Untitled

• These notes are about American Government, Institutions and Policies

Politics and Democracy

• Matters related to government, such as finance, taxes, international trade, environment, welfare, healthcare, and defense, are political and not mathematical.
• Issues are defined as real or apparent conflicts between the interests, ideas, or beliefs of different citizens.
• An issue may revolve more around conflicts over the means rather than the ultimate ends.
• Issues serve as the raw material for politics, which involves negotiation, argument, discussion, and other activities to agitate or settle an issue.

Power, Authority, and Legitimacy

• Politics and the processes by which issues are agitated or settled involve exercising power.
• Power is the ability of one person to make another act according to the first person's intentions.
• A fascinating aspect of power in U.S. politics is how almost all aspects of human life have become part of the political agenda.
• Authority is the right to use power, those exercising political power may or may not have the authority to do so.
• Formal authority is the right to exercise power that is vested in a government office such as the President, a Senator, or a Federal Judge.

Defining Democracy

• American citizens generally agree that exercising power by the government is legitimate if it is democratic.
• Two meanings of democracy exist:
  • Direct Democracy: A regime that closely resembles Aristotle's definition of rule by the many.
  • Representative Democracy: A system where representative elected through competition decide on public policy, more practical than direct democracy.

Political Power in America: Five Views

• Representative democracy is any government system where leaders are authorized to make decisions, gaining political power through competition.
• The system of representative democracy is also called the elite.
• There are five views on political power in America:
  • Class View: The wealthy capitalists hold power.
  • Power-Elite View: A group of business, military, and union leaders holds power.
  • Bureaucratic View: Appointed bureaucrats manage and run everything, giving power to appointed officials.
  • Pluralist View: Representatives of various large interest groups hold the power.
  • Creedal Passion View: Morally impassioned elites are the drivers of political change.
• Determining which of these five views is correct remains an open question.
• It is important to know whether the government is making a difference.
• The goals established by the government cannot be predicted simply by knowing who governs. Additionally, knowing the activities of the government doesn't always reveal who governs.

Expanding the Political Agenda

• Deciding what to make the policy about, or what belongs on the political agenda, are affected by shared political values, the weight of custom and tradition, the importance of events, and terms of debate.
• Small groups can enlarge the scope of government based on their demand.
• Sometimes organized interests, like corporations, or unorganized groups, like urban minorities are behind that demand.
• One group works quietly, and the other group works loudly with mass street events.
• Government institutions, such as courts, the beaucracy, and the Senate can have an affect. (Desegregation, abortion)
• Bureaucracy, initially a reaction to events, now drives policy proposals that become law.
• U.S. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynahan termed this phenomenon the "professionalization of reform".
• The national press can help items be listed on the agenda.
• Actions by the States includes "Do Not Call" laws.

The Politics of Different Issues

• Understanding how issues are brought up in the agenda depends on cost and benefit.
• There are four types of politics:
  • Majoritarian politics involves the distribution of both benefits and costs.
  • Interest group politics involve concentrated costs and benefits.
  • Client politics involves concentrated benefits but distributed costs, often seen in pork-barrel legislation.
  • Entrepreneurial politics features distributed benefits but concentrated costs.

Ch. 2 - The Constitution

• The problem of liberty was a central focus.
• The goal of the American Revolution was liberty.
• The French Revolution struggled with liberty, equality, and fraternity.
• The Russian and Chinese Revolutions dealt primarily with equality, not liberty.
• American colonists initially thought of protecting their liberties under British laws. However, their demand for free and impartial judges was rejected.
• Independence emerged as the only solution, as colonists lost faith in the British constitution.

The Colonial Mind

• A Colonist wrote, a desire for rule is natural to all groups.
• Men are seen as seeking power driven by ambition, greed and prone to corruption.
• These arguments led the American colonists to believe the British constitution did not adequately protect citizens' liberty.
• The belief was that liberties were based on natural rights ordained by God, discoverable in nature and history, rather than the generosity of the king.

