Michael Polakowski Exam 1 Humanism What motivates people to act?

? o Self-love - Hobbes: argues that we need government to control this - Locke: argues that while we have self-love, we are also rational so government should play on that rationality and promote cooperation - Rousseau: says human nature is better than an ordered society, we dont need government Justification of the State Why would people want to move out of the state of nature? Locke: living in the state of nature means living in constant fear that someone is going to infringe upon your rights, so we need government to control that fear and protect our rights. Plus we are so concerned with ourselves that chaos would ensue from living in the state of nature for too long. Role of government: Impose order Protect property-----became a major source of fuel for factions Allow people to transcend their interests and realize the general will Structure of Governments Monarchy: single person is sovereign, vested with complete authority -- executive, legislative, and judicial powers advocated by Hobbes because with one leader, we can set aside our self-interest Aristocracy: smaller group of people vested with some or all government authority advocated by Rousseau b/c not centralized or elected, so no one has much power Democracy (direct and representative): citizens are sovereigns advocated by Locke because comprised of cooperative leaders After the Convention The Constitution needed to be ratified o Need 2/3 of the states to ratify (9 out of 13 states) Federalists Pro Constitution Anti-Federalists Anti-Constitution , pro states rights and less to no power residing with the federal government.

The Federalists Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay wrote the Federalist Papers Wrote to newspapers under the name Publius Wrote in support of the Constitution 85 essays No. 10 is probably the most famous/significant The Anti-Federalists Wrote against the ratification of the Constitution for a number of reasons Mostly concerned with Bill of Rights too much power to the federal government, not enough to the states needed a way to amend the constitution Brutus No. 1 (written by Robert Yate) Federal government doesnt know whats best for the states because each has varying interests (ex: taxing and defense) The federal court will usurp the power of the state courts Necessary and Proper Clause is too vague The large size of the US will make it hard to amend the constitution because each state has varying interests and wont be able to agree on many things John Dewitt No. 2 Very Pro-Bill of Rights The constitution will be too hard to amend so get rid of it until a bill of rights is added Less organized than the Federalists Cato (George Clinton), Brutus (Robert Yates), Centinel (Samuel Bryan), and Federal Farmer (Melancton Smith, Richard Henry Lee, Mercy Otis Warren), Patrick Henry speeches Federalist 10 The Constitution is much better than what existed prior to it The Articles of Confederation didnt work because they gave too much power to the states and not enough to the federal government Not the responsibility of the Constitution to provide for private rights, it is the state's responsibility Warned about the dangers of factions (factions were fueled over the issue of the protection of private rights) Federalist Paper No. 10 What motivates people to act? Self-love Problems self-love creates for designing a government No one person is fit to rule

 Beware the formation of factions What are factions? People share common interests Disregard the rights of other citizens Disregard the public interest Why are factions such a problem? They create Instability They create Confusion May lead to Tyranny (Dictatorship) Curing the mischiefs of faction Removing its causes: Give to every citizen the same opinions as long as the reason of man continues fallible, and he is at liberty to exercise it, different opinions will be formed James Madison Destroy the liberty essential for factions to form liberty is to faction what air is to fire James Madison Pluralist argument against Madisons thoughts on factions People are not as self-interested as he assumes they are A democracy wont work without factions and interest groups because without them, the citizens are not political at all Interest groups and factions represent citizens while supporting them and protecting their liberty Interest groups and factions will have a positive impact on public policy It will be more informed due to varying interests It will attempt to balance out interests so nothing too extreme will prevail It will open to constant challenges because of the varying interests It will reflect public interests There are critiques on this last bullet: non-political groups wont represent the political interests of their members, and since most interest groups pull membership from the elite, the poor and prisoners will not be represented Why is a Republican Form of Government Better than a Pure Democracy? His definition is the key: A pure democracy consists of a small number of citizens, who assemble and administer the government in personcan admit of no cure for the mischiefs of faction. Nothing to check the inducements to sacrifice the weaker party. Equality is a theoretical construct not a reality! All above quotes are James Madison

Federalism Separation of powers Checks and balances: Powers Constituencies Length of term Compound Republic Political stability Policy stability High level of agreement necessary for major policy change Conflict handled by not making a decision Maintains the status quo Flexibility and Experimentation McConnell argues in defining Public Interest A policy is successful if it achieves the goals that proponents set out to achieve and attracts no criticism of any significance and/or is virtually supported Successful Policy or Politics vs. Unsuccessful Programs Advantages and disadvantages drug war; DARE Successful Programs vs. Unsuccessful Politics Access to healthcare, abortion, etc. Often significant benefits but run afoul of voting publics morality. Summary: US Foreign Policy of Democracy Promotion US government explained projects in the Philippines at the end of the 19th century as democratic enlightenment. World War I and World War II justified on grounds of democratic principles. During the Cold War, notably, the U.S. offered support to any developing country willing to embrace democracy over Soviet and Chinese communism. Democracy promotion programs vigorously sprouted throughout Latin America, and in parts of subSaharan Africa and South East Asia, throughout the 1980s and 90s. Since World War I, when the United States fought to make the world safe for democracy, administrations have been interested, to varying degrees, in promoting democracy around the world. Recent Presidents Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and Clinton viewed democracy promotion as an important component of their foreign policy efforts. Former President George W. Bush campaigned for the Iraq War largely on the grounds of establishing democracy in the Middle East. US often supports the sending of UN peacekeeping forces to implement and monitor elections in damaged ideals.

