Intro to Political Science and American Government

• Study notes for Intro to Political Science and American Government.

Introduction to Political Science

• Positivism focuses on observable facts and empirical evidence.
• Normativism concentrates on values, ethics, and what ought to be.
• Quantitative questions use numerical data and statistical analysis.
• Qualitative questions explore complex issues through in-depth understanding.
• Major subfields of political science include political theory, comparative politics, international relations, and public policy.
• Power is the ability to influence others.
• Legitimacy is the belief that the government's rule is rightful.
• Sovereignty is the supreme authority within a territory.
• A nation embodies a group of people with a shared identity.
• A state signifies a political entity with a defined territory and government.
• A nation-state is where the nation and state coincide.
• A multinational state contains multiple nations within a single state.
• A stateless nation is a nation without its own state.
• Basic features of nationalism include a sense of national identity, pride, and the desire for self-determination.

American Government: The Founding

• A confederation features a weak central government where states retain considerable power.
• Federalism divides power between a central government and regional governments.
• A unitary system concentrates power in the central government.
• In a confederation, the central government represents the states.
• In a federal system, the central government often represents individuals directly.
• In a unitary system, the central government represents individuals
• Sovereignty lies with the states in a confederation.
• Sovereignty is divided in a federal system.
• Sovereignty rests with the central government in a unitary system.
• Only the member states can regulate and tax individuals directly in a confederation
• The central and regional government can regulate and tax individuals in a federal system
• The central government can regulate and tax individuals in a unitary system
• The Articles of Confederation preceded the Constitution, with each state having equal representation.
• The 3/5 Compromise resolved that slaves would be counted as three-fifths of a person for representation and taxation.
• The Connecticut Compromise (Great Compromise) established a bicameral legislature with the Senate providing equal representation for each state and the House of Representatives based on population.
• The Virginia Plan proposed representation based on population.
• The New Jersey Plan proposed equal representation for each state.
• Amending the Constitution requires a two-thirds vote in both the House and Senate and ratification by three-fourths of the states.
• The formal amendment process has been used 27 times.

Ratification Debates: Anti-Federalists and Federalists

• Anti-Federalists opposed the Constitution and preferred a more decentralized government.
• They rejected the label "Anti-Federalist" because they claimed to be the true federalists
• They argued the Constitution would lead to "consolidation," creating an overly powerful central government.
• They believed only a small state could maintain a republic due to the close connection between the rulers and the ruled.
• Anti-Federalists emphasized civic virtue for a republic's success.
• They regarded a too-strong government as the biggest threat to individual liberties.
• Anti-Federalists had mixed feelings about the union.
• Federalists supported the Constitution and a stronger central government.
• Federalists argued the new system was neither a strict confederation nor a unitary system but a balanced mix.
• James Madison, in Federalist 10, posited that a large republic is better at controlling factions than a small one.
• Federalists believed institutions could compensate for a lack of civic virtue.
• Madison's argument in Federalist 51 stresses the importance of checks and balances to prevent tyranny.
• Federalists saw a too-weak government as the biggest threat to individual liberties.

Federalism

• The Supremacy Clause (Article VI) establishes the Constitution, federal laws, and treaties as the supreme law of the land.
• "Made in pursuance thereof" refers to laws made in accordance with the Constitution.
• Methods of judging a law's constitutionality:
  • Does the federal government have the power to pass the law under one of its enumerated powers?
  • Does the law violate the Consitution?
  • Does the law encroach on powers reserved to the states?
• The 10th Amendment reserves powers not delegated to the federal government to the states or the people.
• Enumerated powers are specifically listed in the Constitution for the federal government.
• Reserved powers are for the states.
• Concurrent powers are shared by both federal and state governments such as the power to tax.
• Police powers allow states to regulate health, safety, and morals.
• Madison's argument in Federalist 51 relates to federalism by dividing powers between the federal and state governments, and to checks and balances by dividing powers between the branches of the federal government.

Separation of Powers/Checks and Balances

• Separation of powers divides governmental authority among different branches.
• Parliamentary systems have the executive branch (prime minister and cabinet) drawn from the legislature.
• Presidential systems feature an executive branch (president) separate from the legislature.
• The Constitution ensures judicial independence primarily through lifetime appointments.
• Checks and balances allow each branch to limit the power of the other two.
• Congress's checks:
  • Impeachment: The House impeaches, and the Senate holds the trial and can remove an official with a two-thirds vote.
  • The Senate confirms presidential nominees and ratifies treaties.
  • Exceptions Clause: Congress can create exceptions to the Supreme Court's appellate jurisdiction
  • Control over existence of lower courts sizes of the Supreme Court
• President's checks:
  • Veto process: Congress can override with a two-thirds vote in both houses. A pocket veto occurs when Congress adjourns, preventing the president from returning the bill. A bill can become law if the President doesn't sign it within a 10 day period.
  • Non-enforcement of laws/decisions, by for example, limiting the resources of the agency who needs to enforce it.
• Courts' checks:
  • Judicial review: Power to declare laws unconstitutional.

Civil Liberties/Civil Rights

• Civil liberties protect individuals from government interference.
• Civil rights protect individuals from discrimination.

Civil Liberties

• The Bill of Rights comprises the first ten amendments to the Constitution.
• The 9th Amendment states that the enumeration of specific rights does not deny or disparage other rights retained by the people.
• Selective incorporation applies the Bill of Rights to the states through the 14th Amendment's Due Process Clause.
• The Due Process Clauses are in the 5th and 14th Amendments.
• The 5th Amendment Due Process Clause applies to the federal government.
• The 14th Amendment Due Process Clause applies to the states.
• Substantive Due Process protects fundamental rights.
• Procedural Due Process ensures fair procedures.
• Lochner v. New York: Supreme Court struck down a law limiting bakers' working hours.
• The Lochner Era: Period when the Court used substantive due process to protect economic liberties.
• "Liberty to contract" was the freedom to negotiate terms of employment without government interference.
• Fundamental rights are those deeply rooted in the nation's history and tradition.
• The Right to Privacy is not explicitly mentioned in the Constitution but has been inferred.
• Griswold v. Connecticut established the right to privacy regarding contraception.
• Roe v. Wade established a woman's right to an abortion based on the right to privacy.

Civil Rights

• The 14th Amendment Equal Protection Clause prohibits states from denying any person equal protection under the law.
• Civil rights and race: Laws and policies aimed at ensuring equal treatment regardless of race.
• Civil Rights Cases: The Supreme Court ruled that the 14th Amendment only applied to state action, not private discrimination.
• Plessy v. Ferguson: Established the "separate but equal" doctrine.
• Brown v. Board of Education: Overturned Plessy v. Ferguson, declaring state-sponsored segregation in public schools unconstitutional.
• Bolling v. Sharpe: Applied equal protection principles to the federal government, desegregating schools in Washington D.C. ("reverse incorporation").

Differing Levels of Judicial Scrutiny

• Strict Scrutiny: Government must prove a compelling interest and narrowly tailored law; used for race, national origin, and fundamental rights.
• Intermediate Scrutiny: Government must prove an important interest and substantially related law; used for gender.
• Rational Basis Review: Plaintiff must prove the law is not rationally related to a legitimate government interest; used for other classifications.

Study notes covering positivism, normativism, quantitative and qualitative analysis in political science. Key concepts include power, legitimacy, sovereignty, nation, and state. It explores the roles of nation-states, multinational states, and stateless nations.