Politics and Government in the United States
FIRST EXAM
Short Answer Questions (10 Points Each)
Do 10 out of 12. Do NOT do more than 10 questions.
1. Define social contract theory and compare/contrast the Ho
esian and Lockean conceptions of
the social contract.
2. Define and compare/contrast the Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan discussed at the Constitutional Convention. Also, describe the politics of slavery at the Constitutional Convention and how slavery was addressed in the Constitution.
3. Provide two examples of enumerated Presidential powers and two examples of implied Presidential powers. How and why has presidential power expanded over time? Also, define two of the paradoxes of presidential power and discuss their significance.
4. How did the Supreme Court change its definition of the Commerce Clause? What was the effect of these changes on the development of American Federalism? Define dual and cooperative federalism in your answer.
5. What is the process by which a bill becomes a law? What powers do party leaders in the House and the Senate have during this process?
6. Identify and describe three reasons why the Anti-Federalists oppose ratification of the Constitution and three reasons why the Federalists supported ratification.
7. How does the judicial confirmation process work? What political dynamics shape the appointment process? Compare/contrast the constrained vs. dynamic theories of judicial power. Under what conditions can constraints on judicial power be overcome?
8. Why did the Founders favor separation of powers? Provide three examples of checks and balances. What do you think are the strengths and weaknesses of a separation of powers system?
9. Define judicial review. What factors make the Supreme Court more likely to hear a case?
10. Define originalism and living constitution theory and come up with one advantage and one
disadvantage of each theory.
11. Define the Strict Constructionist, Stewardship, and Prerogative Theories of Presidential Power. What are the major components of each theory of presidential power?
12. How was the government constructed under the Articles of Confederation and why did the Articles fail?
Federalist/Anti-Federalist Debate
The Ratification Fight
Anti-federalists were those men who opposed the ratification of the American Constitution in 1789.
The Federalists were those who supported ratification.
Ratification-popular vote on the constitution; states determine representation
Anti-federalist case
The federal government would be too powerful and co
upt
Only a small republic can enjoy the voluntary attachment of the people and voluntary obedience to the laws.
Only in a small republic will there be a close and direct relationship between representatives and voters
Population should be homogeneous—similar in demographics, economic status, and morals. Large, diverse countries cannot be functional democracies
Only a small republic would be able to foster civic virtue or public spiritedness
Federalist Response
Federalists argued that:
A large heterogeneous republic will actually be better at protecting liberty than a small homogeneous one
Only a stronger national government that could act directly on individuals (rather than through the states) could achieve security and stability.
Federalists on Faction
A faction is a group of people with common interests opposed to the interests of another group.
Examples: interest groups, political parties, groups within political parties (such as Bernie v. Biden people during the primary), different class groups. Factions vary dramatically in size/power.
Factions are caused by 1) unequal distribution of property and 2) “fallible” reason of man
Federalists: How to manage factions
Federalists: Large republic = lots of factions.
Factions will compete with each other for power.
The government created by the Constitution will disperse power (separation of powers/checks and balances) and prevent either tyranny of the majority or destruction of the government through conflict between faction
Define republic
Control each other—prevent the federal government or the several state governments from monopolizing government powe
Anti-Federalists on Factions
Prevent high number of factions through creating small, homogenous republics
Factions will be destructive, destabilizing
Democracies cannot work in large, diverse countries
Types of Representation
Descriptive Representation exists when politicians are match their constituents in terms of demographics (race, age, gender, income etc) and life experiences.–
---Does your representative look like you? Do you share circumstances?
Substantive Representation exists when politicians represent the ideological/policy preferences of their constituents
Symbolic Representation exists when you, the represented, feels well represented. It’s a subjective emotional state of feeling like your government represents you well
Anti-Fed/Fed views on Representation
Anti-Federalists: Descriptive representation = substantive representation. You need one to have the other.
Federalists: You do not need descriptive representation to have substantive representation. Government should filter public opinion through a wise and prudent elite
Descriptive Representation Now
Congress is 76% male, 24% female
--House: 79.8% white, 10.1% black, 9.4% Hispanic, 2.3% Asian
Senate: 88% white, 4% black, Hispanic 5%, 3% Asian
Median net worth member of Congress: Over a million dollars. Majority of members of Congress are millionaires. More about Congressional wealth here: Personal Finances Members of Congress
Average age: House 57, Senate 62
Necessity of a Bill of Rights?