BUT.. The U.S. has supported corrupt dictators, and has taken action to remove democratically elected officials in favor of pro-American leaders like in Iran, Guatemala and Chile Politicians usually justify the exportation of democracy by saying it promotes human rights, prosperity and free market entrepreneurialism, and peace. The US is not a democracy anyway It is a polyarchy, which is defined by Robert Dahl as a government with: Elected officials, free and fair elections, inclusive suffrage, alternative sources of information, people have the right to run for office, freedom of expression, and associational autonomy We are not democratic because we have/had: Slavery, elected president, equal representation in the senate, judicial power, congressional power, direct election of US Senators, and suffrage The Poor and Markets Over the past three decades the gap between rich and poor has widened The unemployment rate has risen over the past several years The poverty rate is beginning to increase once again Constitution Ratified Some compromises: Great Compromise setting representation for House and Senate Culmination of New Jersey and Virginia plans Compromise setting representation for slaves in order to satisfy the taxing complaints of the North and representation complaints from the Southern States. Commerce Compromise setting no taxes on imports which helped the South and setting tariffs on exports which helped the North Slave Trade Compromise which said that Congress cant touch the slave trade until 1808 Electoral college and election of the president Adopted 1787, finally went into effect 1789 The Federalists won All 13 original colonies voted to ratify Not one voted against ratification Anti-federalists didnt win a single state Still exemplifies the democratic spirit

The Amendment Process Amendment needs to be proposed Both House of Representatives and Senate need to approve the amendment by a 2/3 vote OR 2/3 of the state legislatures ask Congress to call a national convention to propose amendments (never used) After proposal, the Amendment needs to be ratified in one of two ways of the state legislatures approve it OR ratifying conventions in 3/4s of the state approve it Used only once: ratifying the 21st Amendment-repealing prohibition Supreme Court has ruled that ratification must be within some reasonable time after the proposal Starting with the 18th Amendment, Congress has set a time period No clarity over what a reasonable amount of time means Congress mostly uses 7 years, but can be longer 27th amendment took 202 years to ratify, whereas 26th only took 3 months Difficult to actually propose & ratify Amendments, but not impossible More than 11,000 proposed 33 passed by Congress 27 ratified by the states Other Constitutional Amendments Amendment 20 (1933) Presidential term ends January 20, noon Amendment 22 (1951) Two terms max Amendment 25 (1967) Acting president Replacement of vice presidents There have been numerous issues over the 1st Amendment and what it means: Religious controversies and the general conclusion that prayer and religion in public schools is a violation of the establishment clause, no government action can mandate or inhibit religion in public schools, and a law must pass the Lemon Test Issues over what is unprotected speech: obscenity must pass the Miller Test, and there is generally less freedom of speech in a school setting Freedom of the press issues created the Clear and Present Danger Test and prior restraint is unconstitutional

Electoral College Current Usage Number Number of U.S. House seats (census) Plus 2 more for Senate seats Arizona 2012: 9 + 2 = 11 votes Distribution within states Statewide winner-take-all Except Maine, Nebraska By congressional district Two by statewide vote Typical Effects of Electoral College Battleground states Concentration of campaign in competitive states Magnify winners mandate Winning candidate larger margin in Electoral College than in the popular vote in order to dismiss any doubt of the winner Disadvantages third-party candidates Electoral College Pros Federalism Stability of 2-party system Stronger mandates for presidents Isolates election fraud Prevents domination of vote by cities Cons Discrepancies with popular vote (1876, 1888, 2000) Discourages turnout Disadvantages 3rd parties Small state or federalism bonus Changing the Electoral College District Distribution Would make redistricting even more political because party preferences of the district determines which candidate gets the delegates Proportional Representation Gives delegates to 3rd party candidates but makes it harder for any one candidate to meet the required 50% of electors in the electoral college

 Direct Popular Vote Outlined in the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact Need equivalent to an electoral college majority (270 electors) and each state will award the winning candidate their delegates, giving them the majority in the national popular vote Only have 138 right now Would be difficult because there are no national election laws at this point, so they would need to be created and enforced Ballot access, for example, differs from state to state Initial system of Presidential Nomination Electoral college was seen as more of a nominating board and candidates were selected by a Congressional Convention This was very elitist, did not promote Federalism and unrepresentative It wasnt until 1824 that we started seeing the nomination system in place today Although convention autonomy has been limited in recent decades Original system of selecting the president was flawed as well, and would lead to Presidents and Vice Presidents from opposing parties, thus the 12th amendment was created to separate the votes for president and VP Presidential Nominations Today Legal nomination = National convention (Presidential nominee has to legally accept at the nomination) Each state sends pledged delegates to convention most selected in presidential primaries some states use caucus/convention system Caucus = local party meeting Followed by mid-level and state conventions Straw Polls (informal opinion survey) Presidential Primary Rules 2012 Carrots & Sticks Republican = Stick (punish states for violating rules) Violate window, lose half delegates NH,SC, FL, AZ, MI Before April 1, proportional representation rules After April 1, may use winner-take-all Democrats = Carrot (reward states for complying with primary/caucus rules) Bonus delegates for later primaries (10%-20%) and clustered regional primaries (15%) Occurred and came into effect late in the primary between Obama/Clinton

 Invisible Primaries are 2-3 years before the general election during which the candidates raise money, assess straw polls and get to know their constituents Visible Primaries are during the year of the general election and consist of distribution of delegates through caucuses and primaries caucus and primary differ in the way delegates are distributed (Caucus = gathering in which nominating convention decides, primary = party members vote for preferred candidate) Super Tuesday The Role of the National Convention Officially nominate the presidential candidate Change party rules Ratify the party platform