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APLS 201 “A Republic, If You Can Keep It:” Principles and the Many
Paradoxes of American Government Robert E. Botsch,
Professor of Political Science, USC Aiken Copyright 2008-9 A free Web-based text for USC Aiken
American Government Students |
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Chapter
3. The Legislative Branch Chapter
6. The Judicial Branch Chapter
8. Civil Liberties and Civil Rights Chapter 10. Political
Parties and Elections Chapter
11. Public Opinion, Socialization, and the Media + Afterword |
The
assembly room in Independence Hall, Text Information This
text was made possible by a grant from USCA and is solely for the use of USCA
students. At some later date MP3 audio files of each chapter will be available.
Below is a detailed outline of the text. To view each chapter for either
reading or printing, click on the chapter headings in the frame to the left.
The “pdf” versions of each chapter allow you to do searches for words or
phrases. If you want to print the chapters, the pdf versions will take less
paper because they are in ten point font. Please
email any errors, corrections, or comments to bobb@usca.edu.
All corrections and comments are welcome! Bob Botsch Dedication For Carol Botsch, whose meticulous editing and
excellent suggestions greatly improved this text, and for the thousands of
USC Aiken American Government students who have asked me thought-provoking
questions over the many years. Detailed
Text Outline 5/16/2008 Chapter 1.
Introduction I.
Purposes of this e-text II.
Some basic terms and ideas A.
Republics and democracies B. Politics and power C.
Government D. Ideology and party E.
Federalism III.
Plan of the Text Chapter 2.
The Constitution: An Overview I. The Paradoxical American
Constitution II. The Nature of Constitutions III. The Articles of Confederation IV. The Constitutional Convention A.
Preliminary events B.
The Founders–-Who They Were and Their Motivations V. The VI. The Structure of the Constitution A.
Preamble, Articles, Sections, and Amendments B.
Overview of Articles C.
Process for Amendment VII. Compromises and Conflicts in the
Constitution—A Document with Many Paradoxes A.
Representation–-The Great or B.
Slicing and Dicing Power–-Separation of Powers and Checks and Balances C.
Enslavement–-A Conflict Postponed D.
Electing the President–-The Electoral College F.
Elections–-Ducking a Conflict and Deferring to the States G.
Popular Rule–-The Need for Popular Support for a System that Limited Popular
Rule VIII. The Enduring Problem of
Interpretation in a Clearly Unclear Constitution A.
Differing Philosophies on Interpretation: Living Constitution, Original
Intent, Strict Narrow Construction and Loose Construction, Judicial Activism
and Restraint B.
Inevitability of Interpretation C.
Who Should Do the Interpreting? Chapter 3.
The Legislative Branch: The People’s Branch that the People Hate I.
What you know about and what you like about Congress—not much II.
The Legislative Branch as laid out in the Constitution III.
The Evolution of Congress: from part-time citizen legislators to full-time
career professionals IV.
Paradoxical Views of Congress Today: “Throw the bums out” and high
re-election rates A. Job approval ratings of
Congress – how low can they go? B. Who gets elected and why they
usually stay a long time V.
The Conflicting Functions of Congress A. Representation B. Policy-making C. Other related functions:
oversight and deliberation VI.
The Organization of Congress VII.
Differences between the House and the Senate VIII.
The obstacle course of legislation A. Introduction B. Committee and Subcommittees C. The Rules Committee in the House and Unanimous
Consent Agreements in the Senate D. Floor action E. Conference Committees F. Presidential options, vetoes and overrides G. Evaluation—slow going just as the founders
intended IX. Policy Implications—Energy
Policy Chapter 4.
The Executive: The All-Powerful Weakling I.
Introduction—your image of the president and the paradox of the presidential
power trap II.
Constitutional Foundation—invitation to a power struggle III.
Historical evolution—increasing power and expectations A. George Washington—respect and
limited tenure B. Thomas Jefferson—party pioneer C. Andrew Jackson—popularizer D. Abraham Lincoln—emergency
powers E. Theodore Roosevelt—speechmaking
and stewardship theory F. Woodrow Wilson—the world leader G. Franklin Roosevelt—new
expectations, the personal savior H. John Kennedy—the televised
president I. Lyndon Johnson and Richard
Nixon—over-extended imperial presidents J. Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter—downsized
presidents K. Ronald Reagan—the optimistic insulated president IV.
