This was written in 1940, in the middle of World War II, by R’ Dessler. He was the ר''י of Gateshead, and then Ponevezh. He is famous for his ספר, מכתב מאליהו.
He loves his תלמיד in a spiritual way, more than just physically. He feels like the תלמיד is ממש like his own child and he loves him. Since he loves him so much, he knows that the מוסר is coming מתוך אהבה.
We don’t like to hear מוסר, but we must understand that the people who love us give us מוסר because they care.
"טובה תוכחת מגלה מאהבה מסתרת"- it is good to get outright מוסר when it comes from love deep inside.
We see how to be a רבי- he hints to his תלמיד, to try and let him understand on his own.
ר' דסלר had צער- I wrote such a long letter and you know that it’s not easy. However, you didn’t write back one word of thanks. Not because I need your thanks, but because I love you. Are you going to be an ungrateful person? חז''ל say, "כל הכופר בטובת חברו לבסוף כופר בטובתו של ה'"- anyone who denies the good their friend does will deny the good ה' does.
You started your letter without any thanks, and all you said was that I forgot to answer one of your questions.
ר' דסלר says that if he would compare your letter to ארי’s, you would see how lacking your letter is of הכרת הטוב. But maybe he shouldn’t compare! Comparison is very good, it pushes a person to grow. Because we are so fragile today, we can’t take comparisons. You must know your students. ר' דסלר knew his תלמיד and he had a lot of faith in him.
He says that it’s impossible that you have such a חסרון in ד''א, and I know my words mean a lot to you so how could you not thank me?
ר' דסלר reread the letter to try and read between the lines. He decided that the תלמיד must’ve been busy or בצער when he wrote the letter. However, it’s a huge חסרון to have בלבול הדעת. If you have בלבול הדעת, the יצה''ר will rule over you.
In מצרים,פרעה made them so busy with work so that כ''י wouldn’t have time to think about גאולה. This is a prototype of a person and the יצה''ר. ר' דסלר told his תלמיד , usually you have a large portion of מנוחת הנפש (the opposite of בלבול הדעת), but now you are so confused that you forgot to thank me.
We think that we can’t control the world around us. But we have tremendous control- we can’t change the world, but we can control ourselves.
Why didn’t you write to me about your friend who is becoming not frum? I know you’re straight in your heart and you have אמונה, but bad friends are dangerous even to the best people. "הרחק משכן רע", not only if you’re a weak person. Had you read my letter with proper intention, it would have been impossible that you would not have responded something about your friend because it was of interest to me. This is a further proof that you had בלבול הדעת.
Therefore, because I love you, I found myself obligated to give you מוסר. Know my child, this is not the right way to be an עבד ה'. Watch out from בלבול הדעת, it destroys עבודת ה' Be מחזק in yourself a feeling of הכרת הטוב. This will enrich your life. ה' will give you הצלחה and you will became close to Him and be a ירא ה'. He’ll give you your חלק in His תורה, He’ll raise you high and He will exalt you more and more.
Be at peace, my beloved one. It should come upon you ברכת שמים from now and forever. Send regards to your brother and family, ה' ישמרם ויצילם (very applicable because it was during WWII). I who signs off with great love, your רבי, א א דסלר
The fact that ר' דסלר remembered to send regards to his brother and family shows that he didn’t have בלבול הדעת.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
אגרת הרמבן
רמב''ן
• ר' משה בן נחמן
• He lived from 1194- 1270.
• Was a ראשון, and a contemporary of רש''י and the רמב''ם.
• He was a cousin of ר' יונה’s and their children got married to each other.
• He was born during the רמב''ם’s life and outlived him, so sometimes, you will see that the רמב''ם doesn’t answer back to him.
• He lived in גרנה, Spain. At the end of his life he went to א''י.
• He sent this letter to his son. The letter was sent from עכו to קטלוני'. This was a personal letter, but it became public.
אגרת הרמב''ן-
This letter was sent from עכו to קטלוני' to his son to encourage him about ענוה. The רמב''ן told his son to read this letter once a week and teach it to his children. He said they should know it by heart in order to train them from the time they’re young in יראת שמים. The רמב''ן says that at the time you read it and try to be מקיים it, ה' will answer him. Someone who reads it and internalizes it will be saved from צרות and he’ll be a בן עוה''ב.
It says to train a child from the time they’re young. This teaches us that חנוך starts from when a child is old enough to understand, but יראת שמים starts right away. Even if a child is too young to say a ברכה or שמע, you should say it for them. You must jumpstart children from the time they’re young.
It starts with the word "שמע בני...''- listen my son to the מוסר of your father and don’t forsake the תורה of your mother. It could be that the רמב''ן wrote a salutation, but we don’t have it. What we have starts with this פסוק to show us how important it is to listen to parents. When they give you מוסר, it’s only for your own good. The only time you shouldn’t listen to your parents is if they tell you to do something against the תורה. Here, אביך can mean ה' and אמיך can mean כנסת ישראל. There are certain things which כ''י do and you should to them too.
It says, "תתנהג..."- we must speak gently. This is really much more important than we think. It includes the decibel level and tension in our voices. It says, "לכל אדם ובכל עת"- to everyone at all times. We must find the weak link in the chain which would cause us not to talk nicely and work on ourselves not to get tense at them.
Three types of pressures:
1. Physical pressure-
a. Not feeling well
b. Hungry
c. Woman who just gave birth. In the time of the בהמ''ק, a woman had to bring a חטאת after she gave birth in case she said something she shouldn’t have when she was in pain.
2. Emotional pressure-
a. Sad
b. Bad mood- this is not a license to be not nice to people. You must either get out of your bad mood, or tell the person that you’ll talk to them a different time.
3. Time pressure- when you are short on time, you are often mean to people, especially on ערב שבת. Story- ר' מאיר saw two men fighting on ערב שבת and he stopped them. This happened three times. The third time, a voice was heard saying, "וי שהוציאני ר' מאיר מביתי"- this was the יצה''ר. After the third time, the fighting stopped because after you keep putting the יצה''ר down, he doesn’t come back. We see from here that the שטן comes when there’s a fight. The שטן and the שכינה can’t stay together. ר' עקיבא says that a man and woman, איש ואישה, when they are בשלום, ה' is with them. However, when there’s מחלוקת, ה' isn’t with them and אש comes down and consumes. It also says מביתי- this shows us that the שטן makes the house his territory.
