1. The General Nature of Democracya. Politics and Government

1. What is Politics?a. Who gets what, when, and how. – Lasswellb. Authoritative allocation of values. – Eastonc. Saying the same thing. Politics occur in the same ways. All

societies have to be able to resolve conflicts2. What is government?

a. Institution that has the authority to make binding decisions for the entire society.

b. Government is unique1. Why?2. Legitimate use of coercion to enforce its decisions3. Even extreme coercion, including imprisonment and death

c. Other institutions make decisions to resolve conflicts1. Churches for example talk about not having sex outside of

marriage or not drinking alcohol. The church members have to listen to those made decisions.

2. These Institutions cannot put you in jail or anything like that.

3. Several basic forms of governmenta. Sovereignty: The authority to wield coercive power to allocate

valuesb. Form of govt. determined by where sovereignty is placed

1. Autocracy: one person, absolute monarchs and dictators2. Oligarchy: small elite, based on wealth, status, family, or

military3. Democracy: all people have the opportunity to participate

in making binding decisions4. Politics in all forms, but the nature of politics is different

b. Process and Substance – Democracy involves both1. Democracy as process

a. Joseph Schumpter: Democracy is mostly about means, not about ends

b. Wide Dispersion of poweri. Amplifies disagreementsii. Requires negotiation and compromise

iii. Neither fast nor efficient c. Result

i. Gridlock and inefficiencyii. What many Americans find objectionable about

govt.d. So why put up with it?

i. Churchill: Democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried.

2. Democratic Substance1. Democratic procedures are not enough

i. What if democratic procedures are used to destroy democracy?

ii. Example: Hitler rose to power because the German economy was in shambles. He told the Germans that he would fix Germany and through democratic procedures he was brought to power. Then Hitler destroyed Germany’s democratic procedures.

iii. Example: Americans didn’t want to join WWII but then Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. Congress passed measures to move anyone of Japanese descent into controlled environments. This is an example of the people being deprived of liberty and property.

2. Outcomes of the process also must be democratic and reflect core democratic principles

3. Core Democratic Principles1. Popular Sovereignty

i. Overarching democratic concept.ii. Ultimate political authority in the hands of the

people.iii. Dem. Govt. must be responsive and accountable to

the people.2. Democratic Principles Required to Achieve Popular

Sovereigntyi. Political Freedom

1. Anyone can speak what is on their mind.2. Can speak opinion about the govt.

ii. Political Equality1. No one has preference over another in who

gets what, when, or how.2. Equality of opportunity. Everyone has the

same opportunity and is held to the same laws.

iii. Majority Rule1. After having everyone’s preferences, the

choices that the government makes needs to be the one that is preferred by the most people.

3. Conflicting Valuesi. All three are necessary.

ii. No single principle is sufficient – democracy threatened if any one is missing.

iii. Inherent conflicts – requires a delicate balance.iv. Example: One kid is a bully and one kid is a nerd.

One day the nerd accidentally makes the bully drop his books. They start to fight but then they decide to fight somewhere away from school. The bully tells everyone else to stay out because he has it handled but the nerd would rather people come in to help him. In America the stronger side is saying for govt. to stay the same and the weaker is saying change it.

4. Hard – conflict over who participates as well as who winsb. Two Basic Forms of Democracy

1. Direct Democracy1. All citizens participate and make decisions directly2. Sometimes called “pure democracy’3. Not practical in a large society even with the internet

2. Representative Democracy1. Ordinary Citizens choose representatives to make policy2. Sometimes called a “republican government” or “republic”3. A type of democracy if democratic principles followed in

i. Choosing representatives4. Decisions of representatives are consistent with core

democratic principles.c. Three Models of American Democracy

a. Populism1. Emphasis on participation and majority rule

1. Gives ordinary people direct control over policy2. Emphasize participation3. Direct democracy4. Sometimes called a “participatory democracy”5. Populist reforms in representative democracy

i. Expansion of who gets the right to voteii. Direct election of Senators

iii. Initiative, referendum and recall (states only)2. Criticisms

1. Assumes all citizens have information and participate2. Ignores intensity

i. Some people are strong in their opinion and some don’t care. In the democratic system, this matter is not taken into account

3. Potential for majority tyrannyb. Pluralism

1. Recognize conflict between core democratic principles1. Majority Rule vs political freedom (minority rights)2. How to protect minority rights from majority tyranny?

