Anything goes... anything that's entered onto this blog is potentially credited towards extra-credit in my English class. Therefore you will find a variety of entries in this blog. Sure, I'll sometimes just need to experiment or play and will enter pictures. Sometimes I'll be utilizing this avenue to study; now is one of those times. Please consider this an attempt to transcribe (some of) the notes from class.
Politics has been defined as the process of
determining who gets what, when and how. Our class, Political Science, is the scientific study of politics. It is not opinion-based, it's fact-based. Political scientists use application of scientific methods. In this class, I should say "I think that..." in making statements, or else I'll be confronted with a: "How do you know that?" Every question on the tests will be fact-based; no opinions will ever be asked on any quizzes.
Autocracy is the oldest form of government; it dates back to antiquity (ancient times). Autocracy means government by one. Auto means "self". Cracy means "rule". An autocrat controls 100% of the political power. There are 2 fundamental types of autocracy: a monarchy and a dictatorship.
Today the queen of England is perceived as being "on the dole". That expression equilibrates to someone being "on welfare". It is also said that she has no political power at all and that the Prime Minister, the head of the House of Commons, prepares her speech. The United Kingdom has a "democracy". M.P. stands for Member of Parliament.
Dictators are new on the scene. They are a 20th century phenomenon. Iraq had one:Saddam Hussein. Libya still has one:Omar Qaddafi. Pardon the possible misspellings, please. Dictators gain power through a coup d' etat ("cou"). Dictators typically were formerly a high-ranking military member that seized control during an overthrow of the government.
An oligarchy is a government by a few. "Olig" means few. "Archy" and "cracy" both mean rule. The power flows down in an oligarchy. All businesses operations are oligarchical, where the decisions are made at the top. People's Republic of China and Iran both have oligarchies. In China approximately 1.3 BILLION people (which is a population of about 1 BILLION more people than in the U. S.'s 310 million) are ruled by 250 Politburo members. In China only one political party is on the ballot: Communist!
A theocracy is a government run by a religious rule. We don't have that because of the 1st Amendment- which guarantees freedom of religion, speech, assembly and politics.
A democracy has government by the people. "Demo" means people (the people rule). Power flows upward in a democracy. Or so we are taught! In a direct democracy the citizens are directly involved in making the law. Greeks were given the credit for creating the concept of democracy. It really wasn't that democratic though. In ancient Greece women and "people of color" weren't allowed to have citizenship rights. The majority of Greeks didn't either. A minority ruled. Another example of direct democracy exists in New England towns in Vermont and New Hampshire. They are in the form of town meetings.
What we have in the United States today is a representative democracy- AKA a "republic". This is mostly what we are talking about when we say democracy. We choose our lawmakers who will make our laws. Another name for our state legislators are the "general assembly".
There are 3 ways to organize a Representative Democracy:
1) a Federal System
2) a Unitary system
3) a Confederate System (a confederation or a confederacy)
PRE-CLASS NOTES
(from out of text:
Government By The People, 2009 Alternate Edition, by David B. Magleby and Paul C. Light):
Direct democracy- citizens vote on laws and select officials directly.
Representative democracy- (republic) people elect those who govern and pass laws....people with governmental authority get and retain powers directly and indirectly ...free elections, ...all people....
Constitutional democracy- government in which people exercise governmental power secondary to winning free and frequent elections, government with recognized enforceable limits on powers of all government officials, generally includes a written set of governmental rules and procedures - a CONSTITUTION! Government allows voice of people to be heard.
Constitutionalism- arrangements, checks and balances, federalism, separation of powers, rules of law, due process, a Bill of Rights...requires leaders to listen, think, bargain and explain before making laws, prevents abuse of powers...held politically and legally accountable for the way they exercise their powers.
Democracy- a way of life, a form of government, a way of governing, a type of nation, a state of mind, and a variety of processes.
3 Categories of Democracy
A system of interacting values
A system of interrelated processes
A system of interdependent political structures
Conducive Conditions to Constitutional Democracy
Educational- literacy, educated (better understood)
Economic- private property ownership, market economy
Social- non-warring, associations, groups
Ideological- democratic consensus (generally accepted and willingness to proceed democratically)
Egalitarian- advocating full equality for all.
1- SYSTEM OF INTERACTING VALUES
Respect for human dignity, freedom, liberty, individual rights, personal liberty (self-determination), respect for the individual, = opportunity, popular consent- the idea that a government must derive its powers from the consent of the people that it governs.
