Poli 100H Exam 1

Front 1

liberty

Back 1

principle that individuals should be free to act and think as they choose, provided they do not infringe unreasonably on the freedom of others

Front 2

equality

Back 2

the notion that all individuals are equal in their moral worth, their treatment under law, and their political voice

Front 3

self-government

Back 3

idea that people are the ultimate source and proper beneficiary of governing authority and must have a voice in how they are governed

Front 4

politics

Back 4

the process through which society settles its conflicts and decides the policies by which it will be governed

Front 5

social contract

Back 5

(Thomas Hobbes) ordinary people surrender the freedom they would have in a state of nature in return for the protection that a sovereign ruler can provide

Front 6

democracy

Back 6

form of govt in which people govern, either directly or through elected representatives

Front 7

oligarchy

Back 7

control rests with a small group

Front 8

autocracy

Back 8

control rests with a single individual (king or dictator)

Front 9

constitutionalism

Back 9

holds that there are limits on the rightful power of govt over its citizens

Front 10

authoritarian governments

Back 10

repress their political opponents as a means of staying in power, although they do so to varying degrees

Front 11

totalitarian governments

Back 11

assert complete dominance over individuals and the institutions of society

Front 12

capitalism

Back 12

the govt should interfere with the economy as little as possible

Front 13

socialism

Back 13

assigns govt a large role in the ownership of the means of production, in economic decision making, and in providing for the economic security of the individual

Front 14

communism

Back 14

govt owns most or all major industries and also takes responsibility for overall management of the economy

Front 15

public policy

Back 15

decision by the govt to pursue a particular course of action

Front 16

power

Back 16

ability of persons, interests, or institutions to control public policy

Front 17

authority

Back 17

the right to make binding decisions

Front 18

majoritarianism

Back 18

the notion that the majority should prevail not only in the counting of votes but also in the determination of public policy

Front 19

pluralism

Back 19

focuses on group activity and holds that many policies are effectively decided through power wielded by diverse (plural) interests

Front 20

elitism

Back 20

power is held by a small number of well-positioned, highly influential individuals

Front 21

bureaucratic rule

Back 21

(Max Weber) power resides in the hands of career government bureaucrats

Front 22

political system

Back 22

various components that are separate, but connect with one another, affecting how each performs

Front 23

Thomas Hobbes

Back 23

In Leviathan he argued government rests on a social contract. People give up their freedom because life in its natural state is “nasty, brutish, and short”. For this reason, people seek protection even if some rulers are cruel because the alternative is far worse.

Front 24

John Locke

Back 24

argued against absolutism in Second Treatise on Civil Government. He claimed all individuals have certain natural rights, including life, liberty, and property. A social contract is based on the promise that government will protect their rights, and if they fail to do so, the people can overthrow it.

Front 25

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Back 25

extended the idea of social contract to include popular sovereignty. He despised absolute government. He claimed people in their natural state are innocent and happy. The only legitimate govt is one that promotes their interests and governs with their consent.

Front 26

Virginia plan

Back 26

called for two chamber Congress that would have supreme authority in all areas states were incompetent in (defense and interstate trade), representation based on size

Front 27

New Jersey plan

Back 27

stronger national government with power to tax & regulate commerce between stages, most of the Articles would stay in effect, Congress single chamber where all states have the same single vote

Front 28

grants of power

Back 28

method of limiting US govt by confining its scope of authority to those powers expressly granted in the Constitution

Front 29

denials of power

Back 29

constitutional means of limiting governmental action by listing those powers that govt is expressly prohibited from using

Front 30

federalism

Back 30

division of political authority between national govt and the states, enabling the people to appeal to one authority if their rights and interests are not respect by the other authority

Front 31

trustees

Back 31

elected representatives who obligation is to act in accordance with their own consciences as to what policies are in the best interests of the public

Front 32

delegates

Back 32

officeholders who are obligated to respond directly to the expressed opinions of the people they represent

Front 33

constitutional democracy

Back 33

type of govt in the USA today, It is democratic in its provisions for majority influence through elections and constitutional I its requirement that power gained through elections be exercised in accordance with law and with due respect for individual rights

Front 34

Articles of Confederation

Back 34

each state retained its “sovereignty, freedom and independence”
One legislature where every state got one vote and 9 states had to agree to pass legislation
any constitutional change had to be unanimous
denied congress power to tax

Front 35

Shay's Rebellion

Back 35

farmers surrounded courthouses to prevent foreclosures on their land (govt promised debt would be forgiven if fought in war, but congress ran out of money)
rebellion showed how weak the national govt was
people then decided to meet only for revising the articles of confederation but delegates at the constitutional convention ignored congress’s orders

Front 36

political culture

Back 36

politically relevant ideas and social practices characteristic of society: habits of action, symbols of good & evil, norms of conduct, religious practices, family & child practices

Front 37

political socialization

Back 37

training people in the ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving that are characteristic of a political culture

Front 38

utilitarian justice

Back 38

greatest good for the greatest number (but do we always know what they is)

Front 39

Schenk v. US (1919)

Back 39

protested the draft, “Clear & Present danger”, speech ok in peace time but can be illegal during war

Front 40

Gitlow v. NY (1925)

