Powers under the Articles of Confederation
- Could exchange Ambassadors
- Make treaties with foreign governments and Indian Tribes
- Declare War
- Borrow Money
- Settle disputes among States
Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation
no power to tax,
President lacked power,
no money to buy ships
no money pay soldiers
no national judiciary
New Jersey Plan
William Paterson
Three Branches of Government
The states had the power
Every state had one vote
one chamber legislature, unicameral
Supremacy clause “Law of the Land”
Virginia Plan
James Madison
Three Branches of government
Two-chamber in a legislative
Bicameral legislature:
House: elected by the people
Senate: appointed by the legislature
Votes based on population
Could tax, regulate trade, veto down state laws, create an army
The Great Compromises
- combined the two ideas from the Virginia Plan and the New Jersey plan.
- The 3/5 slavery ruling
- Slave owners could reclaim their slaves in states where they had fled.
- Slaves could only be freed if they were born in the US and was over the age of 28
Articles of Confederation with a Congress
- representation based on the population
- the the weak national government and a strong states
Federalists
supporters of the Constitution
Anti-Federalists
people who opposed the Constitution
Federalist Paper #10
Written by James Madison to convince people to support the ratification of the constitution. Argued that factions were inevitable but were best controlled by a large republic that employed a Federalist structure. Argued that competition among factions would limit their negative impacts.
Federalist Paper # 51
•Written by James Madison
•Defines the relationship among the three branches of government as independent.
•To stay independent, no branch should have total power to choose members of the other branches
•By creating a bicameral legislature, it protects the people from legislative tyranny
•Explains that each branch of government should be selected in different ways
What was a major difference between the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution?
The Articles of Confederation did not provide for a national judiciary.
Why did the framers design the government under the Articles of Confederation with a Congress?
They wanted a government based on the representation of the population.
implied powers
Powers not specifically mentioned in the constitution
Examples of implied powers
Establishing a national bank, creating the IRS, establishing a military draft, raising the min wage
enumerated powers
The powers explicitly given to Congress in the Constitution.
Examples of enumerated powers
-declare war & raise army & navy
-create rules on how to become citizen
-regulate trade b/t states & countries
-coin $
-protect patents & copyrights
-create lower federal courts
-est. post offices
inherent powers
is the power that congress and the president need in order to get the job done
Examples of inherent powers
Regulating immigration, acquiring territory, granting diplomatic recognition to other states
concurrent powers
Powers held jointly by the national and state governments.
examples of concurrent power
Impose Taxes, Borrow Money, Establish Lower Courts
expressed powers
powers directly stated in the constitution
examples of expressed powers
make treaties, coin money, declare war, grant copyrights and patents
reserved powers
powers that the Constitution does not give to the national government that are kept by the states
examples of reserved powers
- police power – promote safety, morals and health
- Criminal justice, use of public land and water, marriage/divorce
- education, roads, welfare
How does a bill become a law?
If a bill has passed in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate and has been approved by the President, or if a presidential veto has been overridden, the bill becomes a law and is enforced by the government.
standing committee
a permanent committee that meets regularly.
select committee
a small legislative committee appointed for a special purpose.
joint committee
legislative committee composed of members of both houses
conference committee
special joint committee created to reconcile differences in bills passed by the House and Senate
Rule Committee
A standing committee of the House of Representatives that provides special rules under which specific bills can be debated, amended, and considered by the house.
appropriations committees
Decide how to spend money allocated to each spending category by Budget Resolution; 12 subcommittees for major areas of budget (ex. defense, energy, agriculture); major source of earmarking
Budget Committee
House & Senate standing committees that begins budget process in Congress by setting overall budget size and amounts that will be spent on different topics (ex. defense, education)
electrol college
A group of people named by each state legislature to select the president and vice president.
- candidate who wins the popular vote in the state gets two electoral votes
2.winner of each congressional district also receives an electoral vote
Executive orders
Is a Domestic Policy, a way of getting around Congress when the legislature is not acting in a given area.
What is the purpose of executive agreements?
Is National Security of foreign Policy and War. And To establish agreements with foreign countries without congressional approval
The Senate
citizens for 9 years and 30 years old when sworn in. They can serve 6 years.
There are 2 senators for each state. Senators represent their entire states
The House of Representatives
citizen for 7 and must be at least 25 years old.
They can serve 2 years . There are 435 representatives. allocated among the states, roughly proportional to state populations and members of the House represent individual districts
stare decisis
let the decision stand
The Supremacy Clause
Constitution is the supreme law of the land
Full Faith and Credit Clause
Constitution’s requirement that each state accept the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state
Privileges and Immensities Clause
prevents a state from treating citizens of other states in a discriminatory manner.
