EXAMEN EEUU:

1. "A city upon a hill" and puritan think

The Puritans were a large and wealthy group, by 1640, 10,000 Puritans
lived in North America. They were more influential, numerous,
literate… than the Pilgrims.
Intent on creating a City upon a Hill and a New Jerusalem in North
America, they viewed America as the Promise Land for them. The
concept of city upon a hill appears in the Bible. It is considered as a role
model by the Christians.
Piligrims wanted to make this territory as a role model area to the
religious people.
The Puritans wanted to create a utopia that would serve as a model for
the rest of the world and that as long as they worked hard and remained
faithful to God and the scriptures He would compensate them.

2. Virginia plan, New Jersey Plan and Connecticut Plan

Virginia Plan: A bicameral legislature, with the lower chamber chosen

by the people and the smaller upper chamber chosen by the lower
chamber from nominees selected by state legislatures. The number of
representatives would be proportional to a state’s population, thus
favoring the large states, including Virginia. The legislature could void
any state laws.The creation of an unspecified national executive, elected
by the legislature.The creation of a national judiciary, appointed by the
legislature.
New Jersey Plan: The smaller states argued that each state should
be equally represented, regardless of its population. Their proposal,
called the New Jersey Plan focused on revising the Articles rather
than replacing them. The fundamental principle of the Articles of
Confederation—one state, one vote—would be retained. Congress
would be able to regulate trade and impose taxes. All acts of Congress
would be the supreme law of the land.•Several people would be elected
by Congress to form an executive office.The executive office would
appoint a Supreme Court.
Connecticut Plan: The smaller states’ opposition to the Virginia
Plan was enough to make the delegates create a committee to
rework the competing proposals into a common document.The
outcome was the Great Compromise, also known as the Connecticut
 Compromise. Under its terms, in the first branch of Congress—the
House of Representatives—the states would be represented in
proportion to the numberof their inhabitants, as delegates from the large
states wanted. But in the second branch—the Senate—each state would
have an equal vote regardless of its population; this arrangement
addressed the small states’ concerns. In the end, both sides preferred
compromise to breakup of the Union, and the plan was accepted. The
Great Compromise was to restore the alliance of the southern planters
and northern merchants. Itreassured those of both groups who feared
that a new governmental framework would reduce their own local or
regional influence.

3. What happens if there is a vacancy in the supreme court?

The President is given authority under the Constitution to nominate

someone to fill the vacancy. It is up to the Senate Judiciary Committee
to vet the nominee and hold confirmation hearings. Once the committee
approves the nomination,it goes to the Senate floor for a final
confirmation vote. This process passes through several time consuming
steps. Trtaditionally, Senators want to meet and asses the nominee
themselves, which requires weeks of meetings around the Capitol.

4. Powers of the presidency

The head of the State. In Spain is the King.

Diplomat. Top ambassador of the US. All the diplomats obey the
President. Foreign policy is made by the president
Commander In chief. Top general of the army. The troops obey the
president. The president has the ultimate authority over the battles,
tactics… Sometimes presidents that will be involved in war: Lyndon B.
Johnson. The problem is that the last presidents in the US no president
had experience on the affairs of wars.
The power to make appointments. Appoints federal, ambassadors… all
these people need confirmation by the senate.
If the president loses its job, thousands of people que han sido
nombrados por el presidente, perderán el trabajo. (5000 o 6000).
Usually the left is better.
Pardon and reprieve (indulto). Take away the guilt of someone. Quitar
años de sentencia, pero el crimen sigue ahí. It does not erase the actions.
 Propose legislation and influence legislation to the veto power.
Bypass the US Congress and order a parallel legislation (it is not a
legislation). An executive order is a way of imposing a legislative
agenda without the US Congress. It is like governing by decree. What is
the argument of the president? an executive order is an order to the
bureaucrats working in the executive branch. If I am the chief of the
executive, I should be able to give orders to the executive regarding
certain things. It’s a way for the president to get things done with the
bypass of the US Congress.
Manipulate the US Congress. Una ley que ha sido aprobada por el
house y el senado y ahora le toca a Trump firmar. El president escribe
su interpretation of the law (con escritos de otras personas antes de que
le llegara a él). Statement at the moment of signing. No es parte de la
ley pero es una directiva sobre como deberían implementarla los
bureaucrats (se encargan de establecer la ley).

5. Statehood process

The Statehood process is the process in which territories become a state

of the US. The Constitution empowers the US Congress to grants
statehood, but the process is not specified. Congress typically requires
for statehood a minimum population. Historically, the Congress has
applied a general procedure when granting territories statehood.

