Government Notes

Chapter 1
- Zoogtopia
o Europe (between Spain and Portugal)
o Christianity (mainly catholic)
o Rich country
 Very good economically
o Direct democracy
o Average to big population
o Ever changing with the times
o Diverse population
o Anyone can immigrate if they pass the test
What is government?
- The people develop the government in United States
- Organizes the country
- Policies that reflect what the people want
o Not everyone will always be happy
- Institution that will reflect the societies desires and wants
- Only sometimes is it successful
What is Politics?
- The process by which we select the policies and people who decide what the
people want and represent their opinions
- Right now: Gay marriage is a big issues
What is Power?
- People do what you want them to do
- I have power over the freshman
- Obvious power
o Elected position
o Blue shirts signifies power
- Subtle power
o Manipulation
Features of a state
- Things you need to form a government
o Land
 Enough to sustain the population
o People
 A lot or a few
o Government
 Total chaos if there isn’t one
o Sovereignty
 Your country can rule itself
 You can decide who can be a citizen
 Defend yourself
 You can make your own laws
  No other people have power to enforce authority
- Melting pot
o Many different cultures come together
- Tossed salad
o Cultures are still distinct and maintain their traditions
Origins of a state
- Force theory
o One group forces another country to comply with their wishes
o If you don’t agree you die
- Evolutionary theory
o Start with the smallest unit of society (family), tribe, clan… evolve into
a country in which you need more rules and regulation
- Divine right theory
o You have the right and the duty
o God has given you the right to rule
o *you are not a God*
o Ended in the 15th or 16th century
Thomas Hobbs
- Man exists in a natural state
o We would be wearing nothing and there would be no laws
- The problem is there is chaos
- We will want more things and take stuff
- People become aggravated
- Promise to support people who help you
John Locke
- Social contract
- Say to the ruler “I will support you if you promise to not violate my three
rights”
o Life, Liberty, Property
- If you do, I have the right and the responsibility to over throw him
Purpose of Government
- Primary responsibility is to create order
o Without order nothing gets done
- To provide defense
o From other countries
o Natural disasters
o From attack within
- Public service
o Education
o Fire department
o Transportation
o Licensed by the state for doctors and professionals
- Social Standards
o Standard is an expectation (Society agrees upon it)
o The way people behave (norms)
 o Different cities have different curfews
Types of Government
- Autocracy
o One ruler
o Like a monarchy
o Dictatorship
o Totalitarian
 Couldn’t have happened before the 10th century
• Technology
- Oligarchy
o Rule by a religious group
o Or a social group
o (by a few)
- Democracy
o Pure or direct democracy
 Everybody participates
o Indirect/participatory democracy
 Elect representatives
Government Systems
- Unitary
o The central government has most of the power
 Gives the subdivisions some power
 Can also take it away
o Small homogenous countries
o Most countries are unitary
 There are problems because their population is growing and the
immigrants aren’t on the same page
o England
- Confederation
o The subdivisions have the power
 Doesn’t work because there are too many ideas
 No one agrees and they fight and become separate
o European Union
 There are 14 countries that belong to this
 They argue all the time
o No modern day countries like this
- Federalism
o State and central government both have power
o Share the power
Characteristics of a Democracy
- Equality
o Sometimes idealistic
o Equal opportunity
 Not everyone has the same result
 - Majority rule + Minority rights
o If you don’t win that’s okay because most of the country is satisfied
o People who lost are still respected; it doesn’t mean that their voice
isn’t heard
- Individual liberty
o Make your own choice
o Not the government making it for us
- Representative Government
o We choose who we want to represent us
o Free (choices) in elections
Path to citizenship
- 14th amendment
o Citizenship
- Jus Soli and Jus Sanguins
o Jus Soli: of the soils
 If you’re born here you are a United States citizen
o Jus Sanguins: of the blood
 One of your parents is an American citizen
- Dual citizenship
o Citizen of two countries
- Naturalization
o Live here for five years then apply
o If you are married to a United States citizen then its easier
- Expatriation
o If you give up your citizenship to go to another country
- Control Act
o It is illegal to hire undocumented workers
o You will be fined
- Denaturalization
o You lied in order to gain citizenship
Citizenship Test
- 13
- Independence day: freed from Britain declaration of independence
- The American people: electoral college
- The constitution: basis of our government
- Judicial legislative executive
- Patrick Henry
- Free life liberty and pursuit of happiness; all men are created equal
- Star spangled banner
- The president
- 1st amendment: freedom of speech press religion and assembly
 Chapter 3
The Constitution
James Madison: father of the constitution
Thomas Jefferson: father of the Declaration of Independence
Structure
- Fundamental law
o Basics and broad
- Statutory Laws
o Very specific
- Preamble
o Introduction
- Articles (7)
o 1-3: three branches of government
 Legislative: makes laws
 Executive: enforces laws
 Judiciary: interprets laws
o 4: relationship between national government and the states
o 5: how to amend the constitution
o 6: supremacy clause
 The constitution is the supreme law of the land
o 7: states how the constitution will be ratified
 When 9 states agreed to it then it went into affect
- Amendments
o At the end of the constitution
o 27
o Little over 200 years old
o First ten are the Bill of Rights
Major Principles
- Popular Sovereignty
o The people are the government
o They are the source of all the power that the government has
o 19th: Women can vote
o 15th: cannot be denied because of race color creed
o 26th: used to be 21 now its 18 years old (during Vietnam)
- Limited Government
o Limits what the government can do
o Checks and balances (constitution)
 GIVE AN EXAMPLE OF HOW EACH CHECKS EACH BRANCH
OF GOVERNMENT
o Prohibition: 18th (can’t drink) 21st (can drink)
o Rule of Law
 No one is above the law
 - Separation of powers
o The three branches of government
o No one body or person will have too much power
- Checks and balances
o Make sure one branch doesn’t have too much power
o Each branch will check the other branch
o *know how each one checks the other*

