Ch 1: Founding Principles
This is how pluralist democracy operates.
BONUS: Provide an example.
Individuals form interest groups to exert influence on political systems.
Example interest groups:
- NAACP (minority rights); NOW (women's rights); NRA (gun rights); AFL-CIO (labor rights); Sierra Club (environment)
This event in 1786 helped convince many leaders of the newly independent nation that the Articles of Confederation was ineffective and needed revision.
Shays' Rebellion
BONUS: What led to this event, and how did it come to an end?
These are TWO examples of concurrent powers.
- Infrastructure/land improvement
- Taxation
In Federalist #10, James Madison identified these TWO solutions for the "mischief of faction."
1. Control its causes (unrealistic - human nature)
2. Control its effects (large republic with diverse goals will temper its influence)
This constitutional principle was established by the ruling in Marbury v. Madison (1803)
Judicial Review
These are the TWO Forms of Democracy illustrated by the US House of Representatives & Senators, as originally enacted by the Constitution
House - Participatory (2 year terms, direct election, geographic areas based on population)
Senate - Elite (6 year terms, originally elected by state legislatures, 2 per state)
This clause in Article I of the Constitution was used to justify the expansion of the federal government's power beyond the enumerated powers in Section 8.
Necessary & Proper/Elastic Clause
This is the primary difference between categorical grants and block grants.
Block - broad discretion, without strings attached
BONUS: Why do the states and Congress have different preferences about which types of grants are issued?
Brutus was primarily concerned about these TWO issues with the large, centralized government established by the Constitution.
- People in a vast nation would not know their rulers and therefore:
- Lose control and power over their government
Dangers of a large republic
This ruling, which revolved around the interstate commerce clause, led to the repeal of a national law regulating possession of firearms in school zones.
U.S. v. Lopez (1995)
These were THREE of the grievances against King George III listed in the Declaration of Independence
- Lack of Due Process/Fair Trials
- Taxation w/o Representation
- Dissolution of colonial assemblies
- Micromanagement of trade & resource extraction
- Failure to protect against Native Americans
These were THREE of the compromises included in the Constitution and their outcomes.
CT/Great Compromise: Bicameralism, House (2 year terms; population) & Senate (6 year terms; 2 per state)
3/5ths Compromise: Enlarged representation of the South by 60% in House of Representatives and Electoral College
Commerce Compromise: Congress could tax imports, but not exports
Slavery Compromises: Fugitive Slave Clause; Congress couldn't regulate slave trade for 20 years
This process, which began in the 1970s and continued throughout the 1980s and 90s, marked a return of federal funds and control to the states
Devolution/New Federalism
BONUS: Name one policy that illustrates this.
Federalist 51 offered these THREE solutions to the Anti-Federalists' concerns about the abuse of government power under the Constitution.
- Separation of Powers
- Checks and Balances
- Bicameralism
This ruling, which relied on the principle of federal supremacy, reinforced the balance of power laid out in the Constitution regarding taxation powers.
McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
Bonus: Describe the facts and ruling of the case.
These were FOUR of the Enlightenment philosophers and their contributions to the ideas in the United States' founding documents.
Hobbes - State of Nature & Social Contract
Locke - Natural Law & Consent of Governed
Rousseau - Popular Sovereignty
Montesquieu - Limited Gov't & Separation of Powers
These are the FOUR ways an Amendment to the Constitution can be passed.
Proposed by 2/3 Congress OR
Proposed by Convention of 2/3 of States
AND
Ratified by 3/4 of state legislatures OR
Ratified by 3/4 of state ratifying conventions
States have supremacy within their own sphere, and therefore the ability to regulate commerce within their borders. HOWEVER;
The federal government has supremacy in its sphere, which entitles it to regulate commerce between states
Bonus: Describe an example of how this applies today.
These were FOUR of the amendments that expanded the principle of popular sovereignty.
12th - Election procedure for VP
15th - Right to vote regardless of race
17th - Direct election of US Senators
19th - Right to vote regardless of gender
22nd - Limits Presidents to two terms
24th - Abolishes poll taxes
26th - Right to vote for all above age 18
When the state of Maryland attempted to enact a prohibitively high tax designed to prevent the creation of a national bank in Baltimore, it was challenging the federal government's application of this type of power
Implied powers
Bonus: Describe another example of this type of power
These were THREE of the main problems with the Articles of Confederation government, and how they were addressed by the Constitutional system that replaced it.
- Lack of taxation powers (Congress was empowered to enact taxes on imports, excises, and later income)
- Lack of enforcement of laws/treaties (Federal law was made supreme over state law)
- Lack of military (President was made Commander in Chief of military)
- Unanimous requirement to amend Articles (3/4 of states required to amend Constitution)
- No Executive or Judiciary (Constitution est. 3 branches w/ checks and balances)
These are FIVE examples of how checks and balances are written into the Constitution.
Executive: can veto laws; appoints federal judges; appoints cabinet members; Commander in Chief of military
Legislative: can override vetoes; can impeach President; can declare war; approves executive appointments
Judicial: can declare laws unconstitutional; can declare executive actions/orders unconstitutional
Describe FIVE examples of issues regarding the application of federalism over the last 100 years BESIDES those in the required cases.
- Environment: Forest Preserve Act/National Parks; National Env. Policy Act; Clean Air & Water Acts; Endangered Species Acts; Superfund; EPA; Kyoto Protocol; Paris Climate Agreement
- Education: Brown v. Board of Education (1954); Elementary & Secondary Education Act; NCLB, ESSA
- Drug Enforcement: Marijuana Tax Act, Controlled Substances Act; State Cannabis legalization; Gonzales v. Raich (2005)
- Commerce: Gun regulations; minimum wage; child labor laws
- Marriage: Obergefell v. Hodges (2015)
These were FIVE of the amendments in the Bill of Rights that resulted from the abuses of power under British rule
First Amendment: Five Freedoms (speech, press, petition, assembly, religion)
Third Amendment: No quartering of troops in private residences
Fourth Amendment: Prohibits unreasonable search & seizures
Fifth Amendment: Due Process, protects against self-incrimination
Sixth Amendment: Prompt, public trial by jury of peers
How did Congress work around the ruling in U.S. v. Lopez (1995) to encourage states to prohibit the possession of firearms in school zones?
Congress passed a new law that withholds federal funds from schools that do not adopt zero-tolerance laws for guns in school zones