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Gov 30 Midterm

The Constitution
1. 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.
2. Compromises: -CT: two house congress. -General Power: Congress has limited, specific powers.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. Problems: power of SC poorly defined, electoral college, slavery/women's rights, no Bill of Rights
American Political Culture
1. US is more diverse today, but it was always "from many, 1 union"
2. 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
  1. less benefits to Imm. now, less unskilled labor. in the past there was lots of jobs available. , costs for gov't higher
  2. we favor family preferences over skills, but trending towards Canada's prioritizaiton of valuable skills
3. 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
4. we have a liberal cultures because we have always been wealthy, and no feudalism, also immigration enforces these values.
5. liberalism: maximizing rights by minimizing governmental influence/interference. Liberalism: modern left (big fiscal gov't, small social gov't)
  1. liberalism: liberty through freedom, republicanism: liberty through collectivism
Judicial Review
1. the power of the courts to declare laws unconstitutional
2. 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 New laws supersede old laws are superseded by the constitution.
3. -deference to congress, -original intent, -experiential, -plain meaning of the text
4. doubts: Dred Scott (1857), this decision led to the civil war because the SC agreed with the slaveholder. (named MO compromise unconstitutional)
5. SC is supposed to be impartial, but in practice appointments are often highly politicized.
Federalism
1. divides governmental authority between two levels, and each can act independently. most have a unitary gov't
2. Thomas Hobbes said "if you divide sovreignty into parts, those parts will go to war
3. in const: Necessary and Proper clause and tenth amendment (powers not delegated to Fed. and not prohibited to the states belongs to the states)
4. dual sovreignty: each level of gov't is sovreign in its own space, each has independent rights, and the courts decide jurisdicition
5. McCulloch v. MD (1819): expansive definition of NP clause (convenience) and also establishes that federal government supersedes state governments.
6. 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
  1. Prince v. US: fed law requiring background checks for firearms. declared unconst. because outside of federal jurisdiction
7. 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).
  1. 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
8. 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_
  1. categorical grants give money to states with a plan in action. pork barrel is when you do something in exchange for money (?)?
9. 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)
10. 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
  1. shifted with NLRB v. Jones: unionizing is a federal issue
The Modern Courts
1. SC Primary objectives: Unify US legal system, keep law stable over time. (stare decisis)
  1. stare decisis: stable decision, courts rule one way and keep that ruling throughout time to maintain the SC as an institution, maintain legitimacy
    1. judicial activism (overturn stare decisis to keep constitution relevant) vs. Judicial restraint (rule narrowly and avoid an overturning)
2. 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
3. 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
Public Opinion
1. 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.
2. latent public opinion: how the public will react to an event in the future.
3. 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
Federalist Papers
1. #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
2. #47: afraid of big gov't. so lets make factions within the gov't so that it can't oppress us.
3. #48: why checks and balances are good. checking the legislature is important. protect government from rash or quick action
4. #51: competitive not only within government but b/wn fed. and state gov'ts. extra C&B for legislature
5. #39: reassure people that this will work. powers of fed. gov't are "few and defined". (maybe not true empirically)
6. #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.
7. #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

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