Presidential Powers A. Formal—presidential roles 1.
Chief executive 2. Chief legislator 3. Commander-in-chief 4. Chief negotiator 5. Head of
state--symbolic leader B. Informal—the power to persuade 1. Molder
of public opinion 2.
Party leader V.
Checks on presidential power A. The Other two Branches B. The Media C. Partisanship and Rivals D. Public Opinion and Interest
Groups E. Limited tenure – the “lame
duck” president F. The Federal Bureaucracy VI.
Getting good help A. The EOP—a Bureaucracy to Manage the Bureaucracy B. How Presidents Organize their Staff 1.
Chief of staff Model 2.
Hub and Wheel Model 3.
Hybrid Models VII.
Vice presidents—Growing Importance VIII.
The Future of the Chief Executive—Resolving the Paradox of the Presidential
Power trap—Lowering Expectations? Chapter
5. Bureaucracy: The Dual Demands for Equal and Unequal Treatment, for Political Responsiveness and Political
Neutrality I.
Introduction: the Conflicting Demands We Make on Bureaucracy A. The Paradox of Equality and
Individual Treatment B. The Paradox of Political
Responsiveness and Political Neutrality II.
Constitutional Basis for Bureaucracy and Conflicts Over Control of
Bureaucracy III.
Defining Characteristics of Bureaucracy A. Hierarchical Structure B. Specialization C. Rules and Regulations—“Red
Tape” IV.
The Evolution of Bureaucracy—From a Few Clerks to Spoils to Civil Service V.
Size and Growth of Government Bureaucracy A. Growth Patterns B. Reasons for Bureaucratic Growth VI.
Structure of the Bureaucracy at the National Level A. Cabinet Level Departments B. Executive Branch Agencies C. Regulatory Agencies D. Government Corporations VII.
The Fourth Branch? VIII.
Policy Implications—Economic Policy A. Fiscal Policy—Congress and the President B. Monetary Policy—The Fed C. Where You Stand on Economic Policy Depends on
Where You Sit D.
Economic Policy and the Evolution of Bureaucracy Chapter 6.
The Judicial Branch: The Highly Political Non-political Courts I.
Introduction II.
The Constitutional Foundation for the Federal Court System—Not Much A. Judicial B. Jurisdiction of the Federal
Courts C. Treason D. Size of the Supreme Court—One
of Many Things Left Out III.
Growth of the Federal Court System—Structure and Relationship to State Courts IV.
Powers—Judicial Review V.
Caseload in Federal and State Courts and the Judicial Calendar VI. Selection of Justices and Judges—More
Politics VII.
How the Supreme Court Decides Cases A. Apply the Constitution—If Only that
Easy! B. Precedent—“Stare Decisis” C. Political
Predisposition—Judicial Baggage D. Process—Room for Influence and
Persuasion VIII.
Conclusion—A Nation of Laws AND People Chapter 7.
Federalism: If Everyone Is Responsible, Is No One Responsible? I. Introduction: The Paradox of Who Is Responsible For What II.
The Constitutional Foundations of Federalism III.
Early Federalism–-State-Centered Federalism A. McCulloch v. B. Gibbons v.
C. State Resistance—Interposition and Nullification IV.
Secession and Reconstruction: The End of State Centered Federalism? V.
The Late 1800s: Twilight Zone Federalism When No One Was Responsible, Except
the Very Rich VI.
The Growth of Nation-Centered Federalism A. Teddy Roosevelt and the
Progressives B. Franklin Roosevelt and the New Deal C. Civil Rights and Johnson’s Great Society VII.
Cooperative Federalism: Shared and Mixed Responsibilities A. Grants B. Reducing the
Regulations—Revenue Sharing and Block Grants C. Evaluation VIII.
Devolution: Shifting More Responsibilities Back to the States IX.
Local governments X.
