Midterm US GOVERNMENT

Consists of the first 10 amendments in the constitution. 1st- freedom of speech and press, 2nd- Right to Bear arms, 3rd- , 4th-search and seizure... didn't originally apply to the states.

Aka Incorporation Doctrine
Prior to 1890's the bill of rights did not apply to the states- now certain sections in the 1st through 8th amendments are selectively incorporated.

Equal compensation for different work of equal value

Attentive public is only 5% and have the most stable opinion- opinions are also called "perceptions" which are superficially held and easiest to change ( as opposed to values and attitudes)

1) Lack of accountability
2) Hamstrung President
3) Inability to develop coherent and well integrated policies and legislation

1) avoid sensationalism and exaggerations
2) avoid bias = lack of objectivity
(also related to Weaver's "liberal"-- preoccupied with facts and events)

1)content objective reports
2) selection
He looked at the simple model vs the interactive model where their is negotiations btw source and media and feedback between media and public

Dichotomy of the press- Either its "Neutral" and it focuses on facts or its "participant" where the focuses on the value of its relevance

Roughly 5% of any given population- They give consistent opinions in politics

Signifies a deep divide in public opinion- public is sharply divided. Ex.= abortion, gay marriage

progressive reform allowing voters to remove elected officials by petition and majority vote

progressive reform requiring the legislature to place certain measures before the voters, who may also repeal legislation by petitioning for a referedum

Personal Income tax is the Largest- from 2nd most to least= sales tax, bank and corporation taxes, random other, and insurance tax

in the 1990's California hosted 1/4 of the nations high tech firms- 2006 estimate of 112,554 million dollars (112.5 billion)

allows citizens to make policy themselves by drafting a new law or a constitutional amendment and then circulating petitions to get it on the ballot

Counties, Cities, School Districts, and special districts

The power of a court, and especially the Supreme Court, to review acts of legislative bodies and executive officials to determine whether those acts are consistent with the constitution

a system organizing the legislative, executive and judicial functions of government, characterized by the creation of independent institutions to perform those functions

Did not have the power to tax or to regulate commerce and was unable to address the economic problems of the nation

A compromise between the new jersey and Virginia plans worked out at the Constitutional Convention. It was agreed that the national legislature would be bicameral, and representation in the House of Representatives would be based on population, but in the Senate each state would have equal representation

The fifteen resolutions presented by Governor Edmund Randolph to Virginia to the Constitutional Convention. It influenced the decision to abandon the Articles of Confederation and write a new constitution. The plan called for a national government consisting of executive, legislative, and judicial branches. The legislature was to be bicameral, with representation based on population and taxes paid.

An alternate to the Virginia plan presented to the constitutional Convention by William Paterson of New Jersey. It called for a unicameral legislature that would have the authority to tax and to regulate interstate commerce. a national executive office presided over by two people and a national judiciary.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or the right of the people peacefully to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Evidence obtained unlawfully can not be used against you in a court of law.

Problems related toe the sample and problems associated with the phrasing of questions.

An act of a legislature that singles out specific persons of groups and orders them to be punished without judicial trial. Such acts are prohibited by the Constitution.

a law that imposes a penalty for performing an act that was not considered criminal when it was committed or that increases the punishment for a crime after if has been committed. Such laws are prohibited by the Constitution.

("you have the body") an order issued by a court requiring that the government bring an arrested or detained person before that court to determine whether that individual is being legally held. Habeas corpus is guaranteed by the constitution.

As of 2008, 27 percent of the state’s populations (9.9 million people) was foreign born

1. kingship (monarchy)
2. Aristrocracy
3. Constitutional Government

1.Tyrany
2. Oligarchy
3. Democracy (mob rule)

Politics is the authoritative allocation of values for a society

John Locke (1632-1704) known as the father of Liberalism. He was an English Philosopher talked about Social Contract Theory. Believed all human beings born equal at birth with “blank mind or taula rasa Latin for blank Slate) and that the individual’s environmental conditions form the basis of their differences.

Plato believed that a person best suited to govern that is intelligent, rational and wise, i.e. a Philosopher should become a King.

