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118 Cards in this Set

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Prisoner’s dilemma
Occurs when one party engages in behavior that is detrimental to their own interests because they do not trust another party to work with them to work out a solution that would benefit both of them. For example, fishermen living along the same river all know that if the river is fished incessantly by all of them, eventually there will be no more fish and they will all go hungry, yet, they all continue to over fish because they reason that the others will do the same so there is no point in conservation. Thus, everyone loses collectively even as they are trying to satisfy individual interests.
Coordination problem
A situation where the interests of agents collide or when multiple choices are available to individual, that, probabilistically, they would need an outside force to help solve. (coordination problems are a challenge to collective action). The framers faced a collective action problem in deciding what the structure of the new government would be –weighing out the interests of the Federalists and Anti federalists is another example, how the different houses (House of Reps vs. Senate) enact policy is a third. Eg. Farmers need to build a road but can’t agree on how or who should pay for it. THus, the outside government must step in and do it for them.. In the end it ends up being better for everyone, but the farmers couldn’t come up with it themselves. pg. 109
The more people are involved, the more possibility there is for coordination. eg. symphony needs a conductor.
Collective good (or public good)
Non-rival, non-excludable – a collective good is a public/social good that is delivered by the government for social policy, financial/tax reasons. Public goods are sub-optimally provided by the private market primarily because of their non-rival and nonexclusive nature, you cannot limit consumption to those who have paid for them.
Free rider problem (or collective action problem)
A problem that arises when individuals realize that their contribution to the overall collective effort is small and inconsequential and that if they defect from the agreement they will still be able to enjoy the benefits. For example, if one person out of the whole state doesn’t pay taxes that go towards building new freeways, the freeways will still get built and they will be able to use them. But if too many individuals realize this, no one will contribute to the effort and the whole thing will collapse.
Selective incentive
Private goods or benefits that induce rational actors to participate in a collective effort to provide a collective good. Large organizations circumvent collective action problems by offering selective incentives, because benefits can be denied to individuals who do not join and contribute. .l
Example: Attorneys become members of state bar associations in order to practice law.
conformity costs
when a person or group is forced to conform to laws or standards that they do not agree with and do not want to follow. This often occurs with the low transaction cost leadership systems like monarchies and dictatorships.
transaction costs
Every cost that goes into making a political decision, such as people, time money, and other resources. eg. calling a congressional session, court costs, costs of elections etc. Democracies have some of the highest transaction costs because so many people are involved in decision making and because the checks and balances system.
continental congress
The Continental Congress was a convention of delegates called together from the Thirteen Colonies that became the governing body of the United States during the American Revolution. Congress established the Continental Army and appointed George Washington as commander-in-chief in June of 1775. On July 4th 1776 Congress issued a Declaration of Independence, ending all American efforts at reconciliation. Congress designed a new government in the Articles of Confederation, which operated as the nation's constitution.[3]
Articles of confederation
The Articles of Confederation, formally the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, was the first constitution of the United States and specified how the Federal government was to operate, including adoption of an official name for the new nation, United States of America.
This first constitution allowed of great state autonomy and power; under it, the national government was very weak. States were sovereign unto themselves, and the articles were more of UN framework. Participation was voluntary, and legislation could be blocked by a single state veto.
Shay's Rebellion
In 1787, a group of about a thousand farmers who had lost land and assets in the depression that followed the revolutionary war marched on a government arsenal in Springfield Massachusetts to protest the way government was handling the depression its unforgiving nature of farmers debts. Led by William Shay, a bankrupt farmer, they were eventually dispersed by a state funded militia. This incident, showed just how weak national government was, because congress was unable to rally enough support from the states to provide Massachusetts with any funding or troops to put down a small rebellion of 1,000 men.
This event was not isolated; other small rebellions broke out across the country and caused a scare. This in part influenced the fledgling united states to adopt a new system with a more powerful central government.
Virginia Plan
A plan proposed in 1787 by James Madison as a possible framework for the fledgling united states. It was quite different from our current constitution. The key features are :

1. Two-chamber (or bicameral) legislature; representation in each chamber based on state population.
2. Lower chamber of legislature elected by citizens of each state; upper chamber, executive, and courts elected by the lower house off of a list generated by STATE legislatures.
3. Legislature can make any law regarding any national problem
4. Legislature can veto state legislation that it believes conflicts with national laws or with the Constitution.
5. Council of Revision (composed of executive and court) can veto legislation passed by national legislature, but legislature can override by majority vote.
