Due: August 30 th (A-day) & August 31 st (B-day) Chapter 1: Thoroughly answer the questions assigned to you in your own words. 1. Explain several functions that most governments around the world perform. The main functions that a governments performs are maintaining a national defense system, providing public services, enforcing laws, and collecting taxes. 2. Explain what is meant by Harold Lasswell s definition of politics: Who gets what, when, and how. Harold Lasswell's definition is just a brief definiton of politics, in which he highlights how politics is who we select as government officials and what they do for us. Once government officials are picked, politics simplifies itself to be about which citizens get certain things, like rights and public services, when it will be, in a week or in a year, and how it will reach them, whether it be by direct contact or any other sepcific terms. 3. Describe several ways in which people can participate in politics. Several ways in which someone can participate in politics are... voting (local, state, and national), writing letter campaigns, participating in marches, learning information about politics through different media including news, books, and television. Participation in political discussions, signing a petition, serving as a juror, being a lobbyist for laws in your specific interest, serving the country through military services etc. 4. Describe the process of the policymaking system, beginning with the people and ending with the people. Americans frequently expect government to do something about their problems. Voters will penalize them at the polls if they do not. Linkage institutions are the political channels through which people's concerns become political issues on the policy agenda. In the United States, linkage institutions include elections, political parties, interest groups, and the media. Policy agenda are the issues that attract the serious attention of public official and other people actually involved in politics at any given point in time. Political issue is an issue that arises when people disagree about a problem and how to fix it. Policymaking Institutions are the branches of government charged with taking action on political issues. The U.S. Constitution established three policymaking institutions the congress, the presidency, and the courts. Today, the power of the bureaucracy is so great that most political scientists consider it a fourth policymaking institution. Public policy is a choice that government makes in response to a political issue. A policy is a course of action taken with regard to some problem. Translating people's desires into effective public policy is crucial to the workings of democracy. 5. How does a government s policy agenda change?
The policy agenda consists of the issues that attract the serious attention of public officials and other people actively involved in politics at a given time. A governments policy agenda can change in response to the needs of the economy. When the productivity of businesses are failing and jobs are scarce, economic problems occupy a high position on the government's agenda. If the economy is doing well the focus most likely will shift to economic or disastrous problems outside of the country. 6. What is meant by the term policy impacts? Describe two examples of how a given policy may impact the public. Policy impacts refers to the effects that a policy has on the people and their surrounding environments and problems. An example of how a policy may impact the public is how Trump's immigration ban prevented many people from entering the country, causing other members of the public to protest against the policy. Another example of how a policy may impact the public was gay marriage being legalized, which caused many members of the public to celebrate, while causing other people to rally against its legalization. 7. Briefly explain the five principles of an ideal, traditional democracy. A). Equality in voting The basic idea is "one person, one vote"; voting should be representative B). Effective participation Citizens should have equal opportunities to voice their opinions and concerns about policies and decisions. C). Enlightened understanding Free speech and free press is imperative to the public's understanding of various issues. D). Citizen control of the agenda the people should be able to control the government's political agenda E). Inclusion the government must extend rights to all those living under its laws. 8. Explain the significance of the traditional democratic principles of majority rule and minority rights. The traditional democratic principles of majority rule and minority rights are significant because they uphold the popular vote all while protecting the rights of people who don't agree with the popular vote. For example, the majority rule would not be permitted to put into law something that would hurt the minority, despite having majority rule. These democratic principles are important to uphold fairness. 9. Complete the following table comparing contemporary democratic theories. Theory Pluralist Who holds power and how is it distributed? Interest groups. The amount of power each group has depends on the effectiveness or size of the Describe the theory s interpretation of how policy is made. Interest groups organize to form coalitions to collectively urge or press politicians to create any desired policy.
