Class Recap:
Basic Structure
-Federal
-Executive Branch -- President and his/her cabinet
-Legislative Branch -- Congress (House of Representitives and the Senate)
-Judicial Branch -- Federal Courts (including the Supreme Court)
-State
-Executive -- Governor
-Legislative -- State Congress (House and Senate)
-Judicial -- State Courts
-Local
-In most cases, answers to the state, rather than having genuine sovereignty
Federalism as opposed to Confederalism
-Federalism: A system of government where power is shared/divided between a central federal government and sovereign/partially-sovereign state governments (the type of government established by the US constitution)
-Confederalism: A system of government where states retain full sovereignty and deligate power to a central government (the type of government the US had under the short lived Articles of Confederation)
Concepts of Human Nature at the time of the nations founding
-John Locke's Tabula Rasa: People's nature is formed by their upbringing and society. We are born as blank slates, and the right society, education system, government, etc, can lead to genuinely good citizens.
-Machiavelli's Power Always Corrupts: The belief that no one can be trusted with substantial power because all human beings are essentially power hungry and burtal when the chips are down.
-Puritan/Calvinist Christian view: All people are essentially evil and need structure and religion to keep them from being animals.
A Combination of these views motivated the US system of separation of power, and an extensive system of checks and balances.
-Checks: An authority given to one branch of government that can over-rule a decision by a different branch
-Balances: When two separate branches of government share an authority between them, so that agreement must be reached in order to take action
Specific Checks and Balances:
Congress:
-Checks and Balances with the Executive (President)
-Can not pass legislation the president wants
-Can use a super majority to push legislation past the presidents veto
-Can refuse a presidential appointment (Senate only)
-Can refuse a presidentialy signed treaty (Senate only)
-Checks and Balances with the Judicial
-Decides number of courts and jurisdiction of the lower courts
-Can impeach a judge
-Can refuse nominated judges (Senate only)
-Can propose amendments to the constitution (must be ratified by the states)
President
-Checks on Congress
-Veto: The president can veto any bill passed by a simple majority of congress
-Balance with Judicial
-Nominates/Appoints judges
Judicial
-Checks on congress
-determine constitutionality of laws and interpret laws
-Checks on the President
-Can determine that presidential acts are illegal and impeach him/her
Locke's Social Contract Theory:
-Modified version of a theory put forward by Jean-Jacques Rousseau in his book "The Social Contract"
-"Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains" --Rousseau
-The theory is that simply by living in and participating in a society/government we are making an unspoken agreement (contract) which legitimizes the governments ability to make laws, raise taxes, and enforce the law.
Vocabulary
Federalism: A system of government where power is shared/divided between a central federal government and sovereign/partially-sovereign state governments (the type of government established by the US constitution)
Confederalism: A system of government where states retain full sovereignty and delegate power to a central government (the type of government the US had under the short lived Articles of Confederation)
Impeachment: When an elected or appointed official is removed from office either because the population has lost faith in their abilities/motives or because they have committed an illegal act.
Nullification: When a state court rules that a federal law/act is unconstitutional
Duel Federalism: A system of government where states and the federal government have separate realms where each has supreme sovereignty.
Homework:
Reading: Read the chapters called "Elections and Campaigns (Campaigns
and Elections in the brief version)" and "Interest Groups (Political
Parties and Interest Groups in the brief version)" from the Wilson
text.
Let Me Know: Send me an email letting me know which text you have, the
brief version or the normal version. It will say "Brief Version" on
the cover if that is the one you have. Otherwise it is the normal
version. Unfortunately these two different version have some very
different chapters so I want to figure out which of you have which.
Writing: There will not be a writing assignment this week. Use this
time to study up on your vocab and put extra effort into your writing
assignment for your writing class.
Additional Work for CLEP prep: If you are planning to take the CLEP
test, also read the chapter called "The Media (Public Opinion and the
Media in the brief version)"
If you have any questions, you can leave a comment on this post, email
me at dylanhglenn@gmail.com, or call me anytime before 10:00pm at
215-756-5181.