2. Pluralist answer:1. Fragmentation of power2. Slow deliberation, debate, and compromise3. Sometimes called “deliberative democracy”4. Majority is a coalition of minorities

3. Criticisms1. Over-emphasis on restraining the majority2. Does not protect the rights of all minorities3. Inherently conservative

i. “Conservative” – in traditional plain English senseii. Slow and unresponsive to change

iii. Maintain the status quoc. Elitism

1. Believe that there are two kinds of people in every society1. Those with power = the power elite2. Those without power = the masses3. Real power is inevitable exercised by a small, monolithic,

self-perpetuating power elite4. Power flows from the top down. Power elite responsive to

no one except their own values2. Criticisms

1. Unrealistic view of “power”i. No way to define and measure political powerii. Like a light on a dimmer switch, some people have

a lot and some people have a little2. Non-falsifiable theory

i. Empirical vs. Normative1. Empirical evidence could be a survey. No

one has to tell the truth on these surveys though, which is why empirical evidence can be falsified.

ii. Normative theory cannot be falsifiediii. Scientific theory – empiricaliv. Elitism and pluralism claim to be empirical, but no

way to falsify elite theory1. Don’t have a way to define and measure

political power on a quantitative scale2. Even though we can’t measure this, we can

have an idea of the type of person this would be. It wouldn’t be too poor or too rich. The poor doesn’t have enough money

to rule and the people who are way too rich are only worried about making more money

3. One example of such a group of people is the Rockefeller “Dynasty”. Rockefeller lived in New York and was a billionaire. A member of his family was the governor of New York

v. Elitism and Pluralism cannot both be correct at the same time. They are contradicting. The test will not ask which one is correct, it is asking to describe the two types and their components

2. The Constitutiona. Definition of Constitutions in General

a. What is a Constitution?1. Basic rules and guidelines for exercising political authority2. There are three fundamental components of constitutions

1. Functions of governmenti. Powers and responsibilities in the public rather

than the private sphere2. Structure

i. Institutions that constitute the framework of government

3. Proceduresi. Manner in which government carries out its

powers and responsibilities3. Limits on governmental powers

1. The constitution puts boundaries on what powers belong to which levels of government and what the government isn’t allowed to do. In the process of establishing power, limits are placed

b. Aristotle’s Classification of Constitutions1. Based on how many exercise power

1. Empirical (early political scientist)2. One, Few, or Many

i. For the book, “The Politics”, Aristotle had his assistants go out and gather many constitutions and wrote about the differences. He argued that there are essentially three versions of a constitution and that classification is based upon how many people are in power

2. Good and bad forms of government1. This is a normative question2. A good government is determined

i. Not by how many people rule

ii. But by how rulers exercise power3. He defined a good government as one where rulers

exercise power in the interest of the governed.4. A bad government is one where the rulers exercise power

in their own self interest3. Type One

1. Monarchy is good2. Tyranny is bad

4. Type Few1. Aristocracy is good2. Oligarchy is bad

5. Type Many1. Constitutional Government is good2. Democracy is bad

i. Called it mob rule6. Constitutional Government (constitutionalism)

1. Limited government2. Effective restraints on government that prevent abuse of

powerb. U.S. Constitution

a. The “Madisonian Dilemma”1. Need for a stronger central government

1. The Articles of Confederation were too weak and the federal government couldn’t do anything that they needed to do.

2. Government couldn’t raise taxes to pay for anything3. Congress was originally called to make amendments to the

Articles of Confederation4. Rhode Island was the only state that didn’t send delegates5. By the time that all of the delegates were at the

convention, pretty much everyone agreed that amendments wouldn’t work and that a new constitution needed to be made

6. The Virginia and the New Jersey plan are two plans that were brought to the convention and the two were combined to make the Constitution. The delegates that wanted a whole new constitution were called the Federalists.