1. The territory holds a referendum vote to determine the people's desire

for or against statehood.
2. Should a majority vote to seek statehood, the territory petitions the
U.S. Congress for statehood.
3. The territory, if it has not already done so, is required to adopt a form
of government and constitution that are in compliance with the U.S.
Constitution.
4. The U.S. Congress - both House and Senate - pass, by a simple
majority vote, a joint resolution accepting the territory as a state.
5. The President of the United States signs the joint resolution and the
territory is acknowledged as a U.S. state.
The process attaining statehood can literally take decades. Today,
Puerto Rica is the last remaining territory of the United States
attempting to enter the union as the 51st state.
6. Federalism vs. antifederalism

1787: renewal of USA. New attempt in Philadelphia of a new political

union between states. Delegates of the 13 states met in order to discuss
the problems of the federation.
There were two factions in the American society:
Federalists: they want a constitution and to get rid of the articles of
confederations. They want a federal union. They developed the
Federalist Papers, 85 essays written under the pseudonym of “Publius”,
but written by three man: Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and
John Jay. This document is not part of the US law, but it’s important
because it saw what the men behind the Constitution were thinking
about. In this articles, the authors explain the philosophy and ideas
behind the Constitution.
Anti-federalists: they also think that the system is not working but they
think that to solve the situation they had to improve the articles of
confederation. For some Americans, the
creation of a constitution was the first step of a tyrannic government.
By this year, the ones that prevaled were the federalists. In Philadelphia,
the delegates approved a draft of the US Constitution. James Madison
had a great influence on the US Constitution.

7. Elections house representative

House of Representatives: 453 members. Proportional Camera. Each

one of the members represent the same amount of population. The
elections of the representatives are celebrated every 2 years. There are
no term limits (they can be re-elected). The minimum age is 25 years
old. A law passed in 1911 fixed the size of the House of
Representatives at 435 members. Members of the House are up for
reelection every two years. The number of persons representing each
state depends upon its population as reported in the Nation's decennial
census counts. Each state is divided into congressional districts
accordingly. There is a Representative for every congressional district
and every state has at least one congressional district. In order to be
elected to the House of Representatives one must be at least 25 years
old by the time one takes the oath of office, a citizen of the U.S. for at
least seven years, and a resident of the state from which one is elected.
These qualifications were established in Article I, Section 2 of the
 Constitution. Most states have primary elections to decide which
candidates will be on the November general election ballot.

8. Powers of the senate

Only the Senate has the constitutional right to confirm executive

appointments and judicial nominations and to ratify treaties. Combined
with the other factors above, this makes the Senate a more prestigious
body, and a Senate seat more desirable, than the House. It also means
that Senate elections tend to be more competitive than House elections.
Impeachment
The Senate has the sole power to conduct impeachment trials,
essentially serving as jury and judge. Since 1789 the Senate has tried 19
federal officials, including two presidents.

Nominations :The Senate has always jealously guarded its power to

review and approve or reject presidential appointees to executive and
judicial branch posts.

Treaties :The Constitution gives the Senate the power to approve, by a

two-thirds vote, treaties made by the executive branch.

Expulsion: The U.S. Constitution provides that each house of Congress

to punish its members for disorderly behavior.

Censure: Censure is a form of discipline used by the Senate against its

members.

Filibuster and Cloture

Investigations: Congress has conducted investigations of malfeasance in

the executive branch.

Contested Senate Elections : The United States Constitution gives each

house of Congress the power to be the judge of the “elections, returns,
and qualifications of its own members”
9. Imperial presidency

Beginning with the cold war, the president started to become more
powerful and began to operate like a monarch. Those who argue against
it want more power for the states and the congress. Historians and
political scientists often use the term “Imperial Presidency” to refer to
the fact that the American president, at least since the dawn of the Cold
War in the 1940s, has war-making powers closer to that of an absolute
monarch than an office holder in a republic who is bound by the rules of
law. The Imperial Presidency rests on an ambiguity in the Constitution.
In theory, the president is coequal to Congress and to be held in check
by it. But in times of war, the requirement of national unity almost
always leads Congress to defer to the president. Whatever limits there
might have been on presidential power ended with 9/11. After
President George W. Bush delivered a stirring speech in the
weeks after the attack.

10.Express powers concurrent powers and reserves powers

There are 3 levels of power:

Express powers: those powers that belong only to the federal
government. Ampliar + foto
Reserved powers: those authorities that belong to the states. It is stated
in the 10th
amendment of the US Constitution.
Concurrent powers: issues over which both the state and the
government have authority.

11.Bill of rights

The first 10 amendments are known as the Bill of Rights (1789). James
Madison was relevant in the creation of them. The Bill of Rights was
proposed in order to unify the population behind the
Constitution and give them guarantees. The Bill of Rights were ratified
in 1971.
1. Freedom of press, religion, assembly, expression.
2. Right to own weapons.
3. Government cannot force citizens to open their houses to guard
troops.
 4. Searches, arrests and seizures of property without warrant or probable
cause are prohibited.
5. 6. 7. Information when a citizen is accused or detained is required.
Right to have a lawyer and to contact witnesses. Also, citizens have the
right to choose the way they are going to be
judged.
8. Bails (fianza) have to be proportional to the crime
9. Protection of rights not specifically listed in the Constitution (basic
rights are not written but are
included).
10. The powers not delegated to the US government by the
Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States
respectively or to the people. Guarantee of powers of states and people.

12.From bill to law

The laws start off as bills.

Only a man of the congress can propose a bill. If the bill is proposed in
the Senate it will end up in the house, and if it starts in the house it will
end in the Senate, it has to go through in both cameras.
Author: the one that creates and proposes the bill.
Sponsor: the ones that give public support to the bill.