James Madison
Madison emerged as the most articulate defender of the constitution and said it was necessary to meet the challenges of government. He proposed strengthening National government at the expense of states, and giving larger, more populous states a larger share of power under the articles. He wanted Federal government to be even huger than what we ended up with, and to insulate government from popular passions. To sum up, he wanted a very strong national government in which representation was based on sate population. Madison did not get his way on many counts, and much of the itellectual defense of the constrituon he makes is more pragmatic than philosophical. He was defending a constitiuon very different from what happened.
New Jersey Plan
Was a hastily drafted response to the Virginia plan, and was more conscious of states rights and was more popular with citizens of less populous states and states rights delegates. However, in it’s haste, it did not address the structure of the executive or the judiciary. Nationalists did not like it because it offered more representation to individual states and less to citizenry via equal representation. It offered the features of:
*A single house chamber in which each state had equal representation regardless of population.
* Legislature has the same power as under the articles of confederation, only with added authority to levy taxes and regulate commerce. Also, it can exercise authority over state legislation via a supremacy clause, which says congress to force states to comply with tax requisitions, thus breaking with the articles.
* A simple majority was sufficient to enact national policy, in contrast to the supermajority required by the articles.
* The plural executive can be removed from office by the legislature on petition by a majority of states.
* The courts are appointed by the executive.
* Supreme court hears appeals in a limited number of cases
Connecticut compromise
After both the Virginia plan and the new jersey plan were rejected, a compromise that split control of the legislature between the house and the senate emerged. The senate kept many of the features the congress had under the articles; each state sending two senators to serve six year terms, regardless of state population. The House was more in line with Madison’s idea of of population based legislation. The house alone was allowed to originate revenue legislation. Unanimous agreement of the states to pass legislation under the articles was replaced by a majority of each chamber being required to pass legislation, which completely ignored the states as autonomous voting entities.
Logroll
A legislative practice in which members of Congress offer reciprocal support to each other’s vote-gaining projects or tax breaks -- an attractive strategy. But this situation creates a classic prisoner’s dilemma. When everyone follows such an individually productive strategy, all may end up in worse shape politically when shackled with collective blame for overall consequences. (Jacobsen et al 263)
Supremacy clause
The clause establishes the U.S. Constitution, Federal Statutes, and U.S. treaties as "the supreme law of the land." The text decrees these to be the highest form of law in the U.S. legal system, mandating that all state judges must follow federal law in the face of conflicting state law or when a conflict arises between federal law and a state constitution
Enumerated powers
The enumerated powers are a list of powers found in Article one, section 8 of the constitution that left a lot room for extending the authority of congress.
They include:
The ability to declare war,
maintain an army and navy
borrow money
Necessary and proper clause
Interpretation of the Necessary and Proper Clause has been controversial, especially during the early years of the republic. Strict constructionists interpret the clause to mean that Congress may make a law only if the inability to do so would cripple its ability to apply one of its enumerated powers. Loose constructionists, on the other hand, interpret the Necessary and Proper Clause as expanding the authority of Congress to all areas tangentially-related to one of its enumerated powers. It is often known as the "elastic clause" because of the great amount of leeway in interpretation it allows; depending on the interpretation, it can be "stretched" to expand the powers of Congress, or allowed to "contract," limiting Congress. In practical usage, the clause has been paired with the Commerce Clause in particular to provide the constitutional basis for a wide variety of federal laws
Commerce clause
The clause in Article I, Section 8, of the constitution that gives Congress the Authority to regulate commerce with other nations and among the states.
“The authority to regulated commerce with foreign nations and among the states” is one of the enumerated powers that allowed for wide interpretation and greatly expanded the power of congress. This is because it could be argued that any aspect of state affects commerce in some way, and is thus subject to interference by congress.
3/5 compromise
was a compromise between Southern and Northern states reached during the Philadelphia Convention of 1787 in which three-fifths of the population of slaves would be counted for enumeration purposes regarding both the distribution of taxes and the apportionment of the members of the United States House of Representatives. It was proposed by delegates James Wilson and Roger Sherman.
Delegates opposed to slavery generally wished to count only the free inhabitants of each state. Delegates supportive of slavery, on the other hand, generally wanted to count slaves in their actual numbers, since it gave them the benefit of increased representation in the house and electoral college without having to worry about black people voting
Separation of powers
a system by which the legislative,executive, and judicial branches of the United States government are kept distinct in order to prevent abuse of power. This U.S. form of separation of powers is associated with a system of checks and balances.
Checks and Balances
The system of the united states that is meant to ensure that no branch of government can gain too much power over another. For example, congress can pass legislation without the president’s approval, but he can veto it, but then they can turn around and override it with a 2/3rd majority votes, but the supreme court has the final say etc etc. Very complex, but generally keeps ambition in check.
