Gov 310 L weeks 1-2
Gov 310 L weeks 1-2 GOV 310L
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Popular in Government
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This 6 page Class Notes was uploaded by Rachel Kennedy on Sunday August 28, 2016. The Class Notes belongs to GOV 310L at University of Texas at Austin taught by Prof. Shaw and Prof. McDaniels in Fall 2016. Since its upload, it has received 50 views. For similar materials see American Government in Government at University of Texas at Austin.
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Date Created: 08/28/16
th st Government Notes Aug 25 - Sept 1 Political science study of government Why? o Process affect us directly and indirectly o Gov is always trying to adjust Change is slow, continuous, and Government is an institute in society that has a monopoly use of physical force (Weber) Government is not reason it is not eloquence (Washington) Some people think there is no need for Gov (2 arguments) o Selfinterest argument people will work together bc of self interest Farmer’ dilemma If they work together it will be equal It's a balance between time and reward Referred to as the paradox of cooperation o Values if people share values they will work together Limited to the the ingroup James Madison is everyone were angels→ no need for angel They argue that the purpose of gov is to enforce Isis set up government, and legal system Government (almond, powell, dalton and strong) organizations of individuals who have the power to make binding decisions on behalf of a particular community o Two philosophical approaches to government John Adams there is danger in government o Gov is good, but don’t trust it blindly o You also can’t have complete distrust Example: vaccines Causes of decreasing trust o Economy bad economy o Sociocultural factorsfeuds between groups o Incumbents and institutionspolitical scandals Gov trust is essential for them to be effective Theories of democracy o Robert Dahl There are multiple theories o EE shasteiner Realist definition of democracy (single theory) Gov structure setup to control scope of conflict Scope of conflict if individuals get into a conflict, other are watching and they have the choice to get involved There is a large chance that the original contestants will lose control over the matter The host of new consideration and complications will be introduced Outcome changed traditional definition of democracy a gov of the people (works for small groups) The essence of democratic realistically is that the public should not be involved in every little decisions o Don’t waste the public’s time/power on trivial decisions Should do… o Democracy is a competitive political system in which competing leaders and orgs define the alternative of public policy in a way that the public can participate Technically we are a republic Early stages of early government o Gov and politics prior to the constitution Demography: the country 2.75 million people (much smaller) 20% are black as opposed to 1415% now Most selfemployed Communications very poor o Americans thought they were being denied the rights they had as British citizens Man has certain unalienable rights, though they had a king These are the life, liberty and property o 1750’s British help secure American colonies by fighting the French and Indian War o 1760’s British seek to make colonists “pay their fair share” 1765 stamp act (repealed after black market activity increased) Animosity increases To enforce laws, the British set up their military presence o 1770’s British continue to assert dominance; colonists debate what to do Continental congress (17741781) First national legislature (56 delegates chosen by either state leg or state conventions) Big names Initial acts were to pass resolutions for a boycott and raise a militia to defend their interest Declaration of Independence Designed to help the war effort To attract the support of foreign powers To justify subsequent actions to the American people Body is a series of gripes want to attract foreign power and to gain support Lecture 2 (8/30) Web text reading and questions due on Sept 1st THIS WEEK: the constitution Clip: 2016 presidential race David Plouffe thought that Hillary Clinton wouldn’t do well in some places like West Virginia and o Thinks that Hillary is guaranteed those states o Thinks that Trump is a psychopath 2 Christie o Believes that Hillary started the namecalling o “Handmaidens the media” o Hillary said Trump is a racist o Trump responded that she is a bigot Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan were viewed as “underwater” o Their unfavorable ratings are higher than favorable ratings o Issue is when people thinks they are bad, it is hard to change the public’s view Trump has trouble with issue focus, ends up being about his personality 270 electoral votes win the election Media bias o Personality is easier to talk about than policy o Trump has gotten media attention that has helped his popularity o The media focuses on the personality (ratings) o Substance of lecture Pre constitutional government o Articles of confederation o First