1) The bill is considered in the committee that deals with the content of
said bill. The committee votes, and if there is a majority the bill will
step to the next step. The committee can reject it, approve it, or make
some changes and approve it.
2) The innovated bill goes to the senate to be voted, with three possible
outcomes: reject it, accept it, or make amendments and approve it.
3) It is then sent to the house of representatives to the respective
committee, the one that deals with the content of the bill. They have the
same three options as the previous steps: reject it, accept it, amend and
accept it.
4) The House of Representatives has to vote to accept, reject, or amend,
the bill that the committee passed on to them.
5) The approved and amended bill has to be voted by both the senate
and house. Representatives of both cameras, in a conference committee,
study the versions of the bill and agree on the final version.
6) The final bill is voted in both chambers and lives for the oval room,
where the president is presented with it.
 7) The president has 10 days to consider the bill and veto it, sign it, or
leave it unattended. If he vetoes it the bill will go back to the congress
to be amended or to be override. For doing so, both cameras have to
vote in favor of it and get a 2/3 majority. In this case the bill would
become a law. If he signs it or leaves it unattended for the 10 days, the
bill will become a law.

13.Dual federalism vs cooperative federalism?

14.Leadership of the Congress

The congress is divided in the House and the Senate. Structure of the House of
Representatives
The Speaker: leader of the House of Representatives. Currently, Nancy Pelosi.
He/She is elected by the party that has the majority of seats.
Majority Leader: leader chosen by the party that has the majority. Their task is
to assure that
the agenda is followed by the people of their party.
Minority Leader: leader chosen by the party that has the minority. Same duties
than the
Majority Leader, their task is to assure that the agenda is followed by the
people of their party.
Whip: this figure assists the Majority and Minority leaders. They are the ones
working for Democrats or Republicans voting and negotiating the same
decisions. They are also elected by
the members of each political party.

Structure of the Senate

President: the President is not a Senator. The president of the Senate is the
vice-president of
the USA. He usually does not go to the Senate, only on special times, like
important legislation
to vote. He has a ceremonial role. Currently, the President of the Senate is
Mike Pence.
President “Pro Tempore”: in the absence of the president of the Senate. He is
the oldest
member of the majoritarian party in the Senate.
Majority Leader
Minority Leader
Whip
 15.Explain the concept of “Manifest Destiny”.
Manifest Destiny: ideology behind the expansion to the West developed by
journalist John O’Sullivan (1845). We use a picture to explain Manifest
Destiny. It is a form that Americans have to explain their politics. In the
picture we see North America (dcha) and Oregon, California etc. (izquierda).
The woman represents the Manifest Destiny. She is flying from the East to the
West. She brings the light from the East (sun rising) to the West (Still in
darkness). Conforme la mujer se va moviendo hay luz. The idea of Manifest
Destiny is to bring civilization (light of reason, light of modernity). ). They are
rescuing those lands that were in darkness. They are bringing democracy, the
republican institution, modernity, technology. In the East we see a city
(symbol of modernity). No cities in the West. The West is an empty land, it is
a land of barbarians. In the march to the West we see the woman bringing
technology (telegraph wires, wailroad) East: rational use of animals. West: no
agriculture, no mastering of the land, no economic use of lands and animals.
Some people say that this argument is used to hide the economic exploitations,
but actually the Americans were giving progress, democracy and technology
to these territories. Many people took part in this process of expansion. Some
were looking for new opportunities, others wanted some adventure. The
expansion to the West allowed the US to become the superpower that we
know today, a huge country that expands from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The
process began with Thomas Jefferson.
16.What is the Louisiana Purchase?

1803: Purchase of Louisiana with Thomas Jefferson. Before the

purchase, there were only 50.000 people in this territory. The expansion
to the West started with the purchase of Louisiana. The French (con
Napoleón) gave the territory to America. The French control over this
territory was very weak. French control had become more difficult
because of what happened in the Caribbean: the Haitian Revolution.
With the laws of Haiti, the power projection was more difficult. Haiti
was the entry point of french resources. The French strategic position in
North America became weaker. After the 7 years war, Louisiana was
given to the Spaniards as compensation for the loss of Florida. After
signing a treaty with Napoleon, wew gave Louisiana back to the French.
The French sold the territory without finishing el papeleo con los
españoles. Thomas Jefferson bought Louisiana with federal money
without the consent of the US Congress. The first thing that Thomas
Jefferson did was explore the territory.
Louisiana belonged to the French. Jefferson payed 15 million
dollars for Louisiana to the Napoleonic France (peaceful acquisition of
territory).
- Napoleon was more focused on Europe
- France had the territory for a very short time and it could be easily
taken by the Americans - Napoleon would use the money for European
campaigns

17.Explain the Homestead Act.

Homestead Act (1862): people that benefited from this law were called
homesteaders.
Developed by President Lincoln. The Homestead Act basically gave
free land to the people, so for a very small price (registration fee)
citizens could become the owner of 160 acres of land. 1.6 million
Americans benefited from this program, it was opened to all the society,
and became landowners thanks to this law. 10% of the federal land was
given to the people with this law. Citizens were required to exploit the
land for 5 years, and live there for 6 years. After that period, they were
free to do whatever they want.
18.How Texas became independent and the part of the USA?