Separate institutions sharing power
Separate functions and powers are assigned to each of the three branches of the government so much as create "a government of separated institutions sharing power. The aim in creating a government like this was to ensure that each of the three powers did not have a chance to abuse the power they had because it was linked with another branch.
Electoral college
A body of electors in each state, chosen by voters, who formally elect the president and vice president of the United States. Each state’s number of electoral votes equals its representation in Congress; the District of Columbia has three votes. An absolute majority of the total electoral vote is required to elect a president and vice president.
"Take care" clause
The clause giving Presidents more authority implicit in the Constitution’s mandate that the president “take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed”. In lawsuits challenging presidents’ broad use of executive orders, federal courts have at times interpreted this authority as clearly justifying a president’s action; at other times they have rejected presidential claims. (Jacobson et al 332)
Antifederalist critiques of the constitution
They thought smaller govts. were better than bigger ones and that the US was too huge. and diverse to be ruled by a single set of laws.
This brought about the bill of rights as they argued that a strong national government must also be accompanied by explicit safeguards against tyranny.
Federalist 10
No. 10 addresses the question of how to guard against "factions," or groups of citizens, with interests contrary to the rights of others or the interests of the whole community. In today's discourse the term advocacy group or special interest group often carries the same denotation. Madison argued that a strong, large republic would be a better guard against those dangers than smaller republics—for instance, the individual states.
Federalist 51
The purpose of No. 51 is to "form a more correct judgment of the principles and structure of the government planned by the Constitutional Convention"[2]. In the paper, this is done by informing the reader of the safeguards created by the convention to maintain the separate branches of government, and to protect the rights of the people.
Ambition-to-counter-ambition
This is a quote from the Federalist Papers, #51 and was in regards to the separation of powers amongst the legislative, executive and judicial branches. While Madison was involved in "great compromises" in forging this government, it is unclear how creating a separation of powers is a compromise. The ambitions of Presidents must be checked by the ambitions of both the legislative branch and the judicial branch. The ambitions of legislators must be checked by the executive and judicial branches and the ambitions of judges must be checked by the ambitions of legislators and Presidents. How the idea that Adam Smith advocates compromise is unclear as well. Adam smith predicted that if people were left alone to act in their own best interest that a greater good is easier accomplished.
Mischief of faction
"The term “Faction" was used to describe a group of citizens, whether amounting to a majority or minority, who are united by some common impulse of passion or interest adverse to the rights of other citizens. " The "Mischief" involved was that interest groups would seek to further their own ends at the expense of the welfare of the nation. Government was supposed to benefit all of the people, not only the powerful and organized special interests. Men like Madison and Hamilton (Chiefly Madison) worried that powerful interests would use their connections to benefit themselves at the expense of the nation, and that was "Mischief" in his mind.
Bill of rights
All the provisions in the Constitution meant to solve collective action problems, describing what branch of government has which powers, which are protected, and which are reserved for the people and states. However, many are open to interpretation. It was led by anti federalists and a big push by states rights activists against an overly strong national government.
10th amendment
“The powers not delegated to the US but the constitution, nor prohibited by it it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.” This amendment offers the most explicit endorsement of federalism in the constitution, but still fails to fend off federal authority over the states because the supremacy clause and the elastic (or necessary and proper) clause are so widely interpreted.
Judicial review
The court’s authority to overturn federal laws and executive actions it deems unconstitutional. There has been controversy about allowing an unelected branch of government who has not much accountability (judges are appointed for life) the final say in contested legislation.
Federal vs unitary system
Federal ; Constitution divides power between central and lower level governments like states, provinces and cities. Meaningful power and automony exist for the lower and upper levels, unlike unitary.

Unitary : Power vested in central govt, lower level units like state, provincial or city governments are created as tools of central governments (like france and Britain)
Duel federalism or shared/cooperative federalism
Dual federalism, in theory looks like a layer cake, with clearly defined powers and responsibilities delegated to the states and central govt. respectively.
shared or cooperative federalism (not duel federalism)
looks more like a marble cake, with federal and state responsiblities and powers intermingled and shared. They work jointly to supply services to the citizenry
14th amendment
As one of the reconstruction amendments, the “citizenship clause” of the 14th amendment provides a broad definition of the word thus overruling the decision of Dred Scott v. Sanford that black people could not be citizens of the US. The “due process” clause states that fairness should be at the forefront of decisions made in relation the states decisions with its citizens life, property and liberty. The “equal protection clause” requires each state to provide equal protection to all people within its jurisdiction (brown vs. board of education 1954)
15th amendment
Prevents/prohibits the US govt. from denying a user suffrage based on the citizens race/color/servitude condition. The 15th amendment is one of the reconstruction amendments to the constitution.
