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FORMAT FOR POLS 2050 ONLINE PAPERS.

I.Select two issues or concepts from the assignment readings.

Issue 1. State the issue and summarize it in Your Own Words.

Issue II. State the issue and summarize it in Your Own Words

II. Current Events References

Current Events Article 1 – Give a specific reference, title date etc. Summarize the Article (Don’t copy it) Explain how it relates to either of the issues above.

Current Events Article 2 – Give a specific reference, title date etc, Summarize the Article (Don’t copy it) Explain how it relates to either of the issues above.

III. Constitutional Reference

Select Constitutional references for the issues discussed above. Give a complete reference to the Article and Section of the Constitution. Explain why the issue is relevant to the Constitutional reference.

IV Your Opinion (Optional)

here the lecture that i have to read and answer this questions.

he Constitution: Overview

The Framers of the Constitution sought to create a government capable of protecting liberty and preserving order. The solution they chose—one without precedent at that time—was a government based on a written constitution, which combined the principles of popular consent, separation of powers, and federalism.

Popular consent was most evident in the procedure for choosing members of the House of Representatives. However, popular consent was limited by the requirements that senators be elected by their state legislatures and presidents by the Electoral College. Powers were separated among branches that then had to cooperate to effect change. Thus, separation of powers was joined with a system of checks and balances. This, it was hoped, would prevent tyranny, even by a popular majority.

Federalism came to mean a system in which both the national and state governments had independent authority. Allocating powers between these two levels of government and devising means to ensure that neither large nor small states would dominate the national government required the most delicate compromises at the Philadelphia convention. The Framers’ decision to protect the institution of slavery was another compromise, which presumably helped to ensure the Constitution’s ratification by states engaged in the slave trade.

In the drafting of the Constitution and the struggle for its ratification, the positions people took were determined by a variety of factors. In addition to their economic interests, these included profound differences of opinion over whether the state governments or the national government would be the best protector of personal liberty.

Important Terms: The Constitution

amendment

A new provision in the Constitution that has been ratified by the states.

Antifederalists

Those who favored a weaker national government.

Articles of Confederation

A weak constitution that governed America during and immediately after the Revolutionary War.

bill of attainder

A law that declares a person, without trial, to be guilty of a crime.

Bill of Rights

The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution.

checks and balances

The power of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government to block some acts by the other two branches. (See also separation of powers.)

coalition

An alliance of factions.

concurrent powers

Powers shared by the national and state governments.

Constitutional Convention

Meeting in Philadelphia in 1787 that produced a new constitution.

enumerated powers

Powers given to the national government alone.

ex post facto law

A law that makes an act criminal although the act was legal when it was committed.

faction

A group with a distinct political interest.

federalism

Government authority shared by national and state governments.

Federalists

Those who favor a stronger national government.

Great Compromise

Plan to have popularly elected House based on state population and a state-selected Senate, with two members for each state.

habeas corpus

An order to produce an arrested person before a judge.

inalienable

A human right based on nature or God.

line-item veto

An executive’s ability to block a particular provision in a bill passed by the legislature.

New Jersey Plan

Proposal to create a weak national government.

republic

A government in which elected representatives make the decisions.

reserved powers

Powers given to the state governments alone.

separation of powers

Constitutional authority is shared by three different branches of government.

Shays’s Rebellion

A 1787 rebellion in which ex–Revolutionary War soldiers attempted to prevent foreclosures of farms as a result of high interest rates and taxes.

unalienable

A human right based on nature or God.

Virginia Plan

Proposal to create a strong national government.

Overview: Federalism

States participate actively both in determining national policy and in administering national programs. Moreover, they reserve to themselves or to localities within them important powers over such public services as schooling and law enforcement, and such important public decisions as land use. In a unitary system, these powers are exercised by the national government.

How one evaluates federalism depends in large part on the value one attaches to the competing criteria of equality and participation. Federalism means that citizens living in different parts of the country will be treated differently. This applies not only to spending programs (such as welfare), but also to legal systems (where civil rights may be differentially protected or criminal sentencing may vary). Yet federalism also means that there are more opportunities to participate in decision making. It allows people to influence what is taught in the schools, and to decide where highways and other government projects will be built. Indeed, differences in public policy—that is, unequal treatment—are largely the result of wider participation in decision making. It is difficult, perhaps even impossible, to have more of one of these values without having less of the other.

From the 1930s to the present, United States politics and public policy became decidedly more nationalized, with the federal government, and especially the federal courts, imposing increasingly uniform standards on the states. These usually took the form of mandates and conditions of aid. Efforts, begun in the 1960s and 1970s to reverse this trend by shifting to revenue sharing and block grants, were only partially successful. In the mid-1990s, the Supreme Court began to review the doctrine of state sovereignty and the effort to devolve power from Washington to the states gained momentum. Yet, the overall impact of these efforts appears to be minimal. Federal spending on social programs, adjusted for inflation, is at its highest levels since World War II, and Congressional control over spending programs has prompted more regulation of state and local governments.

Important Terms: Federalism

block grants

Money from the national government that states can spend within broad guidelines determined by Washington .

categorical grants

Federal grants for specific purposes, such as building an airport.

conditions of aid

Terms set by the national government that states must meet if they are to receive certain federal funds.

devolution

The effort to transfer responsibility for many public programs and services from the federal government to the states.

dual federalism

Doctrine holding that the national government is supreme in its sphere, the states are supreme in theirs, and the two spheres should be kept separate.

express preemption

A federal law or regulation containing language explicitly displacing or superceding any contrary state or local laws.

federalism

A political system in which there are local (territorial, regional, state, or municipal) units of government, as well as a national government, and powers are shared between the local units and the national government.

grants-in-aid

Money given by the national government to the states.

implied preemption

A federal law or regulation containing language that conflicts with state or local laws, cannot be effectively implemented due to such laws, or concerns matters like treaty-making in which Washington has exclusive constitutional powers (like treaty-making) or has “occupied the field” (like federal employment security and retirement laws).

initiative

Process that permits voters to put legislative measures directly on the ballot.

mandates

Terms set by the national government that states must meet whether or not they accept federal grants.

“necessary and proper” clause

Section of the Constitution allowing Congress to pass all laws “necessary and proper” to its duties, and which has permitted Congress to exercise powers not specifically given to it (enumerated) by the Constitution.

nullification

The doctrine that a state can declare null and void a federal law that, in the state’s opinion, violates the Constitution.

police power

State power to enact laws promoting health, safety, and morals.

recall

Procedure whereby voters can remove an elected official from office.

referendum

Procedure enabling voters to reject a measure passed by the legislature.

revenue sharing

Federal sharing of a fixed percentage of its revenue with the states.

second-order devolution

The flow of power and money from the states to local governments.

third-order devolution

The increased role of nonprofit organizations and private groups in policy implementation.

waiver

A decision by an administrative agency granting some other part permission to violate a law or rule that would otherwise apply to it.