1836: Texas Rebellion. American immigrants in Texas decided to

revolve against the government.
- The first battle: Battle of the Alamo. Americans were refugees in the
Alamo, meanwhile they were surrounded by Mexican troops.
Americans were defeated. Military victory for Mexico, but
propagandistic victory to the rebels, as they portrayed this battle as an
intense fight between 200 Americans and 1000 Mexicans. David
Crockett was a hero of this battle.
- After the Alamo, other American immigrants joined the rebellion.
- Massacre of Goliad: several rebels were taken by the Mexican army
and were executed.
- Battle of San Jacinto: decisive battle of the war. This battle was named
like this because it took part near San Jacinto river. President Santa
Anna established a camp near this river with his troops, and they
thought that rebels were not over the zone to attack. But actually they
were close, and they launched a surprise attack. The result: 2/3 of the
Mexican army killed, and Santa Ana is taken prisoner by the rebels.
After the battle, Santa Ana agreed to give the Texans the independence
that they wanted.
1836: Texas became independent. Santa Ana is released and continue
with the presidency in Mexico. Samuel Houston becomes the president.
Texas was independent from 1836 to 1845. Then, it became a state of
the US. Americans wanted that zone, and proposed an offer to Mexico
(15 million dollars), that was rejected. The American president by that
time, James K. Polk, searched for a war with Mexico in order to achieve
that territory. In Rio Grande, a border patrol was attacked from the
Mexican side of the river and the president declared it was a
government attack against the Americans. With this he said that
America had the right to declare the war in self-defense. Texas became
part of Mexico when Mexico became independent. Almost no one lived
in Texas. After the independence of Mexico, they wanted to exploit and
have people moving to these territories so they can be useful for
Mexicans. One of the solutions was the allowance of american (US
citizens) inmigration into Texas. They would encourage people from
 the US to move to Texas so they could help mexican economies. The
problem was that the government was very successful and thousands of
Americans arrived. Mexico was full of american immigrants. They
began to be successful in Texas and took control of the economy of the
region. Inmigrantes americanos se hacen ricos en Texas y se hacen con
la economía (wealthy american immigrants) There was also a cultural
clash. With the fact that Americans were becoming the majority of the
population, they also became more bold against the Mexican
Government. It is considered that 1836 is the official date of the
Independence of Texas. It would be an independent for 9 years, until
1845. Texas would join the United States. The president at the time was
James K Polk. He was obsessed with the expansion to the West.

19.Explain the Mexican - American war.

1846-1848: War with Mexico. The war was a complete disaster for
Mexico, as they didn’t have any chance fighting against the US.
American forces land in Veracruz and take Mexico City. The next step
is the United States taking the western part that also belongs to Mexico.
The United States would offer several million dollars to the Mexican.
Mexico will refuse. In order to put pressure in Mexico he ordered the
deployment of troops on the border. In 1846 there was a border
incident. Until 1848 it was very controversial in the United States.
Some congressmen would call for an investigation of what happened in
the borders. The United States would begin an offensive against Mexico
and it was very successful. Mexico would give the territories in
exchange of peace.

20.Explain the Frontier Thesis.

The frontier thesis or Turner thesis (also American frontierism) is the

argument advanced by historian Frederick Jackson Turner in 1893 that
American democracy was formed by the American frontier. He stressed
the process and the impact it had on pioneers going through the process.
He also stressed results, especially that American democracy was the
primary result, along with egalitarianism, a lack of interest in high
 culture, and violence. "American democracy was born of no theorist's
dream; it was not carried in the Susan Constant to Virginia, nor in the
Mayflower to Plymouth. It came out of the American forest, and it
gained new strength each time it touched a new frontier," said Turner.
In the thesis, the American frontier established liberty by releasing
Americans from European mindsets and eroding old, dysfunctional
customs. The frontier had no need for standing armies, established
churches, aristocrats or nobles. There was no landed gentry who
controlled most of the land and charged heavy rents and fees. Frontier
land was practically free for the taking.

21.The compromises on slavery and the US Constitution.

The US Constitution was very controversial in the United States. The

Founding Fathers were divided on the idea of slavery. Usually the ones
that came from the Northern were opposed to slavery. Then, other
Fathers were slave owners. The Constitution was the result of this
division. Slavery is important in three diferent ocassions. It was gradual.
As a Founding Father they had to choose. At the end it was very
important to keep the United States together. They decided to leave
slavery apart. Comprimisos que están dentro de la Constitución.

1. ⅔ Compromise: it is related to the elections. The problem was:

most of the population lived in the Northern states. The southern
states had a disadvantage over the North. This made that the
Northern won’t have representation in elections. South said that
the vote of the slaves counted. The Compromise was that when
deciding how many districts in each state, slaves would count as
⅔. The South was afraid that eventually slavery could be
abolished.

