Pol: manages ones society. Includes everyone.

Gov't: an institution of a state which makes and enforces laws. Deals with chosen people.

2. Hobbes

Political Thinker

Argued that men are inherently evil/imperfect

Said we need government to organize ourselves and without gov't there would be war against all

5. Alexis de Toqueille

French man who wrote the "Democracy in America"

Attracted to the fact that every American (minus slaves and women) had equal opportunity

Author was racially profiled

Talks about Rodney King beatings: not race riot/class rebellion, rather a multiracial, trans-class, male display of justified social rage.

Liberals support public funding to deal with problems. Conservatives blame black people for the problems and ignore them.

We look at how black people pose problems for whites and ignore what that thinking does for the country.

Society flaws, rooted in historic inequalities/stereotypes

Afrocentrism: contemporary species of black nationalism

Basically, for us to change the way blacks are viewed in society, we must change our society, change racial hierarchy

To help we must 1) acknowledge our common history, 2) focus on public good

Since many minority children live in poverty and are thus ill-equiped to live quality lives, we should form a public interventions to ensure access to basic social goods.

We need leaders who can grasp complex dynamics, who are not out for the spotlight

• The new gov't could not finance it's activities and it was forced to rely on each states willingness to pay it's tax, not all states wanted to cooperate and as a result the bonds and notes of the confederate gov't became worthless. 
• Unable to defend American interests in foreign affairs, the gov't lacked the capacity to  to reach binding agreements with other nations or to deal with a wide range of foreign problems.
• Unable to prevent the outbreak of commercial warfare between the states. 

Occurred in W. MA in 1786

Armed men took over court houses in order to prevent judges from ordering the seizure of farms for non-payment of state taxes and the incarceration of their owners in debtors prison.

Aimed at easing financial pressures on debt-ridden small farmers by closing state courts to prevent foreclosure hearings from taking place

(pushed American leaders to propose a constitutional convention) 

Confederation: A loose association of states or territorial division in which very little power is lodged in the central government.

Federalism: A system in which significant governmental powers are divided between a central government and smaller units, such as states

Unitary: A system in which a central government has complete power over its constituent units or states. 

14. Federalists/Anti-Federalists (including the Federalist Papers)

Federalists: Supporters of the Constitution during the ratification fight; also the political party of Hamilton, Washington and Adams

(were elitists, concerned with Democracy run amok. Concerned with public interests.)

 Anti-Federalists: Opponents of the constitution during the fight over ratification.

(Radical democrats. Concerned with liberty and the relationship between liberty and gov’t. )

"If men were angels, not gov't would be necessary. If angels were to govern me, neither external nor internal controls on gov't would be necessary" (Federalist 51)

-So if all men were as perfect as angels, there would be no crime, and therefore no need for gov't. 

Drafted by James Madison.

Proposed the creation of a strong central gov't dominated by a powerful congress controlled by the most populous states: Virginia, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. 

Proposed a gov't with strong national legislature with seats apportioned to the states based on population.

Power to appoint executive and judiciary branches, veto state laws.

(Book: Proposal by the large states at the constitutional convention to create a strong central gov't with power in the gov't apportioned to the states on the basis of population)

Drafted by William Patterson

Smaller states proposed this as a counter to the VA plan

Unicameral legislature, seats apportioned equally among states w/ representatives selected by state legislatures.

Envisioned a more powerful national gov't than what was outlined in the Articles.

(Book: Proposal of the smaller states at the constitutional convention to create a gov't based on the equal representation of the states in a unicameral legislature)

"The Great Compromise" (b/t the VA and NJ plan)

Drafted by Roger Sherman

Key Feature: Bicameral nat'l legislature  in which each state's representation in the HoR was to be bases on population (favored larger states), while Senate representation was equal for each of the states (favoring smaller states)

(Book: the compromise between the NJ and VA plans formulated by the Connecticut delegates at the constitutional convention; called for a lower legislative house based on population size and an upper house based on equal representation of the states)

Slavery was (indirectly) condoned in the Constitution

"Slavery" does not appear in the constitution but references are seen 

-Delegates agreed to count three-fifths of a state's slave pop in the calculation of how many representative a state can have in HoR. This increased the power of slave states

States are seen as laboratories of gov't

Try one thing in one state, if it doesn't work then it's won't be used, if it does it can possibly be spread to other states.