2- SYSTEM OF INTERRELATED POLITICAL PROCESSES
Free and fair elections, political competition, and choice are crucial, majority/plurality rule ( Framers of Constitution guarded society against oppression of one faction by any other faction/ out of a fear of tyranny of majorities/ until the Constitution was changed in 1913 with the 17th Amendment which called for the direct election of senators), majority receives the most (>1/2) cast votes, plurality receives at least 2/3rds cast votes, freedom of expression, access to facts/competing ideas/views of candidates, rights of citizens to peaceably assemble/protest.
3- SYSTEM OF INTERDEPENDENT POLITICAL STRUCTURES (political parties, interest groups, media, other institutions intercede)
A- Federalism- division of powers between national and state governments
B- Separation of Powers- Legislative, Executive and Judicial branches
C- Bicameralism- power divide between the House and Senate
D- Checks and Balances- each branch has constitutional means, political independence and motives to check powers of the other branches...balance of power endures.
E- Bill of Rights- judicially enforceable, written, explicit, provides guarantee of civil liberties and due process before the law.
TIME LINES
1775-1783 (6 YEARS) THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR...Washington's troops
1776 DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
The preamble was quiet apologetic...the rest was written against King George 3rd. ("He's...")
The people were mad at King George 3rd, not at the British people. The Revolutionary War had already started. The British called it the "American War of Independence". The British denied it was a revolutionary war.
The D of I was the first time in history that a colony had written a declaration of independence against its founders. We did so without a standing army and without money.
1777 DRAFTING OF THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION
The A of C were written at the same time as the D of I. They were "drafted" though in 1777. The fundamental flaw was that it included a weak central government. It was 4 years before the A of C were approved (1781).
1781 ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION RATIFIED/APPROVED....The A of C didn't work because:
1- preserved state autonomy (self-govt/self-power)...essentially a "loose friendship pact".
2- Equal representation in Congress ( one vote/state)
3- Central govt had only a few important powers
MILITARY POWER- There was no taxing power, thus no raising of revenue to support a military.
FOREIGN AFFAIRS (France was the 1st country to recognize the US; "The enemy of my enemy is my friend". IN 1876 France gave the US the Statue of Liberty as a birthday gift.
4- No separate executive branch and no national courts
5- Amending the A of C was basically impossible.
1785 (AND 1787) STATES AGREED TO CEDE WESTERN LANDS TO NATIONAL GOVT
1786 ANNAPOLIS CONVENTION
On trade and navigation. It was the first called meeting of leaders after the revolution. They called for another meeting to be held-the Constitutional Convention.
1786 (LATE) SHAY'S REBELLION
Western Massachusetts farmer, pissed about foreclosures on farms/homes. Political catalyst-sped up reactions of leaders who created the USC.
2ND Monday in May 1787 to September 17th, 1787 Constitutional Convention (drafting)..10 YRS AFTER DRAFTING OF ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION
Most attendees were economically elite plantation-owning farmers; they became known as "Framers". The Framers included Ben Franklin, John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, others...The Constitutional Convention was held at Independence Hall (where the D of I had been written).
Consensus Issues of Framers:
- Republic (representative democracy) - not a monarchy
- balanced govt, protects private property and business interests
- landed white males were the only ones that could vote
- 3 separate branches of govt; legislative, executive and judicial
- bicameralism (2 houses of Congress)
Conflicts in Philosophies:
VIRGINIA PLAN vs. NEW JERSEY PLAN
In 1787 Va was the most populated state; NJ was one of the least. Not in 2011 though.
VA: Bicameral legislation
NJ: Unicameral
Va: broad, undefined legislative power
NJ: same legislative powers as A of C, plus give Congress taxing power and commerce power
VA: executive chosen by legislature
NJ: pleural executives, or govt by committee
VA: national courts, judges chosen by legislative branch
NJ: national courts, judges chosen by executive branch
VA: council of revision to oversee executive branch - like a double check on executive branch
NJ: Supremacy Clause- the USC would be the supreme law of the land....found in Article 6
VA Plan was for a strong central govt with a bicameral legislature dominated by the big states.
NJ Plan proposed a central govt with a single-house legislature in which each state would be equally represented.
VA: ratification by citizens
NJ: ratification by states
Connecticut Compromise called for bicameral legislature with a lower house based on population and an upper house in which each state would receive equal representation. All bills for appropriating money would originate in the population-based house, the House of Representatives.
North-South Compromise
1-Southerners feared the North would discriminate against southern trade (based on experience/historical facts). The Southern delegation insisted on a 2/3rds majority vote in the senate be required to ratify a treaty.