If you do this, you’ll be saved from כעס. It’s a bad מידה that makes people sin in many ways:
1. You hurt someone physically.
2. אונאת דברים
3. Embarrass them.
חז''ל say that someone who lets כעס take over him, "כל מיני גיהנום שולטין בו". Why? Because when you get angry, you do so many bad things and you get punished for all of them. It says, "הסר כעס..." and חז''ל say that רעה= גיהנום. How do we know this? It says in משלי, "וגם רשע ליום רעה", and רעה= גיהנום. So if you remove כעס, you’ll remove רעה, which is equal to גיהנום.
חז''ל say that someone who has כעס, it’s like he served ע''ז:
1. ע''ז is listening to a different authority than ה'. When you have כעס, you’re listening to your יצה''ר.
2. When you get angry, you forget that ה' is running the world. Whatever bad happened was meant to happen and whoever brought it onto you was just the שליח. However, we must all remember when we are the שליח, "מגלגלין זכות ע''י זכאי...". חז''ל say, "צדיקים לבם ברשותם ורשעים ברשות לבם"- the שכל of a צדיק guides his emotions, but a רשע’s emotions are led by his heart.
Why didה' make כעס? It can be used for the good. It’s a passion inside of us which can be used in two areas:
1. נגד רשעים- when bad is being done.
2. In חנוך- children will see how important something is based on the passion showed toward it. Does a mother get upset when a child dirties his suit, but not when he misbehaves in school? Passion towards something teaches the importance. The danger of כעס is that it’s like a fire- once you light it, it can’t be controlled. Therefore you must not let it overtake you. It says in מסילת ישרים that you must have " כעס הפנים ולא כעס הלב"- you must have total control. How do you know if you’re in control? When you can be upset for the moment and then move on.
If you don’t have כעס, ענוה will move in. ענוה is the best מידה. When you have ענוה, you’ll have other מידות טובות. It says, "והאיש משה ענו מאד". רש''י explains this to mean that he was a שפל וסבלן. If a person is humble, he has patience. Impatience comes from גאוה. So, if you don’t have כעס, you’ll have ענוה.
If you have ענוה, you’ll have יראה.
לדבר בנחת ← כעס ← ענוה ← יראה
How does ענוה lead to יראה? It says, "הסתכל בשלשה דברים...":
1. מאין באת- מטפה סרוחה
2. ולאן אתה הולך- רמה ותולעה
3. ולפני מי אתה עתיד ליתן דין וחשבון
ה' doesn’t want us to think "כוחי ועוצם ידי..." because when we get full of ourselves, we don’t see ה'. The sun is so powerful and the moon isn’t. But sometimes, the moon can block the sun. Sometimes, something blocks so that we can’t see ה', and we begin to think that the הצלחה we have is because of us. The more ענוה you have, the more you’ll see ה'. It says in דברים, "אנכי עומד בן ה' וביניכם"- the אנכי of a person blocks him from seeing ה'.
We are so small and insignificant, but ה' put some of His greatness into us. So we do have greatness, but we must put into perspective how small we are, especially in contrast to ה'- ה' contains everything! We call ה', "המקום". ה' is מקומו של עולם ואין העולם מקומו- everything is in Him. So, certainly the heart of a person can’t understand ה'. A human being can’t fathom why ה' does what he does. When a person says “I don’t understand why ה' did this”, he is implying that he understand everything else. In the ח''ח’s time, there was a man who went insane and ran around naked. Thirty or forty years earlier, he was a landlord and he kicked an אלמנה and her יתומים out of his home because they couldn’t pay the rent. The ח''ח said that this is the cause of his insanity. The ח''ח says- I didn’t expect to ever understand ה'. If once I understood, it’s unbelievable.
Also ה' says, "הלא את השמים...". We should try to understand, but we shouldn’t think that we could. When we think of these things, תירא מבוראך- we will have יראת ה', ותשמר מן החטא- you will be careful not to be חוטא.
מכתב אליהו sheet- in the תורה, we have the מצוה of "לא תחמד"- don’t want that which someone else has. Some hold that until you actually take the thing from someone else (this includes paying for it, but the person doesn’t want to give it to you), you aren’t חוטא. Others hold that you are חוטא even with the מחשבה of wanting it. But how can one be expected to control their thoughts? Because thoughts are controllable. If you see a bird flying, you may think that it is wonderful to have wings, but you won’t be חומד them because it’s impossible for a human being to have wings. So you are only חומד what is in your realm. Also a peasant isn’t חומד the princess in marriage because he tells himself that it’s impossible for him. So you can control your heart with your mind, it all depends on how you think. So we must look at things differently- everything in this world are just כלים to serve ה'. Every person was given the כלים he needs to accomplish his mission. So if you weren’t given a specific כלי, it’s because you don’t need it.
So if you have יראה and don’t want to be חוטא, and just want to serve ה', you will be שמח בחלקו. We think that being שמח בחלקו means that if we want something and can’t get it, we’ll work on ourselves. But really, being שמח בחלקו starts with not wanting it.
So if we live with ענוה, to be humble in front of other people and be ירא ה', then רוח השכינה וזיו כבודה will come down on us and we’ll get חיי עוה''ב.
Someone who has גאוה thinks that he is better than other people. He is מורד במלכות שמים because he is showing off in ה'’s royal clothing, as the פסוק says, "ה' מלך גאות לבש". We have no right to be בעלי גאוה because we fall short. Only ה' is perfect.
What can we be מתגאה over?
עושר:
Don’t be such a big shot, it’s not you,ה' gives it to you. You must remember to thank Him for it. Once you have money, you must use it. So:
1. Be humble.
2. Thank ה'.
3. Use it.
"ה' מוריש ומעשיר"- ה' makes people rich or poor. Don’t think that it’s you, ה' gave it to you. This פסוק was said by חנה- ה' made her have children and פנינה lose all of her children. She recognized that it’s all in ה'’s hands, it wasn’t that some people can have children and others can’t.
However, we don’t really believe this. Someone who doesn’t have פרנסה, ה' made him like this. It’s not that he can’t do anything right. People who can’t afford what everyone can feel embarrassed because people look down on them and think there’s something wrong with them. People who have a lot of money, it’s because ה' wants them to, not because they’re doing something right. משל- man in the forest who thinks that it was his shot that killed the lion, but really there’s a hunter in the trees. In קדושין, it says that a father should teach his son אמנות קלות ונקיות. But it doesn’t specify which job because אין העניות מן האומנות ואין עשירות מן האומנות. ר' דסלר says that a person shouldn’t do less השתדלות than he’s ready for. This is not because if he does less ה' won’t be able to provide for him, but because it’ll decrease his אמונה. Why do you have to do השתדלות ? It’s a קללה from אדם- you must do something to get your money. Some people think that the more השתדלות they put in, the more money they’ll make. But this isn’t true. It’s a קללה, we should do as little as we could. משל¬- man on wagon who holds his burden the whole time, he’s such a fool! נמשל- ה' is helping us along, the question is what we’ll be able to handle. We must be careful so that it doesn’t lead to כפירה. People can take high paying jobs for themselves, but must realize that it’s not because ה' can’t do it otherwise. This idea liberates a person, because he realizes that it’s not him.