The framers of the Constitution originally opposed the bill of rights.
The Bill of Rights is the political product of pressure and compromises.
The Bill of Rights is anti-majority document.
The doctrine of Selective Incorporation” has been only recently, as of 1930’, applied the Bill of rights to the State and Local authorities.
The Bill of Rights does not include all the amendment originally proposed by Madison (he proposed 17; 12/17 passed by congress, only 10 ratified)
The Bill of Rights touches daily life in America.
There are notable rights missing from the Bill of Rights, e.g. no constitutional right to education, privacy, freedom from hunger, bankruptcy”.

governments in Locke’s view can possess only limited powers. It is established to protect people’s natural rights to life, liberty, and property. If the government fails to do this, people should have the right to replace it.

Tocqueville- absolute power was a danger in any form of government. He believed “it would be wise and benevolent that a group of leaders to decide public policies rather than the majority”, he was against the concept of the majority rule.

Jefferson believed in Broad Political rights, such as the right to vote and the right to express political ideas. However, he did not apply the concept of equality to all human beings. In particular, black slaves and women did not share in the legal and political equality possess by white male citizens.

eparation of powers and checks and balances are necessary part of constitution. Madison was anti-federalist and against big central government and wanted to preserve the authority of the state government. He is known as the “author of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

Amendment 5: Trial and Punishment: Trial by Grand Jury for Capital crime not and not be punished for the same crime twice (double Jeopardy). Please read amendment 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, all related. Note (exception in Amendment 5 “in time of war”, and the reference to “due process of law”)

Because of the Due Process Clause of the 14th amendment most provision of the Bill of Rights apply to the State and local government.

Part of the 14Th amendment that “No State shall … Deny to any Person within its Jurisdiction equal protection of the laws"

Thomas Jefferson, an early advocate of public education. He claimed that a nation cannot be both ignorant and free.

Federalism is a system for organizing government that is based on o geographic division of power. In a Federal system, national government has authority over the entire territory, whereas a regional government has authority only within its own area. Federalism is a pervasive feature of the U.s. Constitution.IN a federal system, power can be divided in different ways…. Federalism always serves the basic purpose of limiting the power of government by dividing it along geographic lines.

The authors of the constitution did not believe in absolute separation of powers, they introduced a system of checks and balances in which the power of government is shared by the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. The Checks and Balances refers to the controls and limits. The main purpose is to limit the power of government by making each branch dependent on the others.

or social scientists, they are based off of usefulness. They are sensitive to evidence. Contrast this w/ arbitrary definitions. Arbitrary defintions are a matter of taste; insensitive to evidence.

) tolerance for individual differences. & 2) respect for individual freedom and dignity.

established choice patterns.Your values reflect the pattern of choices you make.

consisting of a politically relevant worldview & associated set of politically relevant values which together suggest a course of action in the political realm.

3 Components: 1) Perceptual component (worldview) 2) Value component (what is dear?) 3) Course of action (policy).

Example: Marxism: 1) Class struggle due to inequality 2) Want to see equality -- everyone be proletarian 3) Revolution.

benefit the public. Public goods and services are those that are distributed through the government. Social or public goods and services come from taxation of the public. Our government provides us education, national defense, etc. w/ tax dollars.

benefit the individual. Private goods and services are distributed by the market. Therefore, it is inherent that they encompass all goods and services that require direct payment. The market exclude the people and effectively, the public.

the federalists were the supporters of 1787 U.S. Constitution. They tended to live in states w/small populations. They were satisfied w/the compromise that gave each state equal representation in the senate. They felt that a stronger central government would make them more secure against foreign government controlled territories on their borders. Federalists tended to be young, and fought in the Revolutionary War.

opponents of the constitution of 1787 who wanted to preserve the authority of state governments. Their careers tended to begin before the Revolutionary War. They were older and had worked for the state governments.

are a form of direct democracy. They occur when the required number of registered voters in a state sign a petition supporting a particular proposal. The proposal is put on the election ballot and if it gets a majority vote it becomes state law

the form of government that exists in the U.S. It is a form of democratic government that places limits on the power of a majority to act and defines those limits in a written constitution.

