PAF 1250 - Marco Desena PDF

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Marco Desena ...

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PAF 1250 -

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The Stamp Act: (1765) o This was the very first act that Great Britain imposed on the colonist.  It required that colonist used special sorts of paper that they had to pay for when submitting official documents o The problem with this act was that the colonist had no say in the law-making process  the colonist had no elected representatives in Parliament to aid in making this act o The colonist began by first resisting the act which then leads to a rebellion then a full-blown revolution Repealing of the Stamp act & Townshend Acts (1767) o In order to appeal to the masses Great Britain repealed the stamp act but then implemented new taxes on staple items that were needed for everyday survival  These were called the Townshend Acts  These were Revenue raising acts The Boston Tea Party (1773) Coercive Acts/ Intolerable Acts o These were a series of punishments for Massachusetts to show the other colonies not to follow in their footsteps of rebellion o Set a curfew, closed the harbor, installed British rule & British soldiers Each of the 13 colonies were operated separately from each other established through different charters The second continental congress (1775) o They are meeting to try to restore relations with G.B o They come to the consensus that the relationship with Great Britain was irreparable o The 3 major outcomes of the continental congress  They decided to be Independent and that they were going to sever ties with Britain  Then they decide to write the Declaration of Independence  The creation of the continental army  George Washington was the leading officer of the army  The creation of a new Nation The Articles of Confederation were created o Intended to get them thorough the war with Britain o The individual states had more power than the whole body  Like NATO & UN The Articles of Confederation still fell short and had major problems o Unanimous decision making o No way to enforce the taxes in the states o No single currency

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o No way to resolve inter-state conflicts o Prohibited a national standing army when there was no active war The Enlightenment o A time categorized by critical thinking and openness in the way things are done. o The period in which common sense was written  The language was super accessible and was shared and read widespread Shay’s Rebellion o In 1787 in Massachusetts the farmers led an armed rebellion o This highlighted the problem of not having a national army because there was almost nothing, they could do about it Constitutional Convention 1787- 1788 o They decide to completely get rid of the articles and they start over from the beginning Federalist Vs Anti-Federalist o Federalist: those who were in support of the constitution in its form, against bill of rights o Anti-Federalist: those who were against the constitution in its form, supports bill of rights Framers: someone who helped create the constitution Founders: Those who helped found the United States of America Constitutional concepts: when they were creating the constitution, these were the concepts the framers wanted to have in the constitution. o Rule of Law: the law is supreme in the land  Pure Democracy: decisions are made by the democracy (majority rule)  Constitutional Republic: o Three types of law  Judicial law  Statutory law  Constitutional Law  It is incredibly hard to amend the Constitution o Amending the Constitution is a 2-step progress  Proposal: 2/3 vote in both the house and senate  Ratification: 3/4th of the states o Separation of powers:  The Federal power allocates some power to the states to decide certain laws o Checks & Balances:  The 3 branches of the Federal Government have systems in place to check each other so one branch doesn’t become too powerful o Dynamism: o Federalism:  Advantages:

Since it fragments power it makes the government less likely to be taken over by one person or interest group  Innovation is encouraged  More opportunities for political participation and more choice  Disadvantages:  It is difficult to coordinate separate governments in many situations  Unfairness across the states  The system is complex to understand `  4 Types of power under Federalism:  Delegated powers o Delegated powers to Federal governments  Reserved powers o Powers reserved for the states  Concurrent Powers o Powers both states and the national government has  Prohibited powers o Powers neither states and the national government has  The Federal and states both have power at the exact same time Article 1- The congress o 3 types of powers of Congress  Enumerated powers: Explicitly stated in Constitution  Examples: Declare war, manage federal finances, defense  Listed in Article 1 Section 8  Implied powers: Not explicitly stated but implied  Allows congress to justify its actions that are deemed necessary and proper & not written in the constitution  Listed in Article 1 Section 8 Clause 18 (The elastic clause)  Non- legislative powers: Powers not directly related to making laws The presidency o 7 roles  Administrator (Chief executive)  Pres can declare a state of emergency or make an executive order  Commander in chief  Runs the military  Quasi- legislator  Actions associated with legislative branch; Can veto and sign bills  Judicial arbiter  Actions associated with Judicial branch; Federal pardon  Chief diplomat  Head of state  Political party leader 

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Judicial Branch - Appellate Courts o Judiciary courts are the entry level courts o S.C.O.T.U.S (Supreme court of the United States) and Courts of Appeals Dual court system o States have jurisdiction over state laws and the federal government has jurisdiction over state laws  If accused of a Federal crime you are tried in a federal court  If accused of a state crime you are tried in a local court 4 reasons the supreme court chooses to hear a case o Issues dealing with separation of powers o Conflicts against the states and federal govt o Interpretation of Constitutional rights o Areas of law that have incontinently been decided by lower courts

