American Government - Final Exam Guide PDF

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American Government - Final Exam Guide...

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American Government Lecture 1: The Logic of Politics •

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What is “Politics?” o According to Harold Lasswell, politics is “who gets what, when, and how.” o Politics is the allocation of resources as informed by values. ▪ Values include ones attitudes on abortion, gun control, the environment, or the proper role of government. ▪ Resources include money and manpower. Politics as Collective Action o Politics is the process of collective agreement to allocate resources in the face of competing values. ▪ While individuals often disagree on intended goals due to differing values, politics involve the reconciliation of these opinions. Problems in Achieving Collective Action o Democratic nations face large, complex challenges. ▪ What are the long-term effects? ▪ What will we do with all of our tax income? o Challenges of Political and Social Choice ▪ Combination and ranking of preferences: How do we take the opinions of our representatives and rank them? ▪ Agreeing on a course of action: How do we reconcile everyone’s opinion? ▪ Implementing and enforcing the collective choice: When a decision is made, how will it be carried out? How will we ensure that our decision is actually being carried out? o The Political Process ▪ Requires bargaining and compromise ▪ More people mean more complex and divisive issues, meaning that unstructured negotiations generally fail. ▪ Thus, we require political institutions. o Coordination ▪ Even if the group agrees on and is willing to contribute to a collective goal, how do you coordinate these efforts? ▪ Coordination problems are usually caused by uncertainty and insufficient information. ▪ Examples: • We want to build a house for a family who lost their old home in a disaster, but we don’t know how to build a house and are uncertain about what our groupmates are capable of. o Cooperation ▪ What if individual willingness to contribute to a common goal is in doubt? • Self-interest often trumps collective effort.

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Individual outcomes depend on the choices of others. Cooperation is necessary for the best collective outcome. Free Riding: Citizens who think their contributions to a collective effort is perceived as small and will not affect success or failure, and they can enjoy the collective benefit without making an individual contribution, may not contribute to the collective goal and, thus, the good will not be provided. • Example: “I want to watch PBS, but not donate to PBS. Let others give their money.” ▪ Tragedy of the Commons: A collective good is in danger of being squandered unless the group members cooperate towards its preservation. • Example: “If fishers overfish crabs in the Chesapeake Bay without allowing them to repopulate, they will eventually go extinct.” Costs of Collective Action o Transaction Costs o Conformity Costs Delegation o Direct Democracy ▪ Direct democracy is a form of government in which every citizen has a direct, participatory role in making decisions. ▪ The United States is not a direct democracy because… • …it would be difficult to get a population as large as the U.S. to agree on issues. • Instead, the U.S. is a republican democracy; the public elect people to represent them. Thus, the act of voting for new laws is delegated to representatives and senators.

American Government: The Constitution (Sept. 11, 2017) •

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Recall: Collective Action Problems o The recurring issue of collective action problems is self-interest. o Solutions to this problem include: ▪ Voluntary cooperation (Reduces costs, but is often unrealistic) • Also called self-government. • Example: We want a clean environment (a collective good), so I personally decide not to litter. ▪ Privatization (Assigns ownership or allocates resources) • Example: Crabs are being overfished, so we assign regions of the Bay to individual crabbers and trust the crabbers to responsibly harvest crabs in their assigned zone. ▪ Regulation (Coerces compliance with costs and/or incentives) • Also called government. • Example: We want a clean environment, so we pass a local ordinance imposing fines for littering. ▪ The common features of these solutions are that they all involve imposing rules, monitoring compliance of these rules, and punishing violators of these rules. All of these solutions require some form of government, also called institutions. o Costs of Collective Action ▪ Transaction costs: The time, effort, and resources necessary to make collective decisions, which increases with the number of participants. ▪ Conformity costs: Difference between individual preference and collective outcome. • The above two costs are often inversely related; conformity costs rise as transaction costs fall and vice-versa. ▪ Contrast a dictatorship and a direct democracy. • In a true direct democracy, all members of a group are allowed to participate. More people will be happy with the general outcome (high transaction costs, low conformity costs). • In a dictatorship, only one person makes decisions, but those beneath them are more likely to be unhappy (low transaction costs, high conformity costs). Delegation and Collective Action o Delegation refers to the assigning of decision-making authority to others. It involves a smaller number of people acting on behalf of the larger group. ▪ A leader, known as a principal, delegates authority to lower officials known as agents.