Plessy v Ferguson
The case that declared the South’s Jim Crow system as constitutional. Plessy a shoemaker claimed to be 7/8th white but physically looked black was convicted for sitting in a whites only Louisiana railroad car. The supreme court used a very narrow understanding of the 14TH amendment (equal protection of the law = only POLITICAL equality, thus Af. Americans being socially inferior to whites, the laws could reflect this inferiority.
- This further was justified by the separate but equal doctrine, i.e facilities for both races were equal whites prohibited from the black section and vice versa. Though the discrimination very ostensibly was only one way.
Brown v board of education
The supreme court decision that precipitated the dismantling of racial segregation in the US (overturned Plessy v. Ferguson which allowed state sponsored segregation). Ruling that separate educational facilities were inherently unequal.
Voting rights act 1965
The voting rights act of 1965 outlawed discriminatory voting practices that had been responsible for the widespread disenfranchisement of African Americans in the US
Unilateral action
Decisions made by a single branch of government, mostly referring to the executive branch, that are insulated from the decisions made by the other two branches. Unilateral action by the executive branch includes executive orders, centralized administration and broad assertions of executive privilege.
Executive order
As executive order is issued by the head of the executive branch of the fed. govt. usually to the staff of the executive branch and not to citizens. Executive orders can also be issued at the state level by the states governor or at a local level by the state’s mayor
Fillibuster
Hold the floor making endless speeches so that no action can be taken on the bill or anything else - to try to kill bills that the majority would otherwise enact.
cloture rule
A senate rule requiring a three-fifths majority of the Senate membership (sixty votes) to invoke, which allows a maximum of thirty additional hours of debate on a bill before a vote must be taken.
spoils system
Proposed by President Andrew Jackson, this system was one in which positions in government leadership were awarded to those who had served the winning party most faithfully and ably during the campaign. The logic was that those who had helped the party get into office would be good at helping to lead it. However, officials were often chosen based on loyalty rather than experience or competence, so were not always great leaders.
Pendleton act 1883
The Pendleton Act(1883) reformed the federal Civil Service Act (1823) . The Pendleton Act provided that Federal Government jobs be awarded on the basis of merit and that Government employees be selected through competitive exams. The act also made it unlawful to fire or demote for political reasons employees who were covered by the law. The law further forbids requiring employees to give political service or contributions. The Civil Service Commission was established to enforce this act.
Police patrol vs fire alarms
With police patrols, congress would just monitor the crap out of their agencies to ensure that they serve government interests, always watch them and punish them if they step out of line. They also control the budgets for these agencies and this gives them power. The problem with this is, it takes A LOT of time that congressmen don’t necessarily have to hold hearings every week etc. Fire alarms are more common – instead of patrolling all the time, they set up a system of alarms that can be dealt with as they are pulled. Private groups that have an interest in the issues at hand pull the fire alarm, then congress deals with it. Eg. Environmental organizations will pull the fire alarm on the EPA if they slack off, they develop the experise and spend the time monitoring agencies, not congress.
cabinet
The formal group of presidental advisors who head the major departments and agencies of the federal government. Members are chosen by the president and approved by congress
coalition
An alliance of unlike-minded individuals or groups to achieve some common purpose such as lobbying or campaigning
plurality
plurality - a vote in which a candidate receives the majority votes but not necessarily the majority (with 3 or more candidates)
referendum
An approach to direct democracy in which a state legislature proposes a change to the state's laws or constitution which all the voters subsequently vote on
tragedy of the commons
A situation in which group members overexploit a common resource, causing its destruction
zero sum
issues for which mutual gains through cooperation are not possible
Anti-federalists
A loosely organized group (nevr a formal party) that opposed ratification of the constitution, which the group believed would jeopardize individual freedom and state's rights. After ratification, the efforts of the antifederalists led to the adoption of the bill of rights.
confederation
A system of government where the state's have ultimate power except for those powers delegated to a central government
great compromise of 1787
The agreement between large and small states that decided the selection and composition of congress. (creation of house and senate)
popular sovereignty
citizen's delegation of authority to their agents in government, with the ability to rescind that authority
cutthroat competition
competition among states the involves adopting policies that each state would prefer to avoid. Ex. Underbid eachother on tax breaks to attract businesses relocating
enumerated powers
The explicit powers given to Congress by the constitution. These include the powers of taxation, coinage of money, regulation of commerce, and provision for natural defense
preemption legislation
Laws passed by congress that override or preempt state or local policies. The power of preemption derives from the supremacy clause of the constitution.
conference committee
A temporary joint between the house and senate to reconcile differences between the two chambers on a piece of particular legislation
gerrymandering
drawing legislative districts in such a way as to give one party a disproportionately large share of seats for the share of votes its candidates won
joint committee
permanent congressional committees made up of members of both house and senate. They do not have any legislative authority but they monitor specific activities and compile reports
pork barrel legislation
Legislation that provides members of congress with federal projects and programs for their individual districts
quorum
The minimum number of congressional members who must be present for the transaction of business. (218 in house, 51 in senate)
split ticket
voting for opposing party members for office positions (republican pres and democrat for senator)
whip
A member of a legislative party who acts as the communicator between the party leadership and the rank and file. The whip polls members on their voting intentions, prepares bill summaries and assists the leadership in various other tasks.
central clearance
A presidential directive requiring that all executive agency proposals, reports, and recommendations to congress -- mostly in the form of annual reports and testimony at authorization and appointing hearings.