- Judicial Review (Marbury v. Madison)

o Supreme court rules that marbury should get the job but unfortunately
the rule that allowed the president to not give him the job was
unconstitutional
o Established judicial review
 Review acts or laws by the legislative branch and declare them
unconstitutional
Formal Changes
- Fifth article describes this
- Amendment process
o Propose
 2/3 vote of both houses of congress
• All amendments have been proposed this way
 2/3 of the states calling for a national convention
• This has never happened
• Has no parameters (boundaries) set by the constitution
o Ratified
 ¾ of state legislatures ratify it
 • All but one have been done this way
 ¾ vote of state ratifying conventions
• 21st amendment (overturned the 18th)
- Entrenched clause
o One part of the constitution that can never be amended
o That each state shall have two senators
Informal Changes
- Executive agreement
o Not written in the constitution
o When the president makes an agreement with a head of another
country it does not have to be approved by the senate and it only lasts
as long as that president is in office
- Court decision
o Marbury v. Madison
o Miranda
o Brown v. the Board of Education
o Roe v. Wade
 Abortion
- Political parties
o Formed in Washington’s cabinet
- Custom
o Two terms
o Cabinet (Divide up the work)
Amendments
- 27
- Bill of Rights
o First 10 amendments
o What are your rights before a strong central government
o Only applies to the national government
- 1: freedom of speech religion press assembly and petition
- 2: right to bear arms
- 3: no quartering of soldiers
- 4: freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures
- 5: right to due process of law
o Freedom from double jeopardy, from self incrimination (right not to
turn yourself in)
- 6: rights of accused persons
o Right to a speedy and public trial and know who is accusing you
- 7: right of trial by jury in civil cases
- 8: freedom from excessive bail, cruel and unusual punishments
- 9: retain other rights not listed
o Just because it isn’t on here doesn’t mean you don’t have it
- 10: powers reserved to the states
 o The federal government only gets things listed here and the states get
everything else
- 14, 15, 18, 19, 26 KNOW THESE
Importance of Flexibility
- The constitution is very short with fewer than 8,000 words
- It does not prescribe every detail (It’s not static its flexible)
Chapter 4
Federal System
Federal System
- Shared power
- The power is shared between central government and its subdivision
- Central government, national, and the states
National Powers
- Expressed or enumerated powers (explicitly stated and numbered)
o Tax, declare war, create laws, create money, make treaties
- Implied Powers
o It’s not stated but it’s known
o Clause in Article one section A of the constitution
 Necessary Improper Clause: the government can do whatever
was necessary and proper
 Elastic Clause: It can expand
- Inherent Powers
o Powers that every government has just because they are a
government
o Determine who can be a citizen, defend themselves
Reserved Powers
- Powers that are reserved to the states
- School system
- Make state laws
- Driving laws
Concurrent Powers
- Powers that both the state and the national government have
- Making laws
Denied Powers
- Neither can pas expost facto laws
o Pass a law today and apply it to yesterday
- No bills of attainder
o Cant assess a penalty without a trial
- Cannot suspend a writ of habeas corpus
o “show me the body”
o Tell you what you are charged with
Supremacy Clause
- In Article Six
- The constitution will be the supreme law of the land
- McCulloch v. Maryland
 o Maryland sues national government because he won’t pay a tax that
Maryland has placed on the bank
o Goes to supreme court
o Can a state tax a federal institution? NO
