HOME RULE; The term refers to the American Colonial period of time before the independence in

which American colonies enjoyed a certain degree of independence from England when it came to
relations with other states and political appointees. England, however, had a monopoly on international
trade and the military of the colonies.

SOURCES OF PRE-REVOLUTIONARY TENSION; Some of the sources of tension was the Stamp
tax act imposed by the English parliament on American exportations to help wage the Indian Wars and
postwar. This created the issue of taxation without representation, which would radicalize Americans
like the Boston Tea party member. Another source of tension was the English decision to send military
personal to spy on American important and wealthy families, invading their privacy and constraining
their freedom. These were all factors that alienated Americans against the British ruling.

CORE FEATURES AND PROBLEMS OF THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION; The core

features were that each one of the States had an equal say on what the policy that the Confederation would
follow or what its Constitution should look like; The articles also gave all the power to States in the way of
the Congress, no executive was created with the articles; Any State could veto a law from being created. The
problem with the articles was that they generated collective action problems, like Rhode Island, although
having less that 2 per cent of the country population, vetoing laws that would gather much needed revenue for
the Union; or the fact that there was no National entity that could make the laws be obeyed by the States or
private citizens, like during Shay’s Rebellion: In this debtors against creditors struggle in MA, private elites
had to put money out of their pocket to crush a farmers unrest and reestablish order, something that was seen
dangerous both for the wealthy and the State.

KEY DIFFERENCES BETWEEN VIRGINIA AND NEW JERSEY PLANS; The Virginia plan was a
draft with clear intentions to make big States like VA, NY or MA maintain more power over the Union than
the rather small States like NJ or RI. The Virginia plan wanted to have an strong national government;
representation in Congress being divided among the States according to each State population. Whereas the
NJ plan seemed to give more power to the small States by creating just one camera in Congress with equal
representation from each State; and a very limited national government.

COMPROMISES MADE AT THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION, AND THE

JUSTIFICATIONS FOR EACH;

Congress should be bicameral: the house representatives would be divided from the states according to each
State population; taking some of the Virginia plan and satisfying the bigger States. The Senate was designed
to make each State have equal say since each State, big or small, would have the same number or
representatives in it. Electoral college would decide the president head.

THE ENUMERATED POWERS; art 1, sec 8 in the Constitution says explicitly what congress can do:
collect taxes to pay the nation’s debt; borrow money on behalf of the united states; The regulation of
commerce, both on the international and interstate level; Coin money; Raise and maintain a militia.

THE COMMERCE CLAUSE; A enumerated power that gives Congress the authority to regulate over
Interstate affairs that involve commerce and has been used historically by Congress to expand its power and
the amount of things it may regulate, taking power from the States on issues like Civil Rights and Labor.

THE NECESSARY AND PROPER CLAUSE; A enumerated power that allows Congress to regulate, and
create the laws it considers appropriate to execute the powers the Constitution has assigned it. Like creating a
law that allowed a military draft since that would be considered “appropriate and necessary to maintain a
militia”
WHAT CONGRESS CANNOT DO; Congress can’t do anything that’s not mentioned in the
Constitution in the list of enumerated powers; that’s left to the States and the people. Like elections or
intrastate commerce.

WHAT'S SAID AND LEFT UNSAID IN ARTICLE I?; Article 1 says how the congress is divided into
two cameras the Senate and the House; It doesn’t say how congress is going to structure itself; It says
how laws are to be made; It lists the powers Congress can regulate but doesn’t explicitly say what the
States can do since it only says that whatever is not listed for Congress to regulate is left to the States,
giving the States broad power.

JUSTIFICATIONS FOR AN INDEPENDENT EXECUTIVE;

1. The executive can act rapidly in times of emergency.

2. He represents a check on Congress: He has the power of veto, which limits the reach of
congress.
3. He can see that the laws are obeyed.

PRESIDENTIAL POWERS IN FOREIGN AFFAIRS; He can sign treaties with the consent and advice
of congress.

TAKE CARE CLAUSE; In art 2, among the things the president can do is the Take Care Clause which
enables the executive to make all laws be enforced.

ORIGINAL VS APPELLATE JURISDICTION; A court has the power to hear a case for the first time;
AJ: when a higher court has the power to review a lower court's decision.

JUDICIAL REVIEW;

SUPREMACY CLAUSE VS COUNCIL OF REVISION;

Supremacy Clause: It’s in article 6, it is basically a principle that says that if a State law conflicts with a
Federal law, the Federal law must prevail. It takes power from the States.

THE FEDERALIST PAPERS AS EARLY PROPAGANDA; The Federalist papers were designed by
James Madison and Alexander Hamilton as their attempt to persuade the delegates at the NY convention to
ratify the Constitution that enabled the Republican model of govern and a federal government.

