POLS 1101 American Government Study Guide Fall 2024 PDF

**POLS 1101: American Government (Fall 2024)** **Study Guide for Exam 2** **DOWNLOAD YOUR OWN COPY** **and/or SAVE A COPY TO GOOGLE DRIVE** Questions are in yellow: **[Ch. 2: The U.S. Constitution]** **Section 3: Constitution Making During the Revolutionary War** - Vocabulary to know: The...

**POLS 1101: American Government (Fall 2024)** **Study Guide for Exam 2** **DOWNLOAD YOUR OWN COPY** **and/or SAVE A COPY TO GOOGLE DRIVE** Questions are in yellow: **[Ch. 2: The U.S. Constitution]** **Section 3: Constitution Making During the Revolutionary War** - Vocabulary to know: The Articles of Confederation **[The first constitution for the central govt of the United States which operated between 1781 and 1788. The articles would be replaced by the original US constitution which was ratified in 1788.]** - confederacy **[A system with a central govt and state govt but that is set up so the states maintain as much sovereignty and independence as possible]**. - requisitions **[orders to contribute money to the central govt issued by congress to the states govt during the Revolutionary war and under the articles of confederation. Although these requisitions were legally binding on the states, the states routinely ignored them- treating them as requests instead of requirements]**. - unicameral legislature **[a legislature with only one chamber or house ]** - According to Alexander Hamilton, what was "the great and radical vice" in the design of the Articles of Confederation? Why did this "vice" contribute so greatly to the weakness of the Articles of Confederation? **[Because the central govt did not claim authority or exercise direct power over individuals. They only claim authority and seeks to exercise power over the state govt.]** **Section 4: Creation of the Founders' Constitution** - Vocabulary to know: - Constitutional Convention/Philadelphia Convention **[The meeting in PHL between May and Sep 1787 at which 55 delegates from 12 of the 13 states wrote the original US Constitution that would be ratified in 1788. ]** - **[Original Constitution]** - Bill of Rights **[Name given to the first then amendments to the US constitution all of which were ratified in 1791 and that are the primary source of civil liberties in the US Constitution. The phrase bill of rights is sometimes used to refer to any list of civil liberties in a constitution]**. - Founders' Constitution **[That part of the U.S. Constitution that was written and ratified by the first (i.e., founding) generation (aka the Founding Fathers). It consists of the Original Constitution, Bill of Rights, 11^th^ Amendment, and 12^th^ Amendment. After the 12^th^ Amendment was ratified in 1804, the U.S. Constitution would not be amended again for 61 years. The Reconstruction Amendments in the wake of the Civil War (1861-1865) fundamentally transformed the Founders' Constitution. (See also Original Constitution, Bill of Rights, and Reconstruction Amendments.)]** - the Great Compromise  **[Compromise (also known as the Connecticut Compromise) that sought to solve the disagreement between large and small states at the Constitutional Convention over how to apportion seats in Congress. By this solution, a lower chamber (i.e., the House of Representatives) has proportional representation and an upper chamber (i.e., the Senate) has equal state representation. (See also Proportional Representation, Equal State Representation, Virginia Plan, Large State Plan, New Jersey Plan, and Small State Plan.)]** - the Virginia Plan/Large State Plan **[Name given to James Madison's proposal (the first submitted at the Constitutional Convention) to replace the Articles of Confederation with a strong national government with extensive legislative authority. The plan called for separation of powers and a bicameral legislature. It would have based representation in both chambers of the legislature on the principle of proportional representation. This would end up being adopted for only the lower chamber (i.e., the House of Representatives) in the U.S. Constitution as part of the Great Compromise. Since proportional representation was favored by states with smaller populations, the New Jersey Plan is sometimes called the large state plan. (See also New Jersey Plan, Articles of Confederation, Proportional Representation, Large State Plan, and Great Compromise.)]** - the New Jersey Plan/Small State Plan **[Name given to the William Paterson's proposal (offered as the leading alternative to the Virginia Plan) to moderately reform the Articles of Confederation while maintaining its basic confederal structure of government. The Plan proposed equal state representation, which would be adopted for the Senate in the U.S. Constitution as part of the Great Compromise. Since equal state representation was favored by states with smaller populations, the New Jersey Plan is sometimes called the small state plan. (See also Virginia Plan, Articles of Confederation, Confederacy, Equal State Representation, Small State Plan, and Great Compromise.)]