Study Sheet for Test 1


 

Chapter 1--American Government and Civic Engagement

 

1.1 What is Government?

    Definition of a Government

        Democracy

        Oligarchy

        Private Goods

        Public Goods

        Toll Good

        Common Goods

        **Tragedy of the Commons**

        **Collective Action Problem**

    Different Types of Government

        Political Power

        Representative Democracy

        Majority Rule

        Minority Rights

        Direct Democracy

        Monarchy

        Totalitarian

        **Authoritarian**

 

1.2 Who Governs?

    Elitism v. Pluralism

        Elite Theory

        Pluralist Theory

        C. Wright Mills, The Power Elite

        **E. E. Schattschneider, The Semisovereign People**

        Robert Dahl, Who Governs

    Tradeoffs Perspective (**I think this is a copout section--only works if you accept the premises of elite theory)

 

1.3 Engagement in a Democracy

    Why Get Involved?

        Robert Putnam, Bowling Alone

        Social Capital

        Civic Engagement and Activism

    Pathways to Engagement

        Contacting representatives

        Voting

        Donating money

        Volunteering for the Community

        Marches and Protests

    Factors of Engagement

        Age

        Partisanship

        Relevance

        Ideology

        Latent v. Intense Preferences

 

Chapter 2--The Constitution and Its Origins

 

2.1 Pre-Revolutionary Period

    Political Thought in the American Colonies

        John Locke, Second Treatise

        Natural Rights--State of Nature

        Social Contract

        Consent of the Governed

    American Revolution

        End of Benign Neglect

        Objection to Taxation

        Boston Tea Party

        Intolerable (Coercive) Acts

        Declaration of Independence

 

2.2 The Articles of Confederation

    Putting a New Government in Place

        Articles of Confederation

        Relinquishment of Land Claims

        Confederation

    What Went Wrong with the Articles?

        National Government Must Request Money

        Fiscal Crisis

            Worthless Continental Dollar

            Inability to Borrow Money

        No Ability to Put Tariffs on Foreign Goods

        States Putting Tariffs on One Another

        No Standing Army or Navy

            Shays's Rebellion

 

2.3 Development of the Constitution

    Points of Contention

        Small States v. Large States

            Bicameral v. Unicameral Legislature

            Virgina Plan v. New Jersey Plan

        Slavery v. Freedom

        Federal Supremacy v. State Sovereignty

        Individual Liberty v. Social Stability (Freedom v. Order)

    Compromise and the Constitutional Design of American Government

        The Great (Connecticut) Compromise

            Senate with equal representation for all states

            House of Representatives dominated by the large states

        Three-Fifths Compromise

        **Commerce and Slave Trade Compromise**

    Separation of Powers and Checks and Balances

    Federal Power v. State Power

        Enumerated Powers

        **Implied Powers**

        Reserved Powers

        The Supremacy Clause

        Necessary and Proper ("Elastic") Clause

 

2.4 Ratification of the Constitution

    The Ratification Process

        Article VII

        Bypassing of State Legislatures with Ratifying Conventions

        Too Much Power to Tax?

        Scary Federal Judiciary?

        No Bill of Rights

    The Ratification Campaign

        Federalists v. Antifederalists

        Arguments about the benefits and drawbacks of a strong central government

        Essays and Pamphlets

            The Federalist Papers

                Federalist 51

                Federalist 35

                Federalist 10

                Federalist 68 and 70

 

2.5 Constitutional Change

    The Amendment Process

        Proposal

            1. By 2/3 of both houses of Congress

            2. By a nations convention called by Congress due to a petition from 2/3 of state legislatures

        Ratification

            1. By 3/4 of state legislatures

            2. By 3/4 of specially convened state Ratifying Conventions

        The Bill of Rights

    Key Constitutional Changes

        **Memorize the Preamble**

        **Know all seven articles**

        **Know all 27 amendments**

 

Chapter 3--American Federalism

 

3.1 Division of Powers

    Federalism Defined and Contrasted

        Two Levels of Government

        Written national constitution that can't be changed without assent of the states

        Each with its own semiautonomous government

        Some degree of interaction

        Federal courts to resolve disputes

        States represented in upper house

        Unitary v. Federal v. Confederal Systems

        Devolution

    Federalism and the Constitution

        The Elastic (Necessary and Proper) Clause

        10th Amendment

        Concurrent Powers

        Denied Powers

            Mostly can't suspend Habeas Corpus

            No Bills of Attainder

            No ex post facto laws

        Interstate Relations

            **Interstate Compacts**

            Full Faith and Credit Clause (Comity)

                Federal Defense of Marriage Law (DOMA)

                    United States v. Windsor (2014)

                    Obergefell v. Hodges (2015)

            Privileges and Immunities Clause

    Distribution of Finances

 

3.2 Evolution of American Federalism

    Struggle Between National and State Power

        Bank Wars

            McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)

                "The power to tax in is the power to destroy"

        Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)

            Expansive definition of "interstate commerce"

        The Sedition Act

        Virginia and Kentucky Resolves

        Nullification and the Nullification Crisis

        Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)

    Dual Federalism

        "Layer Cake" Federalism

        Industrialization

        Trusts

        Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890

        United States v. E. C. Knight (1895)

        Lochner v. New York  (1905)

    Cooperative Federalism   

        "Marble Cake" Federalism

        FDR and the New Deal

            Court packing, "switch in time"

            NLRB v. Jones and Laughlin Steel (1937)

            **Wickard v. Fillburn (1942)**

        LBJ and the Great Society

        Nationalization of Poltics

    New Federalism

        General Revenue Sharing

        United States v. Lopez (1995)

        Has the pendulum swung back?

            Creation of the Department of Homeland Security

            No Child Left Behind

            Affordable Care Act (Obamacare)

 

3.3 Intergovernmental Relationships

    Grants

        Categorical Grants

        Block Grants

        Popularity of Categorical Grants

        "Devolution Revolutions"

        Conversion of AFDC to TANF

        "Creeping Categorization"

    Unfunded Mandates

        Crosscutting

        Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (1995)

 

3.4 Competitive Federalism Today

    Contending Issues

        Immigration federalism

        Arizona v. United States (2012)

        DOMA (see above)

    Strategizing About New Issues

        National Minimum Drinking Age Act

        Venue Shopping

        Anti-abortion (pro-life) efforts

       

3.5 Advantages and Disadvantages of Federalism

    The Benefits of Federalism

        Policy Innovation--"Laboratories of Democracy"

        Two levels means backups and backstops

        State and Local Latitude

    Drawbacks of Federalism

        "Race-to-the-Bottom" Dynamic

        Huge economic disparities

        **Redundancy and administrative Sprawl**

 

 

NOTE: Double asterisks indicate items not covered in the text that I still want you to know.