כבוד:
The only real כבוד is כבוד התורה. כבוד belongs to ה'- "העושר והכבוד מלפניך"
1. It belongs to ה' and He gives it out to people.
צרות even out the differences between people. The only כבוד that stays is כבוד התורה. Someone could have been a גבאי and someone else could have been a beggar before the Holocaust, but when they were put in the concentration camps, they were all the same. Let’s forget our differences now, before the צרות come.
2. You must be humble because it’s not you.
3. We must be grateful.
4. We must use it, because if we don’t, we’re worse off than before. We should use it for ה'.
חכמה:
If you’re proud of your חכמה, remember what it says in איוב, "מסיר שפה..."- the speech of believers and the understanding of the elders ה' takes away. If the wrong words come out of your mouth, it’s a humbling and healthy experience. When you say the right thing, realize that ה' put those words into your mouth.
If you see someone without חכמה, realize that it could have been you. The most powerful message is when you see someone who used to have חכמה and lost it, then you realize that it’s not here to stay and that if ה' gave you a mind, you should use it to the utmost for Him. R’ Gifter was a phenomenal speaker. At a certain point, he got sick and couldn’t talk. We see that if ה' doesn’t want you to have it, you won’t. We don’t know how long we have it for. We have so much חכמה that we take for granted, so we don’t even thank ה' for it. Alzheimer’s disease teaches us this lesson. It’s a scary type of forgetting- a person doesn’t even know what he’s supposed to do with a telephone!
Everyone’s equal in front of ה'. He gives gifts to whoever He wants. In His anger He knocks down the high people and if He wants, He raises the low people up. So be low and ה' will raise you up.
How can you become an ענו? Behave like one. ספר החינוך- by the קרבן פסח, it says that you can’t break the bones so that it will remain hole and the גויים will see that we don’t disrespect their ע''ז. According to the ספר החינוך though, it’s to show our אצילות. We don’t break bones to get inside the meat. So we act like royalty and it will affect us- we will feel the royalty.
We know that "אדם נפעל כפי פעולותיו" and "החיצוניות מעורר את הפנמיות". So when we want to change, we should act in the way we would like to be. You can take the cruelest person and put him in charge of giving out צדקה and he’ll become gentle.
So we should act with the posture of ענוה. The פסוק says, "יען כי גבהו בנות ציון...". So don’t stand above everyone else, but think elevated thoughts. Don’t look at a person when you talk to him. Today this is considered a sign of disrespect or dishonesty, so instead you should drop your eyes every few seconds.
Respect every person. If he’s richer than you or smarter than you, respect him because ה' chose to give it to him. You shouldn’t think of your wealth the same way you think of his wealth. But if he’s a poor person or less smart, think that he’s a bigger צדיק then you because his חטאים which would come from these lacks of resources are only שגגות, so he’s more of a צדיק then you. If he has so few כלים, he must be very close to perfection. The חזון איש stood up for retarded people. So we don’t know who is a bigger צדיק- "כי אדם יראה ללב ואדם יראה לעינים".
A human being operates in three areas:
1. Speech
2. Action
3. Thoughts
In all three areas, at all times, speak and act like you are before ה' and it’ll change the way you think.
קש''ע sheet- The first thing you must know is that you’re before ה'- this is a כלל גדול בתורה. The way a person sits, moves and what he does when he’s alone isn’t how he is before other people or a king. When a person is before a king, he is so careful with what he says and does- everything is measured. ה' says, "אם יסתיר איש... אני מלא". When a person remembers this, he’ll be humiliated and act properly.
Additionally, not only the way we relate to ה', also with other people- if you know that ה'’s there, you’ll act differently with other people. We will speak differently and act differently- even in private you’ll sit tzniusly. Additionally, you will control your thoughts. The ח''ח said that if everything we thought was written on our foreheads, we would be so embarrassed. How can we control our thoughts? Think about what you’re busy with. If you’re busy with good things, that’s what you will think about. You can’t think two things in your head at the same time. So if you have a bad עיצה in your head, you can drive it out by thinking about something else.
ודבריך- everything you say will be said differently to others because you are before ה'.
You don’t have to be embarrassed, just be humble.
Don’t shout and yell at people, be like an עבד לפני רבו. Especially don’t yell at your parents, even shout across the house at them.
Be careful to learn תורה so that you can follow it- ולא עם הארץ חסיד. If you don’t know because you don’t pay attention and learn, it’s not an excuse.
When you finish learning, see what you can do to fulfill what you learnt.
Search through your actions every night and morning.
When you daven, try and remove all foreign thoughts from your head. You must prepare yourself to daven. The חסידים and ראשנים used to wait an hour before davening to prepare themselves. משל- being pushed into a pool (flailing until you compose yourself) vs. diving into a pool. "הכון לקראת אלקיך ישראל"- prepare yourself to meet ה'. How?
1. Thoughts
2. Dress- men put on a hat and gartel, woman should make sure they are dressed appropriately. You should dress respectfully. The more you put in, the more you get out.
Sheet-
1. כונה- visualize a target with a bulls eye and your goal is to hit it. You must remove whatever would blow your arrow off course. What is כונה? פירוש המילים. You must know what you are saying. There are other levels of כונה, but we only have to do פירוש המילים.
2. עבודה שבלב- the פסוק says, "ולעבדו בכל לבבכם". חז''ל say on this, "זו היא עבודה שבלב זו תפילה". Why is it called עבודה?
a. Everyone struggles with כונה.
b. It replaces the עבודה of the בהמ''ק- "ונשלמה פרים שפתינו". The אכה''ג set up תפילה because they saw that one day there will no longer be a בהמ''ק. The בהמ''ק was what united all of כ''י. So instead of a place which unified everyone, they established an action that would unify everyone. תפילה is the בריח התיכון of כ''י.
We learn out the times of when to daven from:
a. Morning- "וישכם אברהם בבוקר"
b. Afternoon- "ויצא יצחק לשוח בשדה לפנות ערב"
c. Night- "ויפגע [יעקב] במקים ההוא וילן שמה"
3. עיון תפילה- we say this in אילו דברים. This is one of the things that you can’t get enough שכר for in this world. It is one of the three עבירות that people do every day (in addition to אבק ל''ה).