2. Foreign commerce is the authority of the federal Government.

The Federal government wont take any decision on slave trade
until 1808.
 3. If a slave escapes to the Northern states, the authorities won’t do
anything about that unless the slave owner looks for the slave.
Many of the Founding Fathers were convinced that slavery would
disappear sooner or later

22.Slavery, Tobacco and Cotton.

An economy of tobacco plantations would begin in the area of Virginia.

Tobacco meant slavery.
1619: first slaves (from Africa) were brought to Virginia. Native
Americans were rejected to work for the plantations as their
Constitution was weaker and they were difficult to control.
The tobacco plantations started to disappear, and with this, economic
need for slaves, slaves would disappear. With the arrival of cotton, they
didn’t see it profitable (era muy difícil de conseguir porque crece junto
a la semilla). Eli Whitney invented the Cotton Gin machine in 1793.
This machine was cheap and simple. It separated the cotton from the
seeds. Tobbaco disappeared and cotton plantations were the economic
base (slaves worked there). At this time cotton was a synonym of
slaves. Cotton became for Southern states like oil in Asia. They just had
cotton and they didn’t need anything more.
1850: The Southern states exported 75% of the world cotton. The
export of cotton was 60% of the total values of exportations of that
year.
That’s why we see two different nations in the US. Social and
economical differences:
- North: urban society, industrial society, capitalist, middle-class
society.
- South: feudal, static, arstocratic, agrarian society that lives like
300 years before.

23.The Missouri Compromise.

Missouri compromise 1820. This compromise was after the first crisis,
after the first expansion to the West. Before this compromise there were
the same number of free states and slave states (11 and 11). Missouri,
out of the Louisiana territory, would be allowed to become a pro-
 slavery state. In exchange of this, Maine would separate from
Massachusstes and become a new state. The second part of the
Compromise was that in the territories in the south of Missouri would
be slave states and the ones in the north would be free states.

24.Kansas – Nebraska Act:

Kansas-Nebraska Act 1854: it was not a real compromise, it was an

imposition of the south to the north, as the southern states felt so
empowered. They imposed this act and generate such an enormous
hate from the north to the south. Kansas and Nebraska were located
in the Louisiana territory. The argument was that the territories of
Nebraska and Kansas should be free if they wanted to decide slave states or
free states (if they were a democracy, people should be able to vote). It was
breaking with the Missouri Compromise of 1820. Northern states felt
betrayed. In 1854, southern states had a majority on the congress and they
thought that this territories should have the right to choose on the issue of
slavery. For the north, this was a betrayal of the Missouri Compromise.
Nevertheless, the southern states imposed this act. This two referendums
were bloody, there was assassinations, rebellions, riots... So Kansas
became the hot point of the slavery controversy. Also, people from other
states went there to vote on the referendums illegally. Trust between north
and south, then, became impossible. It is considered to be the event that led
to the American Civil War. It was a political victory for the slaves states. It
affetcted the territories of Nebraska and Kansas. The master was Stephen
Douglas, the rival of Abraham Lincoln. He was a sympathiser of the
southern states.

25.Causes of the American Civil War.

Before the American Civil War, American politics were under the
control of the democrat party (Andrew Jackson), that supported slavery
and the whig party (the only reason of their existence was that they all
hated Andrew Jackson). The whig party would collapse in 1854. That
year, the Republican Party was created (by people from the whig party).
It was a political party 100% opposed to slavery and the main issue
was: “We are the party opposed to slavery”. As slavery became the
 main issue, the whig party could not continue being together. It was a
political party that had a clear position.
Other members of the whig party would create the Constitutional Union
Party. The main issue was to keep the nation together.
The democrat party didn’t collapse, but it was divided in two:
- Northern democrats (northern states) that defended the right of
the southern states to keep slavery and turned out to be moderate.
- Southern democrats: radical defensors of slavery.

This collapse meant that in the presidential elections of 1860 there were
4 candidates. 1 of each branch, even 2 democrats. This would allow
Abraham Lincoln to win the election (northern states are more populus)
He won because the field was divided in 4. If democrats would be
united, they would have won. Licoln was the first republican president.
The election of Lincoln leads to the American Civil War.

26.Reconstruction Era

1865-1877, this period of time is known as the Reconstruction Era

They needed to rebuild the Southern States after the Civil War, slavery
was abolished. The formal surrender of the Confederate States of
America (1865) and assasination of Abraham Licoln. After the war, the
South was destroyed. They needed to incorporate the South into the
Union. The vicepresident, Andrew Johnson, becomes president. In
order to divide the country, Abraham Licoln chose a democrat. Andrew
Johnson wanted to have slavery abolished, but nothing beyond that.
Andrew Johnson would pardon almost every member of the
Confederation. There was no punishment nor revenge on the leaders of
the Confederation. Not only that, but leaders of the Confederation
would be able to make political careers. Andrew Johnson was the first
impeached president. The troops of the North started to occupy the
South. When would the States of Confederation would regain their
autonomy: 10% Plan by Andrew Johnson. As long as 10% of the
population accepts the abolishment of slavery, the would gain the
autonomy they had before the Civil War. Reaction of Southern States:
 Southern states would start to pass laws to ensure blacks remained
second class citizens: “Black Codes”
Former Confederate Leaders, they stay in power.
Creation of Ku Klux Klan (Pulasky, Tennesse) it was an organization of
the Southern States against the imposition of the new reality. The Ku
Klux Klan also went for carpetbaggers and scalawags.
A carpetbagger was a civilian from the North that after the Confederate
States had been defeted went to the South looking for economic
opportunities.
Scalawags copperated with the winners of the war (traidores del South).
The Ku Klux Klan would present themselves as the defenders of the
honor of the South after the defeat of the war.