Executive agreement
An agreement between the president and another country(s). Similar to a treaty but does not require approval of the senate
Executive Office of the President
(EOP)
A collection of agencies that help the president oversee department and agency activities, formulate budgets, and monitor spending, craft legislation, and lobby congress.
executive order
A presidential directive to an executive agency establishing new policies or indicating how an existing policy is to be carried out
gridlock
A legislative traffic jam usually with divided government. Congress and president don't compromise.
war powers act
law that requires the president to inform congress within 48 hours of committing troops abroad in a military action
iron triangle
A stable, mutually beneficial political relationship among a congressional committee (or subcommittee), administrative agency, and organized interests concerned with a particular policy domain
legislation veto
A procedure that allows one or both houses of congress to reject an action taken by the president or an executive agency.
Political Institution
Political institutions are organizations which create, enforce, and apply laws; that mediate conflict; make (governmental) policy on the economy and social systems; and otherwise provide representation for the populous. Examples of such political institutions include political parties, trade unions, and the (legal) courts. The term 'Political Institutions' may also refer to the recognized structure of rules and principles within which the above organizations operate, including such concepts as the right to vote, responsible government, and accountability.
Strategic politicians
When politicians subordinate their sincere preferences over what is best for their constituents in order to achieve results that stand a better chance of success.; every time a politician compromises, defers to a colleague, or decides not to resist certain defeat on an issue.
stamp act 1765
a direct tax imposed by the British Parliament specifically on the colonies of British America. The act required that many printed materials in the colonies be produced on stamped paper produced in London, carrying an embossed revenue. The purpose of the tax was to help pay for troops stationed in North America after the British victory in the Seven Years' War. The British government felt that the colonies were the primary beneficiaries of this military presence, and should pay at least a portion of the expense.
The Act met great resistance in the colonies. The colonies sent no representatives to Parliament, and therefore had no influence over what taxes were raised, how they were levied, or how they would be spent. Many colonists considered it a violation of their rights as Englishmen to be taxed without their consent—consent that only the colonial legislatures could grant. Protests and demonstrations initiated by the Sons of Liberty often turned violent and destructive as the masses became involved. Very soon all tax distributors were intimidated into resigning their commissions, and the tax was never effectively collected.
home rule
the power of a constituent part (administrative decision) of a state to exercise such of the state's powers of governance within its own administrative area that have been devolved to it by the central government. (self-government by the states)
Boycott of British Goods
The most tangible colonial protest to the Townshend Act - especially luxury products. This Non-importation agreement slowly grew to include merchants in all of the colonies, with the exception of New Hampshire.
Police powers of the state
The capacity to regulate behavior and enforce order within their territory for the betterment of the general welfare, morals, health, and safety of their inhabitants. Under the 10th, the powers prohibited from or not delegated to the Federal Government are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people. This implies that the states do not possess all possible powers, since some of these are reserved to the people.
The exercise of police power can be in the form of making laws, compelling obedience to those laws through legal sanctions, physical means, or other forms of coercion and inducements. Controversies over the exercise of police power, particularly the use of physical means, arise when its exercise by the federal government conflicts with the rights of the states or when its exercise by federal or state authorities conflicts with individual rights and freedoms.
These also restricted by state constitutions; states have general police powers except where restricted by the federal Constitution.
Because the Congress has limited powers granted in the Constitution, the Federal government does not have a general police power, as the states do. The exceptions are laws regarding Federal property and the military; the Federal government was also granted broad police powers by the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887.
block grants
a large sum of money granted by the national government to a regional government with only general provisions as to the way it is to be spent. This can be contrasted with a categorical grant which has more strict and specific provisions on the way it is to be spent.