TEST #3 -

“GERRYMANDERING” o Political form of redistricting to benefit politicians or political parties

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“REDISTRICTING” o Changing the political boundaries to better reflect changes and populations over time, as mandated by the constitution o Redistricting is done every 10 years, every year or 2 after taking the census THE PARTY SYSTEM

Political Parties, Campaigns & Elections

Campaigns/Elections A political campaign is an organized effort which seeks to influence the decision making process within a specific group. Election Law as Reserved Power examples

Election Law - (most things dealing with campaigns and election) is a reserved power "laws of politics" ○ Examples: voter age law, procedures of registering to vote, creating congressional distric

Models of Representation Delegate vs. Trustee Delegate Model- an elected official will take decisions that are in line of public opinion of the constituents. They want to reflect what the constituents want.

Trustee Model- when elected officials make decisions that sometimes go against what their constituents want. Political Socialization Factors of Socialization

the learning process by which people acquire their political opinions, beliefs, values. (this process forms your ideology Factors = Family,

religion, education, geography, gender,

ethnicity/race, finances, age… Political Ideology 2 Major Ideologies – Liberal & Conservative Liberal = left, Conservative = right -

3 Key Differences between Ideologies Conservatives Liberals Individual Society Less active government More active government Lower taxes

Higher taxes… for reason Political Methods (Ch. Models of Representation Delegate vs. Trustee Delegate Model- an elected official will take decisions that are in line

of public opinion of the constituents. They want to reflect what the constituents want. Trustee Model- when elected officials make decisions that sometimes go against what their constituents want.

Political Socialization Factors of Socialization the learning process by which people acquire their political opinions, beliefs, values. (this process forms your ideology -

Factors = Family,

religion, education, geography, gender, ethnicity/race, finances, age… Political Ideology 2 Major Ideologies – Liberal & Conservative

Liberal = left, Conservative = right 3 Key Differences between Ideologies Conservatives Liberals Individual Society Less active government

More active government Lower taxes Higher taxes… for reason Political Methods (Ch. 8 -

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Why The “Democratic” and “Republican” Parties? o It is hard to run as an independent, so people usually run on a ticket o Campaigns and elections are run by the states  With trying to get your own party qualified it is hard depending on the state and its easier to pick either dem or rep o Campaign financing  Depending on the state you may need to run in the election then you are able to get money and financing  Picking democratic or representative makes it easy 3 main differences btw liberal and conservative Liberal o More active government to solve social issues  Often okay with higher taxes Conservative o Less active government  People should pay less taxes because it’s on the individual not the government

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INTEREST GROUPS o A formally organized group with formal membership who seek to influence areas of public policy o 4 main types  Issue advocacy groups  Open membership (anyone can join)  Trade associations  Membership consists of businesses/ industries  Professional associations  Represents the actual professions of a given industry  Labor unions  Represents workers by collective bargaining 3 types of benefits of joining interest groups o Purposive benefits (You believe in the mission or what they do) o Solidarity benefits (People like to join organizations where there are like-minded people) o Material benefits (You can purchase a good or service- discounts may be offered) MEDIA

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o News gathering  The actual gathering of the news  Lawyers involved, vetting of information, asking questions to people o News aggregators  Services who provide us with the news  Which tv station, website etc. o 3 main sources of news  News wires  Consortiums/ organizations that the news outlets report to/ pay to get the news from  Major national/ regional newspapers  Major national/local TV Stations What is public policy o Attempted solutions to public problems o Not acting is also a policy  Our definition is broad and all encompassing 4 types of public policy Policy making process o Problem recognition- figuring out what the problem is o Policy formulation- coming up with an action plan to solve the problem (must be feasible)

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o Policy approval- getting the policy approved in whichever specific way the state mandates o Policy implementation- putting the policy into action o Policy evaluation- measuring its success  4 ways of policy evaluation  Effectiveness  Efficiency- cost outweigh benefits  Equitable- delivered proportionally to all constituents in the jurisdiction  Responsive- does the public support the policy or not 8 methods of influence for influence for political/ governmental insiders o Funding (Budget) o Research and analysis  Making sense of information/ finding out how to best use it o Policy Design o Organizational design  Opening homeland security after 9/11 to re organize the way the departments were run o Personnel approval  Who is hired and fired depending on their effectiveness o Investigations o Whistle Blowing  A method of influence for policy makers  The disclosure by employees of unethical, illegitimate, or illegal practices by an organization  Some employees have whistleblower protection o Personal persuasion  “The bully pulpit” – The power of executives to persuade people through talking What are Political Methods? Think of these individual methods as actions that you and I—the “average” American— can take to influence our government and/or the political process o Voting for issues o Voting for representatives o Financing politics/ donating money to causes you care about o Reaching out and contacting your government- local, state, or federal o Testifying at public meetings o Contacting the media o Filing lawsuits o Entering the public service...