Federalists originally argued the Bill of Rights (1st 10 amendments of the constitution) should not be included. Why?
It was unnecessary (constitution already contains writ of habeas corpus, bans ex post facto laws, no nobility/titles)
“Why declare that things shall not be done which there is no power to do?...the Constitution ought not to be charged with the absurdity of providing against the abuse of an authority which was not given”
A Grand Bargain
–Many Federalists, including Madison, first opposed but then endorsed a Bill of Rights being included in the Constitution.
The classic view is, then, that the Federalists gave us the Constitution and the Anti-Federalists the Bill of Rights.
Summing Up: Federalists
Stronger federal government
Liberty through diversity—prevents tyranny of majority
Indirect representation (distance from citizens): Good thing—filters out strong and biased passions
Government best controlled by division of power as well as checks and balances.
Summing Up Anti Federalists
Stronger state government
Strength in uniformity—people who share common interests and values will share a conception of the common good
Self-government and direct representation—citizens participate in town government and jury trials
Government accountability through promotion of civic virtue and closeness between representatives and represented
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THE AMERICAN FOUNDING
Social Contract Theory
The social contract is a contract between a people and their government
The way the social contract is supposed to work is that the public subjects themselves to the rule of the government, which in turn provides protection
Individuals are punished by the state for violating the social contract, and governments can be altered or abolished if they violate it
The Articles of Confederation and later the Constitution are different models of social contract theory in action. They are very different attempts to create a government in line with social contract theory
Social Contract Theory
Social Contract Theory is a
eak from the divine right of kings, which argued that people are obligated to follow their rulers, who are ordained by God and thus can’t be challenged. Social Contract Theory is based on the idea that governments are formed by the people they represent and are obligated to serve and protect them. Social Contract Theory argues that we have obligations to our government, but our government has obligations to us as well.
Even if the term is rarely used, many contemporary political debates are at their core social contract debates. Every time we as a nation debate how much power agents of the state should have over us we are having a debate about the bounds of the social contract. Recent examples include the Covid-19 lockdowns/mask requirements and the Black Lives Matter protests against police
utality
Different Ways of Seeing the Social Contract
Thomas Ho
es: Life in the state of nature (pre-political state, which means no government and no laws) is “solitary, nasty, poor,
utish and short.” Might makes right. Everyone “competitive, distrustful and seeking glory” (if you’ve ever seen any of the Purge movies this is how Ho
es anticipates life would be in the state of nature)
This means that the public must sacrifice much of their personal freedom to an all powerful authoritarian state. Also, it’s too dangerous to give the people the power to alter or abolish unjust agents of the state.
Social Contract Theory: John Locke
Locke believes under the state of nature everyone will have freedom “to order their actions, and dispose of their possessions and persons, as they think fit, within the bounds of the law of nature." Law of nature = total individual liberty. reason, cooperation possible in state of nature. Some level of cooperation and mutual assistance is possible under the state of nature
Locke then believes not in the coercive, all powerful government Ho
es argues we need to protect us but rather a limited government to protect the rights an individual would have in the state of nature: life, liberty and property.
The Articles of Confederation
The governmental model created by the Articles of Confederation was (as the name suggests) a confederation, a system in which the states retain sovereign authority except for the powers expressly delegated to the national government. A confederation is more like a loosely connected body of individual states than a unified country. For example, we wouldn’t say the European Union created one country called Europe, and the European Union has more control over its members states than the federal government did under the Articles.
Articles of Confederation
The confederation created a government very different than the one we have now. It created a weak unicameral Congress with equal representation of the states (One state = one vote).
There was no real President. There was technically someone called “President” for a few months to a year at a time but they had none of the powers we associate with the President now. The Supreme Court and federal judicial system as we know it now didn’t exist. The federal couldn’t regulate commerce, create or regulate cu
ency, raise taxes, raise an army, or even conduct coherent foreign policy.
Debates at the Constitutional Convention
Whether to revise the Articles or write an altogether new constitution.
To imitate models of governments from history, Great Britain, the state governments, or innovate extensively.
Handle the