Gov. 2306 – Flashcard
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What is a political culture?
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Values, attitudes, traditions, habits, and general behavioral patterns developed over time affecting state and regional political life.
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3 types of political culture
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Moralistic, Individualistic, and Traditionalistic politcal cultures.
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Moralistic political culture
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Government should advance public good, and public participation is a duty.
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Individualistic political culture
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The belief that Gov. should limit its role to providing order in society, so that citizens can purse their economic self-interest.
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Traditionalistic political culture
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The belief that Gov. should be dominated by political elites and guided by tradition.
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Elites
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a small group of people that dominates the political process.
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NAFTA
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Trade treaty among the U.S, Canada, and Mexico to lower and eliminate tariffs among the three countries. It has made trade and services the dominant industries
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Which type(s) of political culture does Texas have?
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Traditionalistic Individualistic political culture. Why?
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What has influenced Texas political culture?
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Sovereignty Old South Mexico 19th c. Frontier (1820-1870) How? taxes are kept low, and social services are minimized. * Yet the political culture of a state can change over time. It is difficult to classify the political culture of a state as large and as diverse as Texas in any one category.
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Historically, what were the three primary industries in Texas?
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* Cattle: Texas is #1 in Livestock production. * Cotton: Texas yields almost one-half of the nation's cotton supply. * Oil: Four of the ten largest oil fields are in Texas; "Pickens's Plan"; The BP oil spill has had a significant impact How does Texas fare in those industries today?
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What is size of the state's current population?
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24,782,302
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What is the distribution between urban and rural folks in Texas?
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Most Texans are more urban than rural. Graph: Texas Historical Rural and Urban Populations, 1950-2005
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Urbanization
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The process by which people move from rural areas to cities.
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Suburbanization
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explosive growth of relatively small towns and cities outside of corporate limits of a central city.
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Metropolitanization
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concentration of people in urban centers become linked in a single geographic entity.
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Article 1 | section 8
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Allows states to determine time, place, and manner of elections for house and senate representatives.
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Article 4 Purpose:
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privileges and immunities clause Full faith and credit clause DOMA/same-sex marriage Extradition provision
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Article 6:
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=Suffrage. Article 6 contains a short but detailed discussion about who may vote in Texas. It also empowers the Legislature to enact laws regulating voter registration and the selection of electors for president and vice president.
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Unitary
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Political system in which power is concentrated in a central government.
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Confederal
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Political system in which power is concentrated in the regional governments.
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Federalism
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Central=national Political system in which power is divided between regional and national governments.
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Nation federal tension/ conflict
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conflict between Mexico and Texas in 1836 A new Mexican constitution established a unitary system of government.
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Understand the reasons behind the first six Texas Constitutions that proceeded the current constitution.
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Texas has had six Constitutions reflecting the concerns of the historical periods in which they were written. The civil war and the reconstruction played a major role in shaping Texans' attitudes toward the dangers of strong state government.
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The first six Texas Constitutions.
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1.) 1827-1828: Mexico (state of Coahuila y Tejas) 2.) 1836: Republic of Texas 3.) 1845: Statehood - Annexation 4.) 1861: Secession -Confederacy Constitution/ Start of Civil War 5.) 1866: Presidential Reconstruction / Post Civil-War Constitution (Rejoining the Union) 6.) 1869: Radical Republican Reconstruction ----------------------------------------------- 1876: Post-Reconstruction/ Currently in force today
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1827-1828: The Constitution of Coahuila y Tejas (The First constitution that governed Texas when it was part of Mexico.)
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The constitution of 1827 formally guaranteed citizens the right to liberty, security, property, and equality. Problems Texas had with the 1827 Constitution: -Texas was far from Mexican Capital -Felt lack of national government attention -Increased U.S. immigration -Catholicism was the state religion in Texas -Texas had limits on African Slavery -There was state support for public education
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The constitution of the Republic of Texas: 1836 * Because of escalating tensions between Texas and Mexico, Texas declared its independence in 1836, established the Republic of Texas, and adopted a new constitution. Bicameral: having a legislative assembly composed of two chambers or houses.
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When Texas gained its independence and became its own country, this constitution came into effect. Had: -Elected President -Bicameral; elected legislative -multilevel judiciary -Bill of Rights The constitution recognized slavery, provided for male suffrage, contained a bill of rights, and excluded citizenship to African Americans and Native Americans
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The Texas state constitution of 1845 : Statehood - Annexation (Joining the U.S)
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The Constitution of 1845 was written in order to get Texas in the United States. This constitution established a permanent school fund, protected private homesteads from being taken to pay a debt, provided the right to own slaves, and guaranteed property rights for married women. Had: -Elected governor, strong appointment and the powers -Bicameral legislature -Supreme Court -Schools with money -Allowed Slavery -Really hard to amend
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1861: Secession -Confederacy Constitution/ Start of Civil War Texas joins the confederacy.
