AP Government and Politics
•Fall 2015
•The Last
Chapter
Class Info
• Class website –
www.villamagna.wikispaces.com
• Click on AP Government Home Page (on left
side of main page)
• Grades
– 60% Tests
– 20% Assessments
– 20% Quizzes
Class Info
• REDO Policy
– One failing major grade
– One failing quiz
– No Assessments
– 70 is max grade for a REDO
AP Government and Politics
• Foundations of American Government
• Political Beliefs and Behaviors
• Political Parties, Interest Groups, and
Mass Media
• Institutions of National Government
• Public Policy
• Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
***Get yourself a copy of the Constitution (Free App for
phone)
Grades
• 60% - Tests
• 20% - FRQs/Assessments (2 a six
weeks)
• 20% - Quizzes – Class Content
and Outside Responsibilities
Getting to Know You
1. (T-F) Politics is something that is often
discussed in my family
2. (T-F) I am interested in and have a desire to
follow the national news and political scene
3. (T-F) I have a pretty clear idea as to whether
I’m a liberal or a conservative
4. (T-F) I know the positions held by John
Boehner, Harry Reid, and Mitch McConnell.
Getting to Know You
5. (T-F) I can name 3 people that represent me
in government
6. (T-F) I believe that government has a
responsibility to help care for the least
fortunate amongst us
7. (T-F) I believe that the poor are poor mostly
because of their own shortcomings (laziness,
addictions, etc…)
American Democracy
• How did Abraham Lincoln define democracy
in his Gettysburg Address?
– “Government of the people, by the people, for
the people”
• What type of democracy do we have?
• Greek style democracy?
• A Roman republican style democracy?
American Democracy
• Direct Democracy (Ancient Greek style) – all
eligible voters vote on all issues of
government
• Indirect Democracy (Ancient Rome style) –
eligible voters select representatives to serve
their interests
– Representative democracy
– A republican form of government
– A Republic
American Democracy
• Any democracy is based on the concept of
majority rule (majoritarianism) with minority
rights
• The question then becomes, Who has what
power?
• The simple answer in a democracy is
– The people!
Three Theories of Democratic
Government
• Pluralist Theory
– In a diverse society such as the U.S., there are so
many different interests competing for power
that no one group dominates the other
– Compromise is the norm as competing groups
get some of what they want, some of the time
– Therefore, “the people’s” interests are well
represented and the overall good is usually
served
Three Theories of Democratic
Government
•Hyperpluralist Theory
– Pluralism gone bad
– There are too many competing interest groups
that want their interests to prevail
– Often, these groups do not desire to compromise
– The end result is contradicting and confusing
government policies (warn against smoking but
subsidize tobacco farmers)
Three Theories of Democratic
Government
•Elite and Class Theory
– “The people” have relatively little power
– Power is in the hands of a small group of
influential elites
– They have the money and they have the
access to political power
The Foundations of the American
Political System
• Influenced by the direct democracy in
Ancient Greece, the representative
democracy of the Roman Republic, and
the English colonial experience.
• Shaped by the political philosophies of
Enlightenment thinkers like Thomas
Hobbes, John Locke, and Charles
Montesquieu
Thomas Hobbes
• 17th century English
political philosopher
• Without government,
man lived in a totally
free “state of nature”
• Life in a state of nature
was “solitary, poor,
nasty, brutish, and
short”
Thomas Hobbes
• To escape this, men gave up some of
their freedom and established
governments to create order and
stability
• This agreement to give up some
freedom for order is known as The
Social Contract
John Locke
• Late 17th century English
political philosopher
• Built upon social contract
theory to argue that in a
state of nature man has
natural rights (life, liberty,
property)
• The social contract included
a responsibility of
government to protect
these inalienable rights
John Locke
• Argued that if any government violated
this contract, the people had a right to
revolt and establish a new government
• His Two Treatises on Government
outline his philosophy
• Can you see Locke’s ideas reflected
within the Declaration of
Independence?
Charles Montesquieu
• 18th Century French
political philosopher
• Argued that the
legislative, executive, and
judicial powers of a
government should be
separated in order to
prevent an abuse of
power
The Declaration of Independence
• All men are created equal in a state of
nature
• Man has God given inalienable rights
• Governments must protect man’s
inalienable rights
• Government gets its authority/power from
the people
• “The people” have a right to change or
abolish any government that does not
protect these rights
America’s 1st Constitution
• The Articles of Confederation
(1781-1788)
– The British had/have a unitary system of
government
– A central government with ultimate authority
– The A of C created a confederation
– Weak central government with most power in
the hands of the individual states
The Constitutional Convention
(May-Sept. 1787)
• Shays’ Rebellion in 1786
• Know your major controversies,
plans, and compromises (VA
Plan, NJ Plan, Great
Compromise, 3/5 Compromise)
• James Madison as the “Father of
the Constitution”
Constitution Scavenger Hunt
• See Word document handout
The Federalist Papers (1788)
• Series of essays written by Madison,
Hamilton, and John Jay
• Trying to convince delegates in New
York to ratify the Constitution
• Gives us the greatest insight into the
thinking of the men who wrote the
Constitution
• See Word document handout
The Madisonian Model
• See website link on home page
Federalism
• A system of government where two
or more levels of government have
authority over the same group of
people
• A central government with semiindependent state governments
Federalism
• Most countries do not have federal
systems
• The alternative is a unitary system
where everything is the creation of the
central government
• In fact, our state governments are
unitary (Cy Fair ISD is a creation of the
state of Texas)
Federalism
• Federalism decentralizes governing
• The states have certain powers NOT
held by the federal government –
drinking and driving ages for example
• The source of much disagreement
throughout U.S. history and today as
well
The Big Question!