Layer (Dual Federalism): Separate institutions with separate powers that do not cross (An interpretation of federalism in which the states and the national government have separate jurisdictions and responsibilities)

Mixed (Cooperative Federalism): Separate institutions with powers that kind of mix (A conception of federalism in which the powers and responsibilities of the states and the national government are intertwined and in which they work together to solve common problems)

It's good because it provides checks and balances

Downsides, it's harder to have a swift action during a crisis, causes gridlock (sometimes good), irresponsible

Ceremonial Responsibilities: Attends funerals, proclaims official days, honors heros, celebrates anniversaries. 

Domestic Leader:

-Legislative Leader

-Manager of the Economy

-Chief Executive

Foreign Policy and Military Leader

-Foreign Policy Leader

Head of the Political party

Delegate: According to the doctrine articulated by Edmund Burke. an elected representative who acts in perfect accord with the wishes of his or her constituents.

Trustee: Edmund Burke; an elected representative who believes that his or her own best judgement, rather than instructions from constituents, should be used in making legislative decisions.

(aka: Pork Barrel)

Projects designed to bring to the constituency jobs and public money for which the members of congress can claim credit. (it benefits the constituency, not the people)

Reapportionment: The reallocation of House seats among the states, done after each national census, to ensure that seats are held by the states in proportion to the size of their population.

Redistricting: The redrawing of congressional district lines within a state to ensure roughly equal populations in each district.

Gerrymandering: Redrawing electoral district lines to give an advantage to a particular party or candidate. 

Incumbents win at very high rates, therefore races are not really competitive. (change in seats sometimes happens b/c of death, retirement, losing in party primaries)

Redistricting helps incumbents remain in seats, 

Incumbents also get more money/support than competitors.

There names are always kept public.

Whips: A poli party member in Congress charged with keeping members informed of the plans of the party leadership, counting votes before action on important issues, and rounding up party members for votes on bills. 

-Speaker of the House is the leader of the  

-HouseLeadership in Senate is less visible, the senate majority leader is the closest it comes to a leader.

• Standing Committees: Relatively permanent congressional committees that address specific areas of legislation
• Select Committees: Temporary committees in Congress created to conduct studies or investigations; they have no power to report bills.
• Joint Committees: Congressional committees with members from both the House and the Senate.
• Conference Committees: Ad hoc committees, made up of members of both the Senate and the HoR, set up to reconcile fidderences in the provisions of bills. 

Presidential Veto: Presidential disapproval of a bill that has been passes by both houses of Congress. The president's veto can be overridden by two-thirds vote in each house.

Pocket Veto: Rejection of a bill if the president takes no action on it for 10 days and Congress has adjourned during this period. 

Filibuster: A parliamentary device used in the Senate ti prevent a bill from coming to a vote by "talking it to death", made possible by the norm of unlimited debate. 

Cloture: A vote to end a filibuster; requires the votes of three-fifths of the membership of the senate.

"The 60-vote senate": 60 votes= 3/5 of the senates. 60 votes are needed to break a filibuster

Original Jurisdiciton: The authority of a court to be the first to hear a particular kind of case. 

Appellate Jurisdiction (courts):  Courts that hear cases on appeal from other courts

Opinion of the Court: The majority opinion that accompanies a Supreme Court decision.

Concurring Opinion: The opinion of one or more judges who vote with the majority on a case but wish to set out different reasons for their decision.

Dissenting Opinions: The opinion of the judge or judges who are in the minority on a particular case before the Supreme Court.

Precedent: Rulings by courts that guide judicial reasoning in subsequent cases. 

Stare Decisis: The legal doctrine that says precedent should guide judicial decision making

Writ of Certiorari: An announcement that the Supreme Court will hear a case on appeal from a lower court: it's issuance required the vote of four of the nine justices

Rule of Four: An unwritten practice that requires at least four justices of the Supreme Court to agree that a case warrants a review by the Court before it will hear the case. 

Standing: Authority to bring legal action because one is directly affected by the issues at hand

Test Cases: A case brought to force a ruling on the constitutionality of some law or executive action

Class Action Suits: A suit brought on behalf of a group of people who are in a situation similar to that of the plantiffs

Latin for "friend of the court"

Describes a brief in which individuals not party to a suit may have their views heard.