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Civil War, Texas played a role in the confederacy side by sending troops, clothes ; cotton. When it seceded from the Union, Texas wrote this, further protecting slavery and outlawing setting slaves free. Had: -Slavery mainly East Texas and Gulf Coast (cotton) -1860, 1 in 4 families had slaves. Slaves = 1/3 of the population -Stressed slavery ; state rights -Governor Sam Houston refused Oath
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1866: Presidential Reconstruction / Post Civil-War Constitution (Rejoining the Union)
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After the Civil War, Texas rewrote its constitution to once again be readmitted to the United States, but it was disapproved by the Reconstruction government. Had: -Rejected Texas' War debts -Renounced right to secede -Accepted abolition of slavery -Granted some (not full) rights to former slaves (No rights to hold office, vote, only testify in cases involving African Americans)
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1869: Radical Republican Reconstruction
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Written by the Reconstruction government, this state constitution gave the governor too much power and angered many Texans. -ranted black vote -Ratified all post Civil War Amendments -Drafted acceptable state Constitutions -Radical Republicans drafted activist document -Concentrated Power in Executive -Responsible for Public Affairs -Stronger judiciary -Increased public salaries -Schools attendance Compulsory
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Reasons for the 1876 Constitution
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A reaction to Reconstruction. this constitution put the power back in the hands of the people and limited the government, and is still in effect today -Basis for Texas government today -Excessive in length/poorly drafted -Contains deadwood (ideas/thoughts of 1876) -Legislative dominance -Local governments limited
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Both the US and Texas Constitutions include _____.
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Popular Sovereignty
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Similarity between Texas & US Constitution?
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-Bill of Rights -Popular Sovereignty -Separation of Powers (3 branches) -Check & Balance -Federalism Representative Democracy
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Differences between Texas & US Constitution?
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-Very long (Texas Con.) -Supremacy Clause (U.S. Con.) -Necessary & Proper Clause (U.S. Con.) Extremely limited Statutory (Texas Con.)
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Describe the fundamental principles of the Texas Constitution.
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Popular Sovereignty: the people hold ultimate power in the government. Limited Government: No government is all powerful. Government must obey the law. Separation of Powers: No one component of the government holds too much power Powers are distributed among 3 different branches. Checks and Balances: Designed to prevent abuse of power in the government. Federalism: power is shared between the central/national government and the states. Judicial Review: the power of the courts to declare a law constitutional and unconstitutional.
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Explain some of the major commonly-held criticisms of the Texas constitution.
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Too Long Plural executive Part-time legislature Balanced-budget contraints Structure of judiciary and judicial section Restrictions on local governments.
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How many times has the Texas Constitution been adopted? Why?
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Since its initial adoption in 1876, the Texas Constitution has been amended over 467 times making it one of the longest state constitutions in the United States.
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Identify the following Articles of the Texas Constitution for: Legislature
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Article 3 function is to make the laws of our nation.
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Identify the following Articles of the Texas Constitution for: Executive
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Article 4 function is to enforce the laws of the nation.
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Identify the following Articles of the Texas Constitution for: Judiciary
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Article 5 to interpret the laws.
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Identify the following Articles of the Texas Constitution for: Bill of rights
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Article 1 Provides for "equality under law," freedoms of speech, press and religion, due process, and the right of "remonstrance"
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Why has Texas NOT reformed its current constitution despite deficiencies?
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The current Constitution has many clauses and amendments that benefit special interest groups, and they would oppose any big changes.
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What are interest groups and what role do they play in Texas politics
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organized group that tries to influence the government to adopt certain policies or measures
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How do interest groups differ from political parties?
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An interest group is an organization of people who join together voluntarily on the basis of some interest they share for the purpose of influencing policy. A political party is a group of individuals who join together to seek public office in order to influence public policy.
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Why do people join interest groups?
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People join interest groups because they are strongly motivated by the group's goals or, perhaps, they believe they can exercise power within the group that they would not otherwise have. Groups also entice people to join them by offering group benefits or even by punishing those who do not join.
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Purposive
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associated with social benefits derived from joining a group.
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Material
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associated with economic benefits and opportunities derived from participating in the group.
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Solidary
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are those associated with personal beliefs and/or ideological commitment to a given issue
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What are free-riders?
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situation where some individuals in a population either consume more than their fair share of a common resource, or pay less than their fair share of the cost of a common resource. 2.
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What are interest groups techniques?
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-Direct lobbying, testifying before Congress, socializing, political donations, endorsements, propaganda
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Direct
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lobbying, ratings, ligation (filing law suits)
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Indirect
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informing public, Political Action Committees(pacs) (hard ;soft money), using constituents as lobbyists
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What is the "revolving door"?
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Employment cycle in which individuals who work for government agencies regulating interests eventually end up working for interest groups or business with the same policy concern.
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What makes for a powerful/successful interest group?
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-Internal -Size and resources -Leadership ; strategy -Cohesiveness -External -Decentralization -Socioeconomic level -Individualism -Weak party competition
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Campaign financing laws:
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•Be able to provide a brief description of the two major campaign finance laws (1973 and 1991).
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Campaign reporting and disclosure act 1973
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•Requires appointment of campaign treasurer before accepting and spending contributions. •out of state committees may contribute •specified criminal and civil penalties •candidates and campaign committees must file financial reports of all contributions over $50.
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Texas ethics Commission 1991
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•Requires lobbyists to file periodic financial statements •Prohibits honoraria and pleasure trips •No limits on campaign contributions
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Explain role and powers of Texas ethics commission.
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-Created to enforce legal standards for lobbyist and public officials -Roles: Registers lobbyists election candidates, Gathers lobbyist client names and payments, Investigates and conducts hearings on ethic complaints against state officials, state employees and candidates.... But NO teeth
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What are PACS?
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PAC = Political Action Committee. They're organized to raise and spend money in order to elect and defeat candidates.
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What is the difference between a soft and hard money campaign contribution?
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"Hard money" refers to tightly regulated contributions to candidates, while "soft money" refers to unregulated, unlimited contributions to political parties for so-called "party-building" activities