• What is the proper relationship
between federal power and state
power?
• In other words, what level of
government should maintain
most power?
What Does the Constitution Say?
• The Elastic Clause (Article I,
Section 8, Clause 18)
– The Congress shall have the power to make all Laws
which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into
Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers
vested by this Constitution in the Government of the
United States, or in any Department or Officer
thereof.
What Does the Constitution Say?
• The Supremacy Clause (Article
VI)
– This Constitution, and the Laws of the United
States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof;
and all Treaties made, or which shall be made,
under the Authority of the United States, shall be
the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in
every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in
the Constitution or Laws of any State to the
Contrary notwithstanding.
What Does the Constitution Say?
• So, it seems pretty clear that the
founders intended for the federal
government to reign supreme!
• Wait, not so fast…
• What about the 10th Amendment to
the Constitution?
10th Amendment
• The powers not delegated to the
United States by the Constitution,
nor prohibited by it to the states,
are reserved to the states
respectively, or to the people.
• So, how do we answer the big
question?
What Does History Tell Us?
What Does History Tell Us?
• Hamilton (Nationalist) vs. Jefferson (States’
Rightist) - GW sided with Hamilton
• The Marshall Court decisions (early 1800’s)–
enhanced the power of the national
government (McCulloch v. Maryland –
Congress has IMPLIED powers that go beyond
the EXPRESSED/ENUMERATED /DELEGATED
powers)
What Does History Tell Us?
• The Civil War, The Progressive movement,
the New Deal, the Great Society, and the Civil
Rights movement all enhanced federal power
over state power
• The Reagan Revolution of recent history
sought to reduce the power and influence of
the federal government and enhance the
power and influence of the states
(DEVOLUTION)
From Dual Federalism to
Cooperative Federalism
• Before the emergence of a more powerful
federal government (pre-Civil War), there
existed a dual federalism (aka – Layer Cake
federalism)
• The federal government did its thing and the
states did their thing
• The federal government handled defense, and
treaties, and westward expansion
• The states dealt with everything else
From Dual Federalism to
Cooperative Federalism
• As the country became more urban,
industrial, and complex (late 19th/early
20th century), Americans demanded
more from the federal government
• Dual Federalism evolved into a more
Cooperative Federalism (aka – Marble
Cake Federalism)
Cooperative Federalism
• The federal government and the states
began to work together
• They shared the costs of programs
• They shared running the programs
• The lines between federal power and
state power were blurred (thus, marble
cake federalism)
Fiscal Federalism
• The funding that the federal
government gives to the states
to carry out certain programs
• Mostly in the form of
GRANTS-IN-AID (Hundreds of
billions of dollars per year)
Total Grant Outlays to State and Local
Governments: 1940-2011
Grant Programs
• Health, education, job training
• Housing, science and
technology
• Environment, Arts,
Transportation
Types of Grants-In-Aid
• Categorical Grants
– Federal grants to be used by the states for a
specific purpose or category
– States have little freedom to determine how to
spend the money
– Most come with STRINGS ATTACHED
(requirements the states must meet while using
the money)
Types of Grants-In-Aid
–Some categorical grants are issued
based on a prescribed formula set by
Congress (formula grants)
–Sometimes states have to apply for
federal grants for a certain purpose
(project grants/earmarks)
Types of Grants-In-Aid
• Block Grants
–A more recent trend (since the 1990’s)
–Federal grants to be used by the states
for broad purposes
–States have more freedom as to how
to spend the money
2009 Obama Stimulus Package
What States Get What Money?
• See Federal Grants to the States link on class
website
Devolution
• With the Reagan presidency in the
1980’s, there began a trend of
shifting power and responsibilities
back to the states
• This is known as DEVOLUTION
• It is, in essence, decentralization of
power
Unfunded Mandates
• Sometimes Congress passes laws that
require the states to establish programs
but does not fund for the programs
• These are called UNFUNDED MANDATES
• Sometimes the funding is minimal
• These are called UNDERFUNDED
MANDATES