Good luck. I'll see you next Monday,
Dylan Glenn
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Monday, September 19, 2011
9/19 Historical Foundations
Class Recap:
Ideologies Primer:
Economic Ideologies
-Libertarianism
-Marxism
-Fiscal Conservatism
-Socialism
-Fiscal Conservatism and Socialism are both based on the economic model of Keynesianism
-Keynesianism is an economic theory, put forward by John Maynard Keynes, that argues that economies go through booms and busts--times of growth and recessions/depressions--and a government can help alleviate this by taking a deficit during recessions and a surplus during times of economic growth
-All of these ideologies post-date the founding of the US. At the time of its founding, the primary influences on economic and political ideas was that of Adam Smith, John Locke, and contemporary European Governments.
Private Ideologies
-Individualism
-Communalism
History of the Founding of the US
-The Declaration of Independence
-The Articles of Confederation
-States delegate authority to a democratically elected confederation of states
-Didn't have enough authority to raise revenues (taxes) to pay debts
-Couldn't muster a military force quickly enough to take care of military threats
-Established a system by which new states could be created--breaking away from the colonial model
-The US Constitution
-A group, meant to write amendments to the articles of confederation, secretly drafted an entirely new document that would establish a profoundly stronger federal government
-This set off a debate between Federalists and Anti-Federalists
-Federalists: Largely from the Merchant Class, and from Urban populations. Argued for a system of government that had a strong central government that had authority over the state government
-Anti-Federalists: Largely plantation owners and from Rural populations. Argued against a strong central government. Saw it as a move towards the kind of government they rebelled against when they broke away from Britain. Wanted the States to maintain authority over any central government. Feared a central government would take away their Civil Liberties.
-As a result of these debates, the Bill of Rights (a set of ten amendments) was added to the Constitution, specifically to protect the people's Civil Liberties from this new strong central government
The Great Compromise:
-During the debates over what this new government, under the new Constitution, should look like, the issue of representation came up
-The Virginia Plan argued for state representation by population
-The New Jersey Plan argued for equal representation for each state
-They settled on a compromise where the Legislature would have to parts, a House (based on population) and a Senate (equal representation for each state). This is call a Bicameral Legislature (as opposed to a Unicameral Legislature--only one group)
Vocabulary:
Marxism: an economic and political philosophy based on an idea that it is better for humanity if they own things collectively, not individually. Famously, "from each according to his/her abilities, to each according to his/her needs."
Libertarianism: an economic and political philosophy that government should be completely uninvolved in economic matters. The governments job is to protect people's right to property, and the free market will take care of everything else.
Socialism: an economic and political philosophy that favors government involvement in economics, to help redistribute wealth from the rich to the poor, to provide basic services to all citizens, and to take care of citizens in need.
Fiscal Conservatism: an economic and political philosophy that favors the free market, and strives to involve the government as little as possible in economic matters. The care for individuals should be left to families and communities.
Keynesianism: an economic theory, put forward by Jon Maynard Keynes, that argues that economies go through booms and busts--times of growth and recessions/depressions--and a government can help alleviate this by taking a deficit during recessions and a surplus during times of economic growth
Confederacy: a government model where states delegate certain authorities to a central government, but retain authority over that central government.
Federalism: a government model where a central government has authority over state governments.
Legislature: a political body which exists for the purpose of making laws
Unicameral Legislature: a legislature that consists on only one group of people
Bicameral Legislature: a split legislature, with two independent decision making groups
Homework:
Read: chapters 2 and 3 from Wilson's American Government
Ask a Question: You are required to ask at least one question, as a comment on this post, about the textbook reading, by Sunday at 9:00pm. Try and think of a something you are really curious about or confused about from the reading.