Decline of the Reconstruction Era:

• 1873: economic crisis in the US.
• corruption
• Democrats took control of the US Congress, and they don’t support
the fight against segregation

1877: end of Reconstruction Era:

Southern states got completely back their autonomy.
Federal troops leave the south.

27.Jim Crow
In the 1877, with the end of the Reconstruction a new era arrives: Jim
Crow Era. This period lasted until 1965.
Jim Crow is not the name of a legislator that would create this law. It was a
popular comedy show in which a white person would act as a black person.
Eventually in time all the laws passed by the Southern States would be
referred to the Jim Crow laws. It is usually used in the United States. The
law would pass the poll taxes (before being able to vote, comprueban que
si pagan taxes y es un us citizen) and the literaty tests (level of
alfabetizacion para poder votar). The segment of the population that had it
more difficult were the african population. The Supreme Court would rule
the segregation laws: Plessy vs Ferguson 1986. The Supreme Court
delcared that segregation was legal. So, it could only be legal and
constitutional if they were able to defend the system. “Equal but
separated” si tu estas rompiendo la igualdad de los ciudadanos es
inconstitucional: en el fondo la segregación no rompe las igualdades.
Approval of the Jim Crow Laws: laws in all southern states that were racist
and discriminatory. Separation in public spaces, ban of entrance in some
places... (Jim Crow was a humor show, a white actor dressed up as a black
man and made fun of the black people).
(1896) US Supreme Court case-Plessy vs Ferguson: validated this system.
The legal justification was the claim: “Equal but separated”.
The KKK was reborn in 1915. This second era would last until 1944. This
period is known as the Golden Era of the KKK.
In 1915, The Birth of a Nation was released by D.W. Griffith’s. This
movie became so popular than even the president screened the film in the
White House. This movie is an epic tale of the confederation and about
how the first KKK was created. So, the confederates and the creators of
KKK are portrayed as heroes. In this film, you can see burnt crosses: that’s
why the members of the KKK started to do it afterwards, they took that as
their symbol. John Simmons founded the second KKK in Atlanta. The
most obvious difference between the first and second KKK is success. In
1925, more than 5 million Americans joined the organization. Also, it had
presence all over the country, not only in the south like in the first era.This
second klan had other targets too. They discriminated anyone that was not
a W.A.S.P (White, Anglo Saxon, Protestant). Anyone outside this
definition is not considered American. This KKK had other goals beyond
fighting religious and racial minorities. They would embrace a radical
religious agenda, and advocate, for example, for the ban of alcohol in the
US. Puritanical organization. But suddenly, there was a huge decline in the
klan membership numbers. There were corruption scandals regarding the
leaders, as well as violent acts. The third era of the KKK began in the
1950s. By this time, is an underground organization that carries terrorist
attacks and it’s not socially accepted. There is no central organization, it
has an anarchical structure. This era is no relevant: today there are less than
5.000 members.
Lynching: extra judicial execution of someone that has been accused of a
crime. In the Jim Crow era, we can observe around 4.700 lynchings. 75%
of this executions were done against black people. This were also done to
terrorize black people in the south.

28.Martin Luther King / Malcolm X.

For the end of segregation is also very important to understand the role
of Afro-American. • Rosa Parks Bus Boycott (1955): she refused to
give her seat to a white person.
Martin Luther King: leader of the movement that supported Rosa Parks.
He is the most important leader of the African American community in
this last years of struggle.
- as a protestant minister, he was very used to do speeches and to the
christian language so he was very good at public speaking. So, he gave
his speeches with humanist roots, with the goal of unifying people.
- Southern Christian Leadership Conference (S.C.L.C): organization of
different churches in the south. He became the leader and used this
association to fight segregation.
- he developed a successful strategy, of peaceful defiance of the
segregation system. In order to gain attention from the nation, they
wanted to make them see their pain in a peaceful way.
- 1963: March of Washington in the National Mall. He gave his famous
speech I have a Dream. He spoke about forgiveness and about peaceful
coexistence, and about a “blind
colored future”. He was not a man that wanted to scare white people.
- 1968: he was assassinated.
- He received a couple of years before his death a Nobel Prize.

Nevertheless, there is also a dark side in this struggle against

segregation:

Malcolm X: he advocated for a violent fight against the whites.

Malcolm X said that blacks and whites could not live together in the
U.S, as they were completely different. He wanted a
separation from the white, to create an independent part for the black
people.
 - Nation of Islam: he joined this organization. He was so radical that he
converted from christianity to islam, because he thought that the
Christian religion was evil and pro- slavery. He considered that
Christianity was associated to the West so he abandoned the
religion.
- 1965: he was assassinated. Before his assassination, he began to
embrace the ideas of Martin Luther King. That’s why he was murdered:
The members of the Nation of Islam accused him of being a traitor.