4. "בחרבי ובקשתי"- the פסוק says, "אשר לקחתי מיד אמורי בחרבי ובקשתי". אונקלוס explains this to mean בצלותי ובבעותי- with my prayers and בקשות. תרגום is telling us that our תפילות are our weapons. The פסוק says, "הקול קול יעקב"- our כח is our voice. Our davening is as powerful as the greatest weapons. תפילה is like a קשת- the closer you pull it to your heart, the further it will go. There are two different kinds of תפילה:
a. Of the אכה''ג- it’s like close combat. It will still work even if you don’t have כונה because the words themselves hold power.
b. Your own, personal words- it’s like shooting an arrow. If it goes even a little off, you will miss the target.
5. מתפלל- it’s a התפעל word, you do it to yourself. Through your davening, you are working and changing yourself. The דברי שבח we say are speaking about ה', but you are really speaking to yourself. We say that ה' is the רופא חולים, not the doctors. If a person has to be sick, it’s because it’s for his best. So why would he daven not to get sick? Because the גזירה was on him, but now that he’s a new person, the גזירה is no longer on him.
6. חסידים הראשונים- they waited an hour before davening. We don’t do this, but before we daven we should think preparatory thoughts.
7. להשמיע לאזניו- בדיעוד, you are יוצא just by saying the words. But really, you should hear yourself.
8. There are three places where you must have in mind what you are saying:
a. פותח את ידיך
b. שמע
c. First ברכה of ש''ע
9. עצות- certain עצות which may help you:
a. יהיו לרצון- at the end of ש''ע, we say יהיו לרצון- we tell ה' that we hope He likes what we’ve been saying up until now. This is an embarrassing statement. If we have remember that we’re going to have to say this at the end, we’ll be more careful with what you think about. R’ Shalom Shwadron said there was a man whose mind was wandering so far and he was in a fruit market and he thought someone was beating him up, but really he was just saying סלח לנו.
b. עמידתו- how you stand. You should stand in a respectful way, in attention, and by ש''ע you should put your feet together. Why?
i. "ורגליהם רגל ישרה" (ישעי')- the מלאכים have their legs together. We want to be like מלאכים because their life’s תפקיד is to be an עבד ה'.
ii. Standing with your feet apart is standing in a position of strength. When you stand with your feet together, you are showing you are being מכניע yourself to ה'.
iii. The idea of having your feet together is that you stopped. You aren’t going anywhere, it’s just you and ה'.
c. ישיבתו- how you sit. It is better not to cross your legs. You should sit in an upright position, you shouldn’t be comfortable- this keeps you thinking. Story- ר' משה became great because he didn’t bring the גמרא to himself, he bent over the גמרא- the more you put in, the more you get out.
d. מקום מיוחד- in shul, you should have a specific seat. This seat even has specific דינים- a son can’t sit in his father’s seat. You don’t have to have one, however a specific seat will help when you daven. It’s as if you’re making a tunnel to ה'. If you change places, you’re making multiple tunnels, thereby making your connection to ה' weaker.
e. זמן מיוחד- a set time helps with your כונה.
f. סביבה טובה- don’t daven where you are going to be distracted.
g. להסתכל בסידור- look in your סדור. Someone once asked for a סגולה and they were told to look inside by bentching.
h. תפילה פרטית- your own personal תפילה, which you can say in שמע קולנו. You can ask for anything, in any language. By the other בקשות, you can ask, but it has to relate to the ברכה and be said in Hebrew. If you need small things, who else are you going to ask besides for ה'? Nothing is too small or petty for Him. Certain things really shouldn’t be important to you, but if they are, only ה' can help you. The משך חכמה said the תפילה set up by the אכה''ג is like a חרב- it’s sharp in itself and it doesn’t need much direction. But an arrow depends on the aim- the כונה and power you put into it.
Booklet:
מה- the ח''ח gives a guarantee for תפילה: you must look in the סדור, and definitely by ש''ע. But this doesn’t mean that you’ll be 100% protected just from looking in. עצה- think about what every paragraph is saying before you start it. This isn’t a big delay, it’ll just take a few seconds. You shouldn’t say the ברכות as הרגל, you should think about it. It should come בזריזות and בשמחה. Not only is it ד''א, it’s also כונה.
מו- if you catch yourself and see that you haven’t been having כונה, how can you keep yourself to still have כונה? משל- a girl is selling vegetables in the marketplace. A bully causes all of her vegetables to spill and they are being grabbed. A פקח tells her to grab what she could, too. נמשל- we are the girl and the יצה''ר is the bully. We should grab whatever we could. We get lazy and lose a lot of תפילה, but we should grab what we could and not get discouraged.
מח- ר' משה says three things:
1. Look into the סדור.
2. Remove all foreign thoughts before davening.
3. Think about something you saw in nature and be appreciative of ה'.
k. אם בא מחשבה זרה באמצע התפילה- postpone the thought and get yourself on track. Don’t keep davening with something else on your mind.
With everything in life, think before you say anything in this life of הבל הבלים, and then we won’t be חוטא. You must think before you do anything, and then you won’t be חוטא. Think before you speak, act and react and your davening will be pure. There will be no weights hanging it down- it will be clear, clean and directed. If you aim right, it’ll be received on the other side. It says in תהלים, "תכין לבם (כונה) תקשיב אזניך (קבלה)".
שם עולם-
The ח''ח wrote about anything he saw a problem in. This ספר is for people with no children and for people who lost their children in a רוחניותדיק way.
There is ירידת הדורות. Some people refute this and say that we are so much smarter and more civilized that the previous generations. Proof of this are all the חכמות we have that they didn’t. They could have made these, but it wasn’t necessary. Now that it’s necessary, it was invented. משל- תלמיד who understands in the beginning is smarter. The earlier generations knew, but now that we don’t get it, it has to be explained to us. It is talking about אמונה- as it dwindles, the inventions keep us on track.
1. Telescope (Galileo)- people always knew that ה' sees you, but after a while this recognition got a little weaker so ה' made the telescope, allowing people to see far. "אם יוצר עין לא יביט"- if your eye could see so far and ה' created it, don’t you think that He can see far? It says in פרקי אבות, "דע מה למעלה ממך... עין רואה".
2. Telephone (Alexander Graham Bell)- all of the sudden you could hear someone in the next city, country and even in outer space! People don’t really think that ה' hears them, but "הנטע אוזן הלא ישמע"- if you could hear far, can’t ה'?
3. Photography- before, all you could do was tell someone about something in the past, but you couldn’t show them. Now, you can age, but a picture never changes. This is how it is in שמים- when you go up, you will see a picture of everything you did wrong.