** - the Three-Fifths Compromise **[Name given to the decision by antislavery delegates at the Constitutional Convention to accommodate the demand by slave states that they be allowed to count their slaves as whole persons for purposes of apportioning seats in the House of Representatives. Antislavery delegates would have preferred to not allow slave states to count their slaves at all but chose to compromise by counting each slave as three fifths of a person]**. - the Electoral College **[System established by the U.S. Constitution for selecting Presidents. By this system, each state is allocated a number of individuals called Electors equal to the number of members each state is allocated in the House of Representatives and Senate. The person who becomes President is the person who wins the most votes from these Electors]**. - Slave Trade Clauses **[Obvious protection for slavery was placed in Article I, Section 9.  This clause guaranteed that Congress would not ban the slave trade prior to 1808, which was twenty years after the year (1788) they expected the Constitution to be ratified]**. - Fugitive Slave Clause **[granted slave owners a constitutional right to recapture runaway slaves who had fled to other states, including states where slavery was illegal. And, as importantly, it took away the right of states to pass laws to protect and/or emancipate runaway slaves]**. - Federalism **[Principle of government that means authority is partly divided and partly shared between the federal (aka central or national) government and the state governments. Unlike in a confederacy, the central government in a federal system claims direct authority over individual persons. (Contrast with Confederacy.)]** - popular sovereignty **[The idea that the people of a particular territory have the highest authority to rule over that territory; and, thus, government authority is legitimate only if it derives from the consent of the people]**. - direct democracy **[A form of democratic government in which all of the citizens directly participate in making and enforcing laws. ]** - representative democracy **[A form of democratic government in which the citizens who make and enforce laws are accountable to ( i.e are controlled by) and do so on behalf of ( i.e, represent) the majority of citizens who do not directly participate in making and enforcing laws]**. - bicameralism - separation of powers **[principle of government that means legislative, executive and judicial powers are exercised by 3 separate branches of government consisting of distinct institutions that are staffed by officials who serve in only one institution at a time. ]** - checks and balances **[Principles of govt that means the different branches of govt exert enough power over one another in order to keep each other with their proper constitutional limits]**. - civil liberties **[legal rights usually but not always written into constitutions. They are designed to protect individuals from govt abuse]**. - Supremacy Clause A provision in the U.S. Constitution that declares the U.S. Constitution (and all lawful treaties and other federal laws) the supreme law of the land. - The Federalist Papers **[85 essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay (under the pseudonym "Publius") between October 1787 and August 1788. The essays were initially published in newspapers but later compiled into a book. Their primary purpose was to persuade New Yorkers to vote to ratify the Constitution, but they have long been seen as the best guide for understanding the theory behind the U.S. Constitution and the system of government it creates]**. - Federalists and Anti-federalists **[Those who supported the ratification of the original US constitution during the ratification debate in 1787-1788. Those who opposed the ratification were known as Antifederalists]**. - According to the textbook, what was the primary obstacle to amending the Articles of Confederation? How did the Founders get around this obstacle? (Hint: the idea of "popular sovereignty" was important here.) **[The way to get around with was the founders decided to submit the constitution to special popularity elected ratifying conventions in each state. And they only required 9 of the 13 states to ratify.]** - According to the textbook, what were the two most heated points of contention at the Constitutional Convention that made it difficult to create a constitution acceptable to the people of every state in the union? **[Between the interests of states with large populations and small populations, and between northern states and southern slave states. ]** - What were 4 ways the Original Constitution protected slavery? 3/5 clause, electoral college, slave trade clauses and the fugitive clause. - Make sure to know and understand the six design principles of the original U.S. Constitution (as discussed in the textbook chapter). **[Federalism, popular sovereignty, representative democracy, bicameralism, separation of powers/checks and balances, small list of civil liberties ]** - Did the federal system created by the U.S. Constitution give state governments more or less power and independence compared to what they had under the Articles of Confederation?- **[Less]** - How does the Constitution's Preamble reflect the principle of "popular sovereignty"? **[They enacted under the authority of the sovereign people versus the sovereign states]**. - Why did the Founders choose a bicameral legislature instead of a unicameral one? **[Because it was useful for accommodating the different preferred representation schemes of large and small states. The senate was intended to be more aristocratic and favorable toward property right as well as to protect the interests and rights of small states and of the state govt as govt. ]** - Which group---the Federalists or the Antifederalists---supported ratification of the U.S. Constitution? Which opposed ratification? **[The federalist supported the ratification of the US constitution, while the antifederalists opposed it]**. - Why were the *Federalist Papers* written? **[It was written to persuade New Yorkers to vote to ratify the Constitution.]