29.The Lost Cause.

Lost Cause Movement (en la Jim Crow Era) (vídeo)

Movement that looks to rewrite history. Had great influence mostly in
the south. Publishment of books, movies etc with the goal of making
Americans see the past events with a distorted version of reality.. (como
la peli del KKK)
• Civil war was not about slavery but about state rights
• To portray the southern states during the Confederation era as ideal
places
• To portray the leaders of the Confederation as heroes.

30.Huntington and the Hispanic Challenge

By Samuel Huntington (2004). It anticipates the current situation

regarding problems with immigrants and creates an agenda that is very
similar to Trump's. It shows his fear that the U.S. will become a bi-
national country. He did not believe in the great lie that all Americans
have believed for years, America is not an immigrant country, he denied
the implications of that statement and substituted it because America is
a nation of settlers. That they are the ones who built the nation first and
then the immigrants came. America is a lie that its identity is based on
ideas, because they cannot be dissociated from the culture that created
them, if it were purely abstract it would not matter the nationality of the
population. Moving away from the WASP will lead to the decline of
political parties and institutions. It is less and less AngloSaxon and
drinks from other cultures and this will eventually lead to a decline in
 the values of culture and institutions. In the first two waves it was based
on the assimilation and acculturation of immigrants, but in the third
wave immigrants were encouraged to maintain their culture. This will
gradually impose a change in the structure of the United States. It does
not say that identity is abstract but that it cannot exist without this
concrete cultural substrate as a basis.

31.The First Immigration Wave

1st wave (1800-1865): the vast majority of immigrants came from

Western Europe, mainly Ireland, Great Britain and Germany because of
the Industrial Revolution in Europe and the Agricultural
Revolution in Europe, that left many people jobless. Also, political
repression was current in Europe and people wanted to escape. In the
last decades of this wave, 40% of all the immigrants came from Ireland.
- first “racist” reaction: Nativism. A nativist is a person that puts the
citizens of the country at the first place. A measure that confronted
citizens and no citizens. Nowadays, some call Trump a nativist.
“America for the Americans”.
- Nativist created the American Party. This party opposed to the
immigrants arrival in the
1850’s. They even presented a presidential candidature in the 1856
elections, with Millard Fillmore as candidate. They got 20% of the
votes. This party was popularly known as the Know-Nothing Party,
because it was kind of secretive.
- the target of Nativism were the Irish. This was because Irish were
catholic, and Americans saw this as a threat to the public institutions as
the USA was founded in freedom of religion. For them, Catholicism
was based in hierarchies, and they rejected this idea. This led to riots in
cities like Philadelphia or New York, where people were even killed.
But then the civil war came and this topic became less relevant. “A war
is the best way to unite a country”

32.The Second Immigration Wave

2nd wave (1865-1914):

The 14th amendment gave US citizenship to all former slaves. Declared
that any person born in
US is automatically a US citizen.
Now the majority of immigrants came from Eastern and Southern
Europe: Russia, Poland, Italy
and Greece. The target of the nativist changed towards these countries,
because they didn’t
speak English nor they were catholic.
In this second wave, all the immigrants arrived to the Ellis Island, that
became the main point to
the European immigrants.
• Nowadays, 1/3 of the US population has one ancestor that arrived to
Ellis Island. There was a dramatic increase, and at the end of the second
wave more than 1 million immigrants arrived each year.
• By 1900’s, 25% of the population was not US born.
• Asian immigrants in California. Angel Island in San Francisco was
like the Ellis Island of the
Pacific. From the very beginning, Americans were not happy with the
arrival of these Asian people, in the majority Chinese and Japanese.
- Page Act (1875): this law declared that Chinese immigrants were a
threat to the US. They also spoke about the immorality of the Chinese
women.
- Chinese Exclusion Act (1882): the law forbade any arrival of Chinese
people. This law continued for 60 years.
Because of this second wave, at the beginning of the 20th century, NY
became the second city in the world with more Italian citizens (after
Rome). The same happened with Poland, NY became the second city in
the world with more Polish citizens (after Warsaw).
A serie of laws were passed to lessen the massive immigration.
Immigration Act (1917): this law declared that Asians were forbidden
in the US and that if you
were an alcoholic, homosexual, had criminal activities, communist,
idiot... you were also forbidden. Physical and mental health were
decisive in order to become a citizen. This law made an exception to
Mexicans because they were essential for the economy, especially in
agriculture.
 National Origins Act (1924): this law stablished a quota system. A
number of immigrants was given to all the country, with the 1890
census as the base. They look for the number of immigrants of each
country and from this year, 2% of that number were allowed to
immigrate to the US. For example, if there were 50.000 Russian
immigrants in the US by 1890, with the National Origins Act 2% of that
number were allowed. Nowadays there is also a quota, but the same for
every country.