Federal Election Campaign Act
1974 legislation designed to regulate campaign contributions and limit campaign expenditures.
district method for distribution of electoral votes
allocates one electoral vote to the popular vote of the congressional district and two electoral votes to the winner of a state’s popular vote.
winner take-all method
popular vote winner gets all of a state’s Electors
private interests
interest groups that seek to protect or advance the material interests of its members
public interest group
attempt to promote public, or collective, goods.
Political Action Committee (PAC)
A committee set up by a corporation, labor union, or interest group that raises and spends campaign money from voluntary donations
Super PAC (Political Action Committee)
political-action committee that is allowed to raise and spend unlimited amounts of money from corporations, unions, individuals and associations.
How many federal appellate courts exist in the United States?
13
How are elections for the U.S. Senate conducted
One-third of the Senate seats are up for election every two years.
Which election cycle event allows local party members to select their delegates for a presidential election
A caucus
closed primary
A primary in which only registered members of a particular political party can vote
What is a caucus?
A meeting held by members of a political party to elect representatives from each precinct to the party’s assembly.
What is a primary election?
a preliminary election to appoint delegates to a party conference or to select the candidates for a principal, especially presidential, election.
straight-ticket voting
voting exclusively for the candidates of one party. example. I am a republican so I will only vote for a republican
physical characteristics voting
voting based on how someone looks
retrospective voting
voting for a candidate because you like his or her past actions in office
prospective voting
voting based on the imagined future performance of a candidate
Pocket-book voting
voting for the political candidate or party that benefits the voter the most financially.
strategic voting
a person may vote for a second- or third-choice candidate, either because his or her preferred candidate cannot win or because he or she hopes to prevent another candidate from winning.
Free Exercise Clause
freedom of religion
How do presidents use mandates after election?
They use their public support to implement campaign promises.
How voter turnout is measured?
using the total population,
voting-age population (VAP), would give us a small number of voters
voting-eligible population (VEP), would give us a smaller number of voters
total number of registered voters. Give us the smallest number of voter
Civil Rights
-Government must provide
-Right are prescribed for government power
-I cannot give them to myself
-Government is the only legal way to get my civil rights
Example search warrant. I cannot give a search warrant to myself
Civil Liberties
-Freedom of religion, who I marry, freedom of speech ect…
-Proscription
-my freedoms my chose
-these are born with me
rational basis test
discrimination as long as it has reason. such as a blind person wanting a driver licence.
Intermediate Scrutiny
discrimination against gender
Strict Scrutiny
discriminated against because their fundamental constitutional right is infringed upon, such as the freedom of speech or religion. Or based a person’s race or national origin
de jure segregation
segregation by law
de facto segregation
Segregation resulting from economic or social conditions or personal choice.
Don’t need warrant if
If a person consents to the search
If the search takes place where the person lacks a “reasonable expectation of privacy”
If the item in question is in plain view
If the police fear that, during the time a warrant is being sought, evidence will be tampered with or destroyed
If the police reasonably suspect a person involved in criminal activity
What is the “exclusionary rule”?
Evidence obtained without a search warrant or a wrongfully obtained search warrant cannot be used
Common Law
A legal system based on custom and court rulings. The judge is responsible for interpreting and applying the law, while the jury is responsible for determining the facts. Judges are not always required to accept a jury’s decision, and appellate courts are not allowed to change a jury’s determination of facts.
Establishment Clause
Part of the First Amendment stating that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.”
The Equal Protection Clause in the US Constitution
prevents arbitrary discrimination in the laws that the government passes
minimal effects theory
A person reads information and shares it with others. Some argue that the media have little effect on citizens and voters.
cultivation effect theory
the media effect are worldwide. hypothesized that media develop a person’s view of the world by presenting a perceived reality. What we see on a regular basis is our reality. Media can then set norms for readers and viewers by choosing what is covered or discussed.
agenda setting
Determining which public-policy questions will be debated or considered.
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), passed in 1966
U.S. government to provide the information requested by citizens.
direct persuasion
the speaker will make his or her purpose clear, usually by stating it outright early in the speech
framing effect
the creation of a narrative, or context, for a news story. uses frames to place a story in a context so the reader understands its importance or relevance.framing affects the way the reader or viewer processes the story.
political socialization
The process by which we develop our political attitudes, values, and beliefs.
Lemon Test
The three-part test for Establishment Clause cases that a law must pass before it is declared constitutional: it must have a secular purpose; it must neither advance nor inhibit religion; and it must not cause excessive entanglement with religion.
Miller Test
The current judicial test for obscenity cases that considers community standards, whether the material is patently offensive, and whether the material taken as a whole lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.
Sherbert Test
For the individual, the court must determine:
1) Whether a person has a claim involving a sincere religious belief.
2) Whether contested action is a substantial burden on the person’s ability to act on that belief.
If “yes”, then the government must prove:
1) It is acting in furtherance of “compelling state interest”.
2) It has pursued that interest in a manner least restrictive, or least burdensome, to religion.