2- On the issue of slavery, the South wanted to count slaves in order to gain more representation. John Adams, an abolitionist, led the the 3/5ths compromise. The 3/5ths compromise agreed that slaves could each be counted as 3/5ths of a person. This balanced power between the North and the South. This provision also prohibited the importation of slaves after 20 years after the USC took effect. IN 1808 that provision became effective. 200 years later we have our first black president.
Other issues:
Number of Supreme Courts; would one be enough? The issue was left for Congress to resolve.
How should the president be elected? They decided on an electoral college electing the president ( controversial )
How would they celebrate the completion of the USC ? They adjourned to the nearby City Tavern !!!
How many members are there in Congress?
535...100 of them are the Senators; there are 2 from each state. The House of Representatives consists of 435 members, with the census determining the numbers that each state has- based on population. Georgia is to gain a new seat next year. California (population 37 million) has 1/8th of the members (53) , Georgia (population 10 million) has 13, Wyoming has 1 -with a population of less than 700,000, Vermont has 1- with a population of less than 750,000.
Thomas Jefferson and George Washington both owned slaves!
When is Constitution Day in the US ?
September 17th...after the signing on 9-17-1787.
1788 Constitution ratified by 9 of original 13 states...Constitution delegates had declared the proposed constitution should be effective after ratification by popularly elected conventions in 9 states.
1789 Year the Constitution went into effect... ( IT WAS ALSO RATIFIED BY N.C. THIS YEAR )
1789 ....JUDICIARY ACT OF 1789...SECTION 13 (part of national law) contradicted Article 3, section 2
.....later in MARBURY VS. MADISON (1803) IT WAS DECLARED UNCONSTITUTIONAL...
AND thus JUDICIAL REVIEW was CREATED !
1790 RHODE ISLAND RATIFIED USC (UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION)
1791 BILL OF RIGHTS WERE ADDED
MORE FROM NOTES:
Primarily Northerners and from urban areas, advocates of ratifying the constitution were known as Federalists. Federalists advocated a strong national government, saw no need for a Bill of Rights and advocated retaining state prerogatives. "The Federalist", published under the pseudonym of "Publius" by Alexander Hamilton (who became the first Secretary of the Treasury), James Madison (who later became a president) and John Lay (one of first supreme court justices ), was published to support the Federalist's cause. Town Criers would read these papers aloud in public places. The Federalists felt the components of the Bill of Rights were implied to already be within the constitution .
Largely rural Southerners, opponents of ratification were known as Anti-Federalists. The Anti-Federalists opposed a strong central government, feared barriers against commerce, desired that states and local governments be more responsive, feared there would be no rotation of office and wanted a Bill of Rights included. The absence of a Bill of Rights dominated the discussions and arguments to the point that they declared "No Bill of Rights, no constitution!" The Anti-Federalists, recognized as having a negative name, later became known as the Democrat-Republicans or the Jeffersonian Party.
The first ten amendments were ratified on December the 15th, 1791; they are the "Bill of Rights".
1st- Religion, Speech, Assembly, and Politics
2nd- Militia and the Right to Bear Arms
3rd- Quartering of Soldiers
4th- Searches and Seizures
5th- Grand Juries, Self-Incrimination, Double-Jeopardy, Due Process, and Eminent Domain
6th- Criminal Court Procedures
7th- Trial by Jury in Common Law Cases
8th- Bail, Cruel and Unusual Punishment
9th- Rights Retained by the People
10th- Reserved Powers of the State
Delaware was the first to ratify, then PA, NJ, GA, CT, MA, MD, SC, and NH followed to make the nine required states by June of 1788. VA and then NY ratified in 1788 after a Bill of Rights was promised to be added as soon as the new government was established. NC and RI followed in 1789 and 1790 respectively
3 Ways to Organize a Representative Democracy
1-Federalism
2-Unitary
3-Confederacy
FEDERALISM:
CENTRAL GOVT (FED. GOVT/NATIONAL GOVT)
I
STATES: CONSTITUENT GOVT LEVEL-some areas are not states
I
PUBLIC
HIERARCHY OF AMERICAN LAW: USC-the Supreme Law of the Land
National Law-federal law
State Constitutions
State Law- general assembly/state legislatures
Local Law
FEDERALISM- 10TH AMENDMENT : RESERVED POWERS of the STATES...means states have independent political powers.
All North American countries have federalism; USA, Mexico and Canada.
UNITARY SYSTEM ; examples: all states of the USA, United Kingdom (Members of Parliament run for office, makes it a democracy)
Central Govt (100% power controlled by central govt)
I
States- have on-loan powers (constituents may not make their own independent laws)
I
Public ...when incorporated, city's charter defines what that city can do.
CONFEDERATION- opposite of unitary, "WEAK CENTRAL GOVT"
Central Govt
I
Constituency-provides on-loan power to central govt. ...controls 100% of power.