Forces and Factors that Shape the Balance in Who is Responsible for What A. The Three Branches of the
National Government B. State and Local
Governments—Government Interest Groups C. Political Parties D. The Economic Environment E. Citizen Interest Groups F. Citizens and Public Opinion XI.
Conclusion A. Arguments For and Against Federalism B. Reconsideration of the
Paradox of Who is Responsible for What Chapter 8.
Civil Liberties and Civil Rights: Constitutional Rights and Liberties That
May Not Be Constitutionally Protected I.
Introduction: The Paradox of Our Constitutional Rights and Liberties II.
Review of Rights and Liberties in the Constitution III.
Incorporation of the Bill of Rights to Apply to the States A. Barron’s B. Passage of the Fourteenth
Amendment—Incorporation: does it apply the Bill of Rights to the states? C. Palko v. D. Selective Incorporation—Almost
There, But Not Quite IV.
Some Key Areas of Rights and Liberties A. First Amendment Rights and
Liberties B. Second Amendment—the Right to
Bear Arms, Individual or Collective? C. Criminal Justice and Rights of the
Accused—Amendments IV, V, VI, and VIII D. Ninth Amendment—Other Rights
“Retained by the People” E. Civil Rights of
Groups—Individualism Promotes and Limits Civil Rights Chapter 9.
Interest Groups: The Paradox of Factions, Control by Letting them Multiply I.
Introduction—They’re Everywhere! A. Importance B. Ambivalent Feelings C. Different Kinds of Groups II.
The Problem of Factions—Federalist
Number 10 A. Definition and Danger of
Factions B. A Necessary Evil Flowing from
Freedom C. Advantages of a Democratic
Republic in Controlling Dangers--Pluralism D. Evaluation of the Argument III.
Tactics A. Lobbying--Many Pressure Points
in the System (triangle relationships) B. Political Campaigns C. Public Opinion—“Grassroots
Lobbying” D. Corruption IV.
Relative Power of Interest Groups A. Size B. Unity C. Money D. Information E. Offense or Defense F. Leadership G. Public Image V.
Evaluation—the Dangers of Pluralism Chapter 10.
Political Parties and Elections: Good Citizens Acting Irrationally I.
The Logic of Voting—An Irrational Activity II.
Elections Without Political Parties? A. Complaints About Parties B. What Parties Are and How They
Differ from Interest Groups C. Why Political Parties Are Necessary III.
A Brief History of American Political Parties A. The Creation of American
Political Parties: Federalists and Jeffersonians B. The Second Party System: Whigs
and Democrats C. The Third Party System:
Republicans and Democrats D. Realignments in the Third Party
System E. Future Changes? IV.
The Organization of Political Parties—Three Part Structure A. Party Organization B. Elected Officials C. Voters V.
Why We Have a Two Party System A. Tradition? B. Two Sides to Issues? C. Rules? Plurality
Winner-take-all Elections VI.
Third Parties: Splinter Protest Parties and Ideological Parties VII.
Voting and Election Rules A. Local, State, and National
Elections—Turnout B. Primaries—Different Types C. The Electoral College D. Campaign Finance E. How People Make Voting
Decisions VIII.
Policy Implications A. Cycles in the Public
Mood—Change and Stability B. Policy Mandates IX.
Should You Vote? Chapter 11.
Public Opinion, Socialization, and the Media: Learning to be Ignorant I.
Getting Personal—How You Learned and Didn’t Learn About Politics A. Focus on You B. The Difficulty of Knowing C. Anti-Political Culture D. Chapter Topics II.
Public Opinion—Learning About How Others Feel A. Pervasive Polls B. Judging and Understanding Polls
and Surveys C. The Paradox of American Opinion
on Services and Taxes—A Look at the Federal Budget, Deficits, and the
National Debt III.
Political Socialization—Picking Up Identifications and Opinions A. Early Childhood—Parents B. Youth—Schools, Peers, and Group
Influence C. Adulthood—Media and Groups IV.
The Media—Our Windows to the World A. Short History of the Media—From
Word of Mouth to the Web B. Media Bias V.
Policy Implications A. Environment and Global Warming B. Foreign and Defense Policy Afterword |
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