The Real Revolution

• John Adams believed there will be a radical change in the principles, opinions, sentiments, and affectations of the people.
• Make political authority legitimate and personal liberties secure.
• A legitimate government would require the consent of the governed.
• Political power should not be exercised on tradition but as a direct constitutional grant.
• Legislative branch of the government should be superior to executive.
• Written state constitutions are viewed as new and were considered bold, many thought they would fail.
• There was no unified government until the U.S. Constitution was signed in 1787, during which George Washington was still waging war against the colonists.
• There was no secured financing for the war effort, and the army was poorly organized and administered.
• After the war, the nation was in ruins and New York City was largely destroyed.

Weaknesses' of Confederation

• Articles of Confederation 1781 was a faint semblance of the national government.
• The Articles of Confederation, established in 1781, created a league of friendship among the states.
• The articles did not allow Congress to levy taxes or regulate commerce.

Articles of Confederation

• Congress could borrow money from the people.
• Congress could settle disputes between states on state petition.
• Congress could enter into treaties and alliances
• Congress could establish and control the armed forces, declare war, and make peace
• Congress could create a postal system, admiralty courts, create government departments, and regulate Indian affairs
• Congress could regulate coinage and set standards for weights and measures
• Congress could not regulate commerce
• Congress could not directly tax the people
• Congress could not compel states to pay their share of government costs
• Congress lacked power to enforce its laws
• Congress could not enforce foreign treaties with the states and states entered into treaties independent of Congress
• Congress could not draft soldiers
• Approval of nine of thirteen states needed to enact legislation
• Amendments to the Articles required the consent of all thirteen states
• No permanent executive branch
• No permanent judicial branch
• Congress could not issue paper money and a single currency

The Constitutional Convention

• Confederalcies do not work because they are too weak.
• Pennsylvania Constitution – All power went to assembly.
• Massachusetts Constitution – power is divided into its branches
• Shay's Rebellion, led by ex-revolutionary war soldiers, arose against high taxes and farm foreclosures.
• Thomas Jefferson advocated the need for revolutions every now and then.

The Framers

• The Philadelphia Convention produced a new national government and constitution.
• 55 delegates secretly debated about:
  • What powers should be given to central government.
  • How states should be represented.
  • What was to be done about slavery.
  • The role of the people.
• Philosophers Thomas Hobbes and John Locke heavily impacted.
• Thomas Hobbes thought not having central authority would lead to chaos or war.
• John Lock believed in democracy and said the people should have the right to protect their life, liberty and property.
• Concerns were raised about a government that would be strong enough to maintain order without threatening liberty.
• Delegates resisted democracy and the rule of the mob.
• Aristocracy was also rejected.
• If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on governments would be necessary.
• The great difficulty lies in this: you must fist enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself.
• To fix the defects of Confederal articles or write a whole new constitutional document has been asked.

Virginia Plan

• The plan called for a strong national union organized into three governmental branches: the legislative, executive and judicial.
• A legislature would have supreme powers on all matters on which the separate states were not competent to act.
• To veto any and all state laws was also a point from the Virginia Plan.
• At least one legislature house would be elected directly from the people.

New Jersey Plan

• The New Jersey Plan came as a result from afraid small states being overpowered by bigger states, insisting on one vote for each state in legislature.
• Insisted that the lower house, the Senate, had representatives chosen by states legislature, not by the people or proportion of population.

The Compromise

• The Great Compromise, thought to have been hammered by Benjamin Franklin, was about creating a House of Representatives, a Senate and a Election.
• There would be a House of Representatives consisting initally of 65 members on a pupulation basis and elected by the people.
• A Senate would consist of two senators from each state to be chosen by the state legislature.
• A spirit of accommodation was developed from the compromise.
• Election of a president would be by the popular vote and Electoral College with state representatives.

Ratification Debates

• The Constitution was signed by all 12 states, but the representative from Viriginia refused to sign it.
• Purely due to size, direct democracy was impossible.
• The system of representation could jeopardize the minority.
• The Republic was intended, with the operation of a representation system.
• The government should mediate, not mirror, popular views.
• Present, not register, majority sentiments has been a focus in history.
• A way of minimizing the chances that powers would be abused can be done through representative democracy - that power would be abused either by a tyrannical popular majority or by self-serving officeholders.
• The power of the Supreme Court to declare a Congress act unconstitutional is known as Judicial Review.
• This process can be seen as a limiting power to popular majorities.
• To amend the Constitution: can be proposed by two-thirds vote of both houses of Congress or by national convention called by Congress at the request of two – thirds of the states
• Must be ratified by three-fourth of the states
• Twenty-seven amendments have survived this process except for the 21st amendment was not ratified.

