AP US GOVERNMENT & POLITICS UNIT 1 REVIEW

AP US GOVERNMENT & POLITICS UNIT 1 REVIEW

CONSTITUTIONAL UNDERPINNINGS

Government: the institution through which public policies are made for society. Politics: the process by which we select our governmental leaders and public policies. Since the people have political power in the U.S. we are considered a democracy, but since we the people elect representatives to actually make the laws for us (rather than the population as a whole making the laws) we have a republican form of democracy.

Under the U.S. political system, ideas originate with the people and through the vehicles of linkage institutions (political parties, interest groups, the media) a policy agenda is formed for which policymaking institutions (the 3 branches of govt., bureaucracy) can create policy that will in turn affect the public.

A democracy equates to majority rule / pluralism the one with the most votes wins. However, the U.S. is a constitutional democracy in that we have civil liberties that the government / majority cannot take away from the minority (i.e. Bill of Rights).

Characteristics of American political culture the overall set of values widely shared within our society. Liberty (freedom from tyranny) Egalitarianism (equality in opportunity and under the law) Individualism (people want to be left alone from government entanglement) Laissez faire (limited government involvement into the economy) Populism (standing up for the masses, ordinary people in a sense populists see elitism has a truism) Many would argue policy gridlock, escalating campaign costs, limited citizen participation in government, and increased complexity of issues as not just challenges to modern U.S. democracy, but new cultural traits.

Much of our political culture can be traced back to Enlightenment thinkers and British political practice. The philosophy of John Locke, based on natural rights rights inherent in human beings, not dependent on governments, which included Life, Liberty, & Property) was highly influential to the Founding Fathers as was the notion of a social contract (the legitimacy of the state / government over the individual and what government should do for people in order for people to obey it).

After the French and Indian War when the British became more hands on with their control over the colonies (taxes yet no representation), the Founders declared their independence and go on their own (Declaration of Independence). Under the Articles of Confederation our nation s first constitution (plan for government)... Real power rested with the states, not the federal government (i.e. confederacy) A national legislature was created, but no president nor national court system Congress could not tax

Shays Rebellion signaled the need for a new constitution. Following the war America suffered an economic depression. Many farmers began to lose their property to creditors. In Massachusetts there were a series of attacks by farmers on courthouses carrying out such foreclosures. The inability of the national government to respond propelled the founders to create a new constitution.

At the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia the Framers set out to create a new national political framework. Due to competing interests compromises had to be made: Representation in the Congress New Jersey Plan: called for equal representation from each state regardless of population Virginia Plan: called for it to be based on state populations Connecticut Compromise: It called for a bicameral (two body) Congress; a House of Representatives based on state populations and a Senate with an equal number of two Senators from each state. This is what they go with! The Three Fifths Compromise: slaves would be counted as 3/5 of a person for purpose of calculating state population totals. The importation of slaves was not allowed to be prohibited by Congress until 1808

The US Constitution should be viewed as an instructional manual / rule book for how American government is supposed to operate. Contents: Preamble: states the purpose of the new constitution Article I: Legislative Branch Article II: Executive Branch Article III: Judicial Branch Article IV: Interstate relations Article V: How to make amendments Article VI: national supremacy Article VII: ratification

In order to make changes (amendments) to the Constitution... (note how the president plays no role)

Nearly all of the Amendments have given people more liberty or more power, thus limiting what the government can do even further than the Founders original intent. For example: term limits on the president, the direct election of U.S. Senators. Many Amendments have also expanded voting rights and equality. For example: women obtaining the right to vote & the 14 th Amendment which requires states to follow due process for all its citizens. However, the government and the constitution can be also be reshaped through evolving interpretations (i.e. The Brown v. Board of Education case viewed school segregation as unconstitutional) and new practices (i.e. the advent of political parties).

Most importantly the US Constitution delegates (expresses) the powers of the new government. Congress can... Levy taxes Borrow money Coin money & regulate its value Establish uniform laws of bankruptcy Regulate interstate & foreign commerce Establish post offices and post roads Create standard weights and measures Protect copyrights and patents States can no longer... Coin money or issue paper money Tax imports from abroad or from other states Free runaway slaves from other states The document represented a shift away from a confederacy (practically states had autonomy) to a federal republic (where power would be shared with the states, but the national government would be supreme).

Anti Federalists thought the document gave too many powers to the national government. They advocated the incorporation of the Bill of Rights to ensure the protection of individual liberty. Federalists largely approved of the document as it was. Some wrote the Federalist Papers as a way of encouraging the state legislatures to ratify the document so it could go into effect.

Of the 3 branches of government being created only half of the legislative branch would be directly elected by the people. Despite the historic reputation of bringing democracy to America, the Founding Fathers feared a mob rule mentality. The fear of too much power in the hands of one person or agency was the reason for the separation of powers (3 branches) and the principle of checks and balances, which collectively is occasionally called the Madison system.

Power is also dispersed through the notion of federalism a way of organizing a nation so that two or more levels of government have formal authority over the same land and people. Federalism allows state governments to do what is best for their state (which might be something completely different compared to another state), it also allows for an additional check to the national government s power.

Dual federalism (no overlap in powers) contrasts with cooperative federalism (overlap). The cooperation of federal and state governments has brought about shared costs & shared administration, but usually under federal guidelines or mandates. Often the glue in the modern relationship between states (as well as local governments) and the national government is money, Fiscal Federalism the pattern of spending, taxing, and providing grants in the federal system.

Although over the past generation there has been an effort (called devolution) to transfer responsibilities from the federal government to state and local governments; the Supremacy Clause of the US Consitution makes the Constitution, national laws, and treaties supreme over state law as long as the national government is acting within its constitutional limits.

Early on there were some key Supreme Court cases that laid out this relationship: McCulloch v. Maryland: The case over a national bank solidified the supremacy clause and laid the foundation that the federal govt. had additional / implied powers that went beyond what was specifically stated. The notion of implied powers came from the Necessary & Proper Clause (aka Elastic Clause) of the Consitution. Gibbons v. Odgen: The SC recognized the Commerce Clause (federal govt. s ability to regulate interstate trade) of the constitution in broad terms, thus giving the federal government great powers in regulating national commerce for years to come.

In a nutshell... American government was born out of the Enlightenment tradition (democracy, republicanism, checks on power). A constitution serves as the framework for our government. The principles of separation of powers (3 branches) and federalism (dividing powers at different levels) are evident.