POLS 1101 Study Guide - Fall 2018, Comprehensive Midterm Notes - United States Congress, United States Constitution, President Of The United States
12 Oct 2018
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Department
Course
Professor
POLS 1101
MIDTERM EXAM
STUDY GUIDE
Fall 2018
POLS 1101
Bankert
Lecture 1 - 8/17/17
Government is made up of the institution and procedures by which people are rules
Types of government-
Autocracy (ex: North Korea, Cuba, Saudi Arabia, Iran) -- single, non-elected leader
Oligarchy (ex: Russia, China) -- small group of leaders not accountable to citizens
Democracy (ex: USA, Germany, Australia, South Korea) -- permits citizens to have a significant
role in the government, often through elected leaders
Power of governments-
Totalitarian -- no limits on government authority
Authoritarian -- gov doesn’t technically have limits, but de facto it does have restraints from
other institutions
Constitutional -- gov is constrained in what it can do (substantive limits) and the methods by
which it can make changes (procedural limits)
What is politics?
Conflict over the leadership, structure, and policies of governments
Goal in politics is having a say in what happens
This conflict can be shaped by 2 diff forms of democratic government:
Representative democracy (republic) -- elected officials (USA)
Direct democracy -- citizens directly vote
US has grown in pop from 3.9 mil in 1790 (first official census) to 318 mil in 2014
Why the drastic increase?
First census didn’t count Native Americans (NAs weren’t considered citizens until 1924)
Most people of African descent weren’t considered citizens until 1868 with the 14th Amendment
New citizens
Immigrations policy has been historically biased against non-whites
Until 1870, only free whites could become naturalized citizens
Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 outlawed entry of Chinese laborers into the US
By 1965, Congress lifted strict immigrations limits from the 1920s
What unites our nation?
Liberty -- freedom from government control (personal freedom, economic freedom), linked to the
concept of “limited government”
Equality -- equality of opportunity (American dream!!), equality of outcome, political equality
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
POLS 1101
Bankert
Lecture 2 - 8/22/17
What unites Americans?
Liberty: freedom from gov control (personal freedom & economic freedom)
Linked to the concept of “limited government”
Equality: equality of opportunity, equality of outcome, political equality
How did we get here?
--Early tax revolts
Sugar Act 1764: enforced a previous tax on molasses
Stamp Act 1765: required printed materials to have a stamp on them
--Boston Tea Party 1773: East India company had monopoly, put local tea sellers out of
business bc they couldn’t sell their tea as cheap as the East India Co; Samuel Adams led
colonists to dress up as Native Americans, get on ship, dump tea into water; cities along Atlantic
seaside provided supplies to the people of Boston → important bc it shows the colonies working
together for the first time
--Declaration of Independence 1776: declared our independence, did not establish a new
government, this is not the first US constitution; used very colorful language to make the effort
seem appealing; includes a list of grievances against the crown
Who benefited from independence?
Men of property
Articles of Confederation 1777-1789
Established a weak central gov w/ no president, only a legislature
All 13 states needed to agree to something for it to be passed (not logical)
No military
No taxation authority
Wanted a government right at home that was accountable to the people
Confederation stumbled…
Shay’s Rebellion: fought for Continental Army and didn’t get paid, felt that it was unfair that he
fought for the country and was debt-ridden and poor while others got richer and richer; state
asked for help from Congress; realized they needed a stronger government after a revolution
was almost started by one poor farmer
US Constitution 1789
Inspiration from John Locke “natural rights”
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Government is made up of the institution and procedures by which people are rules. Autocracy (ex: north korea, cuba, saudi arabia, iran) -- single, non-elected leader. Oligarchy (ex: russia, china) -- small group of leaders not accountable to citizens. Democracy (ex: usa, germany, australia, south korea) -- permits citizens to have a significant role in the government, often through elected leaders. Authoritarian -- gov doesn"t technically have limits, but de facto it does have restraints from other institutions. Constitutional -- gov is constrained in what it can do (substantive limits) and the methods by which it can make changes (procedural limits) Conflict over the leadership, structure, and policies of governments. Goal in politics is having a say in what happens. This conflict can be shaped by 2 diff forms of democratic government: Us has grown in pop from 3. 9 mil in 1790 (first official census) to 318 mil in 2014.
