It's that time of year again. To help my students in American Politics (PS 101) concentrate, while channeling their inner Thomas Jefferson ...
... below I provide an updated set of links to some of the topics we've discussed in lecture. These links should not be interpreted as providing all the information needed for each of the questions asked in the final exam. They are simply links to topics that are not in the book and/or are tied to topics students have asked about during class and office hours.
Questions for the first two mid-terms (typos and all) are listed below the links section.
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LINKS FOR ISSUES IN MID-TERM #1 ...
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Liberal Republic / Liberal Revolution. Look
here under "Three Intertwined Developments" for the historical forces and intellectual roots behind our political and economic system. Then use them to help explain the Liberal Revolution, and how they provide the base for the ideas behind our Constitution.
* The Federal Imperative / California: Creating access points, opportunities, and dispersing power lies at the heart of the federal principle in America. These
two posts on
fiscal federalism outlines how the U.S. works to achieve these goals by shifting and, yes, redistributing wealth in America. This
post explains how California is 'dead last' when it comes to ease of getting welfare. This
link discusses the tax policies of Governor Reagan. As part of our larger discussion on California in the federal system we discussed budget issues and the recall of former Gov. Gray Davis, which is
discussed here. Finally,
this post explains how California is now looking at balanced budgets after raising taxes, which we discussed in class.
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LINKS FOR ISSUES IN MID-TERM #2 ...
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Our Court System: Here's the link to help with the
FISA courts. Click
here for a discussion on the Original Intent / Judicial Activist debate. Click
here for a discussion on how our court system is used to protect financial interests.
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The Presidency / American Caesar: For a review of one of the stronger presidents in the 19th century check out this
this post on Andrew Jackson. Do we have an emerging American Caesar?
This op-ed review several issues tied to the American presidency that we discussed in class. The links
here and
here help us understand some of the new "tools" now at the disposal of the American President )and the rise of the National Security State), while these
two posts discuss signing statements.
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Congress: Why is it that many members of Congress appear overwhelmed and uninformed? Why do they appear to talk at each other instead of with each other? Apart from issues tied to
redistricting, this
post on the Bell Experiment ties into our lecture on post-industrialandia and semi-democracy in America. Click
here for the link to "We're not the greatest country in the world."
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Political Parties: This one will require that you read the entire chapter on political parties closely. Still, here's a link I have used in previous class lectures to help explain the evolution of
political parties in America.
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LINKS FOR ISSUES IN PART II OF THE FINAL ...
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Economic Policy Making: At the beginning of our lecture on economic policy making I discussed how the magic of the market really works. Here I used my experience at Disneyland to help explain how
markets actually work. You can find my C-SPAN interview (where I discuss Aladdin moment)
here. The following links discuss the role of
fiscal policy,
subsidies,
corporate welfare,
regulatory policy, and the forces behind
our wage structure in America. This
post discusses how much the big banks depend on government subsidies to survive. This
post discusses how America redistributes wealth (i.e. fiscal federalism), while
this post discusses how America has consistently worked to bailout and subsidize the market.
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Social Security: For the question on social security, apart from your notes you might want to look at
this,
this,
this, and
this. For a discussion on COLAs (cost of living allowances), "hedonics," and our efforts to "save" social security
see this (under "Boskin Commission").
Finally, keep in mind that a successful response to each question depends on you demonstrating that you have thought about and understand the topic(s) that you are addressing. Don't just list facts. Bring in the text where possible. Elaborate and be creative in what you write.
Spring 2013 Questions, Exam #1 ...
1 THE ROOTS OF OUR LIBERAL REPUBLIC & THE U.S. CONSTITUTION
Part I: In class we discussed the historical and intellectual forces behind America’s political system. Describe these forces and explain how they contributed to the creation of our Liberal Republic. Indeed, if someone were to ask you the difference between a republic and a democracy (in the classic sense) how would you respond? How does our Liberal Republic contrast with feudal and colonial patterns of governance?
Part II: How does European history and America’s colonial experience help us understand the U.S. Constitution and our economic system? What type of governing system(s) did the Founding Fathers fear? What type of governing system did they create? What measures were put in place to assuage the fears of the Founding Fathers? How has America’s political system evolved since the U.S. Constitution was adopted?
2. THE U.S. CONSTITUTION & OUR FEDERAL SYSTEM
Part I: How does European history and America’s colonial experience help us understand the U.S. Constitution and our economic system? What type of governing system(s) did the Founding Fathers fear? What type of governing system did they create? What measures were put in place to assuage the fears of the Founding Fathers? How has America’s political system evolved since the U.S. Constitution was adopted?