Back 40

gitlow was a socialist arrest for giving out pamphlets calling for socialism, he was charged with trying to overthrow the govt
• Is this a violation of the first amendment?
• Does the first amendment apply to the states?
• First amendment applies to both people & state

Front 41

Dennis v. US (1951)

Back 41

they were encouraging resistance

Front 42

Yeates v. US

Back 42

said it had to be very threatening before it was reasonable to convict people under first speech

Front 43

Near v. Minnesota

Back 43

you can get rid of newspapers if you accuse people of blatantly false things (you can sue once book is out, but you can’t stop him from publishing)

Front 44

NY v. Sullivan

Back 44

ad published that insulted Sullivan & wasn’t true, but on the other hand there was no reason to show it wouldn’t be true, so there was no “reckless disregard” for the truth

Front 45

Reno v. ACLU

Back 45

how much can you suppress what is published on internet? (Not much)

Front 46

prisoner's dilemma

Back 46

1. two players who are self-interested are driven solely to pareto non optimal
2. has to be pareto non optimal

Front 47

Miller v California

Back 47

• work must have clear intent to appeal to sexual interests
• work portrays sexual conduct in a patently offensive way
• work, taken as a whole, lacks serious political & artistic value

Front 48

Lemon v. Kurtzman

Back 48

• anything the state does must have a secular purpose
• primary effect neither enhances nor prohibits religion (neutral)
• does not foster excessive govt entanglement with religion

Front 49

Zelman v Simmon Harris

Back 49

• if it’s something that hurts religion, then it’s just as bad as something that helps religion
• defines 2nd & 3rd points of Lemon test more clearly
• gave vouchers for public school kids to go to religious private schools

Front 50

Democracy

Back 50

• A political system in which regular elections exist in which two or more competing groups or individuals contend for control of the government
o A reasonable percentage are eligible to vote in the election
o Competition is reasonably fair with competitors having relatively similar access to the media with free press & free speech

Front 51

public good

Back 51

goods that are collectively produced and [freely] available to anyone’s consumption (ex. National defense, public education)

Front 52

excludable public good

Back 52

• Excludable public good – toll roads, college education (not free but available)

Front 53

American values

Back 53

Liberty, self-government, justice, equality, diversity, unity

Front 54

supremacy clause

Back 54

Article VI grants national government supremacy to state

Front 55

McCulloch v Maryland

Back 55

can’t tax the national government

Front 56

John C Calhoun

Back 56

had “doctrine of nullification”

Front 57

dual federalism

Back 57

based on the idea that a precise separation (each can only do certain things) of national and state authority was both possible and desirable

Front 58

cooperative federalism

Back 58

state, national, and local policymakers working together to solve problems

Front 59

fiscal federalism

Back 59

the expenditure of federal funds on programs run in part through state and local govts

Front 60

grants-in-aid

Back 60

cash payments to states/localities which then administer the federal programs

Front 61

categorical grants

Back 61

more restrictive type, can only be used for a designated activity

Front 62

block grants

Back 62

only has to stick to a general area

Front 63

devolution

Back 63

passing down of authority from the national government to the state and local levels
• Idea that federal authority has extended too far
• Roosevelt and Johnson have been strongest advocates of a large national govt while Nixon and Reagan the opposite

Front 64

prior restraint

Back 64

government prohibition of speech or publication before the fact (not allowed except rare instances)

Front 65

selective incorporation

Back 65

certain rights contained in the Bill of Rights become applicable through the 14th amendment to actions by the state govts

Front 66

imminent lawless action

Back 66

severely limits government’s power to restrict expression, legal test that says govt cannot lawfully suppress advocacy that promotes lawless action unless such advocacy is aimed at producing and is likely to produce imminent lawless action

Front 67

procedural due process

Back 67

procedures that authorities must follow before a person can legitimately be punished for an offense

Front 68

habeas corpus

Back 68

gives defendants access to federal courts in order to argue that their rights under that Constitution were violated when they were convicted in a state court

Front 69

exclusionary rule

Back 69

bars the use in trials of evidence obtained in violation of a person’s constitutional rights

Front 70

First women’s rights convention

Back 70

in America 1848 in Seneca Falls, NY after Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton had been barred from the main floor of an antislavery convention

Front 71

Equal Credit Act of 1974

Back 71

prohibits sex discrimination in the granting of financial credit

Front 72

Family & Medical Leave Act 1993

Back 72

up to 12 weeks unpaid leave for employees to care for a new baby or seriously ill family member

Front 73

1964 Civil Rights Act

Back 73

prohibits discrimination by sex, race, or national origin

Front 74

equal-protection clause

Back 74

in 14th amendment it says no state shall “deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws”

Front 75

reasonable basis test

Back 75

courts require govt only to show that a particular law is reasonable (allows inequalities that are reasonably related to a legitimate govt interest)

Front 76

strict-scrutiny test

Back 76

a law is presumed unconstitutional unless govt can provide overwhelming evidence of its necessity (deals with race & ethnicity)

Front 77

equality of result

Back 77

aim of policies intended to reduce de facto discriminatory effects

Front 78

affirmative action

Back 78

deliberate efforts to provide full & equal opportunities in employment, education, & other areas for members of traditionally disadvantaged groups

Front 79

Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg County Board of Education

Back 79

ruled the busing of children was an appropriate way to integrate schools that were segregated because past discrimination had contributed to the creation of racially separate neighborhoods