Watch: Episode 4 of Harvard Professor Michael Sandel's Series on Justice:
http://www.justiceharvard.org/2011/02/episode-04/#watch
-This is a recorded Harvard class about John Locke's theory of Inalienable Rights, and how it relates to government taxation. It might be a bit difficult to understand, but if you can make sense of it, then you know you could hold your own in a Harvard classroom. If you really like this philosophical background to ideas in American Government, I recommend watching the rest of the videos from this series on your own. Episode 3 is a really good explanation of the basic ideas of Libertarianism.
Write: Write a 300-600 word response to Sandel's video lecture, or a response to the question "is it ok for governments to tax the people; if so, why, and how much?" Email your short paper to me by 9:00pm Sunday.
Decide: Talk to your parents and make a decision about wether or not you plan to take the American Government CLEP test. Let me know by email before next class. If you decide you do want to take the CLEP test I will be assigning you extra reading every week and you should start practicing the vocabulary listed on the website along with each class recap.
If you have any questions, you can leave a comment on this post, email me at dylanhglenn@gmail.com, or call me anytime before 10:00pm at 215-756-5181.
Good luck. I'll see you next Monday,
Dylan Glenn
Ideologies Primer:
Economic Ideologies
-Libertarianism
-Marxism
-Fiscal Conservatism
-Socialism
-Fiscal Conservatism and Socialism are both based on the economic model of Keynesianism
-Keynesianism is an economic theory, put forward by John Maynard Keynes, that argues that economies go through booms and busts--times of growth and recessions/depressions--and a government can help alleviate this by taking a deficit during recessions and a surplus during times of economic growth
-All of these ideologies post-date the founding of the US. At the time of its founding, the primary influences on economic and political ideas was that of Adam Smith, John Locke, and contemporary European Governments.
Private Ideologies
-Individualism
-Communalism
History of the Founding of the US
-The Declaration of Independence
-The Articles of Confederation
-States delegate authority to a democratically elected confederation of states
-Didn't have enough authority to raise revenues (taxes) to pay debts
-Couldn't muster a military force quickly enough to take care of military threats
-Established a system by which new states could be created--breaking away from the colonial model
-The US Constitution
-A group, meant to write amendments to the articles of confederation, secretly drafted an entirely new document that would establish a profoundly stronger federal government
-This set off a debate between Federalists and Anti-Federalists
-Federalists: Largely from the Merchant Class, and from Urban populations. Argued for a system of government that had a strong central government that had authority over the state government
-Anti-Federalists: Largely plantation owners and from Rural populations. Argued against a strong central government. Saw it as a move towards the kind of government they rebelled against when they broke away from Britain. Wanted the States to maintain authority over any central government. Feared a central government would take away their Civil Liberties.
-As a result of these debates, the Bill of Rights (a set of ten amendments) was added to the Constitution, specifically to protect the people's Civil Liberties from this new strong central government
The Great Compromise:
-During the debates over what this new government, under the new Constitution, should look like, the issue of representation came up
-The Virginia Plan argued for state representation by population
-The New Jersey Plan argued for equal representation for each state
-They settled on a compromise where the Legislature would have to parts, a House (based on population) and a Senate (equal representation for each state). This is call a Bicameral Legislature (as opposed to a Unicameral Legislature--only one group)
Vocabulary:
Marxism: an economic and political philosophy based on an idea that it is better for humanity if they own things collectively, not individually. Famously, "from each according to his/her abilities, to each according to his/her needs."
Libertarianism: an economic and political philosophy that government should be completely uninvolved in economic matters. The governments job is to protect people's right to property, and the free market will take care of everything else.
Socialism: an economic and political philosophy that favors government involvement in economics, to help redistribute wealth from the rich to the poor, to provide basic services to all citizens, and to take care of citizens in need.
Fiscal Conservatism: an economic and political philosophy that favors the free market, and strives to involve the government as little as possible in economic matters. The care for individuals should be left to families and communities.