Part II: In class I explained how history and a keen understanding of the human condition helped inspire the Founding Fathers to create a federal system of government. Explain what I meant by this. How do the Articles of Confederation help us understand federalism in America? How do the Federalist Papers help us understand the U.S. Constitution? Can you think of any specific quotes from the Federalist Papers that help us understand the intent and goals of the U.S. Constitution? How do the Supreme Court cases discussed in class help us understand the pecking order behind our federal-state relations?
3. CALIFORNIA’S PLACE IN OUR FEDERAL SYSTEM
Part I: In class I explained how history and a keen understanding of the human condition helped inspire the Founding Fathers to create a federal system of government. Explain what I meant by this. How do the Articles of Confederation help us understand federalism in America? How do the Federalist Papers help us understand the U.S. Constitution? Can you think of any specific quotes from the Federalist Papers that help us understand the intent and goals of the U.S. Constitution? How do the Supreme Court cases discussed in class help us understand the pecking order behind our federal-state relations?
Part II: Drawing from the readings and our discussions explain how California’s political system differs from the federal government. Specifically, what can the state of California do that the federal government can not (and vice versa)? Why did the Founding Fathers create these institutional differences? How does California’s history help us understand these differences? During lecture we discussed some of the factors that led to California’s debt problems. Why did California start going into debt on a regular basis. How would you fix California’s debt problem? Was/Is Proposition 30 a good starting point? Explain.
Spring 2014 Questions, Exam #2 ...
1. THE COURTS
A two part question.
Part I: In class and from the readings we learned about the history behind our national judiciary system. Why do we have a court system? Drawing from the text, how does
habeus corpus and judicial review help shape America’s political and legal systems? What’s the difference between criminal and civil law, and how does this distinction help us understand our legal system? With reference to the Constitution and the Judiciary Act, explain the history and structure of America’s national judicial system. How does the FISA court system fit into our legal system?
Part II: How does the “strict constructionist/original intent” vs. “judicial activism” debate help us (or not help us) understand the Supreme Court and our system of justice? Does the documentary Super Chief: The Life and Legacy of Earl Warren help us understand this debate? How so? In your view, what personal experiences contributed to the decisions Earl Warren made while he was Chief Justice? Between the strict constructionist and judicial activist positions, which perspective best represents how judges should act while on the bench? Explain.
2. CONGRESS … HOW IT (REALLY) WORKS
Drawing from the text briefly describe (no more than one page) how a bill becomes law. In spite of how a bill is supposed to become law, we discussed in class why the U.S. Congress does not or can not do the work of the people. Specifically, I asked whether Congress can really represent the will of the people when both the members of Congress and “the people” are so distracted and overwhelmed with the challenges of every day life. What did I mean by this? How does hyper-democracy and semi-democracy fit in here? What does this say about how Congress and politics in America actually works? Has the promises of democracy in America been altered in the process? How so? Finally, drawing from your in class experience with redistricting explain how the process of redistricting impacts democracy in America. Does redistricting strengthen or cheapen the democratic experience in America? Explain. Finally, when we contrast what modern politicians say and what you have learned in class about the U.S. Congress, does the United States have the best democracy in America? Explain.
3. THE PRESIDENCY
In class we discussed the formal and informal powers of the president. What are these powers? How do they help us understand the office of the president? Drawing from lecture and the readings, who were some of the early powerful presidents and what factors contributed to them being able to stand out as powerful presidents? Discuss the historical factors that helped transform the power of the executive branch over time. Specifically, how did the Civil War, industrialization, the Depression, and WWII affect the office of the president? Finally, from Watergate through 9/11 we have seen the power of the presidency increase in many ways. How have the powers of the executive branch evolved from the last quarter of the 20th century into the beginning of the 21st century? Are we seeing the creation of an “American Caesar”? Explain.
4. POLITICAL PARTIES IN AMERICA
After briefly discussing what Federalist #10 said about “factions” discuss how the logic behind factions applies to political parties today. In the text the evolution of political parties is discussed. After discussing what parties do in America, explain the early ideological roots of the republican and democratic parties? How did Andrew Jackson help shape the evolution of America’s party system? How did party politics evolve from the late 18th century through the Civil War and New Deal Coalition? What led to the break up of the New Deal Coalition and the rise of the Reagan Revolution? How does the Modern Era compare to the Golden Age of party politics? Which social groups in America today tend to identify with each major party and why? Has party politics devolved into political tribalism? Explain. Finally, what role do third parties play in American politics?
- Mark