Elite and Class group's organization. In other words, the larger the group, the more power the group has. The wealthy yield power. The power pie is has the largest slice for the richest and or wealthiest and the smallest slice for the poor. Hyperpluralist Interest groups collectively as a whole hold power. The larger the interest group, the more power and influence it possesses. Corporations and or rich individuals in the top one percent will buy out politicians by funding campaigns and institutions in exchange for policy creation and enforcement for to benefit the wealthy. Interest groups, particularly single-issue groups, will organize and conflict with one another, strangling the government into a position of appeasement of the group's agenda. 10. List and describe four major challenges facing American democracy. increases technical expertise Limited participation in government Escalating campaign costs Diverse political interest Policy gridlock: occurs when each policy coalition finds its way blocked by others. 11. How does the scope of American government compare to the scope of government in other democracies? The scope of American government is considerably smaller than that of other democratic governments throughout the world. With that being said, American's, overall, contribute less to the maintenance of government. For example, voter turnout in the United States is much lower than other representative democracies, and the tax burden on U.S. citizens is often lighter. Universal healthcare in countries like France, Germany, and Canada highlights the extent to which a democratic government can greatly affect each citizen's life. In the U.S., healthcare is not administered on merely the basis of citizenship, and in 2016, 10.9% of adults were without healthcare. Define and explain the significance of the terms assigned to you in your own words. 12. government Institutions put in place to make decisions for a society. This may be a monarchial system, an oligarchical rule, or in the case of the United States, a representative democracy. Without a government, a society cannot come together to make decisions and therefore cannot be considered a united society. 13. public goods
A good that is non excludable and nonrivalrous. This means that no one can be excluded from the good and that when one person is using it, another can also use it. Government services are public goods. 14. politics The process of decision making within a government; it helps to take priority of a groups concerns in any specific agenda. 15. linkage institutions Institutions that connect the people to the government by making peoples' concerns become political issue that the government addresses. Linkage institutions include elections, political parties, interest groups, and the media. Linkage institutions are significant as they allow for government policy to address the concerns of the public as efficiently as possible. 16. policy agenda: A set of issues or problems that government officials are concerned with. The policy agenda may be heavily influenced by social media or news/media. Many social issues today are on the policy agenda, such as women's rights, abortion, LGBT rights, racism, etc... 17. policymaking institutions ***Answer not submitted*** 18. public policy social laws that society tends to make by itself and is usually unwritten. 19. representation A basic principle of traditional democratic theory that describes the relationship between few leaders and the many followers. 20. direct democracy A direct democracy is a type of government were people make government policy decisions directly instead of choosing representatives. This is only practical for small societies like Athens. 21. representative democracy A representative democracy is also known as an Indirect Democracy; meaning that the people elect officials to represent them in government. This contrasts with direct democracies in the
sense that the people do not get to vote or have a personal say in government issues. The elected official is appointed by the people to stand by their viewpoints. This is significant because it allows for a more organized system that is not overpopulated with too many opposing viewpoints, too many votes in general, and overcrowded-ness. 22. policy gridlock Policy gridlock refers to the situation in government in which there are too many opposing interest groups, making it extremely difficult for anything to be passed or accomplished. In a policy gridlock, the interests of the groups conflict to the point where there s not enough coalition for a majority to be formed so that a policy can be established. Policy gridlock is significant in government due to its ability to stall the policy making process and lead to a stalemate. 23. individualism The belief that individuals should be left on their own by the government. One of the primary reasons for the comparatively small scope of American government is the prominence of this belief in American political thought and practice. Chapter 2: Thoroughly answer the questions assigned to you in your own words. 24. List at least three major grievances of the colonists under British rule. Three major grievances of the colonist under British rule were Lack of representation in parliament, more trade regulations that mainly benefited England, and tax increase after the French and Indian war. 25. Describe the key components of John Locke s political philosophy (use table 2.1) and briefly explain how they influenced Thomas Jefferson s writings. The key components of John Locke's political philosophy are Natural Rights, which explains the inevitable rights every person should have, Purpose of Government, which is to secure our rights, Equality, which explains that all men are equal, Consent of the Governed, Which explains the government powers are derived from the determination of the majority, Limited government, which explains the restrictions that are also placed on government to try to stop tyranny, and the Right to Revolt, which gives people power to judge something If they do not agree with it. These political philosophies influenced Thomas Jefferson's writings by many of them being included in the Declaration of Independence while writing it. Including, the rights of men were "self-evident" (Natural Rights) and the governments purpose was to secure the people's rights. He stressed how each individual was important in being involved with the consent of the governed, which no other government had been based upon those political philosophies.