2. There was a want for a “good” government1. The delegates knew that they didn’t want a monarchy due

to their bad experience with the King of Britain2. The government needed to protect natural rights3. People should have the liberty to pursue natural rights

3. What is the basic nature of man?

1. Is man inherently good or evil?i. Age-old normative debateii. Answer has implications for type of government

you chooseiii. In the state of nature, which is a hypothetical

situation, humans are normally nice to each other2. Finessed the debate: Assumed people were selfish by

naturei. Naturally pursue life, liberty, and happinessii. Not good or bad, but the way human nature is

3. Goal = design government that will work well w/ human nature as it is

4. The dilemma: How can self-interested individuals administering stronger governmental powers be prevented from abusing those powers to destroy freedoms that government is supposed to protect

5. James Madison in Federalist #511. “Ambition must be made to counteract ambition . . . It

may be a reflection on human nature, that such devices should be necessary to control the abuses of government. But what is government itself, but the greatest of all reflections on human nature? If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external not internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself.”

b. Solutions to the “Madisonian Dilemma”1. Written document2. republican (representative) government3. Mixed government

1. Represent both property and the number of people2. Mix of monarchy, aristocracy, and democracy

4. Fragmentation of power1. Separation of powers w/ checks and balances2. Some powers, such as impeachment lie in the hands of the

peoplec. Five Ways the Constitution Has Changed

1. Formal Amendments – 2 Step Process1. Propose Amendments

i. 2/3 vote in both of the houses of Congress

ii. 2/3 of states petition Congress to call a convention to propose amendments

1. Not a vote, but the proportion of states2. How many states must ask for a national

convention?3. 34 states are required4. This method has never been used5. How do we know: if 34 states have asked

for a convention; what would it look like and how would it operate?

a. The petition does not have to be the exact same for each state or even at the same time but Congress decides if these separate documents passed by states counts towards the 34 states

b. We don’t know how many delegates would be sent to this convention or how they would be chosen

c. Because this has never happened, there is no way to tell for sure how all of this would work

6. In the end, Congress would decide how the convention would work

iii. Congress always involved in proposing amendments, but states can initiate a proposal

2. Ratify Amendmentsi. ¾ of state legislatures (most common method)ii. ¾ of state conventions

1. This is if the state called a convention where delegates decide what to do

2. Not a vote, only a proportion of states3. Only used once for the 21st amendment that

repealed prohibitioniii. States must approve all amendments. They have

the final say1. How many states must ratify an

amendment to add it to the Constitution?2. 38 states must vote for ratification

iv. Politics of ratification1. How long do states have to ratify proposed

amendments?

a. The Constitution is silent on this issue. Congress sometimes sets expiration dates

2. Can a state change its decision to ratify an amendment?

a. Until all of the states required for ratification have spoken up, any state may change their decision on ratification

3. There is only one Supreme Court case that deals with Constitutional amendments. This is because the Constitution is clear on the fact that amendments deal with proposals and ratification

a. Kansas originally said no on an amendment and then later changed their mind. The Supreme Court said this was okay but also said that if they already sent the official document off then they shouldn’t change it so this decision is still unclear

4. In the end, Congress decides5. After about two years of an amendment

being proposed, the odds of success are very low

a. The amendment that took the longest to ratify is the amendment dealing with Congressional salaries. It was proposed with the bill of rights and was ratified in 1992

2. Four Other Processes of Change1. Formal amendments are only one process of constitutional

change2. Custom and Usage

i. Practices and institutions evolve in response to political needs and alter the operation of government

ii. Examples:1. Political Parties

a. Developed very early on in the nation’s history. Historians believe that political parties are necessary to

make a democracy work. It allows for more organization

b. The majority party has the most high-level positions in the Senate

2. Operation of the Electoral Collegea. The electoral college was put into

play because the founding fathers didn’t think that the average voter would have the knowledge to make the correct vote.