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o Delegation lowers transaction costs while raising conformity costs. o Dangers of Delegation ▪ Agents may or may not act in your best interest (they may “go rogue”). ▪ Agents, doing things the principal would disapprove of, may operate in secret (hidden action). ▪ Madison’s Dilemma: “You must first enable the government to control the governed: and in the next place oblige it to control itself.” The Constitution o The Articles of Confederation (1781 - 1789) ▪ No executive. ▪ Each state has one vote in the legislature. ▪ Major laws required 9/13 states to agree. ▪ Amendments required unanimity. ▪ Power to the states. ▪ Problems: • Devalued currency • War debt • Public disorder (Shay’s Rebellion) • Free rider problems o 13 separate governments under a weak legislature. o A confederation derives limited authority from states (NOT citizens). o Basic Goals ▪ Solve a set of collective action problems via higher centralized authority (delegation). ▪ Minimize the dangers of delegation by placing limits on government power. ▪ The above two goals involved crafting an appropriate balance of power. o Bargaining and Compromise ▪ Large vs. small states with respect to representation. • Compromise: House of Representatives is based on population while Senate gives all states equal representation. ▪ Northern vs. Southern states with respect to slavery. ▪ Government power vs. popular freedom (how much central authority while still protecting individual freedoms). ▪ National vs. state power (how much central authority while keeping something for the states).

American Government: The Constitution (cont.) •

Causes of Division Among the Framers o Questions of Representation (How many representatives per state?) ▪ The Virginia Plan • Bicameral legislature where representation is based on population. • The lower chamber is elected by the citizenry while the upper chamber, executive, and courts are elected by the lower house. • The legislature may make any law and veto any state legislation. • The Council of Revision can veto legislation, but legislature can override by majority vote. ▪ The New Jersey Plan • Unicameral legislature where each state gets equal representation. • Legislature has same powers under the Articles, but with the added authority to levy taxes and regulate commerce and the power to exercise the supremacy clause over state legislation. • Plural executive can be removed by the legislature. Court positions may be filled by executive appointment. • Supreme Court hears appeals in limited cases. ▪ Great Compromise • Bicameral legislature with the lower house based on population and the upper house having equal representation for all states. • Executive may appoint people to executive and judicial branch position, but the legislature must confirm them. o Question of Slavery (Keep it? Abolish it? Should slaves be counted in censuses?) ▪ Southern states wanted slaves to count towards their population. • This would lead to more representatives in the House despite slaves having no right to vote in these states. ▪ North-South Compromise • 3/5 rule: Every five slaves counted as three people for the purposes of House representation. • No taxes levied on slavery. • Runaway slaves could be returned to their owners. • No restrictions on slavery could be passed until 1808. o Question of the Executive ▪ Electoral College • Apportionment combines population and state-based representation. • States choose the method of selecting electors.

House chooses the president if no candidate receives a majority of electoral votes. o The Balance of Power ▪ More Central Authority • Commerce Clause: Congress has the power to regulate interstate and international commerce and trade. • Foreign Policy: The Senate is responsible for ratifying treaties. Congress has the sole power for declaring states of war. • Necessary and Proper Clause: The federal government has the ability to do anything it needs to do to do its duties. ▪ Limited Central Authority • Bill of Rights: A set of principles that protect the American people from government overreaches. • Separation of Powers: Each branch has the ability to limit the power of the other two branches to prevent one branch from becoming too powerful. • Checks and Balances • Judicial Review o Marbury v. Madison (1803) o Limits on the People ▪ Only House members are elected directly by the people. This changed in 1913 with the passage of the 17th Amendment. ▪ Staggered terms for Senators: • House members served for two years, Senators serve six; every two years, 1/3 of all Senators are up for reelection. ▪ Electoral College: ▪ Questions of suffrage (who can and cannot vote). • At this time, only white men who are property owners could vote. ▪ Appointment of Judges • Judges are not elected and serve life terms. ▪ No national referenda or ballot initiatives. The Fight for Ratification o “The Ratification of the Conventions of nine States, shall be sufficient for the Establishment of this Constitution between the States so ratifying the Same.” – Article 7 of the U.S. Constitution o Note that conventions rather than legislatures are used for ratification. Federalists vs. Antifederalists o Antifederalists argue that local democracy is the only thing that can approach true democracy. A country as large as the U.S. cannot be effectively ruled by a single set of laws. •

