Unit 2 - Government by the People and ELECTIONS

In order to be a functional citizen, you need to know how to particpate in the political process. TUnit 2 focuses on the role of people in influencing government. The history of voting rights, voting behavior, voting procedures, public opinion, mass media, and Interest groups are all covered In Topic 10. Topic 11 focuses on political parties, the electoral college, and the role that money plays in elections.

By the end of this unit, you will be able to participate fully In the American political system at a local, state, and federal level.

This video summarizes a lot of big concepts from this unit.

Readings

Macgruder's American Government Textbook, Topic 9, Topic 10

Hidden Tribes Report

Supreme Court Cases (SKIPPED)

Baker v. Carr (1961)

Shaw v. Reno (1993)

Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010)

Big Questions

Topic 10.1

Though he opposed forced segregation, Republican 1964 presidential candidate, Senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona, voted against the bill, remarking, "You can't legislate morality." Goldwater had supported previous attempts to pass civil rights legislation in 1957 and 1960 as well as the 24th Amendment outlawing the poll tax. He also was a lifetime member of the NAACP. He stated that the reason for his opposition to the 1964 bill was Titles II and VII, which both dealt with employment, making him infer that the law would end in the government dictating hiring and firing policy for millions of Americans. In his opinion, this violated individual liberty and states' rights.


(a) How would you respond to Goldwater’s argument? Address his points on legislating morality, individual liberty, and states rights.


(b)How does Federalism and the 10th Amendment relate to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965?


Topic 10.2

In the case Shelby County v. Holder (2013), the Supreme Court eliminated the preclearance requirement listed in the Voting Rights Act. 

Chief Justice John Robert’s stated “During the Freedom Summer of 1964 in Philadelphia, Mississippi, three men were murdered while working in the area to register African-American voters. On Bloody Sunday in Selma, Alabama in 1965, police beat and used tear gas on hundreds marching in support of enfranchising African-Americans. Today, both Philadelphia and Mississippi and Selma, Alabama have African-Americans mayors…Our country has changed, it has wiped away so much of its racist past…[the Voting Rights Act[ employed extraordinary measures to address an extraordinary problem [and that in the 40 years since] voting tests were abolished, disparities in voter registration and turnout due to race were erased, and African-Americans attained political office in record numbers. Yet the coverage formula that Congress reauthorized in 2006 ignores these developments, keeping the focus on decades-old problems, rather than current data reflecting current needs.” 

A)Identify why does Justice Roberts believe there is no need for preclearance?

B)Describe 3 limitations that exist in voting today. Do you consider these “extraordinary problems” that require government action?

C)What voter qualifications should exist today, if any?


Topic 10.3

Use the chart below to answer the question.


A) Identify which of the two major parties a liberal would most likely belong.

B) Select one issue on the chart above that Republicans are handling well and one that Democrats are handling well. Explain how a Democrat and a Republican would differ on those two issues.

C) Select one of the issues from part B and write a plank on the issue from the perspective of the party. Include a title, a stance on the issue, an explanation of what is specifically good/right about this issue, and what your party wants to do about the issue.

Topic 11.1

A new political party, the Health & Wealth Party, forms to focus on those policies which members believe will address the most significant threats to the health and prosperity of the general population. Their key platform favors requiring manufacturers of high-sugar snack foods to produce an equal ratio of low-sugar snack alternatives offered at the same price to consumers. In addition, they advocate using tax money to subsidize low-income families with funds to buy the low-sugar snacks. To increase “wealth,” the party supports significantly lowering taxes on corporations, with the intent of attracting new businesses to the United States. Finally, they also propose drastically reducing income taxes for all Americans, making up the difference in the budget by slashing military spending for foreign affairs.

After reading the scenario, respond to Parts A, B, and C.

(A) The Health & Wealth Party’s platform contains elements that reflect conservative, liberal, and libertarian viewpoints. For each of the three viewpoints, identify one element of the Health & Wealth Party platform that reflects that viewpoint’s typical ideology.

(B) Describe a way in which the Health & Wealth Party’s nominee, if elected to the presidency, could attempt to implement the policy regulating snack manufacturers.

(C) Explain one reason why it is difficult for third-party candidates, like the Health & Wealth Party nominee, to win presidential elections.


Topic 11.2

Nominees for the presidency of the two major parties are chosen by delegates at national conventions. How these delegates are chosen varies across states and between the political parties.

A) Define each of the following methods used by states to choose delegates to party conventions. 

• Open primary

• Caucus

B)The Democratic Party has used superdelegates in the presidential nominating process since 1984. Explain why the use of superdelegates increases the influence of party leaders in the Democratic nomination process.

C) Explain why a candidate’s strategy to win the nomination is often different from the strategy developed to win the general election.


Topic 11.3

The framers created the electoral college to elect the president of the United States. This system influences the campaign strategies of presidential candidates.

(a)  Describe one reason that the framers chose to use the electoral college as the method to elect the president.

 (b)  Describe the message the cartoon below conveys about presidential elections.

 (c)  Explain why California, Texas, and New York do not appear prominently in the cartoon below
 

(d)  Describe two campaign tactics presidential candidates use to win the key states identified in the cartoon below.

11.4 

Answer all three components of the question below. Make sure to address what is specifically being asked:


In 1971 Congress passed the Federal Elections Campaign Act (FECA), designed at regulating and restricting the amount of spending that went into all federal elections. The act also created the Federal Election Commission, a non-partisan independent regulatory commission charged with enforcing the provisions of the FECA. A group headed by Senator James L. Buckley of New York sued the federal government, claiming that FECA overstepped the bounds of the federal government’s power.

 

In a per curiam decision, the Supreme Court held in Buckley v. Valeo (1976) that parts of FECA were constitutional while other parts were not. The existence of the FEC and its regulatory powers remained in place. The limitations that FECA put on candidates spending on their own campaigns along with limitations placed on “independent expenditures” by outside groups were struck down.