An advantage of block grants is that they allow regional governments to experiment with different ways of spending money with the same goal in mind.
categorical grants "grants-in-aid"
Grants that may be spent only for narrowly-defined purposes. Additionally, recipients of categorical grants are often required to match a portion of the federal funds. These grants are the main source of federal aid to state and local government, can only be used for specific purposes and for helping education, or categories of state and local spending.
ex: food stamps + medicade
unfunded mandates
regulations or conditions for receiving grants that impose costs on state or local governments or private entities for which they are not reimbursed by the federal government.
preemption laws
the displacing effect state laws might have on ordinances enacted by municipalities, especially in the context of alcoholic beverages, gun laws, and in the area of FDA approved pharmaceuticals.
McCulloch v. Maryland
The state of Maryland had attempted to impede operation of a branch of the Second Bank of the United States by imposing a tax on all notes of banks not chartered in Maryland. Though the law, by its language, was generally applicable to all banks not chartered in Maryland, the Second Bank of the United States was the only out-of-state bank then existing in Maryland, and the law was recognized in the court's opinion as having specifically targeted the U.S. Bank. The Court invoked the Necessary and Proper Clause of the Constitution, which allowed the Federal government to pass laws not expressly provided for in the Constitution's list of express powers, provided those laws are in useful furtherance of the express powers of Congress under the Constitution. This fundamental case established the following two principles:
1) The Constitution grants to Congress implied powers for implementing the Constitution's express powers, in order to create a functional national government.
2) State action may not impede valid constitutional exercises of power by the Federal government.
Gonzalez v. Raich
ruling that under the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution, the United States Congress may criminalize the production and use of home-grown cannabis even where states approve its use for medicinal purposes.
“Laboratories of democracy”
This concept explains how within the federal framework, there exists a system of filtration of governments. Within this filtration, state and local governments act as “laboratories,” where law is created and enacted from the lowest level of the democratic system, up to the top level.
The Tenth Amendment of the United States Constitution makes all “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.” This is a basis for the laboratories of democracy concept, because the Tenth Amendment hands a number of responsibilities down to the state and local governments. Policy is experimented on the state level first, before it is on the national level, and because these governments are only tied together by the federal level government, a diverse patchwork of lower government practices is created.
Framers’ attitude toward parties
They detested them, for the most part, and believed that they would be the nation's downfall. the framer believed that political parties were factions. a faction is usually a dissatisfied group formed within a larger group. the framers thought that factions might fight to promote the interest of their own members. they feared that the strongest faction would control the government. in such a case, government would not protect equal rights and interests of all the people. instead the government would promote the interests of the party in power.
Party-in-government
winning candidates who become the main spokesperson for the party that nominated them.
party as organiztion
the professionals and activists of a political party
Party-in-the-electorate
the members of a political party who usually vote for candidates from that party
Duverger’s Law
a principle which asserts that a plurality rule election system tends to favor a two-party system. It suggests a nexus or synthesis between a party system and an electoral system: a proportional representation (PR) system creates the electoral conditions necessary to foster party development while a plurality system marginalizes many smaller political parties, resulting in what is known as a two-party system.
Obstacles to third parties
Ballot access laws: While the Democratic and Republican parties usually easily obtain ballot access in all fifty states in every election, third parties often fail to meet criteria for ballot access, such as registration fees or, in many states, petition requirements in which a certain number of voters must sign a petition for a third party or independent candidate to gain ballot access.[

Debate Rules: Presidential debates between the nominees of the two major parties first occurred in 1960, then after three cycles without debates, took place again in 1976 and have happened in every election since. Third party or independent candidates have been included in these debates in only two cycles. Debates in other state and federal elections often exclude Independent and third party candidates, and the Supreme Court has upheld such tactics in several cases.

Major Party Marginalization: Sometimes, a third party candidate will strike a chord with a section of voters in a particular election. They can bring an issue to national prominence and amount a significant proportion of the popular vote. Major parties often respond to this by adopting this issue in a subsequent election
Primary elections
An election in which party members or voters select candidates for an election. They are one means by which a political party nominates candidates for the next general election. They are usually the responsibility of political party organizations themselves and not the government.
Candidate-centered elections
election campaigns and other political processes in which candidates, not political parties, have most of the initiative and influence.
- where the individual politician is in effect an entrepeneur, almost solely responsible for getting his/her name out there and raising his/her own funds, and, once in office, under no particular obligation to follow his/her party's policy line
Divided party control of government (divided government)
A situation in which one party controls the White House and another party controls one or both houses of the United States Congress. Divided government is suggested by some to be an undesirable product of the separation of powers in the United States' political system.
Some conservative and libertarian groups see divided government as beneficial, since it may encourage more policing of those in power by the opposition, as well as limiting spending and the expansion of undesirable laws. [Despite the perceived problems of divided government, the President and Congress are often able, out of necessity, to establish an effective working relationship.