DEBATE OVER A BILL OF RIGHTS; Madison believed that a bill of rights would only give congress
the right to regulate the rights of the citizens, seeing as something bad because he thought this power
would enable congress to take away the rights of the people and execute oppression on them

FACTIONS AND THEIR CURES/TREATMENT; factions are groups of people moved and driven by
a common passion or interest against others or the common good.

SEPARATE INSTITUTIONS SHARING POWER; Congress and the Executive share power over
certain issues, like War and International treaties. This is part of the checks institutions have on each
other. The executive could sign a treaty with Russia, but according to the Constitution, it would need
the “advice and consent” of the Senate. This is a way to say that the Presidency is free to make certain
decisions, Congress can intervene.

AMBITION AS AN ANSWER (I.E. FED. 51);

FORMS OF FEDERAL SYSTEMS: Dual Federalism, Cooperative federalism and picket fence
federalism, Coercive federalism.

DUAL VS COOPERATIVE FEDERALISM; Dual federalism refers to the late 19 th century and early
20th century period in which State and the Federal government used to work as different units, acting
on different issues and with different policy, Cooperative Federalism is a form of federalism which
enables cooperation between both Federal government and State governments, this is the form that we
have now.

NATIONALIZATION OF US POLITICS;

BLOCK GRANTS VS CATEGORICAL GRANTS VS UNFUNDED MANDATES; Block Grants are

money the Federal government gives to the States for these to use on certain areas the federal
government wants them to work on, like on education or health, but the States decide exactly how this
money will be spent.

Categorical Grants: money the federal government gives to the states for these to use on very specific
projects and in a very specific way. Categorical grants are a way to coerce States to do what the federal
one wants.

STATES' RIGHTS DEBATE; The notion that States have the right to regulate themselves on a wide
variety of issues without the federal government being able to intervene or constrain them.

LAWMAKING AND OVERSIGHT ROLE OF CONGRESS; senate works on treaties,

recommendations and appointments. The house approves bills for the laws to be enforced. They don’t
make laws, they update them. Appropriation bills and authorizations bills.

SENATE'S ROLE IN FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND APPOINTMENTS; they confirm treaties, oversight
bureaucracy and confirm nominees.

FENNO'S 3 GOALS VS MAYHEW'SUNDERSTANDING OF MEMBER GOALS;

1. Get reelected
2. Policy
3. Influence within the house

BEHAVIORS MCS ENGAGE IN TO SECURE REELECTION;

Credit claiming

Taking positions

advertising

IMPLICATIONS FOR SUBSTANTIVE REPRESENTATION (ESP. AT COLLECTIVE LEVEL);

It’s bad. Under this way of representation, mc’s only care about what the constituents and the party
wants; they don’t care for big, national problems if that won’t help them get reelected.

DESCRIPTIVE REPRESENTATION;

It’s about what the MC’s want for their district and what the constituents demand. It refers to the
degree in which the representative looks like his constituents.
REASONS FOR LARGE CONGRESSIONAL STAFF; MC’s time and energy is limited, division of
labor, discussion where experts discuss a bill.

COMMITTEE JURISDICTION;

AGENDA-SETTING AND GATEKEEPING;

THEORIES OF COMMITTEE PURPOSE (INFORMATIONAL VS DISTRIBUTIVE);

PARTY'S ROLE IN LAWMAKING TODAY AND IN THE PAST;

Speakers power:
Committees and individual MCs power:
Majority party power:

CONDITIONAL PARTY GOVERNMENT THEORY; when party members are unified on some issue,
and they have a clear disagreement with other parties, MCS tend to give more power to the party
leadership for this to rule on policy to be followed.

OBSTRUCTIONISM/FILIBUSTERS; Cloture and filibusters.

CLOTURE; a motion to limit a MCS speech to 30 hours and then have a vote. Good to go in the Senate

MAJORITARIAN HOUSE VS BI-PARTISANISH SENATE;

WHY PARTIES EXIST; office seekers need big coalitions of effort, ideology and resources. Voters
need parties to label.

PIG VS PAO VS PIE;

Party in govt: Office holders who try to shape policy from the apparatus.
Party as organization: A central organization that tries to get its members into office and help them
keep it.
Party in the electorate: voters who identify themselves with a party.

PARTIES AS COALITIONS;

DUVERGER'S LAW;

SMDP VS PR;

REALIGNMENT THEORY;

JACKSONIAN DEMOCRACY;

SPOILS SYSTEM AND MACHINE POLITICS;

PROGRESSIVE REFORMS;

NEW DEAL COALITION;

"SOLID SOUTH";
DEALIGNMENT;

SPLIT-TICKET VOTING;

POLARIZATION OF MASS AND ELITE.