b. The Constitution says that the state can choose the electors in any way they wanted. Once George Washington stopped running for president, different states started to choose electors different ways

c. By 1836, most states used a popular vote to decide who the electors were. After that time, people started to vote for a party and then that party chose the electors

d. There is only one part of the Constitution that deals with electors

3. Executive Interpretationi. Types of Powers in Constitution

1. Enumerated powers2. Implied powers3. Inherent or Prerogative powers

ii. Political powers of the presidency have expanded significantly through executive interpretation of inherent powers

iii. Examples1. Executive privilege2. Dismiss high-ranking members of the

executive branch4. Legislative Interpretation

i. When Congress enacts laws it must interpret the Constitution

1. Does the Constitution grant the power to legislate in this area?

2. Does the proposed law violate some negative restriction?

ii. Some laws go so far reaching that they alter the functions and responsibility of government

iii. Examples1. Social Security Act of 1935

a. Grants every working American fundamental retirement security

b. Huge change in how government functions

2. Employment Act of 1946a. Says it’s the job of the government

to pursue full employment3. Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

(Obamacare)?a. Universal health insuranceb. Basically republicans versus

democratsc. For a while the executive branch and

both branches of the senate were controlled by the democrats but now that has changed

d. Republicans in office are now thinking about keeping Obamacare instead of getting rid of it like was originally planned

5. Judicial Interpretationi. Judicial Reviewii. Different interpretation of same words at different

timesiii. Examples

1. Plessy versus Ferguson (1896)a. The separate but equal stuff was

viewed as constitutional2. Brown versus Board of Education (1954)

a. This time, the entire court voted and said that there is no way to be separate and equal

3. Federalisma. Different Ways to Divide Governmental Power

i. Confederation1. A voluntary association of sovereign member states

a. Sovereign states enter into a contract (constitution)b. Delegate certain powers to a central government to deal

with common problemsc. Central government subordinate to regional governments

i. Can exercise only powers delegated by unanimous consent of the regional governments

ii. No direct power over citizens in the regional governments

d. Right of regional governments to withdraw2. Examples:

a. Articles of Confederationb. Confederate States of Americac. European Union (established by treaty in 1993)

ii. Unitary Government1. Power concentrated in a single central government

a. Central government may delegate powers into subdivisions

b. Local governmentsi. Can be created, combined, or eliminatedii. Only have powers delegated by the central

governmentiii. Central government can take away any or all local

powersc. Most common form of government

2. Examplesa. Great Britainb. Relationship between U.S. states and cities/counties

iii. Federation1. Constitution divides power between central government and its

component parts (states, provinces)a. Each level has power independent of the otherb. Each level participates in amending the constitutionc. No right to withdraw

2. Examplesa. U.S., Canada, Mexicob. European Union? (quasi-federation)

i. Sort ofii. A little too strong to describe this union

c. Great Britain?i. Scotland used to want to leave but the union didn’t

want them to leave so they gave Scotland more autonomy. They are getting closer to federalism

iv. Differences Based on Legal Allocation of Power1. Division of power in all 32. Essential difference = how power is divided

b. Legal Division of Powers in American Federal Systemi. American Government Powers

1. Enumerated powers

a. Levy and collect taxesb. Borrow and coin moneyc. Regulate interstate commerced. National security

2. Implied powersa. “Necessary and Proper” clauseb. Tax and spend for “general welfare”

ii. Concurrent Powers1. Overlap in powers of national and state governments2. Both can tax and borrow money3. Tension between national and state governments

a. Limits on how far a state can go into debtb. National government has no such limits

iii. State Powers1. 10th Amendment: “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.”