A twentieth century form of direct democracy. They are used widely in the western states at state and local levels. Where permitted, the referendum allows the voters to vote for, or against the adoption of particular laws.

a form of public opinion in which sample voters are interviewed in front of polling places on election day to determine how they actually voted.

starting during the nineteenth century. Tabulates the political preferences of specific communities or groups and are thought to give the press more trustworthy info than would be obtained by interviewing party leaders

a means of finding out about public opinion thorough the use of scientific methodology and mathematical probability

originally developed by social scientists as the focused interview, in which the interviewer probes an individuals response to a specific stimulus, the technique was soon expanded to groups. There are typically 12 participants and they are asked about political views that are subsequently recorded by hidden mics or camera’s. Politicians have used these groups for gathering information to perfect their campaigns.

discourse about some significant social or scientific issue. The results of such potentially biased surveys are frequently released to the media in order to magnify their impact.

the study of the developmental processes by which children and adolescents acquire political cognition, attitudes, and behaviors.

the following definition pertains to preprimary endorsement. Political parties designation of preferred candidates in party primary elections, thus strengthening the role of party organizations in selecting candidates; banned by state law until 1990.

rom 1907-1920. Started with members of an anti-machine movement that re-shaped the states political institutions between 1907 & 1920. This movement opened up California’s politics to its citizens, as well as powerful interest groups and individual candidates w/strong personalities.

progressive reforms giving citizens of California the power to make and repeal laws (initiative & referendum) and to remove elected officials from office (recall).

The priorities are in order: First: The employees, Second the consumers, Third shareholders

The priorities are in order: First the shareholders, Second: the Consumers and Third the Employees

27th ammendment 1992No law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of Representatives shall have intervened
26th 1971 national voting age =18

Racial segregation defined by law

"as a matter of fact" but not rooted in law

14th ammendment- The right to due process
The right to equal protection
The right to the privileges and immunities of national citizenship.... but also due process in the 5th ammendment that applies to federal level

article 3, sec 2 In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, and those in which a state shall be party, the Supreme Court shall have original jurisdiction
(original jurisdiction happens when a case is first heard (consideration of facts and testimonies before a jury and/or a judge, also called a trial court)).

Article 4, sec 2, clause 2 A person charged in any state with treason, felony, or other crime, who shall flee from justice, and be found in another state, shall on demand of the executive authority of the state from which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the state having jurisdiction of the crime

Such Acts, records and judicial proceedings or copies thereof, so authenticated, shall have the same full faith and credit in every court within the US and its Territories and Possessions as they have by law or usage in the courts of such State, Territory or Possession from which they are taken (ex- marriage license)

Article 4, sec 2, clause 1 prevents a state from treating citizens of other states in a discriminatory manner, with regard to basic civil rights. The text of the clause reads:
“ The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States.

Concurrent powers are powers that are held by both the states and the federal government and may be exercised simultaneously within the same territory and in relation to the same body of citizens

tenth ammendment The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people

1964-that outlawed unequal application of voter registration requirements and racial segregation in schools, at the workplace and by facilities that served the general public 1965- outlawed discriminatory voting practices that had been responsible for the widespread disenfranchisement of African Americans in the U.S.

-Must be relevant
-respondents must be competent to answer question
-avoid negative items or q's
-avoid double barrel q's
-avoid vague or ambiguous q's
-short items are most reliable
-need to avoid leading q's
-consider response choices
-question sequence
-inaccurate answers

1) Every Q must mean exactly the same thing to every respondent
2) Every A or response must mean the same thing when given by different respondents

Instant feedback for politicians about what constituents want and how to find tune campaign

the owner of a private good may exclude others from use unless they pay-- differs from public goods

Wagner's Law suggests that a welfare state evolves from free market capitalism due to the population voting for ever-increasing social services

A form of polling that interviews as many as a thousand persons on a daily basis in the weeks immediately preceding an election

1896 seperate but equal laws held to constitutional-- backed the lawfulness of jim crow laws

1950s precursor to Brown v. Board of Education--- deemed the seperate was not equal in black's colleges

1857 USSC descision to allow slavery - the slaves were not citizens and not protected by the consitution

1819 USSC the neccessary and proper clause was used to invalidate maryland's law of taxing the federal banks ---- 1.The Constitution grants to Congress implied powers for implementing the Constitution's express powers, in order to create a functional national government.
2.State action may not impede valid constitutional exercises of power by the Federal government

1964- only can be given to someone with less than 6 years of formal education
1965- suspended the use of literacy tests in all states or political subdivisions in which less than 50 percent of voting-age residents were registered as of 1 November 1964 or had voted in the 1964 presidential election

Stronger national government might threaten the sovereignity of the states and that the national governement would threaten personal liberties

federal Funding is much behind national averages for ca as well increased demands because of coastline and border issues. Also the cost of living is higher so the disparity puts many below poverty line if this is taken into account. Also, Ca pays more in taxes than in services recieved back from the federal government.