US Gov Cram Sheet

 US GOV + POLITICS CRAM CHART    Foundations of American Democracy Unit 1 ↓  Enlightenment: challenged  traditional politics, justified  opposition to British Declaration of Independence US Constitution Principles: natural rights, popular  sovereignty, republicanism, separation of powers, social  contract (Locke/Rousseau) Types of Democracy: participatory (ex: referendums), pluralist (groups influence policy), elite (single group) Federalists vs. Anti Federalists: strong (fed) vs. weak (anti) federal gov’t; anti-feds wanted Bill of Rights Gov’t power vs. Individual liberty Federalist 10 Articles of Confederation: an awful first Constitution (Shay’s Rebellion proved it) overpowered states, federal gov’t weak, bad at taxes, Single-branch (legislative) gov’t Ratification and Compromises - Great Compromise (bicameral Congress: Senate + House): combo of VA (large states) and NJ (small states) compromises - Others: Electoral College, ⅗ Compromise, amendment process Separation of Powers / Other Parts  of Constitution Legislative, Article I; Executive, Article II; Judicial, Article III Checks and balances | Federalist 51 Expressed powers are written, implied powers are indicated by the expressed Federalism: relationship between state and federal gov’t Dual/Layer Cake: act in OWN  SPHERES; SEPARATE of one another Cooperative/Marble Cake: work TOGETHER to do stu, blurred line Fiscal: spending, taxing, providing  grants (categorical: fed → state for specific purpose, block: general, mandates (state MUST follow it) Supremacy Clause: federal > state McCulloch v. Maryland Commerce Clause: def. of “interstate commerce” widened;  expands fed. power BUT has been restricted in some cases US v. Lopez Devolution: more power to the states  Branches of Government Unit 2 ↓  LEGISLATIVE BRANCH: MAKES LAWS, ARTICLE I Congress: Senate & House House: 435 members, apportioned by population - 1 per district | 2-year terms, CLOSER to people + more members = more FORMAL debate Senate: 6-year terms, 2 per state = 100 total Structures, Powers, Functions HOUSE: led by Speaker + Other members: Maj Ldr, Min Ldr, Whips (round up votes) SENATE: VP = Senate President by default; ceremonial role: only breaks ties, Maj Ldr “actually” leads, Min. Ldr, Whips (collect votes) Committee Types: Standing, select, conference House Rules: all bills in House must pass for debate rules to be considered, closed rule: more strict, open: less strict Bill → Law: any legislator introduces → sent to committee &  subcommittee (may be pigeonholed AKA die in committee)) →  full chamber vote → send to other house, if dierent bill  versions passed → conference committee 10 days for President to sign/veto until it becomes law (unless Congress leaves in 10 days → pocket veto) Federal Spending: discretionary (ex: defense), mandatory (REQ’D by law, ex: social security) Gerrymandering: state legislatures dividing districts to influence elections | Shaw v. Reno and Baker v. Carr Redlining: banks refuse to loan to certain residents Constituent Accountability: legislator is a delegate (what the  constituents want), a trustee (legislator’s judgment), or a politico (mix of both) EXECUTIVE BRANCH: ENFORCES LAWS, ARTICLE II Roles of the President and Checks on Presidency - Commander in Chief (BUT Congress declares war) War Powers Act: President must notify Congress within 48 hrs of deploying troops, can stay 60 days w/o declaration - Chief Diplomat (appoints ambassadors/negotiates treaties WITH Senate Confirmation) Executive agreement: informal non binding treaty - Appoints JUDGES (Senate must confirm; serve for life to avoid political pressure) & Cabinet Members who are more loyal to  departments - Expansion of Power | Federalist 70 - 22nd Amendment = only 2 terms! (not 4, like FDR!) JUDICIAL BRANCH: INTERPRETS LAWS, ARTICLE III Structure of Federal Court System 91 District Courts, 13 Courts of Appeal, SUPREME COURT Judicial Review: SCOTUS power to declare actions by other  branches unconstitutional | Federalist 78 & Marbury v. Madison Precedent/Stare Decisis: SCOTUS generally bases decisions on previous rulings BUT can choose not to | Brown v. Board Judicial Restraint: follow Constitution/Framers’ intent verbatim Judicial activism: contemporary interpretation BUREAUCRACY: EXECUTIVE BRANCH, ENFORCES LAWS Examples: Cabinet, Independent Regulatory Agencies,  Independent Executive Agencies Discretionary Authority: bureaucrats enforce laws as they see  fit (Congressional oversight: can restrict funding) Civil Rights & Liberties Unit 3 ↓ Civil Liberties: constitutional  rights that protect individuals from gov’t | Bill of Rights Civil Rights: legislation/policy that protects people from discrimination First Amendment: RAPPS  (Religion, Assembly, Press, Petition, Speech) Religion: Establishment (separation of church and  state), Free Exercise (right to  believe what you want) Engel v. Vitale Wisconsin v. Yoder Speech: all free political (& symbolic) speech is protected Tinker v. Des Moines Schenck v. US Press: libel - WRITTEN  defamation, slander - SPOKEN defamation, prior restraint - PREVENTION of publication NY Times Co v. US Second Amendment: right to  bear arms (public safety - individual rights conflict) Decisions often rest upon  constitutional interp. of liberty Individual Freedom vs. Public Order: 8 th Amendment (cruel and unusual punishment), 2nd /4th Amendment (public safety and privacy → changed  after 9/11) Selective Incorporation: Bill of  Rights did NOT apply to states until selective incorporation brought them to states PIECE BY PIECE if fundamental McDonald v. Chicago Rights of the Accused: Exclusionary rule (4th) - can’t use illegal evidence), lawyer must be provided (6th), Miranda Rule (5th - exception for public safety), & free, quick  trial | Gideon v. Wainwright Right to Privacy: Due Process  implies it | Roe v. Wade Social Movements: Civil rights groups used legislation & court cases Letter from Birmingham Jail Brown v. Board of Education  American Political Ideologies and Beliefs Unit 4 ↓ IDEOLOGIES: Liberal: more gov’t economic regulation, personal privacy is very  important Conservative: less gov’t economic involvement, some gov’t Involvement in personal privacy (but not in religion/education),   Libertarian: bare minimum gov’t  involvement in economy (only property rights and voluntary trade, etc), personal privacy (only private property/individual liberty) FORMATION OF IDEOLOGIES Political socialization: process through which individual/group develops opinions/attitudes on society & politics Factors: environment, age cycle, family, school, peers, media, religion, civic organizations, globalization Political Events/Era: major political events can significantly change/ spread ideologies MANIFESTATION OF IDEOLOGIES: Linkage Institutions: allow communication of policy preferences (ex. interest groups, elections, parties) Political parties: DEM - left-leaning, generally more liberal, GOP -  right-leaning, generally more conservative | 1980 & 2012 Elections SCOTUS Cases: illustrate views of era and participating demographics Privacy Planned Parenthood v. Casey Civil rights | Obergefell v. Hodges Public Opinion: distribution of views of an issue/candidate/institution, can indicate political will MEASURING PUBLIC OPINION: Types of Scientific Polls: opinion  (small section), entrance/exit (election day), benchmark polls (for later comparison), tracking (change in 1 group), mass survey (large sample - interviews), focus group (small, in-depth discussion) Evaluating data: validity/veracity depends on method, questions, etc. Flaws: open-ended questions,  insucient sample size, high margin of error Political Participation Unit 5 ↓ VOTING Voting models: single-issue (ex. abortion/gun rights), rational choice (self-interest), retrospective (party’s recent past), prospective (party’s future performance), party-line Voter Turnout Factors: election  type (fed/state), voter registration laws, voting incentive, fees, midterm/pres. Amendments: 15 th (surage: African-American men), 17th (popular election of US  Senators), 19th (surage: women), 24th (voided fed. poll taxes), 26th (voting age 21 → 18) Motor Voter Act AKA Nat’l Voter Reg. Act of 1993 Voting Rights Act of 1965 ELECTION STRUCTURE Winner-take-all: limits  third-parties/independents Ranked choice: Maine and  Nebraska, more open to non-DEM/GOP POLICY OUTCOMES Bush administration tax cuts Lobbying: engaging in activities  to influence public ocials (ex. by fossil fuel  companies/pharma) Iron Triangles: congressional committee-bureaucracy- interest group relationship (issue network: iron triangle w/more groups) CAMPAIGN FINANCE BCRA/McCain-Feingold Act of 2002: Amended FEC Act of 1971 and limited soft money contributions and pre-primary campaign ads funded by corporations/unions Citizens United vs. FEC: Partially nullified the BCRA and qualified corporate political  donations as free  speech/expression under 1A MEDIA COVERAGE Social media: a modern campaign management need Major network news: profit/entertainment = primary  objective → info is not always relevant (ex. “Horse races”)