I
Public
WHAT DO WE USE IN THE US ?
"A
CONSTITUTIONAL
FEDERAL
REPRESENTATIVE
DEMOCRACY"
Separation of Powers ...the same applies for each state
Articles 1- Legislative- Congress makes federal laws (actually all 3 branches make federal laws)
2- Executive- (Enforce and Execute) "Implements" the laws (all agencies and departments are w/i )
3- Judicial- Interpret laws...interpretation of the USC is their fundamental duty
Checks and Balances:
Legislative- over Executive:
can override presidential veto
can impeach president
Legislative - over Judicial
confirmation of judges, etc.
impeachment
creation/organization of courts
Executive- over Legislative
veto power
call special sessions of Congress
Executive- over Judicial
appointment power
pardoning power
Judicial- over Executive
can declare executive actions unconstitutional ( Judicial Review)
Judicial- over Legislative
can declare laws unconstitutional (Judicial Review)
Judicial Review isn't in the USC- What created it?...
case of Marbury vs. Madison (1803)....the"single most important court case in US history" (because it created Judicial Review).
FACTS of case
Year 1800- Outgoing President John Adams and fellow Federalists were defeated. Also lost were both houses of Congress. Judiciary was last remaining Federalists stronghold. Outgoing Federalists Congress shored up federal judiciary with several new judgeships with President Adams appointment of Federalists to these positions.
John Marshall was the outgoing secretary of state and had been newly appointed to the chief justice of the Supreme Court. Marshall had left delivery of some commissions to his successor, James Madison.
James Madison was appointed by newly elected President Jefferson to be the secretary of state.
President Jefferson ordered Secretary of State James Madison not to deliver the commissions because it angered him that the judiciary had been packed with so many Federalists.
William Marbury never received his commission and sought action from the courts. Thus the name,
Marbury vs. Madison,(1803).
Section 13 of the Judiciary Act of 1789 authorized the Supreme Court to issue writs of mandamus, orders directing an official, such as Secretary of State, James Madison, to perform a duty, such as delivering a commission.
Marbury went to the Supreme Court citing Section 13 of the Judiciary Act of 1789.
Newly appointed Chief Justice John Marshall ( prior Secretary of State- whom hadn't delivered the commission) and Supreme Court could
a: issue the writ, which may be ignored by President Jefferson and Secretary Madison
b: refuse to issue the writ, and appear to support the Jeffersonian Republicans claim that the courts had no authority to interfere with the executive
c: issue a writ of mandamus ordering Secretary Madison to deliver the commission
d: do the unexpected and unprecedented
Chief Justice John Marshall, writing for a unanimous court, took President Jefferson and Secretary Madison to task; he concluded that Section 13 of the Judiciary Act of 1789, giving the Supreme Court original jurisdiction to issue writs of mandamus, was in error. It had impermissibly expanded the court's original jurisdiction as detailed in Article 3, section 2 of the USC. Marshall concluded that the grant of original jurisdiction in Article 3 was meant to be limited to cases involving an ambassador, foreign minister or when a state is a party. With none of these being the issue, the courts deemed Section 13 of the Judiciary Act contrary to the Constitution. Article 6 provides that the USC is "the supreme Law of the Land" and the judges are sworn to uphold the law. Any conflict with it couldn't withstand the court's review.
Federalists failed in seating all their judges on the bench.
MAIN POLITICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE CASE
Marshall and
THE COURT GAINED THE POWER TO DECLARE LAWS PASSED BY CONGRESS TO BE UNCONSTITUTIONAL.
BUILDING ON THE PRECEDENT,
THE COURT BECAME THE COMMANDING AUTHORITATIVE INTERPRETER OF THE CONSTITUTION.
NOW PEOPLE CAN CHALLENGE LAWS ENACTED BY CONGRESS AND APPROVED BY THE PRESIDENT.
The Judiciary Act of 1789/Section 13 was declared unconstitutional.
This case created Judiciary Review.
This gave everyone the power of use of JR ("like an ace in the hole").
The power of Judiciary Review is the power to challenge the constitutionality of a law.
INTEREST GROUPS CAN ACHIEVE GOALS THROUGH LITIGATION THAT THEY COULDN'T ATTAIN THROUGH LEGISLATION.
LITIGATION SUPPLEMENTS AND SOMETIMES TAKES PRECEDENT OVER LEGISLATION TO MAKE PUBLIC POLICY.
Question:
Should Chief Justice John Marshall have recused himself from the case?
Article 6 ( The Supremacy Act), Clause 2 ....