 The power to tax is the power to destroy
o Can congress create a national bank? YES
 Its implied in the Necessary and Proper Clause
Guarantees to the States
- Republican government
o Representative government
- Defense
o From attack without (country attacking us) or unrest within (riots
within the country)
- State Boundaries
o Recognize state boundaries
o Not going to divide a state up unless the state says they’re too big
State Responsibilities
- Provide a state militia
o National guard
o President can call the national guard at will
- Set up elections
o Register the voters, construct ballots (all ballots are different from
state to state)
- Draw congressional lines
o Drawing the district lines to determine how many representatives in
the House
o Texas has 32
Interstate Relations
- “Full Faith and Credit” laws
o States respect other state’s civil documents
- “Privileges and Immunities” clause
o Each state provides special rights to their citizens
o College tuition
- Interstate agreements/compacts
o 2-3 states agreement with each other
o Projects to build dams on a river that borders two states
- Extradition
o Criminals
o If you commit a crime in one state you’re tried for that crime in that
state
o Governors apply to each other to return a fugitive to try them
Evolution of Federalism
- States rights position
o Most of the power resides in the states
 o Into the early 1800’s
- Nationalist position (end in 1920’s)
o Looking at the most good for the whole country
- Dual federalism
o Federal government and the states each do their own things
o The citizen is responsible for him/herself
 She would go to the church or other charitable organizations
o The Great Depression changed this
o The layered cake theory (The chocolate and vanilla never mix)
Cooperative Federalism
- The national government becomes more involved in state’s activities
- FDR The New Deal
o Social security (for savings), CCC. WPA
- Marble Cake theory
o Chocolate and Vanilla mix
o Federal government is more involved in the states
New Federalism
- Starts in the 1970’s
- Starts with drawing from states activities
- With more privileges comes more responsibility
o Come up with your own money to help the poor
- Short term care
Types of Federal Aid
- Grants
o Land Grant
 Give railroads a lot of land to build through and sell the land that
they don’t use
 School that produces agriculturally and mechanically inclined
students
• Build a school and sell off the land you don’t need
o Categorical grants
 Highly specific
 Conditions of aid:
• 10% of the workers have to be minorities
• 10% green materials
 Too many strings attached
o Block grant
 A lot broader
 Less strings attached
 Giving the states ten million dollars for crime prevention
• Higher more policemen
• Either fire them or come up with more money
 States like block grants
 But states can become grant junkies
 - General Revenue Sharing Grants
o States spend it anyway they wanted to
o Any extra money that the government has
 Now we don’t have any
 some states didn’t spend it right
Preemption Laws
- gave state power
- federal government can preempt a state law
- restraint
o states can be limited on what they can do
- mandate
o this is something you must do
o funded
 federal government gives you the money to do it
o unfunded
 figure out how you’re going to fund it yourself
 ADA: American Disabilities act
• All public buildings have to have access for handicapped
people
Federalism and Public Policy
- New Ideas
o States try and solve the problem first and then the national
government uses the correct version
- Sunset Laws
o Laws that are no longer relevant
- Sunshine Laws
o People are aware of what goes on in government meetings

Format for Test

Eleven terms > answer ten
30 multiple choice
3 short answers> answer two