Keynesianism: an economic theory, put forward by Jon Maynard Keynes, that argues that economies go through booms and busts--times of growth and recessions/depressions--and a government can help alleviate this by taking a deficit during recessions and a surplus during times of economic growth
Confederacy: a government model where states delegate certain authorities to a central government, but retain authority over that central government.
Federalism: a government model where a central government has authority over state governments.
Legislature: a political body which exists for the purpose of making laws
Unicameral Legislature: a legislature that consists on only one group of people
Bicameral Legislature: a split legislature, with two independent decision making groups
Homework:
Read: chapters 2 and 3 from Wilson's American Government
Ask a Question: You are required to ask at least one question, as a comment on this post, about the textbook reading, by Sunday at 9:00pm. Try and think of a something you are really curious about or confused about from the reading.
Watch: Episode 4 of Harvard Professor Michael Sandel's Series on Justice:
http://www.justiceharvard.org/2011/02/episode-04/#watch
-This is a recorded Harvard class about John Locke's theory of Inalienable Rights, and how it relates to government taxation. It might be a bit difficult to understand, but if you can make sense of it, then you know you could hold your own in a Harvard classroom. If you really like this philosophical background to ideas in American Government, I recommend watching the rest of the videos from this series on your own. Episode 3 is a really good explanation of the basic ideas of Libertarianism.
Write: Write a 300-600 word response to Sandel's video lecture, or a response to the question "is it ok for governments to tax the people; if so, why, and how much?" Email your short paper to me by 9:00pm Sunday.
Decide: Talk to your parents and make a decision about wether or not you plan to take the American Government CLEP test. Let me know by email before next class. If you decide you do want to take the CLEP test I will be assigning you extra reading every week and you should start practicing the vocabulary listed on the website along with each class recap.
If you have any questions, you can leave a comment on this post, email me at dylanhglenn@gmail.com, or call me anytime before 10:00pm at 215-756-5181.
Good luck. I'll see you next Monday,
Dylan Glenn
Monday, September 12, 2011
9/12 Introduction
Class Recap:
What is government?
-"Monopoly on the legitimate use of force" -Max Weber
What kind of government do we have in the US?
What is democracy?
Limitations of democracy:
-Conflict/tension
-Who gets to vote?
-Is the population intelligent/informed enough to make good choices?
-The 51% problem. How do you keep the majority from oppressing minorities?
-How do you make important decisions quickly and efficiently?
What does "freedom" mean?
-Freedom from... (Civil Liberties)
Freedom of speech
The right to bear arms
Freedom of religion
Etc.
-Freedom to... (Civil Rights)
Public Education
Social Security
Voting rights
Etc.
Partisan vs. Ideological
-In this class will we strive to be non-partisan, but instead to explore ideologies
Vocabulary:
Government: An institution with a monopoly on the legitimate use of force within a society.
Democracy: A political system where the government is granted its power from some form of voting process by its citizens.
Civil Rights: Claims on the government to provide a basic right to all citizens.
Civil Liberties: Claims on the government to protect a citizens ability to do certain things.
Command Economy: A society where all businesses are run by the government.
Free Market Economy: A society where businesses are run by private citizens, and government is not involved.
Homework:
Next week we will begin talking about the founding of the US Government. To prepare for class I'm asking you to read the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. To give you some context, "the Declaration of Independence" is the document, written by Thomas Jefferson in 1776, that established the United States as a country, separate from England. Though it helps to show the ideology of the earliest founders, it didn't actually explain what kind of government this new country would have. After this, when the Revolutionary War was over, the founders wrote a document called "the Articles of Confederation" (which we will discuss in class). This document set up a government that had too little power to get any of its jobs done effectively, so in 1787 a group got together to rework the structure of the government, and, over the course of two years, they came up with the US Constitution. The Bill of Rights is a list of ten amendments (additions to the Constitution written afterward) designed to keep the powers of the federal government from getting too big.
When you read these documents try and imagine what reasons the founders had for each idea that comes up. What problems were they anticipating? What fears did they have?