USC is "the supreme Law of the Land".
Article 5- The Amending Power
2 ways that the USC can be amended:
1st- 2/3rds vote of both houses (HR and S)
then, as has happened on 26 times; vote of 3/4ths of state legislatures to ratify
or , has happened once (the 21st Amendment which repealed the 18th);
vote of 3/4ths state's ratifying conventions ....selected members from general public are sent to convention to vote.
2nd-(NEVER HAS HAPPENED) Constitutional convention can be held at the request of 2/3rds state's legislatures; then either 3/4ths of state's legislatures or 3/4ths of state's ratifying conventions could approve.
HOW MANY CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTIONS HAVE BEEN HELD?
(1- the one when the constitution was written!)
IMPEACHMENT
Remember.......... "The House impeaches and the Senate tries."
A simple majority, 218 members, can impeach a president or federal judge. If impeached the matter goes before a 100-member jury, the Senate. It takes a plurality (67) to convict. If convicted removal from office and prohibition from holding any office is the only punishment that Congress can impose. A federal court is probably the next step though. Likely, that person will be found guilty. Next stop: the federal pen.
WHAT PRESIDENTS HAVE BEEN IMPEACHED ?
Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton.
WHAT PRESIDENTS HAVE BEEN CONVICTED ?
Neither.
WHAT ABOUT PRESIDENT NIXON ?
He resigned before being impeached.
Again, 3 ways to organize a representative democracy:
1- Federalism (Canada, USA, Mexico, Switzerland, Australia )
2- Unitary (France, Great Britain, Japan, all 50 states, Israel )
3- Confederation ( United Nations, Confederate States of America, US under A of C )
4 Types of Powers
EXPRESS: Written in constitution (Judicial Review ISN'T AN EXPRESSED POWER)
CONCURRENT: Powers shared by national and states
a) raising taxes
b) making laws
c) courts/legal tribunals
INHERENT: Area where only the national govt has power (power of national govt to act like a central govt)
a) making currency
b) military
c) foreign affairs
IMPLIED: Came from interpretation of court cases
(examples)
a) Marbury vs. Madison (1803)
- court gained the power to declare laws passed by Congress as unconstitutional and thus created Judicial Review
- court became the commanding authoritative interpreter of the USC
b) McCullough vs. Maryland (1819)
- through interpretation of the necessary and proper clause (Article 1, Section 8, Clause 3 of the USC) (AKA "the elastic clause" or "the American Government Student's Best Friend" ), the IMPLIED POWERS were created. This allows for the expansion of the USC without adding amendments.
- National Supremacy was also established.
c) Gibbons vs. Ogden (1824) involved steamboats traveling from NY to NJ. Ogden had a NY monopoly license to operate steamboats. Gibbons wanted to compete and he had a federal license. Original case involved Ogden as the plaintiff and Gibbons as the defendant. NY ruled in favor of Ogden. Gibbons appealed his case to the USSC (the United States Supreme Court). USSC ruled in favor of Gibbons, stated that Commerce Power is regulated by national governments.
POLITICAL SIGNIFICANCE:
IT'S THE NATIONAL LAWS THAT REGULATE COMMERCE, NOT STATE LAWS.
This case was based on the precedent established in the McCullough vs. Maryland (1819) case which had already determined National Supremacy rules.
Article 4 - INTERSTATE RELATIONS
( "Horizontal Federalism" )...horizontal relationship
Section 1: Full Faith and Credit Clause
FF&C shall be given in each state to the public Acts, Records and judicial Proceedings of every other state. And the Congress may, by general laws prescribe the Manner in which such Acts, Records and Proceedings shall be proved, and the effects thereof.
examples- opposite-sex marriage licenses, birth certificates, adoption,
Section 2:
Clause 1:Privileges and Immunities- You become a "temporary citizen" of the state into which you have entered . You enjoy the same privileges and immunities (except voting) as citizens of that state....downside: You have to abide by their laws.
Clause 2: Extradition: usually occurs, may not in capital murder- if requesting state has the death penalty. Attorney General is the one who usually gets involved (although the USC specifies that the governor is the responsible party).
Section 3: ADMISSION OF STATES ...AK and HI were the last admitted; in 1959.
Section 4: Republican Form of Government (republican = representative democracy)
is guaranteed to every state in the union. A unitary system isn't in the USC.
( INTERSTATE CONTRACTS- LEGAL CONTRACTS BETWEEN 2 OR MORE STATES-
- APPROVED BY CONGRESS-
- ENFORCED BY USSC...USSC HAS ORIGINAL JURISDICTION
- EXAMPLES: college tuition, water rights
Have you read enough for now?!!
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