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o The rhetoric of the debate was between nationalism (strong central government) vs. states’ rights (strong local/state government). It was a debate between federation and confederation. Separation of Powers o Charles de Montesquieu: Concentration of power should be limited by dividing the functions of government. o Richard Neustadt: “…separate institutions sharing power.” o Example: Division of election constitutencies ▪ House: • Term length: 2 years • Constituency: District (smaller than a state except for at-large districts) ▪ Senate • Term length: 6 years • Constituency: State ▪ President • Term length: 4 years • Constituency: Country What kind of government do we have? o “Democratic” – Power from the people. o “Republican” – Representation provided indirectly through elections. o “Constitutional” – Codifies prescription and proscription of government authority. o “Federal” – Two levels of government (dual sovereignty)

American Government: Federalism •

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The Constitution (cont.) o What kind of government does the U.S. have? ▪ Democratic: power from the people ▪ Republican: indirect representation through elections ▪ Constitutional: a governing document prescribes and proscribes government authority ▪ Federal: two levels of government (federal and states) ▪ Separated: three branches with distinct yet overlapping responsibilities ▪ Bicameral: two-chamber legislature • House of Representatives • Senate ▪ Presidential: an independently elected individual serving as both the head of state and of government o Important Points ▪ The Constitution is short. ▪ It is often intentionally ambiguous due to the impossibility of perfectly predicting every situation where the Constitution would have to apply. ▪ It is imperfect – it has been amended 27 times so far. ▪ It is proscriptive: • It restricts the power of the government over the states, power over the rights of the people, and against itself. ▪ It is undemocratic with respect to slavery, suffrage, etc. • Slavery was legal and the government could not do anything about it until 1808. • Suffrage was originally only granted to white male property owners. Non-property owning white men, men of color, and women of all races could not vote. ▪ It is slow-to-change, requiring a supermajority to amend. • Is it durable and flexible, or unyielding in enforcing the status quo? o Why did the Founders restrict power so much? ▪ Check the ambition of self-interested minorities. ▪ Check instability due to tyrannical majorities. ▪ Ensure stability. ▪ Promote and protect capitalism. Federalism o What is Federalism? ▪ Comparing Unitary, Federal, and Confederal Governments

In a unitary government, voters elect the members of the central government, who appoint state and local government officials. • In a federation, voters elect both the central, state, and local officials. • In a confederation, voters elect state and local officials, who in turn vote for national authorities. ▪ Qualifications of Federal Systems • Dual citizenship & common geography: Americans are both citizens of their respective states and of the United States. • Some independence: States have the power to make laws that only affect their state, provided it does not contradict federal law. • Some mutual influence, the stage for which is set by independence: Federal and state governments have the power to influence one another. o NOTE: Local governments are not a separate level of government since they are created by states and do not exercise independent authority. o Cities and counties do not have any powers that the states do not give them. ▪ Why? • The Founders disliked the British unitary system. • The Articles of Confederation failed. • Political compromise at the Constitutional Convention. o Constitutional Federalism ▪ Balance and conflict between state- and nation-centered federalism. ▪ State-Centered • Original Senate was elected by state legislatures until 1913 with the passage of the 17th Amendment. • 10th Amendment grants powers to the states. o Bill of Rights promised as incentive for ratification. ▪ Nation-Centered • National Supremacy Clause (Article VI) • Enumerated Powers (Article I, Section 8) o Necessary & Proper Clause (i.e. Elastic Clause) o Interstate Commerce Clause o General Welfare Clause • Implied Powers o McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) o Shared vs. Dual Federalism o Nationalization of Government •