4. Phonograph (Thomas Edison)- a person could be separated from his voice- you could keep someone’s voice even when they’re gone. A person could even be dead and you’ll still have his voice!
The ח''ח said, "דע מה למעלה ממך "- do you want to know what’s going on in שמים? ממך- through yourself. ה' gives us things down here to help us understand.
Read this letter once a week and don’t do less than what it says and you’ll be following the ways of ה'. If you do what it says, you’ll go to עוה''ב that is set aside for צדיקים. If you read this letter, everything you ask for will be answered.
• ר' משה בן נחמן
• He lived from 1194- 1270.
• Was a ראשון, and a contemporary of רש''י and the רמב''ם.
• He was a cousin of ר' יונה’s and their children got married to each other.
• He was born during the רמב''ם’s life and outlived him, so sometimes, you will see that the רמב''ם doesn’t answer back to him.
• He lived in גרנה, Spain. At the end of his life he went to א''י.
• He sent this letter to his son. The letter was sent from עכו to קטלוני'. This was a personal letter, but it became public.
אגרת הרמב''ן-
This letter was sent from עכו to קטלוני' to his son to encourage him about ענוה. The רמב''ן told his son to read this letter once a week and teach it to his children. He said they should know it by heart in order to train them from the time they’re young in יראת שמים. The רמב''ן says that at the time you read it and try to be מקיים it, ה' will answer him. Someone who reads it and internalizes it will be saved from צרות and he’ll be a בן עוה''ב.
It says to train a child from the time they’re young. This teaches us that חנוך starts from when a child is old enough to understand, but יראת שמים starts right away. Even if a child is too young to say a ברכה or שמע, you should say it for them. You must jumpstart children from the time they’re young.
It starts with the word "שמע בני...''- listen my son to the מוסר of your father and don’t forsake the תורה of your mother. It could be that the רמב''ן wrote a salutation, but we don’t have it. What we have starts with this פסוק to show us how important it is to listen to parents. When they give you מוסר, it’s only for your own good. The only time you shouldn’t listen to your parents is if they tell you to do something against the תורה. Here, אביך can mean ה' and אמיך can mean כנסת ישראל. There are certain things which כ''י do and you should to them too.
It says, "תתנהג..."- we must speak gently. This is really much more important than we think. It includes the decibel level and tension in our voices. It says, "לכל אדם ובכל עת"- to everyone at all times. We must find the weak link in the chain which would cause us not to talk nicely and work on ourselves not to get tense at them.
Three types of pressures:
1. Physical pressure-
a. Not feeling well
b. Hungry
c. Woman who just gave birth. In the time of the בהמ''ק, a woman had to bring a חטאת after she gave birth in case she said something she shouldn’t have when she was in pain.
2. Emotional pressure-
a. Sad
b. Bad mood- this is not a license to be not nice to people. You must either get out of your bad mood, or tell the person that you’ll talk to them a different time.
3. Time pressure- when you are short on time, you are often mean to people, especially on ערב שבת. Story- ר' מאיר saw two men fighting on ערב שבת and he stopped them. This happened three times. The third time, a voice was heard saying, "וי שהוציאני ר' מאיר מביתי"- this was the יצה''ר. After the third time, the fighting stopped because after you keep putting the יצה''ר down, he doesn’t come back. We see from here that the שטן comes when there’s a fight. The שטן and the שכינה can’t stay together. ר' עקיבא says that a man and woman, איש ואישה, when they are בשלום, ה' is with them. However, when there’s מחלוקת, ה' isn’t with them and אש comes down and consumes. It also says מביתי- this shows us that the שטן makes the house his territory.
If you do this, you’ll be saved from כעס. It’s a bad מידה that makes people sin in many ways:
1. You hurt someone physically.
2. אונאת דברים
3. Embarrass them.
חז''ל say that someone who lets כעס take over him, "כל מיני גיהנום שולטין בו". Why? Because when you get angry, you do so many bad things and you get punished for all of them. It says, "הסר כעס..." and חז''ל say that רעה= גיהנום. How do we know this? It says in משלי, "וגם רשע ליום רעה", and רעה= גיהנום. So if you remove כעס, you’ll remove רעה, which is equal to גיהנום.
חז''ל say that someone who has כעס, it’s like he served ע''ז:
1. ע''ז is listening to a different authority than ה'. When you have כעס, you’re listening to your יצה''ר.
2. When you get angry, you forget that ה' is running the world. Whatever bad happened was meant to happen and whoever brought it onto you was just the שליח. However, we must all remember when we are the שליח, "מגלגלין זכות ע''י זכאי...". חז''ל say, "צדיקים לבם ברשותם ורשעים ברשות לבם"- the שכל of a צדיק guides his emotions, but a רשע’s emotions are led by his heart.
Why didה' make כעס? It can be used for the good. It’s a passion inside of us which can be used in two areas:
1. נגד רשעים- when bad is being done.
2. In חנוך- children will see how important something is based on the passion showed toward it. Does a mother get upset when a child dirties his suit, but not when he misbehaves in school? Passion towards something teaches the importance. The danger of כעס is that it’s like a fire- once you light it, it can’t be controlled. Therefore you must not let it overtake you. It says in מסילת ישרים that you must have " כעס הפנים ולא כעס הלב"- you must have total control. How do you know if you’re in control? When you can be upset for the moment and then move on.
If you don’t have כעס, ענוה will move in. ענוה is the best מידה. When you have ענוה, you’ll have other מידות טובות. It says, "והאיש משה ענו מאד". רש''י explains this to mean that he was a שפל וסבלן. If a person is humble, he has patience. Impatience comes from גאוה. So, if you don’t have כעס, you’ll have ענוה.
If you have ענוה, you’ll have יראה.
לדבר בנחת ← כעס ← ענוה ← יראה
How does ענוה lead to יראה? It says, "הסתכל בשלשה דברים...":
1. מאין באת- מטפה סרוחה
2. ולאן אתה הולך- רמה ותולעה
3. ולפני מי אתה עתיד ליתן דין וחשבון
ה' doesn’t want us to think "כוחי ועוצם ידי..." because when we get full of ourselves, we don’t see ה'. The sun is so powerful and the moon isn’t. But sometimes, the moon can block the sun. Sometimes, something blocks so that we can’t see ה', and we begin to think that the הצלחה we have is because of us. The more ענוה you have, the more you’ll see ה'. It says in דברים, "אנכי עומד בן ה' וביניכם"- the אנכי of a person blocks him from seeing ה'.
