Gov 30 Midterm

Gov 30 Midterm

1. The Constitution

   • Before Const. was Articles of Confederation. AoC had a very weak central government. No way to levy taxes or declare war. Shay's Rebellion (1786) proved that.
   • Compromises: -CT: two house congress. -General Power: Congress has limited, specific powers.
   • Necessary and Proper Clause: Congress can make laws NP for carrying into execution delegated powers (declare war, raise army, lay taxes, ratify treaties, borrow $, regulate commerce among states, coin $, establish post office, and issue patents.
   • The Continental Congress feared a monarchy, so they set up a system of checks and balances among the different branches. In addition, lots of compromises and issues are present in the document because of political games; to get it ratified the CC had to make sacrifices.
   • Problems: power of SC poorly defined, electoral college, slavery/women's rights, no Bill of Rights

2. American Political Culture

   • US is more diverse today, but it was always "from many, 1 union"
   • 1880s: 2nd wave of immigration (southern + eastern Europe), 1882: Chinese Exclusion Act, 1917: National literacy test to become citizen. today: more illegal immigration, more border crossing since 1970
     • less benefits to Imm. now, less unskilled labor. in the past there was lots of jobs available. , costs for gov't higher
     • we favor family preferences over skills, but trending towards Canada's prioritizaiton of valuable skills
   • americans believe in ability to get ahead, distrust big gov't, emphasizes individuals (no support for gov't reducing income inequality), these views are shared across demographics
   • we have a liberal cultures because we have always been wealthy, and no feudalism, also immigration enforces these values.
   • liberalism: maximizing rights by minimizing governmental influence/interference. Liberalism: modern left (big fiscal gov't, small social gov't)
     • liberalism: liberty through freedom, republicanism: liberty through collectivism

3. Judicial Review

   • the power of the courts to declare laws unconstitutional
   • Marbury v. Madison: (1803) Marbury is appointed by not sworn in, sues, Marshall names law unconstituional. Establishes Judicial review through the supremacy clause. New laws supersede old laws are superseded by the constitution.
   • -deference to congress, -original intent, -experiential, -plain meaning of the text
   • doubts: Dred Scott (1857), this decision led to the civil war because the SC agreed with the slaveholder. (named MO compromise unconstitutional)
   • SC is supposed to be impartial, but in practice appointments are often highly politicized.

4. Federalism

   • divides governmental authority between two levels, and each can act independently. most have a unitary gov't
   • Thomas Hobbes said "if you divide sovreignty into parts, those parts will go to war
   • in const: Necessary and Proper clause and tenth amendment (powers not delegated to Fed. and not prohibited to the states belongs to the states)
   • dual sovreignty: each level of gov't is sovreign in its own space, each has independent rights, and the courts decide jurisdicition
   • McCulloch v. MD (1819): expansive definition of NP clause (convenience) and also establishes that federal government supersedes state governments.
   • 1990s radioactive case upheld dual sovreignty. fed cant order states to do something directly (they can give categorical grants though, South Dakota v. Dole) this case was a limit on NP clause
     • Prince v. US: fed law requiring background checks for firearms. declared unconst. because outside of federal jurisdiction
   • commerce clause: regulate commerce among states. originally limited fed powers through US. v. Knight, then expanded in FDR's era with the New deal, -allowed for civil rights act to be passed - then recently (1990's) become more strict again (US. v. Lopez).
     • Shecter v. Poultry (1935): before FDR, establishes clear boundaries on federal government power through the commerce clause. one of last times before switch in time saved nine
   • spending clause: congress can spend for general welfare. in Helvering v. Davis (social security) it was decided that the discretion is up to congress, unless that choice is obviously wrong_
     • categorical grants give money to states with a plan in action. pork barrel is when you do something in exchange for money (?)?
   • Sebelius: spending clause and commerce clause. originally bill states a fee. court says its a tax, which is allowed (through spending clause). but what was not allowed was being "too coercive' with fed. money to states (if states don't raise $ for medical fed. gov't will remove funding). you can't use the commerce clause to regulate inactivity. can't use commerce clause to charge a fee to indiv. for not buying insurance)
   • New Deal: marked shift towards bigger fed. gov't. court packing: FDR wanted to pack the courts to get what he wanted but there was public outrage. then two judges switched their viewpoints and they got what he wanted
     • shifted with NLRB v. Jones: unionizing is a federal issue

5. The Modern Courts

   • SC Primary objectives: Unify US legal system, keep law stable over time. (stare decisis)
     • stare decisis: stable decision, courts rule one way and keep that ruling throughout time to maintain the SC as an institution, maintain legitimacy
       • judicial activism (overturn stare decisis to keep constitution relevant) vs. Judicial restraint (rule narrowly and avoid an overturning)
   • US has a common law not civil law. meaning our system of meaning is based on cases not statutes, and courts look to past cases and stare decisis to make a current ruling
   • Bush v. Gore 2000: establishes legitamacy of the courts because they ordered to stop counting and they did. also illustrates diff b/wn state and fed courts: gore went to state because they were more liberal and he thought they would go in his favor

6. Public Opinion

   • public is inconsistent (wants less $ overall, wants less $ spent specifically. public is uninformed (will make up a viewpoint even if they don't have some. public is non-ideological, and moderate.
   • latent public opinion: how the public will react to an event in the future.
   • to accurately poll, each member of the population must have an equal chance of being part of a survey. this is random selection and avoids selection bias. never trust call-in surveys because only people with certain viewpoints will respond to it

7. Federalist Papers

   • #10: there are lots of factions, so many that no one can dominate. (factions are good if you have a bunch)-- argument for big government
   • #47: afraid of big gov't. so lets make factions within the gov't so that it can't oppress us.
   • #48: why checks and balances are good. checking the legislature is important. protect government from rash or quick action
   • #51: competitive not only within government but b/wn fed. and state gov'ts. extra C&B for legislature
   • #39: reassure people that this will work. powers of fed. gov't are "few and defined". (maybe not true empirically)
   • #78: judiciary is weakest branch because it controls "neither the sword or the purse". power of judicial review, fed. courts have a duty to interpret the const.
   • #70: an energetic executive is key for the rapid and swift movement of the republic and ultimately ensures a safer republic. in addition, one executive rather than many is good because one can act more swiftly than many