Unit 1

• John Locke: individualism

  • gov mediates individuals whose interests conflict with another’s right to life, health, liberty, and possessions
• Rousseau: communitarian

  • social contract necessary because individuals depend on each other
• Social contract: A contract between the people and the government that gives the government the right to rule.
• Constitution: framework providing basic principles of organization and operation
• constitutionalism: manner in which the constitution accomplishes its roles as organizational framework and national symbol

  • limited power and accountable for actions
• *Rule of law: law is applied to everyone
• • Democracy: rule of the majority
  • constitutionalism: the law rules all
• Parts of a lasting constitution:

  • preamble:
  • organizational chart of gov
  • amendatory articles describing the manner in which the supreme law may be changed
  • bill of rights
• Principles of American Constitution

  • separation of powers:
  • Legislative
  • executive
  • judicial
  • federalism: states and national gov have power
  • judicial review: review the actions of executive and legislative branches with inconsistent with constitution
• contradicting ideology in the constitution:

  • individualist theory of politics (John Locke): gov mediates interests creating conflicts
  • justice: equality of procedure (ex people are taxed the same)
  • communitarian (republican) theory of politics: community is essential therefore gov brings individuals together to solve public problems
  • conflict between public and private, public wins
  • justice is substantive: outcomes > procedure
• American conservative revolution:

  • aimed at preserving basic liberties they enjoyed under GB
  • declaration of rights and grievances and declaration and resolves: issued to retain their initial liberties under Great britain
• Great Britain after dealing with the seven years war and their own internal issues decided to tax the colonies in order to regain their expenses
• Ideas that GB’s tyranny influenced American politics

  • fundamental rights
  • distinction between constitutional and legal
  • emphasis on local gov
• continental congress declared America’s independence before the Declaration of independence

  • DI: propaganda, justification of actions, and
  • first principles of America: ideas about human nature and the proper foundation and en ends of gov
• Declaration of Independence: goals

  constitution: means to achieve the end goals
• Out line for the declaration:

  • 1st paragraph: announces the intention of the document
  • 2nd paragraph: major premises for a logical syllogism for revolution
  • list of grievances: Minor premises
  • last paragraph: conclusions
• Most democracies use a parliamentary system of government where there is a prime minister and a cabinet chosen from the members of the majority party in the legislature
• federalism: gov divided between the country and states

  • modified version: unitary system
  • all powers emanate from the central gov
• Judicial review: The power of the courts to declare laws and government action unlawful.

  • not mentioned in the constitution
  • powerful check
• supreme law = constitution
• stages for amendments to be incorporated

  • proposal: requires 2/3 vote of both houses of Congress or a national constitutional convention
  • ratification: amendment must be ratified by three fourths of the states in their legislatures or special conventions
• Types of amendments:

  • establish, confirm, or create a specific right
  • structural changes in the institutions and procedures of the national gov
• bill of rights: list of freedoms, rights, and liberties that the government cannot take away

  • first ten amendments
• • negative rights: prevent gov form doing things that would violate the bill of rights
  • positive rights: require gov to act positively to ensure enjoyment of economic and social entitlement
• constitutions are never politically neutral documents
• Indvidualistic theory of politics:

  • individuals take precedence over government
  • Humans are capable of choice and development on their own
  • individuals > community
  • gov mediates individual’s interests when conflicted
  • justice is procedural
• Communitarian (republican)

  • people need community and its values to nurture their development and make proper choices
  • Recognize that the public interest creates responsibilities that may override the individual’s rights
  • substantive (looks at he results) view of justice
• ideas inherited from the English common law tradition

  • general concepts such as the judicial doctrines of precedent and “reasonableness“
  • Specific guarantees such as the rights to due process of law and a trial by jury
  • english parliament as defender of the people’s rights
• • northern colonies deviated more from English legal traditions than southern colonies
• The colonies used the principles of the “mixed constitution”

  • different components (Ex governor, council, assembly, etc) representing different classes or interests shared government powers
• American constitution was adopted in 1787
• the american revolution was to preserve their “ancient constitutions” and the basic liberties they enjoyed for 150 years until English rule
• First paragraph of the declaration of independence:

  • controls the principles of the American regime
  • When one political community becomes two
  • ambiguous relationship with Christianity
• paragraph 2 of DI

  • all men are created equal
  • unalienable rights
  • governments are instituted to protect these rights
  • we: the same based on a proposition (having the same ideas)
  • Locke: equality in the DI; all of us are the heirs of Adam we are all equal and independent (state of nature)
  • Locke: all born separate and equal
• paragraph 2 of DI P 2

  • locke: duty to revolution: to throw a gov when it doesn’t do its job
  • prudence defined by Aristotle: when something is actually good for you
  • challenged or deliberated
  • is money good?

  • we should not change the law if it is old because we do what we are habituated to do
  • Hobbes: suffer oppression > overthrow government
• State constitutions

  • formed while fighting a revolutionary war
  • goal: healthier small scale republics
  • problems:
  • how do you form constitutional (higher) law?
  • separation of powers of massachusetts
  • executive power was nerfed while the legislative was boosted; increased elections; increased # of representatives
  • limits on legislature branch: bicameral legislature, bill of rights, independent judiciary
  • didn‘t have a system of checks
  • Massachusetts
  • delegates and legislatures (the people)
  • constitutional convention with delegates by the people
  • delegates draft constitution
  • ratification by the people
• Articles of confederation

  • first national doc
  • set a confederacy
  • representation: strict separation between people and national gov
  • State equality: 1 vote each
  • 13/13 to amend; 9/13 pass a measure
  • only one unicameral congress
  • State represented by a state

  
• powers of national gov

  • only powers “expressly delegated (put on paper)”
  • only power to foreign affairs
  • no power to tax or regulate economy nor raise an army
• Interstate relations

  • Firm league of friendship
  • steps to form cooperation
  • privileges and immunities
• problems of articles of confederation

  • weak national gov: no taxes nor military suppor
  • difficult to change law
  • 9/13 to pass measures
  • 13/13 to change doc