transfer of power: swearing in ceremony allows for the peaceful transition from one president to another

Habeas corpus: article 1 of the constitution. protection against illegal confinement, literally translated from latin from "you may have the body". demands that a public official delivers an imprisoned individual to the court and show a valid reason for that person's detention. 

Due process: no person should be denied of their liberties without due process of the law. right to fair proceeding 

takings clause: private property shall not be taken for public use without just compensation 

Selective incorporation: the process of expanding the application of the Bill of Rights to also include the states. it became necessary in order to guarantee people's civil liberties equally across all states. ex: a persons freedoms is guaranteed in the first amendment and applies to the states. so if a state tried to pass a law depriving citizens of their freedom, the law would be unconstitutional. – the gradual process by which the supreme courts required states to respect the bill of rights when dealing with people in their states. got rid of dual citizenship

Privileges and immunities clause: (Article IV) the citizens of each state shall be entitled to all privileges and immunities of the citizens in the several states, historically intended to be a limitation on the power of states to discriminate

Barron v. Baltimore (1833): landmark case that the guarantee in the 5th amendment that private property shall not be taken for public use without just compensation is not applicable to state governments as well as the fed govt. doctrine of "dual citizenship"

selective incorporation slowly chipped away at this ruling

Dual citizenship (is the doctrine set by the court in Barron vs. Baltimore): holding that bill of rights didnt apply to the states because they're citizens of national and state govt seperately

(???) “States’ rights” coalition: pro-slavery/pro-segregation- The rights of individual states to fight what proponents believe to be the encroaching power of the United States government.

Reconstruction amendments: 8th (1865), 14th (1868), and 15th (1870) amendments 

8th amendment: (1865) abolishes slavery

14th amendment: (1868) birthright citizenship, privileges and immunities, due process, equal protection

15th amendment: (1870) universal male suffrage

Plessy vs. Ferguson: (1896) “separate but equal”

Brown vs Board of Education (1954): “separate but equal is inherently unequal”

Segregation: de jure and de facto

Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965

Affirmative action

Women’s suffrage: (Amendment IXX, 1919)

Loving v. Virginia (1967)

Griswold v. Connecticut (1965)

Roe v. Wade (1973)

Kelo v. New London (2005)

Lawrence vs. Texas (2003)

New York Rifle and Pistol Association vs. Gruen (2021)

Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health (2022)



Encompassing Final Notes: 

  • Direct democracy: initiatives and referendums 

  • Powers of congress: Article I, section 8

    • commerce 

    • federal budget (taxation, other revenue and spending)

    • military powers

  • Associate Justice of the Supreme Court: Charles Evans Hughes

  • Bill of right ratified in: 1791

  • Great/Connecticut compromise: established the legislative branch as a bicameral legislature. included electoral college and ⅗ compromise 

  • Amendment process: the most commonly used method: 2/3rds majority at least in both houses of Congress is needed as a first step. Then, 3/4ths of all state legislatures approval is need as a second and final step. 

  • Article IV of the Constitution: Privileges and immunities clause - the citizens of each state shall be entitled to all privileges and immunities of the citizens in the several states, historically intended to be a limitation on the power of states to discriminate

  • Barron v. Baltimore: Doctrine of dual citizenship

  • Reconstruction Amendments

    • 8th: (1865) abolished slavery 

    • 14th: (1868) birthright citizenship, privileges and immunities, due process, equal protection 

    • 15th: (1870) universal male suffrage

  • Segregation: 

    • de jure: based on law

    • de facto: separation that exists even though laws do not require it