June 29 2010

Monday, June 28, 2010

10:25 PM

Elements of modern political culture

1. Liberty
2. Individual responsibility - personal responsibility, but accept any good things we benefit from is because
we worked hard to gain it. Responsible for our own actions and well being.
3. Equality - Everyone needs equal vote, equal chance to participate.
4. Democracy - American officials should be accountable to the people. The people are supreme.
5. Participation
a. Civic duty - one has an obligation to participate in the government.
b. Political efficacy - the actions you take affect government outcomes
6. Skepticism - mistrust in government, constant evaluation of what our system is like to make sure our
country is on track. Helps keep the public involved with government
a. Decline in trust in gov't over years
7. Allegiance to the political system - System always works, but the people don’t always work.
a. Bus driver analogy
i. Driver - leader or citizen
ii. Bus - System
iii. Road - events, parts in time
iv. Passengers - citizens
b. We get bad leaders because the citizens don't do their job to elect the best.
8. Nationalism - loyal to country, patriotism, say good things about country.

Tolerance: need in order to unify and express equality.

Personal freedom - everyone are selfish unless we have someone to keep us in line. State of nature knows no law, but men are
subject to law, for Locke it was moral law, God law. Men had to delegate powers to others to govern themselves.

Montesquieu - Spirit of law - focused on the judicial system : wrote that democracy were corrupted and would devolve to
despotism or monarchy. Fair judicial system is essential to ensure justice. Separation of powers.

Blackstone - Commentaries - asks "given the tendency of human beings to Be energetic in their own self interest, how can those
who are in power and can create laws, how can those people constrain their own self interest?"

Constitutional gov't - creates a formal system that has the system of checks and balances in gov't
Autocratic
Totalreanism (Germany under Hitler)
Authoritarian
Oligarchy

American Constitutionalism
1. Constraints limits gov't, at the same time enables the powers of the gov't (articles of conf. ; constitution)

Declaration of independence was a list of reasons why US wanted to be independent

1. Basically King George was a terrible leader
2. Many troops, that threatened citizens, psychologically
3. Monarchy had final say

Fed and AntiFed papers

Antifed papers authored by Robert Yates and Jefferson (16 letters of Brutus)

Government AP course Page 1

 Antifed papers authored by Robert Yates and Jefferson (16 letters of Brutus)
• Antifed afraid that states rights and individual rights would be violated if there were a large and powerful federal gov't.
• Fed for large central gov't ////// AntiFed supported states rights and smaller central gov't
• Inalienable rights - rights that cannot be reduced my representatives (congress, etc…)
• Our government Created from scratch, how we injected culture into your government.
• Federalist papers show the art of persuasion

Hamilton motivated by efficient gov't ---->

4 main ideas for federalist ideas
1) Republicanism - sovereignty invested in the citizens of the republic, source of power is citizens
2) Federalism - layers of government, power divided by federal and state gov't, power is shared and each level of
gov't has its own power
3) Separation of power - system of where powers of gov't separated in to 3 branches, checks and balances

3 major plans
1) Virginia plan - representative gov't, number of representatives in both house and senate were determined by
population, not well received by smaller population states
a) Terminate the one state veto power
b) Tyranny of the majority
i) Threat to liberty
ii) Federalist paper number 10
2) New Jersey plan - House/senate both had equal representation, Population did not matter ; No popular
representation, also afraid of the tyranny of the elites
3) Connecticut plan - Great compromise : Senators are directly elected (17th amendment in 1913), Reps also
directly elected.
a) 3/5 compromise
i) Already existing under articles of confederation
ii) Benefiting large slave owning states
iii) Difference between the one under constitution and AOC was that AOC was for taxation, Constitution
was for representation in the House of Reps

Articles of Confederation
• States retained ultimate authority, except for the power that they granted to the central government
• Very weak gov't (Friendship of states) - no clear defined responsibility to other states - mutual, yet minimal, union of states
• No taxation power, no national military, no authority to regulate gov't activities and actions
States had exclusive veto power
• All bark and no bite
a. Could not force, but could only recommend taxes
b. Shay's rebellion
i. Rebelled against taxes
ii. Unable to raise a strong armed forces to put down rebellion
iii. Major motivator for a stronger central government

The Constitution
AntiFederalist Federalists
Demanded bill of rights Said that we didn't need to a bill of rights:
1. Spelled out immunities of individual citizens a. ex-post-facto law was included (can't create laws in the middle of
an action)
Wanted explicit rights b. Article 1, section 9
c. No religious test
d. No taxation unless majority of Congress agrees to it
Concerned over annihilation of states government # 45 (paper) - states will be adequately protected, election of president
1. Covered by amendment number 10. is based on state legislature, federal gov't have more restrictions than
state gov't

Too complicated, too many mixtures of powers.
1. House of Rep impeachment power, should be judicial
power
2. States ratifying international treaties, senate doing
executive power
3. President has veto power over all powers
1. This is vital to the balance of power, guarantees one branch of gov't
has more power than the other branch.
2. #47 and #48 say that although central is doing all the balance of
power, the state gov't are doing the exact same thing as the federal
gov't
3. ??????

Government AP course Page 2

 executive power
3. President has veto power over all powers
4. VP is president of Senate, executive member with
legislative power
Need more gov't restriction
1. Narrowing of supreme jurisdiction
2. Rely on state militia
3. Taxation power of congress
Inclusion of Bill of rights in constitution:
1. Bill of rights is necessary
a. Robert Yates - Magna Carta - English bill of rights
i. Example of how liberties and rights are
represented
b. Other nations, when they enlarge their gov't, they
reduce individual liberties
i. Other countries are in the process doing the same
thing, written form of rights
c. State constitutions respect having a bill of rights
gov't
3. ??????
1. #78 address supreme court, #35 for taxation power, it is important
for congress to have this tax power to generate revenue to allow the
gov't carry out it duties, #23 address state militia
1. #84 - Inherently limiting about expressed explicit rights. 1)
constitution contains rights. 2) Why advocating something that’s not
in the state constitution. 3)!!!!!!! ----> A bill of rights will lead to less
liberty<-----!!!!!!!, leads to no interpretation of the constitution.
2. Hamilton said:
HI go further, and affirm that bills of rights, in the sense and to the
extent in which they are contended for, are not only unnecessary in
the proposed Constitution, but would even be dangerous. They would
contain various exceptions to powers not granted; and, on this very
account, would afford a colorable pretext to claim more than were
granted.

Pasted from <http://www.foundingfathers.info/federalistpapers/fed84.htm>

Bill of rights a major compromise, 10 outta 12 amendments of bill of rights were ratified:
Those not ratified are the ones of the # of constituents under each congressman and the salary of congressman
a. # of constituents
1) Too short sighted
b. Compensation for members of congress
1) 27th amendment

FINAL POINTS!!!!!!
1. Bill of rights and constitution were designed to protect rights, liberties, ensure we have proper form of gov't serving the p pl
a. Failed to confront of slavery, white men rights
b. Bill of rights is color blind, but abolition was put on hold to get constitution adopted
c. Gender neutral
d. Protected elite (landowners) rights, nothing in constitution about class
Whose rights are protected?

2. Constitution keep asking who is protect, not just adults, but children, disabled, different sexual orientations
a. Much more inclusive

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