Political Science 1100, Introduction to American Politics, February 4, 2015
Current Events
Federalism
3. FEDERALISM AND NATIONAL
POLITICS:
Interstate economic competition
The Economic Shift to the
Sunbelt
The Political Shift to the
Sunbelt:
Population Shifts Result In
Shifts In ....
... The distribution of Seats In The House Of
Representatives,
.... and Therefore in The Electoral College that elects
the President
Civil
Rights:
When Government Must Step in
to Protect People
The Constitution left many unanswered questions about civil rights
1) Unanswered Question #1
Do slaveowners hold the balance of power in America? Seat in Congress and new states
How did the U.S. answer the question? Political Compromise (Missouri Compromise)
2). Unanswered Question #2
Can slaveowners start their own nation?
How did the U.S.
answer? Civil War
3). Unanswered Question #3
Are African-Americans' civil rights protected by the
states?
How did the U.S. answer? In the courts
At first, by letting states decide (de jure segregation; "Jim Crow")
Plessy v. Ferguson, 1896 upheld Jim Crow laws
In the 1950s, Brown versus Board of Education
(1954) rejects de jure segregation in schools
The Civil Rights Movement, the 1964 Civil Rights Act & the 1965 Voting Rights Act
4). The legacy
a). The Civil Rights agenda
expands to de facto segregation: Housing, Schools, Jobs
b). ... and to other groups: Gender, Other Minorities, the Disabled, and Gays
c). White and Black Americans' Perceptions differ -- and they need to understand each other better: Public Opinion
Civil Liberties: What Problems Should Not Be Public?
1. The Constitution at its Most Ambiguous: Civil Liberties
2. Two Positions on Civil Liberties
a) The Absolutist Position (Hugo Black)
b) The Balancing Position (Most Judges)
3. Free Speech
Against National Security Threats
The Case of Dennis v. U.S. (1951)
- The Supreme Court Majority Opinion upholds the conviction of members of the Communist Party USA
- Hugo Black's Minority Opinion
4. The Right to
Privacy
The case of Griswold v. Connecticut (1965) - Griswold arrested for making contraceptives available
- The Supreme Court Majority Opinion rules there is a right to privacy
- Hugo Black's Minority Opinion
5. Tolerance - a necessary protection for civil liberties.
Political tolerance
refers to our willingness to apply constitutional rights
to all members of society, no matter who they are
How tolerant are students in PS 1100?