We are so small and insignificant, but ה' put some of His greatness into us. So we do have greatness, but we must put into perspective how small we are, especially in contrast to ה'- ה' contains everything! We call ה', "המקום". ה' is מקומו של עולם ואין העולם מקומו- everything is in Him. So, certainly the heart of a person can’t understand ה'. A human being can’t fathom why ה' does what he does. When a person says “I don’t understand why ה' did this”, he is implying that he understand everything else. In the ח''ח’s time, there was a man who went insane and ran around naked. Thirty or forty years earlier, he was a landlord and he kicked an אלמנה and her יתומים out of his home because they couldn’t pay the rent. The ח''ח said that this is the cause of his insanity. The ח''ח says- I didn’t expect to ever understand ה'. If once I understood, it’s unbelievable.
Also ה' says, "הלא את השמים...". We should try to understand, but we shouldn’t think that we could. When we think of these things, תירא מבוראך- we will have יראת ה', ותשמר מן החטא- you will be careful not to be חוטא.
מכתב אליהו sheet- in the תורה, we have the מצוה of "לא תחמד"- don’t want that which someone else has. Some hold that until you actually take the thing from someone else (this includes paying for it, but the person doesn’t want to give it to you), you aren’t חוטא. Others hold that you are חוטא even with the מחשבה of wanting it. But how can one be expected to control their thoughts? Because thoughts are controllable. If you see a bird flying, you may think that it is wonderful to have wings, but you won’t be חומד them because it’s impossible for a human being to have wings. So you are only חומד what is in your realm. Also a peasant isn’t חומד the princess in marriage because he tells himself that it’s impossible for him. So you can control your heart with your mind, it all depends on how you think. So we must look at things differently- everything in this world are just כלים to serve ה'. Every person was given the כלים he needs to accomplish his mission. So if you weren’t given a specific כלי, it’s because you don’t need it.
So if you have יראה and don’t want to be חוטא, and just want to serve ה', you will be שמח בחלקו. We think that being שמח בחלקו means that if we want something and can’t get it, we’ll work on ourselves. But really, being שמח בחלקו starts with not wanting it.
So if we live with ענוה, to be humble in front of other people and be ירא ה', then רוח השכינה וזיו כבודה will come down on us and we’ll get חיי עוה''ב.
Someone who has גאוה thinks that he is better than other people. He is מורד במלכות שמים because he is showing off in ה'’s royal clothing, as the פסוק says, "ה' מלך גאות לבש". We have no right to be בעלי גאוה because we fall short. Only ה' is perfect.
What can we be מתגאה over?
עושר:
Don’t be such a big shot, it’s not you,ה' gives it to you. You must remember to thank Him for it. Once you have money, you must use it. So:
1. Be humble.
2. Thank ה'.
3. Use it.
"ה' מוריש ומעשיר"- ה' makes people rich or poor. Don’t think that it’s you, ה' gave it to you. This פסוק was said by חנה- ה' made her have children and פנינה lose all of her children. She recognized that it’s all in ה'’s hands, it wasn’t that some people can have children and others can’t.
However, we don’t really believe this. Someone who doesn’t have פרנסה, ה' made him like this. It’s not that he can’t do anything right. People who can’t afford what everyone can feel embarrassed because people look down on them and think there’s something wrong with them. People who have a lot of money, it’s because ה' wants them to, not because they’re doing something right. משל- man in the forest who thinks that it was his shot that killed the lion, but really there’s a hunter in the trees. In קדושין, it says that a father should teach his son אמנות קלות ונקיות. But it doesn’t specify which job because אין העניות מן האומנות ואין עשירות מן האומנות. ר' דסלר says that a person shouldn’t do less השתדלות than he’s ready for. This is not because if he does less ה' won’t be able to provide for him, but because it’ll decrease his אמונה. Why do you have to do השתדלות ? It’s a קללה from אדם- you must do something to get your money. Some people think that the more השתדלות they put in, the more money they’ll make. But this isn’t true. It’s a קללה, we should do as little as we could. משל¬- man on wagon who holds his burden the whole time, he’s such a fool! נמשל- ה' is helping us along, the question is what we’ll be able to handle. We must be careful so that it doesn’t lead to כפירה. People can take high paying jobs for themselves, but must realize that it’s not because ה' can’t do it otherwise. This idea liberates a person, because he realizes that it’s not him.
כבוד:
The only real כבוד is כבוד התורה. כבוד belongs to ה'- "העושר והכבוד מלפניך"
1. It belongs to ה' and He gives it out to people.
צרות even out the differences between people. The only כבוד that stays is כבוד התורה. Someone could have been a גבאי and someone else could have been a beggar before the Holocaust, but when they were put in the concentration camps, they were all the same. Let’s forget our differences now, before the צרות come.
2. You must be humble because it’s not you.
3. We must be grateful.
4. We must use it, because if we don’t, we’re worse off than before. We should use it for ה'.
חכמה:
If you’re proud of your חכמה, remember what it says in איוב, "מסיר שפה..."- the speech of believers and the understanding of the elders ה' takes away. If the wrong words come out of your mouth, it’s a humbling and healthy experience. When you say the right thing, realize that ה' put those words into your mouth.
If you see someone without חכמה, realize that it could have been you. The most powerful message is when you see someone who used to have חכמה and lost it, then you realize that it’s not here to stay and that if ה' gave you a mind, you should use it to the utmost for Him. R’ Gifter was a phenomenal speaker. At a certain point, he got sick and couldn’t talk. We see that if ה' doesn’t want you to have it, you won’t. We don’t know how long we have it for. We have so much חכמה that we take for granted, so we don’t even thank ה' for it. Alzheimer’s disease teaches us this lesson. It’s a scary type of forgetting- a person doesn’t even know what he’s supposed to do with a telephone!
Everyone’s equal in front of ה'. He gives gifts to whoever He wants. In His anger He knocks down the high people and if He wants, He raises the low people up. So be low and ה' will raise you up.
How can you become an ענו? Behave like one. ספר החינוך- by the קרבן פסח, it says that you can’t break the bones so that it will remain hole and the גויים will see that we don’t disrespect their ע''ז. According to the ספר החינוך though, it’s to show our אצילות. We don’t break bones to get inside the meat. So we act like royalty and it will affect us- we will feel the royalty.
We know that "אדם נפעל כפי פעולותיו" and "החיצוניות מעורר את הפנמיות". So when we want to change, we should act in the way we would like to be. You can take the cruelest person and put him in charge of giving out צדקה and he’ll become gentle.
So we should act with the posture of ענוה. The פסוק says, "יען כי גבהו בנות ציון...". So don’t stand above everyone else, but think elevated thoughts. Don’t look at a person when you talk to him. Today this is considered a sign of disrespect or dishonesty, so instead you should drop your eyes every few seconds.