2. “Police powers”: power of the states to pass laws for the health, safety, and morals of its citizens

iv. Admission of new states1. The typical procedure

a. Congress forms an incorporated territoryb. Residents petition Congress for admissionc. Enabling Act passed by Congress and signed by president

i. Authorizes territory to draft a state constitutionii. Must be approved by the residents in a

referendumiii. Becomes a state when state constitution is

approved by Congress and signed by the presidentd. Immediately on equal footing with other statese. Texas is a special case

i. Was not a territory before becoming part of the U.S.

ii. Was an independent nation before being a state2. Recent discussion

a. Puerto Ricoi. Have had three referendums for becoming a state

but none passedii. Puerto Rico has 6.5 million residents. If they were a

state, they would be about the size of Connecticut. The residents don’t have representation in Congress

iii. On the other hand, some people like the autonomy they have while still being U.S. citizens

iv. Because they belong to the U.S., if a hurricane destroyed Puerto Rico, they would have the federal government helping them. Even though they get these benefits, they don’t pay income tax

v. Opponents say that if Puerto Rico becomes a state, they wouldn’t be able to arrange 51 stars on the flag. Another stupid reason is that Puerto Ricans “don’t speak English”

vi. An actual reason that they probably wouldn’t be allowed currently is that if they were admitted as a state, multiple democrats would be added to the House and the Senate, which are both run by the Republican party currently

b. Washington, DCi. Washington, DC has three electoral votes for

president by amendmentii. They currently are U.S. citizens but don’t have full

representationiii. One suggested solution was to cede the

neighborhood land back to the countries they used to belong to

3. Political Conflictsa. Utah

i. Multiple attempts 1849-1896ii. They were denied because they had plural

marriage and the U.S. didn’t want thatiii. Party politics

b. AK and HIi. Civil rights issuesii. They were afraid that if Hawaii was to come into

the U.S., because they were mostly non-white, they’d push for more civil rights and the U.S. Congress members were racist

iii. Party politics1. They were both brought in at the same time

to keep the balance of democrats and republicans

v. States’ Rights1. Protection against invasion and insurrection2. republican form of government

a. Even though it is all republican, the government and allotted powers varies greatly from state to state

b. Sometimes judges in states are elected, and are sometimes appointed

3. Equal representation in the Senatea. No seniority: all states have the same degree of

sovereignty with the same rights and powersb. Boundaries cannot be changed without permission of:

i. State or states concernedii. Congress

c. States have control over their internal affairsi. Placement of state capitol (Coyle versus Smith,

1911)d. States must agree to Constitutional amendments

vi. Obligations of states1. Recognize supremacy of U.S. Constitution and laws

a. Article IV: “This Constitution, laws of the US made in pursuance thereof; and treaties shall be the supreme law of the land; and anything in the constitution or laws of any state to the contract notwithstanding.”

b. Creates hierarchy of lawi. U.S. Constitutionii. Federal laws and treaties

iii. State constitutionsiv. State laws

2. “Full faith and credit”a. Article IV: Each state must give “full faith and credit to the

public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state”

b. Not criminal lawsc. Civil judgements, birth certificated. Marriage?

3. Interstate rendition: extradition of criminalsa. States cannot enforce criminal laws of other statesb. Article IV: “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.”

c. Evolution of American Federalismi. Federalism in Theory: Dual Federalism

1. Clear line between national and state powers2. Federal and state governments are sovereign with separate and

distinct responsibilitiesii. Federalism in Practice: Cooperative Federalism

1. Line between national and state responsibilities is blurry2. Shared responsibility requires cooperation

3. Early cooperationa. Land grants

i. Federal government gave land to the states to give out to people so that they would settle it

b. Morrill Act of 1862i. This act gave land to Texas to create Texas A&M

4. Grants-in-aida. Categorical grants (for narrowly-defined purposes; Head

Start, highways)b. General Revenue Sharingc. Block Grants (for general governmental functions;

education, law enforcement)5. Problems with Cooperative Federalism

a. Coordination and communicationb. Expensivec. Threats to state authority

i. Matching funds, strings attached, cross-over sanctions

1. Strings attached meant that the states had to hire people due to merit and other things that the federal government requirement them to do

