Unit 1 Gov

1. judeo-christian ideas
   1. private morality= focus (one's individual relation w/ god)

      Nota:

      • (rather than public morality) Public morality: moral standards/virtues that are important for acting in the community Private morality: inner moral standards (ex--inner faith/ obedience to god)
      1. deeds done due to private morality may benefit society as a whole
   2. stressed importance of every human, rather than the society as a whole/greater community
   3. in part how founders found ideas of individual liberties/rights
2. Greco-Roman ideas
   1. overarching: Classical Republicanism
      1. those who govern must be wise, help people learn about/perform their duties
      2. Small, homogeneous communities
3. capitalism

   Nota:

   • an economic system where goods are privately owned and distributed for profit
   1. focus on private profit/individual gain
4. enlightenment ideas
   1. john locke
   2. thomas hobbes
   3. social contract theory

      Nota:

      • (gov protects to give rights-- ppl have to give up some personal freedoms) 
5. forms of gov they had to choose from (todays gov has all 3)
   1. rule by 1: president
      1. rule by few: supreme court
         1. rule by many: congress
            1. got from aristotle
   2. democracy (direct)
      1. problem: "unwashed masses" vote based on passion, not reason
         1. can cause unrest
            1. (mostly wealthy founders afraid poor would vote for something making them lose wealth)
      2. aristotle's name for a negative rule by many
   3. republic (indirect/representative democracy)
      1. vote for representatives to vote for elected officials
         1. vote not for what is popular, but what is right
6. gov must exist to protect the rights to life, liberty, and estate (natural rights)
   1. Gov should be servant of the people (help not rule)
7. Must be a higher law or constitution that limits gov

1. documents (in order of age)
   1. magna carta

      Nota:

      • great charter (direct translation)
      • 1215
      1. Limit to excessive taxing
         1. Even king had to obey law (Rule of law)
            1. Ancient liberties and free customs reintroduced
               1. Required him to write up an agreement w/ the rest of england, and overall fair compensation for wrongs done to them
   2. writ of habeas- corpus

      Nota:

      • original act 1679
      1. a charter signed by king john promising that the king would give his subjects more thought/respect-- have more rights
   3. english bill of rights

      Nota:

      • 1689
      1. Limiting of king’s power to raise money
         1. Freedom of speech
            1. Rule of law
               1. Representation in gov of each class-- monarchy 1, house of lords few, house of commons many
   4. petition of right

      Nota:

      • 1628
      1. says Parliament is supreme and king’s power is limited (parlimentary supremacy)
2. events
   1. the renaissance

      Nota:

      • 14th-17th century revival of intellectual life
      1. lead to the enlightenment/scientific revolution
         1. A lot of advancement in science, also influenced study of gov
            1. ideas about gov/state of nature founded on basis that human behavior could be understood, predicted, and controlled (figured out through advances in science)
      2. Individuals began to be seen as more important than their class from birth
         1. More opportunity-- sparked interest in the rights of individuals
   2. the reformation

      Nota:

      • Protestant revolution: ppl believed the roman catholic church had become corrupt and left it
      1. helped lead to rise of indiviualism
3. about colonial america
   1. Diversity in different colonies provided many of the people who tried to design the constitutional gov w/ different experiences
      1. north raised livestock
      2. south did cash crops (tobacco, indigo) with slavery

1. articles of confederation
   1. created after dec of indep: used as inspiration during revolutionary war
   2. many flaws...
      1. federal government had no power to enforce laws
         1. and no way to force the collection of taxes
            1. this meant that there was no way to pay back those who had served in the revolutionary war
               1. many of these people= farmers, had their farms forclosed on by banks
                  1. incited Shay's Rebellion

                     Nota:

                     • not the only rebellion that happened of this sort, but for some reason the one we tend to remember
                     1. eventually stopped by mass. militia
                        1. many of the state millitiamen were the ones rebelling
                           1. other states refused to help: central govt. couldn't make them/ had no army of its own
                     2. highlighted need for a more powerful central govt
                     3. example of problem with democracy: masses ruled by passion, not reason
2. declaration of independence
3. the constitution
   1. constitution def: a higher law which sets forward the structures and powers of government, and dictates the rules and processes that must be followed by the government and people
      1. constitutional govt: a government that adheres to the powers dictated in the constitution (not total power)
      2. Must set forth basic rights of citizens
         1. Gives gov responsibility to protect individual rights
            1. Establishes limits on how govs can use power (in regard to rights of citizens)
               1. Can be changed

Nota:

• all ideas of the founders: 5 of them can be found in the constitution... 
• Judicial review, the only one that isn't, is called implied or inherent power
• To this day, each principle can be found in the day-to-day activities of our government.

1. checks and balances
   1. The powers that each branch has over the others

      Nota:

      • each branch can "police" the other 2
2. seperation of powers
   1. Baron de Montesquieu
   2. The idea that the jobs of a government should not be in the same hands; this threatens personal rights/ could create tyranny
   3. 3 branches of govt
      1. create laws (legislative)
      2. enforce laws (executive)
      3. interpret laws (judicial)
3. judicial review
   1. Power of the courts to declare acts of Congress or the President “unconstitutional”
   2. Importance of judicial review

      Nota:

      • While some studies show a limited impact of the courts on policy, they have the potential to decide questions that could change our lives
      1. Many rights we enjoy were guaranteed by the Supreme Court: legal rights, abortion, desegregation, miranda rights etc.
      2. The potential for legal action to change the way we live or the way our freedoms are enjoyed exists
4. limited government
   1. Idea that government should be limited (in what it can and cannot do) by law(s)
   2. Still not cut and dry: otherwise no need for supreme court

      Nota:

      • ex: Trump and the muslim ban
   3. idea for limited govt comes largely from british history

      Nota:

      • (in general as well as these documents)
   4. example of this: the fact that we have a Constitution that explains what our government can and cannot do
5. federalism
6. popular sovereignty

   Nota:

   • Sovereignty— “authority to govern” popular-- by the people
   1. Connects with social contract theory

      Nota:

      • (gov protects to give rights-- ppl have to give up some personal freedoms) 
   2. “rule by the people”
   3. The authority given to the government to do its job comes from the people
   4. popular sovereignty examples
      1. voting
      2. protests
      3. politicians respondent to people

         Nota:

         • theory: they will be bc if not, wont be reelected
         • Case work example: traveling abroad, loose passport, won’t let you out… parents call senator, if they do it (the favor)-- everyone is happy, parents will vote for official who helped-- probably petition, be active supporters, tell their story (social media)
      4. (formal petition to reps-- calling/writing letters to representative… petition government for redress of grievances