** - Be sure to know the general subject matter of Article I-**[establish the power and structure of the legislative branch with a bicameral legislature called congress that consist of a senate and house of representative. ]** - Article II- **[establish the executive branch and the executive power vested in a single individual called the president]**. - Article III- **[establish the judicial branch with a federal court system composed of one supreme court and also inferior courts that can be created by congress.]** - and Article V of the Constitution.- **[describes four different ways to amend the Constitution]** **Section 5: Development of the Modern Constitution: The Second Founding and Beyond** - Vocabulary to know: - the Reconstruction Amendments **[Three amendments (the 13^th^, 14^th^, and 15^th^) to the U.S. Constitution passed during the Reconstruction Era. These amendments made such a dramatic transformation of the Founders' Constitution that their ratification is sometimes aptly referred to as America's Second Founding. (See also Reconstruction Era and Founders' Constitution.)]** - birthright citizenship **[The constitutional rule(established in the first clause of the 14^th^ amendment) that every person regardless of race, ethnicity, etc ) born in the USA is by right a birth a citizen of the USA. This rule was adopted to overturn the US Supreme courts white supremacist claim. ]** - the Second Founding **[A way of referring to the transformative effect (and potential) of the reconstruction amendments]**. - What did each of the Reconstruction amendments declare? **[The 14^th^ amendment (ratified in 1868) among many other things officially rejects the doctrine endorsed by the Supreme court in the case of Dred Scott v. Sandford ( 1867) that only white persons can be citizens of USA. The 13^th^ amendment (ratified in 1865) abolishes slavery everywhere in the USA. The 15^th^ amendment (ratified in 1870) declared that it is unconstitutional for anyone to be deprived of the right to vote on account of race or previous condition of servitude." Many states had already extended voting rights to African American men, but the 15^th^ Amendment required all states to do the same.]** - In what ways did the Reconstruction Amendments transform the Founders' Constitution---particularly with respect to slavery and white supremacist views of American citizenship? [ ] **[Ch. 4: Federalism]** **Section 2: Federalism versus the Alternatives** - Vocabulary to know: - Federalism- principle of government that means authority is partly divided and partly shared between the federal (aka central or national) govt and the state govt. Unlike in a confederacy the central govt in a federal system claims direct authority over individuals' persons. - unitary national government- the central govt claims direct authority over individuals' persons. - concurrent powers-area of public policy over which both state govt and the national govt have authority. **Section 3: Why Federalism?** - Vocabulary to know: - laboratories of democracy: system that allows states to conduct their own policy experiments and this allows everyone to learn what works best and what does not work - race to the bottom when an economic competition between states leads them to try to outdo one another by enacting socially suboptimal regulations to attract or retain business investment. - Be sure to understand the five arguments made by proponents of greater national government authority. - Be sure to understand the five arguments made by proponents of greater state government authority. **Section 4: Constitutional Basics of American Federalism** - Vocabulary to know: - enumerated powers - implied powers - reserved powers - judicial review - Supremacy Clause - Tenth Amendment - Necessary and Proper Clause - amendment-enforcing provisions - the police power - Why has judicial review been important for the development of federalism over time? - What are the two important principles found in the Tenth Amendment? - Where in the Constitution are most of Congress' enumerated powers listed? Answers: they are listed on Article 1 section 8 and it stated the listed powers are vested to congress which are referred to as enumerated powers - Are there any constitutional limits on the police power of the state governments? **Section 5: Development of American Federalism over Time** - Vocabulary to know: - dual federalism - 16^th^ Amendment - the progressive income tax - the New Deal - New Deal Federalism - the modern welfare state - Post-New Deal Cooperative Federalism - the Great Society - wage a war on poverty by providing job training for, and direct income support to, the poor; - improve access to quality education, medical care, and transportation for low-income Americans; - provide funds for legal services for the poor; - promote racial equality; - protect consumers and the environment; and - promote the arts. - grants-in-aid - categorical grants - block grants - devolution - principled federalism - Generally speaking, has the power and authority of the national government increased or decreased over time? Answer: the govt has had more increase authority since 1789. - What has been the impact of the progressive income tax in the U.S. since 1894? Answers: it led congress to enact a 2% tax on the income of the highest earners (found unconstituional), led to the 16th amendment inorder to incre governemnt\'s taxing authority - Using the power of the purse, how has the federal government influenced state governments? - How did the Supreme Court initially react to FDR's efforts? - How has the modern welfare state impacted American federalism? - How did Ronald Reagan try to reign in the size and influence of the federal government? Were his efforts successful? Why, after three decades of decline, did the national debt double during the 1980s (when Reagan was president)? Answers: Reagan tried to \"starve the beast\"(drastically reduced taxes and forced Federal gov. to cut spending to balance the budget).\ Then, tried to reduce grant-in-aid spending Reduced revenue, but spending increased. The tax cuts significantly reduced revenue to the fed govt but spending actually increased. - According to the textbook, is either political party committed to principled federalism today? **[Chapter 5: Civil Liberties]** **2. Civil Liberties: Foundational Concepts** - Vocabulary to know: - civil liberties - incorporation - Due Process Clause of the 14^th^ Amendment Answers: Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment that says, "No State shall... deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law." (The Fifth Amendment also has a due process clause, but the Fourteenth Amendment's is specifically directed at *state *government action whereas the Fifth Amendment's only pertains to actions by the federal government.) - selective incorporation Answers: Gradual process by which the Supreme Court has chosen (one case and one right at a time) which civil liberties from the Bill of Rights to incorporate through the Fourteenth Amendment Due Process Clause. (See also Due Process Clause and Incorporation. Contrast with Total Incorporation.) - total incorporation Answers: The idea that all of the civil liberties protected by the Bill of Rights should automatically be incorporated into the Due Process Clause all at once. The Supreme Court rejected this approach and chose instead the gradual process of selective incorporation. (See also Due Process Clause and Incorporation. Contrast with Total Incorporation.) - unenumerated constitutional rights Answers: Rights that are said to be implied by the Constitution but that are not actually mentioned in it. The U.S. Supreme Court typically holds that these rights are protected by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. - Do constitutions protect civil liberties against infringement by private individuals (or businesses) or do constitutions only protect against infringement by government? Answers: constitutions protect civil liberties against infringement by governments. they all place legal obligations on government (and only on government - Did the civil liberties listed in the Bill of Rights of the U.S. Constitution apply to actions taken by *state* governments prior to the Civil War? Did they apply to actions taken by the *federal* government prior to the Civil War? Answers: No, U.S. Constitution only protected the freedom of speech and other civil liberties from interference by the U.S. federal government. **3. First Amendment I: Religious Freedom** - Vocabulary to know: - religious freedom - Establishment Clause Answers: 1rst Amendment clause that states congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion - Free Exercise Clause Answer: 1rst amendment free exercise clause, congress shall make no law.... prohibiting the free exercise of religion. - separation of church and state Answers: The view, often endorsed by liberal Supreme Court justices, that the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution is designed to reduce or eliminate the role of religion in government affairs altogether. (Contrast with Accommodationism) - accommodationism Answers: The view, often endorsed by conservative Supreme Court justices, that the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution does not mandate the separation of church and state. Instead, government may, and perhaps should, accommodate religion so long as it does not compel activity or show preferential treatment. (Contrast with Separation of Church and State) - belief-action framework Answer: method used to monitor belief and actions steps of the framework. - Sherbert Test Answers: Test used for determining whether a government action interferes with the legal right to the free exercise of religion. By this test, if a government action imposes an actual burden on the ability for a person to act upon a sincere religious belief, then the government action is unlawful unless it can withstand strict scrutiny.  - strict scrutiny Answers:  Label given to the most stringent approach taken by courts when reviewing potentially unconstitutional government actions. When applying strict scrutiny, a court makes the presumption that the government action in question is unconstitutional. The action is then ruled constitutional only if the government can prove the action in question was (1) in furtherance of a compelling government interest and (2) the least restrictive option available to the government for pursuing that compelling government interest. - There are two phases in the Sherbert Test. Which questions are asked are in each phase? Answers: in phase 1: the person has a claim involving a sincere religious belief, and the government action is an actual burden on the person's ability to act on that belief. Phase 2: the government interference with religious practice is the result of pursuing a compelling government interest, and there is a way for government to pursue the compelling government interest that would have placed less of a burden on the free exercise of religion. - What does strict scrutiny have to do with the Sherbert Test? Answers: Label given to the most stringent approach taken by courts when reviewing potentially unconstitutional gov actions. A court makes the presumption that the government action in question is unconstitutional. It is only ruled constitutional if\ 1) The action was in furtherance of a compelling government interest\ 2)The least restrictive (burdensome) option available to the gov for pursuing that compelling gov interest. **4. First Amendment II: Freedom of Expression** - Vocabulary to know: - content-based restrictions Answers: Government law or action that restricts the freedom of expression because of disapproval of the content of the message being expressed. According to the Supreme Court, such restrictions are nearly always in violation of the First Amendment. (Contrast with Content-Neutral Regulations.) - What is the baseline rule of the Supreme Court's approach to the freedom of expression? Answers: government may not (with a few clearly defined exceptions) enact \"content-based restrictions\" on expression (especially if the expression is political). - The textbook discusses two forms of expression that are protected by the U.S. Constitution (as interpreted by the U.S. Supreme Court) but that are not constitutionally protected in other democratic countries. What are those two forms of expression? - Know which of the following forms of expression are entitled to *less* First Amendment protection than ordinary forms of political expression: - slander of public figures Answers: When a defamatory statement is spoken out loud, - hate speech Answers: Expression that belittles or intimidates persons based on race, color, religion, national origin, or sexual orientation, or that may, because of its content, have the effect of inciting violence or prejudicial action against people based on those traits. - "fighting words" Answers: Spoken words receiving less First Amendment protection because, according to the Supreme Court, "their very utterance inflict injury or tend to incite an immediate breach of the peace" and "are of such slight social value as a step to truth that any benefit that may be derived from them is clearly outweighed by the social interest in order and morality." - libel of public figures Answers: A defamatory statement expressed in writing. ( **5. Second Amendment: Gun Rights** - How do proponents of gun rights differ from proponents of gun control in how they interpret the Second Amendment? Answers: proponents of gun rights the second part of the 2^nd^ amendment is the most important where is states that the people have a right to keep and bear arms and that this shall not be infringed by the govt. like they can have guns for self-defense, recreational purpose, hunting, target shooting. Proponents for gun control interpret the first part of the 2^nd^ amendments where it refers to a well militia is the most important, which indicate the 2^nd^ amendment is not concerned with people carry gun, they believe people should carry guns when serving in a well-regulated militia. - According to 21^st^ century U.S. Supreme Court decisions, does the Second Amendment protect a right for individuals to own firearms for self-defense? Or does it only protect the right for persons to own guns for purposes of serving in a "well-regulated militia"? Answers: The supreme court established that both state and federal govt cannot infringe upon the individual right to own and carry guns for self-defense. - Has the U.S. Supreme Court incorporated the Second Amendment under the Due Process Clause of the 14^th^ Amendment? **6. Civil Liberties in the Criminal Justice System** - Vocabulary to know: - 4^th^ Amendment Answers: when investigating crimes a police officer may not conduct unreasonable searches and seizures of a person and property without a valid warrant from a judge. - searches and seizures Answers:  Legal authorizations for government officials to conduct searches of persons or things for evidence of illegal activity - exclusionary rule Answers: Rule that if government acquires evidence through unconstitutional methods, then the evidence may not be admitted into court. This is used to enforce both Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches and seizures and the Fifth Amendment right to remain silent when in police custody. - 5^th^ Amendment Answers: Amendment that guarantees five distinct liberties, including the right to a Grand Jury for indictments; protection against double jeopardy; right to not be compelled to self-incriminate; the right to due process; and the right