Respect every person. If he’s richer than you or smarter than you, respect him because ה' chose to give it to him. You shouldn’t think of your wealth the same way you think of his wealth. But if he’s a poor person or less smart, think that he’s a bigger צדיק then you because his חטאים which would come from these lacks of resources are only שגגות, so he’s more of a צדיק then you. If he has so few כלים, he must be very close to perfection. The חזון איש stood up for retarded people. So we don’t know who is a bigger צדיק- "כי אדם יראה ללב ואדם יראה לעינים".
A human being operates in three areas:
1. Speech
2. Action
3. Thoughts
In all three areas, at all times, speak and act like you are before ה' and it’ll change the way you think.
קש''ע sheet- The first thing you must know is that you’re before ה'- this is a כלל גדול בתורה. The way a person sits, moves and what he does when he’s alone isn’t how he is before other people or a king. When a person is before a king, he is so careful with what he says and does- everything is measured. ה' says, "אם יסתיר איש... אני מלא". When a person remembers this, he’ll be humiliated and act properly.
Additionally, not only the way we relate to ה', also with other people- if you know that ה'’s there, you’ll act differently with other people. We will speak differently and act differently- even in private you’ll sit tzniusly. Additionally, you will control your thoughts. The ח''ח said that if everything we thought was written on our foreheads, we would be so embarrassed. How can we control our thoughts? Think about what you’re busy with. If you’re busy with good things, that’s what you will think about. You can’t think two things in your head at the same time. So if you have a bad עיצה in your head, you can drive it out by thinking about something else.
ודבריך- everything you say will be said differently to others because you are before ה'.
You don’t have to be embarrassed, just be humble.
Don’t shout and yell at people, be like an עבד לפני רבו. Especially don’t yell at your parents, even shout across the house at them.
Be careful to learn תורה so that you can follow it- ולא עם הארץ חסיד. If you don’t know because you don’t pay attention and learn, it’s not an excuse.
When you finish learning, see what you can do to fulfill what you learnt.
Search through your actions every night and morning.
When you daven, try and remove all foreign thoughts from your head. You must prepare yourself to daven. The חסידים and ראשנים used to wait an hour before davening to prepare themselves. משל- being pushed into a pool (flailing until you compose yourself) vs. diving into a pool. "הכון לקראת אלקיך ישראל"- prepare yourself to meet ה'. How?
1. Thoughts
2. Dress- men put on a hat and gartel, woman should make sure they are dressed appropriately. You should dress respectfully. The more you put in, the more you get out.
Sheet-
1. כונה- visualize a target with a bulls eye and your goal is to hit it. You must remove whatever would blow your arrow off course. What is כונה? פירוש המילים. You must know what you are saying. There are other levels of כונה, but we only have to do פירוש המילים.
2. עבודה שבלב- the פסוק says, "ולעבדו בכל לבבכם". חז''ל say on this, "זו היא עבודה שבלב זו תפילה". Why is it called עבודה?
a. Everyone struggles with כונה.
b. It replaces the עבודה of the בהמ''ק- "ונשלמה פרים שפתינו". The אכה''ג set up תפילה because they saw that one day there will no longer be a בהמ''ק. The בהמ''ק was what united all of כ''י. So instead of a place which unified everyone, they established an action that would unify everyone. תפילה is the בריח התיכון of כ''י.
We learn out the times of when to daven from:
a. Morning- "וישכם אברהם בבוקר"
b. Afternoon- "ויצא יצחק לשוח בשדה לפנות ערב"
c. Night- "ויפגע [יעקב] במקים ההוא וילן שמה"
3. עיון תפילה- we say this in אילו דברים. This is one of the things that you can’t get enough שכר for in this world. It is one of the three עבירות that people do every day (in addition to אבק ל''ה).
4. "בחרבי ובקשתי"- the פסוק says, "אשר לקחתי מיד אמורי בחרבי ובקשתי". אונקלוס explains this to mean בצלותי ובבעותי- with my prayers and בקשות. תרגום is telling us that our תפילות are our weapons. The פסוק says, "הקול קול יעקב"- our כח is our voice. Our davening is as powerful as the greatest weapons. תפילה is like a קשת- the closer you pull it to your heart, the further it will go. There are two different kinds of תפילה:
a. Of the אכה''ג- it’s like close combat. It will still work even if you don’t have כונה because the words themselves hold power.
b. Your own, personal words- it’s like shooting an arrow. If it goes even a little off, you will miss the target.
5. מתפלל- it’s a התפעל word, you do it to yourself. Through your davening, you are working and changing yourself. The דברי שבח we say are speaking about ה', but you are really speaking to yourself. We say that ה' is the רופא חולים, not the doctors. If a person has to be sick, it’s because it’s for his best. So why would he daven not to get sick? Because the גזירה was on him, but now that he’s a new person, the גזירה is no longer on him.
6. חסידים הראשונים- they waited an hour before davening. We don’t do this, but before we daven we should think preparatory thoughts.
7. להשמיע לאזניו- בדיעוד, you are יוצא just by saying the words. But really, you should hear yourself.
8. There are three places where you must have in mind what you are saying:
a. פותח את ידיך
b. שמע
c. First ברכה of ש''ע
9. עצות- certain עצות which may help you:
a. יהיו לרצון- at the end of ש''ע, we say יהיו לרצון- we tell ה' that we hope He likes what we’ve been saying up until now. This is an embarrassing statement. If we have remember that we’re going to have to say this at the end, we’ll be more careful with what you think about. R’ Shalom Shwadron said there was a man whose mind was wandering so far and he was in a fruit market and he thought someone was beating him up, but really he was just saying סלח לנו.
b. עמידתו- how you stand. You should stand in a respectful way, in attention, and by ש''ע you should put your feet together. Why?
i. "ורגליהם רגל ישרה" (ישעי')- the מלאכים have their legs together. We want to be like מלאכים because their life’s תפקיד is to be an עבד ה'.
ii. Standing with your feet apart is standing in a position of strength. When you stand with your feet together, you are showing you are being מכניע yourself to ה'.
iii. The idea of having your feet together is that you stopped. You aren’t going anywhere, it’s just you and ה'.
c. ישיבתו- how you sit. It is better not to cross your legs. You should sit in an upright position, you shouldn’t be comfortable- this keeps you thinking. Story- ר' משה became great because he didn’t bring the גמרא to himself, he bent over the גמרא- the more you put in, the more you get out.
d. מקום מיוחד- in shul, you should have a specific seat. This seat even has specific דינים- a son can’t sit in his father’s seat. You don’t have to have one, however a specific seat will help when you daven. It’s as if you’re making a tunnel to ה'. If you change places, you’re making multiple tunnels, thereby making your connection to ה' weaker.
e. זמן מיוחד- a set time helps with your כונה.
f. סביבה טובה- don’t daven where you are going to be distracted.
g. להסתכל בסידור- look in your סדור. Someone once asked for a סגולה and they were told to look inside by bentching.
h. תפילה פרטית- your own personal תפילה, which you can say in שמע קולנו. You can ask for anything, in any language. By the other בקשות, you can ask, but it has to relate to the ברכה and be said in Hebrew. If you need small things, who else are you going to ask besides for ה'? Nothing is too small or petty for Him. Certain things really shouldn’t be important to you, but if they are, only ה' can help you. The משך חכמה said the תפילה set up by the אכה''ג is like a חרב- it’s sharp in itself and it doesn’t need much direction. But an arrow depends on the aim- the כונה and power you put into it.