26. Describe the key characteristics of the United States government under the Articles of Confederation, especially noting the organization and power structure. Under the Articles of Confederation the United States government was mostly controlled by the states. The leaders of the country feared a central government because they thought it would be the equivalent to being controlled by Parliament. Because of this, there was no president or national court. The powers of Congress were also limited. Instead they established a national legislature with one house, giving each state one vote in addition to allowing them to send up to seven delegates. The Articles of Confederation was a very weak system and led to conflicts. For example, because Congress had little money, it faced difficulties paying the army their overdue wages. If it acquired more power then it'd be possible to tax, but because they were limited, Congress was forced to ask states for money. The problem with this system is that states were not required to send money, they had the ability to refuse Congress' request. If they chose not to send money, then Congress had to sell western lands to speculators, issue securities, or use its own presses to print money, which were both worthless. Congress didn't have the power to regulate commerce either, which was frustrating because the purpose of it was to help foreign trade and the development of a concrete national economy. Despite the benefits of the Articles of Confederation, like the passing of the Northwest Ordinance, it had trouble facing the hardships of the new nation, like Shay's Rebellion and economic issues. 27. Describe at least three major reasons why the Articles of Confederation failed. The Articles of Confederation could not tax the people, giving it little to no way to gain money. The AoC could barely even hold up an army and navy making it prone to rebellion (Shay's rebellion). The only way to pass an amendment would be to gain the unanimous consent of all the states and laws could only be passed with the consent of 9 out of the 13 states. This made policymaking very impractical. 28. Briefly describe the general philosophical views of the founding fathers on the following issues. ***answer not submitted*** Human Nature: Political Conflict: Objects of Government: Nature of Government: 29. What were the three major equality issues at the Constitutional Convention and how were they resolved? (be sure to include names of the plans and compromises) Issue: Resolution: States being equally represented Connecticut Compromise
Slavery Equality of voting 3/5 Compromise those issues were left to the states 30. What were a few major economic problems (note 3) addressed at the Constitutional Convention and how were they addressed? 1. Paper money was worthless in some states at the time and it was still pushed onto creditors no matter the facts. 2. States made tariffs against certain products from different states. 3. Congress was having trouble raising money. Solution: They decided to just grant economic powers of congress to resolve these problems. 31. Why did the founding fathers believe it was not necessary to address individual rights issues specifically in the Constitution? The founding fathers did not believe that it was necessary to address individual issues in the constitution because if they did, they would have to deal with everyone's issues, which means that the constitution would be FOREVER long. Also, individual rights would be more focused in laws and other types of regulation, such as giving the states the power to control that, which they do out of their own volition. They believed that the states were already doing a good enough job at regulating those rights for the people, so why tamper with it... 32. Describe the three main premises of the Madisonian model of government and why he wanted these in place. 1. Limiting Majority Control. Madison believed that to thwart tyranny by the majority, it was essential to keep most of the government beyond their power. Government officials would be elected by a small minority, not by the people themselves. 2. Separating Powers. Each of the three branches of government. Would be relatively independent of one another so that no single branch could control the others. 3. Checks and Balances. Features of the Constitution that limit government's power by requiring that power be balanced among the different governmental institutions. These institutions continually constrain one another's activities. 33. Why did the framers think that federalism would serve as an additional check on national government? The Framers wanted Federalism as an additional check on national government because they believed that large government power can pose a threat to individual liberty and the exercise of governmental power must be restrained. With this restraint the governments powers are divided and this prevents abuse of power. 34. Complete the following table summarizing the major differences between the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists.