written constitution of the US o Drafted 1777, ratified by all states in 1781 o The original fivepage doc contained preamble (statement of principles), 13 articles (, a conclusion and a signatory section o Britain did not really have a document governing the country House of Commons o Not particularly long o Myth: they didn’t have any executive power o They did have… Asserted sovereignty of states (states had right of first refusal) Unicameral legislature, one chamber (one vote per state) Central government has power to declare war, conduct foreign or commercial relations with other countries Funded by payments of state legislature Undermined the federal government Suggested a federal court system Nothing explicit actually in place Executive functions carried out by legislative committees There were executive orders, and the legislative committees directed them o Weaknesses No provisions for enforcing decisions of Congress No Executive branch No real court system Congressional authority over commerce and war required consent of 9 states Amendments required unanimity No executive power 3 Little implied powers They did not just amend the articles of the confederation, the amendment process was a mess Led to the constitution Movement to reform o commercial/economic Debt of the states from the war led to recession Lack of economic growth Needed fed to deal with it o Fear of predatory power Spanish British Territory integrity o Public debt Enormous debt (New England) Needed concerted effort Fed needed to consolidate and take care of individual state’s debt o Growing radicalism Taxation was protested by the veteran of the revolutionary war Why do we have constitutions? Defining constitutions o Almond a constitution is defined as… o How are we going to make decisions, and what they can and cannot do? o Finer more about rules, less about decision making, relations with the public Making constitutions o Elkins we assume the elite made them to last o constitutions are selfreinforcing Will be maintained if it makes sense to the people that it dictates Endurance is based on its ability to get people to bargain into it If it is good considering the amount of energy, it would take to change Endurance of constitutions Constitution as Functions o Limit behavior of government (constitutionalism) What they can and cannot do o Defining nation and goals What is valued most is in constitution o Define pattern of authority Establishes fed, states Sets up procedure to carry out their jobs Should the constitution endure o Should they be generational agreements that are heavily revised or should they be long lasting contracts that allow for minor revisions from time to time Jefferson argued that the dead should not govern the living Every 19 years (calculation) o US constitution is the oldest o They usually last about 20 years o Elkins examined all the constitutions of the world Great Britain doesn’t even have a constitution 4 o Negotiated documents The US has been able to maintain theirs Things came to a head o Shays rebellion the farmers that didn’t want to pay their tax o Government was not able to control the people o Added Bill of rights to protect the rights of people from the power of government Constitutional convention o Philadelphia o 1787 in summer o Notes of James Madison on the debates, weather etc. o Elected George Washington to overrule proceedings Made it a closed conversation o Jefferson was not present o Female opinion was influential Abigail Adams (opposed) Corresponded with John Adams, George Washington and Jefferson “If particular care is not given to the ladies, we are prepared to undertake rebellion” Mercy Odis Warren Antifederalist papers Opposing constitution Too far against state’s right o Uncomfortable and long debates Principles uniting the constitutional convention o Equality generalized principle Citizenship (white propertyowning males) Citizens have equal rights under law Rule of law Rights for all citizen President has no more or less rights than everyone else What differs is the scope of citizens o Liberty Government cannot abrogate these liberties Bill of rights (first 10 amendments to the constitutions) First 8 are individual rights 9th is if we forgot about it, doesn’t mean it does exist 10th says anything not explicitly stated goes to the states Protection of habeus corpus Government must actually bring a person to court and tell them what they are being arrested for Cannot hold indefinitely without charging them Lincoln suspended it during the Civil war But it is allowed during times of war and times of insurrection Bill of attainder Congress shall pass no law saying someone is guilty The must commits the crime after the bill is made 5 Came up during the impeachment of Clinton Prohibits any kind of religious test to hold office o Large conflict between Congregationalist and Baptist o Majority rule/ protect minority rights Congressional representation Based on population No direct election of senators Solution: supreme court that protects Separation of powers Checks and balances Executive authority . 6
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