Superdelegates
not selected based on the party primaries and caucuses in each U.S. state, in which voters choose among candidates for the party's presidentialnomination. Instead, most are seated automatically, based solely on their status as current (Republican and Democratic) or former (Democratic only) party leaders and elected officials ("PLEOs"). Others are chosen during the primary season. All the superdelegates are free to support any candidate for the nomination.
1968 Democratic convention
Democratic President Lyndon Johnson had announced he would not seek a second term, the purpose of the convention was to select a new nominee to run as the Democratic Party’s candidate for the office. The convention was held during a year of violence, political turbulence, and civil unrest, particularly riots in more than 100 cities following the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. The convention also followed the assassination of Democratic presidential hopeful Senator Robert F. Kennedy. Both Kennedy and Senator Eugene McCarthy had been running against the eventual Democratic presidential nominee Hubert Humphrey. Chicago's mayor, Richard J. Daley, intended to showcase his and the city's achievements to national Democrats and the news media. Instead, the proceedings became notorious for the large number of demonstrators and the use of force by the Chicago police during what was supposed to be, in the words of the Yippie activist organizers, “A Festival of Life.”
McGovern-Fraser Reforms
The convention approved the establishment of a party committee to examine current rules and make recommendations designed to broaden participation and enable better representation for minorities and others who were underrepresented. The McGovern-Fraser Commission established open procedures and affirmative action guidelines for selecting delegates. In addition the commission made it so that all delegate selection procedures were required to be open; party leaders could no longer handpick the convention delegates in secret. The commission recommended that delegates be represented by the proportion of their population in each state. An unforeseen result of these rules was that many states complied by holding primary elections to select convention delegates.
Invisible primary
the period between when a person announces their candidacy and when the actual primaries take place. During this period candidates raise money for their campaign. it is also called the money primary.
American exceptionalism
refers to the theory that the United States is qualitatively different from other countries. In this view, it stems from its emergence from a revolution, becoming "the first new nation," and developing a uniquely American ideology, based on liberty, egalitarianism, individualism, populism and laissez-faire.
Although the term does not necessarily imply superiority, many neoconservative and American conservative writers have promoted its use in that sense.
American Party / Know Nothings
a movement by the nativist American political faction of the 1850s, characterized by political xenophobia, anti-Catholic sentiment, and occasional bouts of violence against the groups the nativists targeted. It was empowered by popular fears that the country was being overwhelmed by German and Irish Catholic immigrants, who were often regarded as hostile to republican values and controlled by the Pope in Rome. It strove to curb immigration and naturalization, though its efforts met with little success.
In the early 1850s numerous anti-Catholic secret orders grew up, of which the "Order of United Americans"[2] and the Order of the Star Spangled Banner came to be the most important. They merged in New York in the early 1850s as a secret order that quickly spread across the North, reaching Protestants, especially those who were lower middle class or skilled workmen. Outsiders called them "Know-Nothings" and the name stuck. In 1855 the Know-Nothings first entered politics under the American Party label.
Civil liberties vs. civil rights
The legal area known as "civil rights" has traditionally revolved around the basic right to be free from unequal treatment based on certain protected characteristics (race, gender, disability, etc.) in settings such as employment and housing. "Civil liberties" concern basic rights and freedoms that are guaranteed -- either explicitly identified in the Bill of Rights and the Constitution, or interpreted through the years by courts and lawmakers.
Senate “balance” (free vs. slave state)
In Congress, the North and free states had a lock on the House of Representatives. This was due to their larger population.
In the Senate it was one state, two senators. As long as the South had the same number as the North, there would be a balance of power. Where the numbers to shift to the North, then (as example,)the South would have little chance of stopping a bill to outlaw slavery.
The various compromises and admission of states were all designed to maintain the balance in the Senate. A Free State was always admitted when a Slave State was. The Kansas-Nebraska Act upset this as did the Dred Scott Decision.
Missouri Compromise
an agreement passed in 1820 between the pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions in the United States Congress, involving primarily the regulation of slavery in the western territories. It prohibited slavery in the former Louisiana Territory north of the parallel 36°30′ north except within the boundaries of the proposed state of Missouri.
Wilmot proviso
one of the major events leading to the American Civil War, would have banned slavery in any territory to be acquired from Mexico in the Mexican War or in the future, including the area later known as the Mexican Cession, but which some proponents construed to also include the disputed lands in south Texas and New Mexico east of the Rio Grande. It passed the House but failed in the Senate, where the South had greater representation. It was reintroduced in February 1847 and again passed the House and failed in the Senate. In 1848, an attempt to make it part of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo also failed.
Compromise of 1850
• 1) Texas surrendered its claim to New Mexico
• 2) California's application for admission as a free state with its current boundaries was approved and a Southern proposal to split California at parallel 35° north to provide a Southern territory was not approved.