Issue: Federalists: Antifederalists: Civil Liberties Power of the States Economy Federalists were less concerned about individual rights, although they did add the Bill of Rights to the Constitution. Federalists believed that the power of the states should be lessened and were in favor of a stronger national government. Federalists wanted the government to be responsible for managing the economy and were in favor of big business interests. Antifederalists were very outspoken about their support of civil liberties, fearing that the Constitution would restrict individual rights. Antifederalists were in favor of strong state governments, fearing that the common people would lose more power. Antifederalists were in support of farming and local businesses instead of large corporations. 35. Describe the two ways in which a formal constitutional amendment may be proposed and the two ways in which it may be ratified. What is the most common method? Congress can propose an amendment by a 2/3 vote in each house or 2/3 of the states can propose an amendment. State legislature can ratify an amendment by a ¾ vote or state conventions can ratify an amendment by ¾ vote. The most common method is for congress to propose an amendment by 2/3 vote and state legislatures ratifying it. 36. The text examines four ways the Constitution changes informally. Complete the following table, listing these ways, defining them, and giving an example for each. Informal Change: Judicial Interpretation Changing Political Practice Technology Description: The Supreme Court dictates what the constitution means. Over time, the Supreme Court can add things that they believe are implied by previous amendments. As society evolves and changes, we find new ways of implementing politics into the system. By changing political practice, this allows the Constitution to be a living document. Example: In the 19 th century, the Supreme Court ruled that racial discrimination was constitutional. However, in the 20 th century, it was overruled and concluded that it was in fact unconstitutional. Our government is shaped by political parties, and they play a huge role in politics, however there is no mention of parties in the Constitution. The development of mass media The power of the president has been over the past few years has greatly increased in a way now that media puts changed people's involvement in
Increasing Demands on Policymakers politics and the demands for new policies are more prominent. pressures on certain powers, such as being the commander in chief. As the United States and its When we were a new country we didn t population grows bigger, the have too many foreign affairs, but as people's demands grow bigger too. we've grown bigger and adopted more Eventually, this informally changes foreign policies and allies/enemies, the constitution. people demand for new policies regarding that. Define and explain the significance of the terms assigned to you in your own words. 37. Declaration of Independence (include the term polemic) A document authored by Thomas Jefferson and ratified on July 4, 1776 that officially established the before then thirteen British colonies of America as independent of British war. This was a significant document due to its blatant treason against the rule of the British Crown, its direct polemic listing of grievances against the then King George III, and due to the precedent that it sent to the colonies urging unification against the royal crown and as an eventual sovereign nation. 38. Shays Rebellion An armed uprising in Massachusetts during 1786 and 1787. Revolutionary War veteran Daniel Shay led four thousand rebels in an uprising against perceived economic and civil rights injustices. 39. U.S. Constitution The U.S. Constitution is a broad framework for the U.S. that outlines how the government should be ran (rules and regulations) and how it impacts citizens. When I think about the U.S. constitution, I think it's really helpful to remind myself of the context surrounding its conception. The Articles of Confederation are a total failure, and delegates need a new format for government, so the Constitution must contain rules about practical stuff like ratifying amendments and powers of the legislative, executive, and judicial branch. But you also have more profound questions regarding liberty and the scope of government in each, individual citizens life. We start to see anti-federalist vs. Federalist, and to appease anti-federalist, the federalist add the Bill of Rights, and the some of amendments are kind of ambiguous. It's important to remember while James Madison couldn't predict the future he (and all of the other delegates) knew the future would be very different and the U.S. Constitution had to endure that change, growth, and progress. It's a living document that has been amended and can be used to argue for opposing views. 40. factions
A group of citizens with a shared passion, interest or agenda. An interest group is a modern day example of a faction. Madison worried that without proper governing, small factions would take over the United States' government. 41. writ of habeas corpus A court order that requires a valid reason for the imprisonment of a person. This is an importance defense for the people against tyranny. This way a citizen can't be wrongfully imprisoned. 42. Republic: fgpower is held in the hands of the people that elect representatives and influence the nomination of presidents; these powers allows the majority and minority to be appeased because they have the power to elect their representatives who hold similar values ("passions"), so that their concerns can be addressed. 