33.The Interlude and the Third Immigration Wave

Interlude 1915-1965: época de marea baja. Dramatic decrease in the

number of immigrants because of the circumstances that were not under
the control of the American Authorities such as the IIWW, political
instability and economic depression, high unemployment… The
particular measures taken by the US Government to achieve a decrease
in the number of immigrants arriving to the US were: There is a
preoccupation in the country that it is losing its unity.

Immigration act 1917: this law would reject the entry of a person that is:
- alcoholic
- insane people
- anarchist
- communist
- idiots
- homosexual
- uneducated
Mexicans were exempted from this list.

- National Origins Act 1924: This law could establish a quota

system. Cogen el censo de 1890. Cuántos inmigrantes x había en aquel
entonces. A partir de entonces el 2% de ese número puede entrar cada
año. Esto estará vigente hasta 1965.

Third immigration wave 1965- :

Hart-Celler Act: ended the previous legislation (National Origins Act)
so it opened the US to immigrants again. This wave is not European and
 white for the first time. This has a big impact in the demographics of the
US. In the 1970, 85% of the population was white. Today only 60% is
white. New immigrants are mainly from Latin America and Asia.
Illegal immigration (mainly Mexican 59%) has always been a thing, but
it has big importance in this wave.
In this wave the US does not have the former engines to accommodate
mass immigration (expansion to the west and a need for newcomers and
the industrialization process with a big demand of low-skilled workers).
Today American factories are being dismantled and moved to Asia, so
the demand is not for low-skilled workers, but for high-skilled ones that
directly compete against the American factory
This wave is making the US more catholic than protestant as it used to
be and also a bilingual country.

34.Foreign policymaking sources within the executive branch

There are three ways in which the senate can influence foreign policies,
so it has more influence than the house. This is in order for the states to
have more powers, because it is easier to come to an agreement between
100 people than 345. Senators are in office for 6 years so their mentality
and their view is more to the long run and to the benefit of the country.
There are executive areas that aren’t purely meant for foreign affairs but
are involved in some ways with it. Homeland security, terrorism,
money, justice...
In order to coordinate the actions of the many departments of foreign
policy, Truman created the National Security Council.
Authority of the president
-Diplomat. Top ambassador of the US. All the diplomats obey the
President. Foreign policy is made by the president

35.War Powers Resolution

In 1973 the most important piece of legislation: war powers act. The bill
passed with a ⅔ majority in the senate (con el NO de Richard Nixon) .
This law declares that war can only be declared by the US congress and
if the president notifies the US Congress a military action within 48
 hours, that military action is approved. If in 60 days the congress
doesn’t accept that military action, they have 30 days to stop that
military action. (90 days in total desde que se propone). Obama was the
last to break this law. Bill Clinton did it before.

36.Hamiltonian and Jeffersonian foreign policy archetypes (explain

each one of them and then explain convergences and divergences
between them)

Political division after the Constitution debate was finally overcome,

groups of people with different philosophies emerged. Jefferson and
Hamilton are the two most important figures of this political division.

Jefferson

- he thought that the US had no fought the American Revolution in

order to replicate the
system of government that already existed in Great Britain.
- Jeffersonians believe that human beings are good by nature, and
capable of working with
our own reason.
- Also, they thought that there should be very limited political
interference, in order to allow
the individuals and the state to act by their own.
- They don’t reject the Constitution or Federal Government, but they
think that real power is
in the hands of the state and the people.
- For them the ideal republic was an agrarian democracy, because he
believed the back
bone of the republic needed to be the land owners. Because they are free
independent
people: self reliant, economical independent.
- Big urban centers creates a society of semi-slaves that can be
corrupted. Alienation of
population can be easily found in cities.
- For foreign policy, Jefferson would defend an isolationist policy.
Intervention on foreign
 issues in a limited way.

Hamilton

- Hamilton thought that human beings were capable of good but they
were also dangerous.
They have tendency of self-destruction and a strong government is
needed to control the
worst tendencies of society.
- The government should intervene in the economy. Support some
business sectors against
others.
- He wanted to replicate the British model in the US.
- He thought that the future of the US was in supporting industry,
factories, cities,
metropolis, big urban centers...
- He defended a loose (laxa) interpretation of the Constitution.
- Hamilton defended the creation of a powerful army and navy. The
foreign policy of the
country is directed towards the interest of the nation.
- Taxes can be regulated to control the different sectors and to influence
and mark a path of
the economy.

37.Wilsonian and Jacksonian foreign policy archetypes (explain each

one of them and then explain convergences and divergences
between them)

38.Brief overview of the History of US foreign policy

39.Characteristics of the Vietnam War.

The Vietnam War was a long, costly and divisive conflict that pitted the
communist government of North Vietnam against South Vietnam and its
principal ally, the United States. The conflict was intensified by the
ongoing Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union. More
than 3 million people (including over 58,000 Americans) were killed in the
Vietnam War, and more than half of the dead were Vietnamese civilians.
Opposition to the war in the United States bitterly divided Americans, even
after President Richard Nixon ordered the withdrawal of U.S. forces in
1973. Communist forces ended the war by seizing control of South
Vietnam in 1975, and the country was unified as the Socialist Republic of
Vietnam the following year.