Prelim 1 Flashcards
(66 cards)
What are two of America’s core ideals? Describe each
- Liberal democracy: equality & justice for all
We hold these truths to beself-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.
-Declaration of Independence, 1776 - Self-government / Rule of Law
….That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from theconsent of the governed.
-Declaration of Independence, 1776
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
-US Constitution, ratified, 1788
What are two trends in American politics?
- Rising partisan polarization
2. rising hostility to government, declining trust in institutions i.e. Congress
Governing Capacity is needed to do what?
maintain order, protect property, provide public goods, protect rights
What are some compelling reasons to believe that government is not representative?
low voter turnout, increasing amount of $ in politics
What is needed to accomplish anything? What does it require?
Collective Action is needed to accomplish anything, and that requires politics: Conflict, struggle, cooperation and collaboration over the leadership, structure, and policies of government
What is the best way forward for collective action?
Democracy is the best option for collective action. “…the worst form of government, except for all of the others that have been tried from time to time.” (W. Churchill, 1947)
“The most important office in a democracy is that of the citizen.” –attributed to Louis Brandeis
What did Tocqueville note about America?
its egalitarianism
In contrast to Tocqueville, despite following his same route, what did Lord James Bryce discover?
vast inequality; “Sixty years ago, there were no great fortunes in America, few large fortunes, no poverty. Now there is some poverty… and a greater number of gigantic fortunes than in any other country of the world”
Name 4 aspects of American Exceptionalism that Lipset identifies
- A high level of religiosity
- Excessive litigiousness
- Extensive emphasis on mass education
- An absence of socialism
How is US doing in terms of female representative?
100th in the world
Name areas in which US is not doing well globally
incarceration rate, inequality, homicides by firearm
What Value Is There to Making Comparisons Across Nations?
Helps make it clear what’s unusual and what’s typical about our subject, the United States
To avoid ethnocentrism, bias
To avoid narrow view, “mistaking the part for the whole”
To recognize the variation that is possible in governing and political systems
To compare the factors that exist/vary across nations and attempt to understand the causes of different outcomes
What Value Is There to Making Comparisons Across Time?
Illuminate what’s unusual and what’s typical about our particular political moment in the United States; to consider the range of possibilities within the same set of governing arrangements
Avoid presentism
Avoid determinism, assuming that things are as they must be given earlier events, and no choice or human will is possible
Avoid functionalism
To engage in counterfactual thinking
Path dependency
how past has shaped the present
According to John Judis, name 4 true aspects about populism:
1) Populism is a political logic that pits The People against elites/the establishment, who are depicted as self-serving and undemocratic
2) Right-wing populism includes resentment of elites for favoring an outgroup, e.g. immigrants, welfare recipients, minorities
3) Populist fervor explains support for Bernie Sanders, Donald Trump, and Marine Le Pen
4) Populist parties in Europe tend to be more enduring than those in the United States
According to Mickey, Levitsky, and Way article “Is America Still Safe for Democracy?”, which of the following is true of American democracy?
a) The United States is the world’s oldest democracy
b) If authoritarianism replaces democracy, that shift will be signaled by a coup d’etat, martial law, or the rise of a one-party state
c) Authoritarianism in the past was limited to the 11 states of the former Confederacy
d) Partisan polarization presents particular threats
D
According to Mickey, Levitsky, and Way article “Is America Still Safe for Democracy?”, what particular threats does partisan polarization present?
creating congressional dysfunction, which erodes public trust & prompts presidents to overreach; making a majority party in Congress unlikely to engage in oversight (i.e. Republicans backing impeachment of Nixon) of the president of their own party, and very likely to try to restrain a president of the opposing party
Name one term associated with Mickey, Levitsky, and Way article article “Is America Still Safe for Democracy?”
backsliding –> incremental steps (not coup) that erodes democracy
What three streams of thought does Smith argue in “Multiple Traditions in America?”
1) Lockean Liberalism
2) civic republicanism
3) ascriptive hierarchy i.e. 3/5 Compromise, fugitive slave law, delay on ending slavery until at least 1808
What two facets of american identity conflict with regards to equality?
Declaration of Independence & ascriptive hierarchy
What does John Locke think about humanity and government?
Individuals, who are by nature free & independent, may for the purposes of peace, preservation of property, & the public good, give their consent to be governed
Name 4 aspects of Articles of Confederation
1) James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and others essentially tried to overthrow it by peaceful means.
2) It operated similarly to the United Nations today.
3) It lacked the power to collect taxes & have its own military.
4) Some member gov’ts were run by radicals, relative to pre-Revolutionary times.
What provokes overthrow of Articles of Confederation?
Shay’s Rebellion
Describe Great Compromise
From the Virginia Plan: nationalist, population-based
to the New Jersey Plan: state-based
To the Connecticut (Great) Compromise: bicameralism, mix of both