43. Federalist Papers The federalist papers were essays anonymously published in the New York Newspapers over the course of 2 years, actually written by James Madison, John Jay, and Alexander Hamilton. The letters argued for a strong central government as the authors believed this would best promote liberty, and thus they argued for the ratification of the constitution. The federalist 10, written by James Madison, specifically addressed the issue of factions as he stated they were completely natural in a free country but problematic and in order to prevent issues, the causes of factions had to be removed or the effects limited. Federalist 51, written by Madison as well, argued the importance of checks and balances. These papers were so important as they were part of persuading the states to ratify the constitution. Even now, it allows us to see the intent of the founding fathers in writing the constitution and further understand it. 44. Bill of Rights: The Bill of Rights is one of the most important documents to our government. Written originally by the Federalists in order to appeal to the Anti-Federalists, the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution outline and secure basic human rights such as the right to bear arms, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, etc... 45. Equal Rights Amendment ***answer not submitted*** 46. Marbury v. Madison (include the term judicial review)
sets the basis for judicial review, how much the judicial branch can limit congress. This is very important with the seperation of powers and keeping the three branches equal and able to 'check' one another. Chapter 3 Thoroughly answer the questions assigned to you in your own words. 47. Define the three ways of organizing a nation that were discussed in the text. ***answer not submitted*** 48. In what ways does federalism decentralize politics and policies? Federalism decentralizes politics and policies by ***answer not completed*** 49. List the three items that are considered the supreme law of the land and where this is found in the Constitution. The three items that are considered the supreme law of the land are the constitution, laws of the national government (consistent with the Constitution), and treaties (which only the national government can make). These laws are part of the Supremacy Clause and can be found in Article VI of the constitution. 50. What is the significance of the Tenth Amendment? The tenth amendment is significant because it forms the foundation of Federalism and helped to appease the worries of the Anti-Federalists. Stating that all powers not granted to the federal government in the constitution belong to the states or the people, the tenth amendment limited the power of the federal government and gave more power to the people. This shift in power was significant because it pleased the Anti-Federalist who were worried about the federal government having too much power. 51. Explain the difference between enumerated powers and implied powers Enumerated powers are powers that Congress has that is sprecifically spelled out in the Constitution. 52. Name and describe the three general obligations that each state has to every other state under the Constitution. Full Faith and credit - the obligation for each state to recognize the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state.
Privileges and immunities- Prevents a state from discriminating against people from another state Extradition- the extradition of a criminal back to the state where he or she has committed a crime. 53. Explain the analogy of dual federalism to a layer cake and that of cooperative federalism to a marble cake. Layer cake is an analogy to Dual Federalism because the powers and policy assignments of the layers of government are distinct and separated like dual federalism, which the national and state governments each remain within their own respected areas like different layers of a cake. Cooperative Federalism is compared to a marble cake because the national and state governments blend and share responsibility for public policies and there are blurred distinctions between the levels of government. 54. Describe the three standard operating procedures of cooperative federalism. The three standard operating procedures of cooperative federalism are shared costs, federal guidelines, and shared administration. Shared costs is when states or cities that want their share of money pay for the programs costs first. This happens when the president foots part of the bill. Examples of this is when cities or states initially pay some of the costs for airport construction or youth groups, resulting in getting paid. Federal guidelines is when states or cities get their share, but with certain conditions. For example, if Congress spends tons of money on highway construction and states or cities want money, they are required to adopt and carry out limits on the drinking age. Shared administration is when state and local officials implement federal policies, but have a say in certain aspects. For example, the US Department of Labor may give states billions of dollars to retain for jobs but the states have considerable freedom in spending the money. 55. Explain the two types of categorical grants. A categorical grant is federal aid giving to state and local government to spend for specific purposes. There are 2 types of categorical grants. Project grants are grants given as a reward on the basis of the merits of application (can be thought of as scholarships) while Formula grants are grants given on the basis of a formula created by legislation or in other words, a noncompetitive grant. 56. Describe the difference between cross-over sanctions and cross-cutting requirements. ***answer not submitted*** 57. Compare and contrast categorical grants and block grants. Categorical grants have specific instructions to state and local officials on how money is spent, while block grants are used to replace or change the funding of categorical grants.