2. Cross-over sanction is something that requires the state to do something that has nothing to do with what the grant is for

ii. Stealing states’ rights?iii. Changing priorities of Grants in Aid

iii. New Federalism1. Attempt to return power and responsibility to states

a. Sweeping welfare reform 1996i. Passed by Republican Congress and signed by Bill

Clintonb. Supreme Court Rulings supporting states’ rights

i. Federal government could not force local law enforcement agencies to perform criminal background checks (Printz v. U.S. 1997)

ii. Citizens could not use a federal law to sue in state court (Alden v. Maine 1999)

c. Problems and Controversiesi. Returning power to the states, also returned

responsibility and the financial burdenii. Advantage of federal regulation: one set of

standards vs. 50 separate state standardsiii. Unfunded Mandates

1. Federal statutes requiring states to take on certain responsibilities without covering any of the costs

2. Examples:a. Handicapped access to public

buildingsb. No child left behind

d. Civil Liberties and Civil Rightsi. Characteristics

1. Equalitya. All people enjoy rights and liberties

i. Why? Because all people are inherently equal (Do you believe this?)

b. Human Dignityc. Freedom

2. Distinction between Civil Liberties and Civil Rightsa. Shield and Swordb. Civil Liberties = Shield

i. Negative safeguard against government actionii. When government is prevented from taking some

action in order to protect or not unreasonably limit freedom

iii. Ensure individuals are free to make choicesc. Civil Rights = Sword

i. Positive weapon wielded by governmentii. Government takes the initiative to protect helpless

iii. Ensure that freedom is not arbitrarily denied to certain individuals

3. Protection of Civil Rights and Libertiesa. Rights and Liberties are not Absolute

i. Limits on rights and liberties1. Conflict between liberty and social order2. Conflict between rights

ii. Requires a delicate balance4. Exercise of Civil Rights and Liberties

a. How to resolve conflicts between rights?i. “You can exercise your right only as long as it does

not interfere with someone else’s rights”1. This is wrong2. There is no right you can exercise that

won’t interfere with at least one other person’s rights

b. Exercise of civil rights is a political problemi. Whatever the majority will tolerate

ii. Not the same as “majority rule”1. If it was majority rule we would not have as

many rightse. Discussion of Specific Civil Rights and Liberties

i. Exclusionary Rule1. If the police violate the laws when gathering evidence, that

evidence cannot be used2. Where the Miranda Rights come from3. The most important reason for this is to protect everyone’s rights

and liberties, whether they are guilty or nota. Makes it more difficult for the government to punish

anyoneb. Individual can only be deprived of their rights after due

process of law and their guilt is proven beyond a reasonable doubt

ii. Selective Incorporation1. Bill of Rights originally applied only to the federal government

a. 5th amendment: “No person shall be . . . deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.”

b. Baron v. Baltimore (1833): Freedoms guaranteed by the Bill of Rights did not restrict the state governments

2. 14th Amendmenta. Specifically applies to states: “No state shall . . . deprive

any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law”

b. What’s included in the meaning of the 14th amendment “due process” clause?

i. Justice Hugo Black: Total incorporation of amendments 1-8?

ii. Justice Felix Frankfurter: Selective incorporation on case-by-case basis?

iii. Supreme Court adopted the selective, case-by-case approach

iii. Other1. Read Chapters 4 and 5 carefully2. Are the questions on the test like those on the “quiz”?

a. No3. Do I have to know the cases?

a. If it was discussed in the list of “Key Terms and Casesb. If it was discussed by name in class

Definitions –

Majority: 50% plus one. More than half.Absolute/Constitutional Majority: 50% of all of the things that are eligible to be counted. Non-participation counts the same as no.Simple Majority: 50% plus one of the people who voted.Plurality: The candidate who has the most votes. Used in elections that have more than two candidates.