• 3) The South avoided adoption of the symbolically significant Wilmot Proviso
• 4) The most concrete Southern gains were a stronger Fugitive Slave Act, the enforcement of which outraged Northern public opinion, and preservation of slavery in the national capital, although the slave trade was banned there except in the portion of the District of Columbia that had rejoined Virginia.
• 5) Slave trade is banned in Washington D.C.
Free soil Party
It was a third party and a single-issue party that largely appealed to and drew its greatest strength from New York State. The party leadership consisted of former anti-slavery members of the Whig Party and the Democratic Party. Its main purpose was opposing the expansion of slavery into the western territories, arguing that free men on free soil comprised a morally and economically superior system to slavery. They opposed slavery in the new territories and sometimes worked to remove existing laws that discriminated against freed African Americans in states such as Ohio.
Abolitionism
ending slavery… emancipation proclamation (Lincoln)
Dred Scott case
was a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that people of African descent brought into the United States and held as slaves (or their descendants,[2] whether or not they were slaves) were not protected by the Constitution and could never be U.S. citizens. The decision went on to conclude that Congress had no authority to prohibit slavery in federal territories and that, because slaves were not citizens, they could not sue in court. Furthermore, the Court ruled that slaves, as chattels or private property, could not be taken away from their owners without due process.
The court’s decision was so contentious that some go as far as to suggest that the Dred Scott decision caused the Civil War.The decision is also acknowledged for the influential role it played in altering the national political landscape: the decision is credited with launching Abraham Lincoln’s national political career and ultimately allowing for his election.
Black codes
laws put in place in the United States after the Civil War with the effect of limiting the basic human rights and civil liberties of blacks
The legislation reaffirmed the inferior position that slaves and free blacks had held in antebellum Texas and was intended to regulate black labor. The codes reflected the unwillingness of white Texans to accept blacks as equals and also their fears that freedmen would not work unless coerced. Thus the codes continued legal discrimination between whites and blacks. The legislature, when it amended the 1856 penal code, emphasized the continuing line between whites and blacks by defining all individuals with one-eighth or more black ancestry as persons of color, subject to special provisions in the law.
Jim Crow system
state and local laws in the United States that mandated de jure racial segregation in all public facilities in Southern states of the former Confederacy, with a supposedly "separate but equal" status for black Americans. The separation led to treatment, financial support and accommodations that were usually inferior to those provided for white Americans, systematizing a number of economic, educational and social disadvantages. State-sponsored school segregation was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1954 in Brown v. Board of Education. Generally, the remaining Jim Crow laws were overruled by the Civil Rights Act of 1964[1] and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
White primary
primary elections in the Southern States of the United States of America in which any non-White voter was prohibited from participating
Grandfather clause
a legal term used to describe a situation in which an old rule continues to apply to some existing situations, while a new rule will apply to all future situations. It is often used as a verb: tograndfather means to grant such an exemption Often, such a provision is used as a compromise, to effect new rules without upsetting a well-established logistical or political situation. This extends the idea of a rule not being retroactively applied.
The term originated in late-19th-century legislation and constitutional amendments passed by a number of U.S. Southern states, which created new literacy and property restrictions on voting, but exempted those whose ancestors had the right to vote before the Civil War. The intent and effect of such rules was to prevent poor and illiterate African American former slaves and their descendants from voting, but without denying poor and illiterate whites the right to vote.
Civil Rights Act, 1964
outlawed major forms of discrimination against African Americans and women, including racial segregation. It ended unequal application of voter registration requirements and racial segregation in schools, at the workplace and by facilities that served the general public ("public accommodations").
Lyndon Johnson
Johnson succeeded to the presidency following the assassination of John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963, completed the rest of Kennedy's term and was elected President in his own right, winning by a large margin in the 1964 election. Johnson was greatly supported by the Democratic Party and as President, he was responsible for designing the "Great Society" legislation that included laws that upheld civil rights, public broadcasting, Medicare, Medicaid, environmental protection, aid to education, and his "War on Poverty." He was renowned for his domineering personality and the "Johnson treatment," his coercion of powerful politicians in order to advance legislation.
– helped with the civil rights movement as well (civil rights act of 1964 + voting rights act + immigration act 1965 [doubled immigration])
Johnson escalated American involvement in the Vietnam War, as American casualties soared and the peace process bogged down. The involvement stimulated a large angry antiwar movement based especially on university campuses in the U.S. and abroad. Summer riots broke out in most major cities after 1965, and crime rates soared, as his opponents raised demands for "law and order" policies. The Democratic Party split in multiple feuding factions, and after Johnson did poorly in the 1968 New Hampshire primary, he ended his bid for reelection. Republican Richard Nixon was elected to succeed him.