to not have property taken for public use without receiving just compensation. - self-incrimination Answers: The making of statements that provide evidence of one's own guilt. The Fifth Amendment prohibits government from compelling anyone to make such statements - "Miranda warnings" Answers:  The reading of our rights, particularly the warning that "anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law," - 6^th^ Amendment Answers: Amendment providing six rights pertaining to criminal trials, including the rights to a speedy trial, impartial jury, and to having a lawyer. right to a speedy trial - 8^th^ Amendment Answers: Amendment that prohibits excessive bail, excessive fines, and cruel and unusual punishments. - cruel and unusual punishment Answers:  purpose of the Eighth Amendment was to prevent government from aggrandizing its power by using torture and other forms of cruelty to terrorize the people into submission. - According to the textbook, what is the purpose (or "aim") of civil liberties pertaining to the criminal justice system? Answers: The Founding Fathers believed it is through criminal law enforcement activities that government poses the greatest threat to the life, liberty, and property of citizen - Generally speaking, how do liberals and conservatives tend to differ in how they interpret civil liberties pertaining to the criminal justice system Answers: Liberals tend to be more concerned than conservatives with protecting the rights of criminal suspects and convicts, while conservatives tend to be more concerned than liberals with the importance of empowering government to prevent and punish criminal activity.. - Why, according to the textbook, is the incorporation of criminal justice rights under the 14^th^ Amendment "especially important"? Answers: Because most law enforcement activities are conducted by state and local police departments and most criminal trials take place in state courts and pertain to state criminal laws.\ - Incorporation of these rights means that the U.S. Constitution guarantees protections for the criminally accused at the level of government - Why did the Supreme Court create the exclusionary rule? Why are a growing number of constitutional scholars, lawyers and judges questioning its wisdom? Answers: They question its wisdom because it could mean that a guilty person escapes punishment simply because police did not follow proper procedures when gathering evidence. - According to the Supreme Court in *Miranda v. Arizona* (1966), what must police tell criminal suspects before they question them? Answers: You have the right to remain silent and refuse to answer questions. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to consult an attorney before speaking to the police and to have an attorney present during questioning now or in the future. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you before any questioning if you wish. If you decide to answer questions now without an attorney present, you will still have the right to stop answering at any time until you talk to an attorney*."* - If someone goes a full year after being charged with a crime before having a trial, would this necessarily result in charges being dropped on account of the person being deprived of their right to a speedy trial? Answers: no some trial take years. - According to the Supreme Court, what exactly is required by the 6^th^ Amendment command that criminal trials must be by an "impartial jury"? - What did the Supreme Court declare about the 6^th^ Amendment right to an attorney in *Gideon v. Wainwright* (1963)? What specific impact (discussed by the textbook) did this decision have on the criminal justice system? - According to the Supreme Court, in what specific circumstances does the Eighth Amendment not allow imposing the death penalty? Answers: People under 18 when their crimes were committed\ Intellectually disabled people\ The victim does not die as a result of the crime\ The defendant is unable to rationally understand the reasons for their execution. **7. Unenumerated Constitutional Rights Pertaining to Abortion, Sexual Intimacy, and Marriage** - Vocabulary to know: - unenumerated constitutional right to privacy Answers: rights that are said to be implied by the constitution but that are not actually mentioned in it. - In *Roe v. Wade* (1973) and *Planned Parenthood v. Casey* (1992), the Supreme Court held that the Fourteenth Amendment Due Process Clause protects an unenumerated constitutional right to privacy that included the right of a woman to choose to have an abortion. What did the Supreme Court declare about the constitutional right to choose to have an abortion in *Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health* (2022)? As a result, abortion laws are now determined primarily by what level of government (federal or state)? Answers: abortion are now determined legal by state level Answers: They decided that the problem was with the law was that it was regulated sexual conduct engaged in by consenting adults within the privacy of their own home - According to the U.S. Supreme Court, what part of the U.S. Constitution is violated if state or local governments deprive same sex couples of the right to marry? Answers: Liberty in the due process clause protects the rights of marriage and thus is violated if they deprive same sex couples of the right to marry.