Political Science Notes PDF

Sovereignty:​ free political authority capable of compulsory enforcement​ Popular sovereignty: the idea that at root power rest with the people, and theoretically, legitimate constitutions should articulate the will of the people Limited government: government should be held back from imposing a...

Sovereignty:​ free political authority capable of compulsory enforcement​ Popular sovereignty: the idea that at root power rest with the people, and theoretically, legitimate constitutions should articulate the will of the people Limited government: government should be held back from imposing all of its directives on us, us constitution prohibits Philosophers: Plato: View of man- rational by nature,​ Goal of government- rule in accordance with truth,​ Seminal work- the republic​ Aristotle:​ View of man- Must participate directly in government​ Goal of government- virtuous republic​ Seminal work- politics​ Locke:​ View of man- willing to submit to social contract​ Goal of government- secure liberty​ Seminal work- two treatises of government​ Montesquieu:​ View of man- concerned about the concentration of power Goal of government- secure liberty and separation of power Seminal work- the spirit of the laws Which is the most common type of government in the world Unitary form Types of government in America in order (Unitary, Confederal, Federal) Unitary: after british rule​ Confederation: after gaining independence​ Federal: under us constitution What term best describes us?​ Constitutional democracy Characteristics of the American Political System Conflict Compromise Community​ Corroboration Competition Downloaded by gianna Chavez ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|52435901 How many governments are active in the U.S. More than 89 thousand Political culture​ How we collectively view government and its processes Articles of Confederation How was the government structured and how did it function? Government had 1 body, 1 branch, congress​ Was simplistic, each state only had one vote​ Very ridgid Took a unanimous consent to change or pass anything Problems under the Articles of Confederation​ Congress's inability to tax​ Congress's inability to either draft soldiers or pay them to serve in a standing army Shays’ Rebellion​ Had to do with the former soldier in the revolutionary war who went back home to massachusetts to farm and the legislature in massachusetts passes laws that disadvantaged him and passed laws that advantaged the merchant class who had funded the revolutionary war Showed that states had become too powerful Led to the shift from confederal system to a federalism system Constitutional Convention and the Constitution Key figures and their characteristics -​ James madison is considered father of constitution​ All delegates were white wealthy and well educated men Many of them held slaves Identify all conflicts and compromises (slavery, executive branch, etc.)​ big states vs small states,​ slave holding states vs non slaves states, mostly southern states​ industrial vs agriculture, the great compromise, slavery couldnt be prohibited before 1908, electoral college, we don't directly vote for our president​ 3⁄5 compromise: every 5 slaves was 3 white men​ Promise that congress would not prohibit slavery before 1808​  Idea in exchange for these agreements, congress could tax each imported person, the person importing them, because the word slavery does not appear in the constitution​ The executive branch had a conflict that dealt with how to select the chief executive and the agreement was the electoral college, we don't directly select our president Virginia plan, New Jersey plan, Connecticut (Great) compromise Downloaded by gianna Chavez ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|52435901 ​ Virginia plan: large state plan on how to structure the legislature, proposed bicameral legislature and the house would be by population but the senate would be selected by the state legislatures. The small states like new jersey didnt want that ​ New Jersey plan: small state plan was to have a unicameral legislature the new jersey plan wanted it just structured under like the articles of confederation, where one state had one vote, the new jersey plan granted that congress could regulate commerce, did not set well with big states ​ Connecticut (Great) Compromise: proposed the legislature as it exists today, bicameral, house supported by population, senate based on equal representation​ Federalist Papers-​ James madison,​ Alexander hamilton, and​ John jay,​ Written under the name publius​ arguing for the ratification of the constitution​ Ratification​ Found in article 7 of the constitution​ Powers granted to government (enumerated, reserved, implied, concurrent) ​ Enumerated - the list in article 1 that says what the national government can do, to coin​ money, to declare war, to regulate commerce, connect to the idea that these powers are​ expressed ​ Reserved powers- found in the 10th amendment, says powers not granted to the national​ government nor denied to the states, are reserved for states and the people  ​ Implied powers- connected to the elastic clause (necessary and proper clause) says that​ congress has the power to carry out any laws they feel are needed ​ Concurrent powers- held by the national government but also held by the states ex:​ taxing​ Powers denied to the federal government cant pass these laws habeas corpus​ bills of attainder​ ex post facto laws​ and denied to the states​ Amendments to the Constitution and Bill of Rights The first 10 amendments are the bill of rights Reserved powers - in the 10th amendment Separation of powers and foundational governing bodies Montesquieu​ The 3 branches Check and balances Downloaded by gianna Chavez ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|52435901 Each of the branches watch over each other to make sure no branch has too much power Federalism Constitutional division of power between the nations and the states Evolution of federalism State-centered federalism​ Dual federalism looks like a layer cake​ Cooperative federalism looks like a marble cake Centralized federalism​ Devolution federalism (todays type) Problems with federalism​ Can obstruct national action​ Obstruct or hinder policy to deal with an issue Cost and benefits are distributed unequally Fiscal federalism (​ grants-in-aid to states grown to 400 billion a year, types of grants) Benefits of federalism Importance of McCulloch v. Maryland​ Helped solidify the understanding that the national laws are supreme to state laws, maryland can't tax the federal government Importance of Marbury v. Madison Established judicial review Important clauses in the Constitution​ necessary and proper- connected to implied or elastic powers​ privileges and immunities and full faith- the 2 clauses that are listed in article 4, has to do with state to state relations​ Privileges and immunities- means that one state has to provide the same privileges and immunities to the people visiting that state​ Full faith and credit-each state has to acknowledge the other states acts