▪ The New Deal (Roosevelt) ▪ The Great Society (Johnson) o Contemporary Federalism ▪ Shifting Power to the States? ▪ Operational vs. Fiscal Federalism

American Government: More on Federalism •

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Nation-Centered Federalism o Implied Powers: Powers granted to the federal government not explicitly stated in the Constitution, but are necessary to carry out the explicitly defined powers. o Full Faith and Credit Clause (Article IV, Section 1) ▪ Designates the principle that states must abide by the judicial decisions of other states. • Example: Extradition (fugitives may be sent by other states to the state where a crime took place) • Example: Same-sex marriage pre-Obergefell (states must recognize same-sex marriages performed in states where it was legal, even states that Constitutionally ban it) th o 14 Amendment and the Bill of Rights ▪ Before 14th Amendment, Constitutional rights only applied at the federal level. ▪ The 14th Amendment extends the Bill of Rights to apply to state governments. o Interstate Commerce Clause ▪ “Congress shall have the power to regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes.” ▪ Congress can regulate interstate commerce; states may only regulate intrastate commerce. ▪ Principle vehicle for state-federal disputes. Dual vs. Shared Federalism o Dual Federalism ▪ Framers’ original intent for how the American government would work under the Constitution. ▪ Authority is mutually exclusive (state and federal powers are different and non-overlapping). ▪ This is a hallmark of 19th century government. Here are examples: ▪ Authority has never been this neatly divided. o Shared Federalism ▪ National and state governments jointly supply services to Americans. ▪ Joint, cooperative services by federal and state governments. Examples include: • Environmental protection o Constitutional Basis ▪ National Government • Exclusive Powers o Coin money

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o Regulate interstate and international commerce o Tax imports and exports o Make treaties o Make “necessary and proper” laws o Make war o Regulate the post • Denied Powers ▪ State Government • Exclusive Powers • Denied Powers ▪ Shared Powers Trend Towards Nationalization o Following the 19th century, power has gradually shifted to the national government. The government is moving from dual to shared federalism. o Why? ▪ Problems extend beyond state resources. ▪ States cannot solve problems collectively. ▪ Federal politicians seek national involvement. The New Deal o Franklin Delano Roosevelt o Massive economic regulations and relief programs intended to combat the Depression. ▪ Represents a series of laws passed by Congress and signed by Roosevelt. o Roosevelt invoked the Interstate Commerce Clause. The Great Society o Lyndon Johnson o Passed more than 100 new categorical grant programs. o Spent over $5 billion between 1964 and 1965. o Subsidized state programs, with conditions. ▪ For example: building schools, public housing, training teachers. o Traditionally state policy became federal priorities. Why Nationalize? o Nationalization solves problems of collective action. ▪ Tragedy of the Commons ▪ Coordination Problems • Ex: Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1986, which centralized state driver’s licenses. o Strategic Political Concerns ▪ It is easier to lobby one Congress than 50 state legislatures.

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National government may be more politically friend with respect to issues such as civil rights. Recent Limits on Nationalization o Supreme Court: ▪ United States v. Lopez (1995): The banning of guns in school zones is a criminal statue and is thus the domain of states; the Gun-Free Schools Act of 1990 ruled unconstitutional. ▪ United States v. Morrison (2000): Victims of sexual assault may no longer seek monetary damages against their attackers. Punitive punishments for rape must be made at the state level. ▪ National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius (2012): The federal government cannot force individual citizens to purchase health insurance by citing the Interstate Commerce Clause; this provision was upheld due to the federal government’s constitutional power to impose taxes. o Many states revised their Constitutions to expand their powers and professionalize their legislatures. o State policy innovation and action. ▪ Ex: Welfare reform, prescription drug programs, environmental regulation, abortion Operational Federalism o Tools for federal government to ensure state compliance include: ▪ Grants • Categorical vs. Block Grants o Matching grants as well o Substantial component of state budgets o Federal grants are distributive across and within states ▪ Unfunded Mandates • Examples: o Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 o Clean Air Act of 1990 o National Voter Registration Act of 1993 o No Child Left Behind Act of 2001<...