58. How did industrialization increase the role of the national government? Once industrialization began, the government started taking responsibility for different problems that arose. The government had to create a national bank system, subsidies for railroads and airlines, and became the scolding teacher who had to instill laws to prevent monopolies and promote open competition. Unions also relied on the national government to protect their rights to organize and bargain collectively. 59. List the advantages and disadvantages of federalism for democracy. Advantages: > protecting us from tyranny > dispersing power (checks and balances) > increasing citizen participation > increasing effectiveness > political stability > encourages pluralism > fosters state loyalties > practices pragmatism Disadvantages: > prevents the creation of national policy > lack of accountability (who is to blame when the national and state governments overlap boundaries.) > citizen ignorance (lack of knowledge) > increases inequality among states > protecting against slavery and segregation. Define and explain the significance of the terms assigned to you in your own words. 60. Federalism A way of organizing a nation so that two or more levels of government have formal authority over the same area and people. It is a system of shared powerbetween units of government. 61. intergovernmental relations The workings of the federal system- the entire set of interactions among national, state, and local governments. The relations between the various levels and layers of government are extremely important in a devolved government system. There is always a possibility of conflict between the national, state, or local governments. With intergovernmental relations, these conflicts are resolved easier. 62. supremacy clause The supremacy clause refers to Article VI of the Constitution, which states that the Constitution, the laws of the national government, and treaties were considered the supreme law of the land, clarifying that national law prevails over state law.
63. McCulloch v. Maryland This case addressed state versus national power. Maryland wanted to tax the national bank, but the bank refused to pay. Those who opposed the national banks argued that the Constitution didn't explicitly give the government the power to create a national bank. This case established the concept that the national government has certain implied powers not directly stated. The elastic clause states that the government can make laws "necessary and proper" for carrying out enumerated powers, and the bank was necessary for the nation's economy. 64. elastic clause The Elastic Clause, also known as the Necessary and Proper Clause, is the clause that allows Congress to pass any laws that it needs to to carry out its enumerated powers. It's called the Elastic Clause because its flexibility is what helps congress evolve while society changes and grows. This clause was best developed through the McCulloch vs. Maryland trial, where it was ruled that Congress had the implied powers to create a national bank, thanks to the Elastic Clause. 65. Gibbons v. Ogden A landmark Supreme Court Case in which the Court invalidated a New York State law that sought to regulate interstate commerce of a ferry line between New York and New Jersey, establishing that only congress and to a larger extent, the federal government, exclusively yielded the power to regulate interstate trade. This was significant because it effectively strengthened the power of the federal government as well as it held up the supremacy clause in the nature of its decision versus the decisions of the courts and dictation of law within New York. 66. fiscal federalism Fiscal federalism is the pattern of spending, taxing, and providing grants in the federal system; it is the cornerstone of the national government's relations with state and local governments. Essentially, when the national government wants to do something not within its sphere of power it uses grants to blackmail the states into adopting the policies. An example of this is when the national government wanted to raise the drinking age but this was the state's decision to make. The national government adopted the policy that it would withhold 10% of highway funding to states that did not adopt 21 as the drinking age. All states did so. Grants full under categorical grants which are further subdivided into projects grants (given for specific projects on an application basis) and formula grants (distributed based on mathematical formulas) and blokc grants, which are given to states to support broad programs at the state's discretion. 67. mandates (in relation to fiscal federalism)
Mandates are requirements that direct states or local governments to comply with federal rules under threat of penalties or as a condition of receipt of federal aid. Essentially caveats for the receipt of federal grants. The federal government's main method of controlling state and local policy.