the making of common decisions by some group of ppl that involves the exercise of pwr by some grp members over others....

who gets what, when, and how

• a societal institution that has a monopoly on the legitimate use of physical force.
• an institu. authorized to exercise force to control human behavior.
• the institu. and processes thru which public policies are made for society.

• protect citizens from unlawful acitivity
• regulate social and economic relationships
• provide services
• defend the country against foreign aggression

• ordinary ppl are the gov't and make all laws themselves
• everybody votes on everything

• form of indirect democracy in which ppl choose representatives to make decisions on their behalf
• ppl choose a rep. to represent them

• voters engage in "prospective voting"
• elected officials expected to vote in a manner consistent w/their constituents expressed preferences

• voters engage in "retrospective voting"
• elected officials act in what they believe is the best interest of their constitents.

basic values, beliefs, attitudes, predispostions, and expectations of citizens toward the political syst. of their society and toward themselves as participants in in.

things we agree on..

• local self-gov't
• polit. associations
• religion-gives it a strong moral beliefs
• equatlity
• tyranny of majority
• confirmity- dont abuse the minority thry the majority
• mediocrity
• anti-elitism

• personal liberty-freedom of gov't,
• poli. equality- 1 person, 1 vote
• popular consent- gov't draw pwr from consent of the gov'd (the ppl)
• majority rule-  50% + 1 vote= carries all (protect minorities)
• popular sovereignty- the right of majority to govern themselves
• individualism- individuals come first and should be protected by gov. (self-do things)

proposed laws or state constitutional amendments that are placed on a ballot and go into effect if a required % of voters support it.

• initiative: placed on ballot via citizen petition
• referendum: proposed by a legislature or city council- Tx amd are a types of referendum.

difference is on how they get on the ballot.

1. separation of elections
2. decay of party org.
3. spread of primary elections
4. proliferation of polls
5. rise of mass communication- easy 4 mistakes
6. profusion of interest groups- enough $ to go against opposition grp (what elected off. do, how)
7. rising campaign costs- much more exp  
8. as soon as your elected you have to campaign for others.

1. political culture
2. demographics
3. economics

• the role of poli myths- shape the ppls view on common interest.
• individualism- attitude that citizens are capable of taking care of themselves with minimal gov't assistance (based on beliefs)
• traditional subculture- moral (right/wrong) common good.

more diverse and increasingly urban population (More than 80%)

income and education disparities follow racial and ethnic lines (except Asia)

• Diverse- fluctuations affect different regions differently
• NAFTA has brought greater interdependence btw the economics of tx and mexico
• reduces tariffs and promote trade
• also contributes to transnational problems
• env. degradation, illegal immigration, drug smuggling

• politicial philosohpy rooted in belief in the importance of individual liberty

Hobbes vs Locke

• Hobbes- Citizens give up virtually all liberty to the social contract (all pwr given to gov't)

• Locke- (give up a min pwr to gov't)- only what is necessary for the gov't to perform its tasks.

Declaration of independence

(purpose and content)

Thomas Jefferson

Purpose: break from British crown.

It listed: greviences against the crown, social contract (btw social citizens and rulers)

• Gov. doc. til after "Rev. War": ratified 1781, replace by US Consti. in 1788
• Confederation: loose association of 13 independent states that agree to cooperate on specifed matters
• weaks central gov't strong sub-national units
• very fearful of give central gov't pwr. (result limitiing the funds of nat. gov't)

Articles of Confederation

(esp. problems w/)

• states were coining/taxing other states
• national couldnt collect taxes (no national army)
• only congress
• no central leader

• 3 branch gov't
• 2-chamber legisture w/proportional representation based on population
• centralized executive chosen by legislature
• judiciary chosen by legislature
• national supremacy

• 3-branch gov't
• single-chamber legislature with equal representation for each st.
•  weak chief executive with real execution authority  vested in congressional committies
• National supremacy

• 2-chambers legislature
• house of representatives: proportinal representation by population- seats based on how many ppl live in the states
• senate: equal representation by state
• everystate has 3 or more members in Congress

Article 1. sec. 2 parag. 3

• each slave counts as 3/5 of a person
• +90% slaves reside in GA, Md NC SC and Va.
• founders feared losing the support of these states
• issue of rep.: slaves should be counted fully

• those chosen to cast a direct vote for president by a process determined by each state.
• generally operates to magnify the victory margin in an election bc the winner- takes all in most sts.
• each st has 3 electoral votes
• ( house-435+ senate 100 + 3 DC= 538 electors.
• 538/2 + 1= 270)

• amend. must be proposed by either: 2/3 vote of both house and senate or convention called by congress on application of 2/3 of st legislature.
• and ratified by either: 3/4 of st legislature or 3/4 of st ratifying convention.

• form of gov't in which pwr resides in the ppl and is exercised via their elected rep.s
• citizens have equal rights and the ppl have their right to choose their gov't

assignment of law-making, law-enforcing, and law-interpreting functions of gov't to independent branches

favored strong national central gov't

wants constitution ratified

favored weak central gov't/ more pwr to states

Bill of Rights

"GOOD": be brief, grant authority to specific institutions, provide for orderly change, flexible

• 2 forms: fundamental consti. revision and accumulation of piecemeal change

• provides for a weak central gov't
• outlines gov't pwrs specifically
• designed to limit the inpact of gov't on the lives of individual texans
• difficult to change laws without amending consti. one reason why texas consti. is so long, and so amended

long, detailed, confusing, poorly written, restrictive.