Two principles of American Government

• Separation of powers and Federalism

• Powers can be divided into three categories:

  • Enumerated powers which were given to the national government exclusively
  • Reserved powers were given to the states exclusively
  • Concurrent powers were shared by both the national and state governments

• Examples of power:

  • Congress checks the president by refusing to pass a bill, or using impeachment powers.
  • Congress checks federal courts by changing jurisdiction or using impeachment powers for judges.
  • The president can check the Congress by vetoing a bill, or nominating judges to federal courts to check courts.
  • Courts check Congress by declaring laws unconstitutional, or declaring actions by the president as unconstitutional.

• The first ten amendments to the Constitution are grouped by subject matter, the purpose for these being protections afforded citizens to participate in the Political Process.

• Other protections provided and included the Right protection against arbitrary Police and Court Actions.

• Also included were Protections of States' Rights and Unnamed Rights of People, plus other Amendments such as bearing arms.

• It could be viewed the The Antifederalist's thought that a very extensive territory cannot be governed on the principles of freedom.

• Much more limitation needed to be imposed on the powers of the government to solve that. Narrow jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, checking president, militia.

• Madison argued that coalitions must be formed to rule better.

• The Bill of Rights ensured that the states and the people that the US Constitution and all of its powers contained contained sufficient rights and powers, with no ex post factor laws.

• Ten Amendments were made which are better known as the Bill of Rights, that would become apart of the Constitution.

Federalism

• Federalism is a political system in which the national government shares power with local governments.

• Concerns sovereignty through a supreme political authority.

• A national government has full sovereignty in a unitary system.

• In a confederation, sovereignty lies with the state, and a national government can only do what the state allows.

• In a federation the sovereignty is shared.

• Federalism affects almost every aspect of crime and punishment.

• One device which was set up for protection can be said to be Federalism.

• National and State governments need to balanced.

• The Constitution contained elastic language, because things will change in the future, and can be included in the meaning of the constitution.

• Congress shall have all necessary power.

• McCulloch vs Maryland was about Federal vs State regulations and relations.

The US Supreme Court

• Said among the enumerated powers, setting up a corporation is not said.

• Incidental or implied power can be found.

• Congress to lay and collect taxes; to borrow money; to regulate commerce; to declare and conduct a war; and to raise and support armies and navies is said in the constitution.

• It may be seen as reasonable, that all power depends on must be executed ample.

American Political Culture

• Countries tend to have three major differences which are constitutional, demographic, and cultural
• US and France both have parliament or congress, president, and a constitutional court.
• America has a large population, mostly of Christian descent, while UK and France have smaller populations and a mixed population.
• Each country has its own style of political culture.
• Believing in democracy, favoring majority rule and minority rights, not taking office by force make up some views/traits in US, while France and the UK believe in equal monetary earnings.
• Americans follow political equality in political culture meaning a President will receive a speeding ticket, and not go free because of their title.
• How come is the US Democratic, but other countries seem to have failed, Is it the land mass itself, or something more.
• Japan is democratic, but very monotheistic and has few migrants.
• The US Church and state demands a seperation.
• While in Germany only Christian symbols are allowed in schools.
• The systems believes in and includes civic duty.
• Values are always changing in political culture.
• America can be a disappointment but also a hope.
• There is a belief in and encouragement to strive to reach the American dream.

Economic System

• The freedom for free enterprise is seen as extremely important.
• Tolerating economic inequality more than other nations, the US citizens seem to generally think it is a persons own fault if they do not succeed.
• Individualism v. Group harmony is valued most.
• There are many aspects like the role of religion for volunteering and donating habits.
• Viewing it from a Marxist point, US politics are baffling, as it is more cultural more than a battle over wealth.
• Since 150 there has been a decline in the proportion of americans who say they trust the government more!