Also, I'm having you read a short article by Christine Musser that will help you understand the debate that went on around the country when the Constitution was first presented.
Read the Declaration of Independence:
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration_transcript.html
Read the US Constitution: http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_transcript.html
Read the Bill of Rights:
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/bill_of_rights_transcript.html
*If you are struggling to understand the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, try looking at this site that explains each section in simpler language:
http://www.usconstitution.net/constquick.html
Read Christine Musser's "Writing the United States Constitution: Restructuring A New Country Accustomed to Kingdom Rule," at:
http://christinemusser.suite101.com/writing-the-united-states-constitution-a120577
What is government?
-"Monopoly on the legitimate use of force" -Max Weber
What kind of government do we have in the US?
What is democracy?
Limitations of democracy:
-Conflict/tension
-Who gets to vote?
-Is the population intelligent/informed enough to make good choices?
-The 51% problem. How do you keep the majority from oppressing minorities?
-How do you make important decisions quickly and efficiently?
What does "freedom" mean?
-Freedom from... (Civil Liberties)
Freedom of speech
The right to bear arms
Freedom of religion
Etc.
-Freedom to... (Civil Rights)
Public Education
Social Security
Voting rights
Etc.
Partisan vs. Ideological
-In this class will we strive to be non-partisan, but instead to explore ideologies
Vocabulary:
Government: An institution with a monopoly on the legitimate use of force within a society.
Democracy: A political system where the government is granted its power from some form of voting process by its citizens.
Civil Rights: Claims on the government to provide a basic right to all citizens.
Civil Liberties: Claims on the government to protect a citizens ability to do certain things.
Command Economy: A society where all businesses are run by the government.
Free Market Economy: A society where businesses are run by private citizens, and government is not involved.
Homework:
Next week we will begin talking about the founding of the US Government. To prepare for class I'm asking you to read the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. To give you some context, "the Declaration of Independence" is the document, written by Thomas Jefferson in 1776, that established the United States as a country, separate from England. Though it helps to show the ideology of the earliest founders, it didn't actually explain what kind of government this new country would have. After this, when the Revolutionary War was over, the founders wrote a document called "the Articles of Confederation" (which we will discuss in class). This document set up a government that had too little power to get any of its jobs done effectively, so in 1787 a group got together to rework the structure of the government, and, over the course of two years, they came up with the US Constitution. The Bill of Rights is a list of ten amendments (additions to the Constitution written afterward) designed to keep the powers of the federal government from getting too big.
When you read these documents try and imagine what reasons the founders had for each idea that comes up. What problems were they anticipating? What fears did they have?
Also, I'm having you read a short article by Christine Musser that will help you understand the debate that went on around the country when the Constitution was first presented.
Read the Declaration of Independence:
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration_transcript.html
Read the US Constitution: http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_transcript.html
Read the Bill of Rights:
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/bill_of_rights_transcript.html
*If you are struggling to understand the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, try looking at this site that explains each section in simpler language:
http://www.usconstitution.net/constquick.html
Read Christine Musser's "Writing the United States Constitution: Restructuring A New Country Accustomed to Kingdom Rule," at:
http://christinemusser.suite101.com/writing-the-united-states-constitution-a120577
Write 250-500 words in response to the question, "Why is it important to limit the power of a democratic government?" Don't worry about writing anything especially well structured or brilliant. I just want you to get some thoughts down on paper. I will read each of them and respond with some of my thoughts (but I definitely won't judge them or grade them). Please email the writing assignment to me by 9:00pm, Sunday the 18th.
If you have any questions, you can leave a comment on this post, email me at dylanhglenn@gmail.com, or call me anytime before 10:00pm at 215-756-5181.
Good luck. I'll see you next Monday,
Dylan Glenn
If you have any questions, you can leave a comment on this post, email me at dylanhglenn@gmail.com, or call me anytime before 10:00pm at 215-756-5181.
Good luck. I'll see you next Monday,
Dylan Glenn
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