Booklet:
מה- the ח''ח gives a guarantee for תפילה: you must look in the סדור, and definitely by ש''ע. But this doesn’t mean that you’ll be 100% protected just from looking in. עצה- think about what every paragraph is saying before you start it. This isn’t a big delay, it’ll just take a few seconds. You shouldn’t say the ברכות as הרגל, you should think about it. It should come בזריזות and בשמחה. Not only is it ד''א, it’s also כונה.
מו- if you catch yourself and see that you haven’t been having כונה, how can you keep yourself to still have כונה? משל- a girl is selling vegetables in the marketplace. A bully causes all of her vegetables to spill and they are being grabbed. A פקח tells her to grab what she could, too. נמשל- we are the girl and the יצה''ר is the bully. We should grab whatever we could. We get lazy and lose a lot of תפילה, but we should grab what we could and not get discouraged.
מח- ר' משה says three things:
1. Look into the סדור.
2. Remove all foreign thoughts before davening.
3. Think about something you saw in nature and be appreciative of ה'.
k. אם בא מחשבה זרה באמצע התפילה- postpone the thought and get yourself on track. Don’t keep davening with something else on your mind.
With everything in life, think before you say anything in this life of הבל הבלים, and then we won’t be חוטא. You must think before you do anything, and then you won’t be חוטא. Think before you speak, act and react and your davening will be pure. There will be no weights hanging it down- it will be clear, clean and directed. If you aim right, it’ll be received on the other side. It says in תהלים, "תכין לבם (כונה) תקשיב אזניך (קבלה)".
שם עולם-
The ח''ח wrote about anything he saw a problem in. This ספר is for people with no children and for people who lost their children in a רוחניותדיק way.
There is ירידת הדורות. Some people refute this and say that we are so much smarter and more civilized that the previous generations. Proof of this are all the חכמות we have that they didn’t. They could have made these, but it wasn’t necessary. Now that it’s necessary, it was invented. משל- תלמיד who understands in the beginning is smarter. The earlier generations knew, but now that we don’t get it, it has to be explained to us. It is talking about אמונה- as it dwindles, the inventions keep us on track.
1. Telescope (Galileo)- people always knew that ה' sees you, but after a while this recognition got a little weaker so ה' made the telescope, allowing people to see far. "אם יוצר עין לא יביט"- if your eye could see so far and ה' created it, don’t you think that He can see far? It says in פרקי אבות, "דע מה למעלה ממך... עין רואה".
2. Telephone (Alexander Graham Bell)- all of the sudden you could hear someone in the next city, country and even in outer space! People don’t really think that ה' hears them, but "הנטע אוזן הלא ישמע"- if you could hear far, can’t ה'?
3. Photography- before, all you could do was tell someone about something in the past, but you couldn’t show them. Now, you can age, but a picture never changes. This is how it is in שמים- when you go up, you will see a picture of everything you did wrong.
4. Phonograph (Thomas Edison)- a person could be separated from his voice- you could keep someone’s voice even when they’re gone. A person could even be dead and you’ll still have his voice!
The ח''ח said, "דע מה למעלה ממך "- do you want to know what’s going on in שמים? ממך- through yourself. ה' gives us things down here to help us understand.
Read this letter once a week and don’t do less than what it says and you’ll be following the ways of ה'. If you do what it says, you’ll go to עוה''ב that is set aside for צדיקים. If you read this letter, everything you ask for will be answered.
Friday, May 6, 2011
Political Science- Chapter 1
Principles of Government-
• Harold Laswell defined government as who gets what, when and how.
• In any nation, government is made up of:
1. Institutions
2. People
3. Process that is used to create public policy.
• What is public policy? The system set up to maintain authority and control over society
Purpose of Government-
Every nation has goals that they would like to implement into public policies. The US has goals. Our goals were set up in the preamble to the constitution by our founding fathers:
1. “Form a more perfect union”- form a nation where the states have enough power, but not too much that a strong central union can’t exist.
2. “Establishing justice”- set up reasonable and fair laws.
3. “Ensuring domestic tranquility”- preserving public order.
4. “Providing for the common defense”- providing an army and navy.
5. “Promoting general welfare”- provide services to the nation.
6. “Securing the blessings of liberty”- providing individual freedoms.
Forms of Government-
Greek philosopher Aristotle classified government by the number of people ruling:
1. Anarchy- rule by none.
2. Autocracy- rule by one
a. Absolute monarch- usually inherits his position.
b. Constitutional monarchy- inherits his position but is limited by the constitution or code of law. Sometimes, he is a figurehead.
c. Dictator- someone who seizes power and maintains military control.
3. Oligarchy- rule by:
a. A few elite or socially high people.
b. Theocracy- religious leaders.
4. Democracy- rule by the people
a. Direct democracy- every single person votes on every single issue.
b. Representative democracy- I choose someone to represent me in government.
Theories of Government-
Who has the real power and influence over decision making?
1. Traditional democracy theory- government by consent of the governed.
2. Pluralist theory- special interest groups compete in the political arena. Interest groups are powerful, sophisticated groups that represent a certain cause. They compete with each other and work things out with each other.
3. Elite theory- the wealthy, corporate leaders or military leaders are running the country.
4. Bureaucratic theory- the bureaucrats are the people in power who are running the country.
5. Hyper- Pluralist theory- when the government is made of so many interest groups pulling in so many different directions that nothing gets done.
Origins of American Government-
1. Early influences of American government-
a. Greece- first democracy.
b. Rome- first republic.
c. English influences-
i. Magna Carta (1215)- Watershed Event- this was the first time that the power of a monarch was limited. The Magna Carta was forced upon the king by the nobility. The Magna Carta is sometimes called the Great Charter. It guarantees the nobles:
1. Right to a trail by jury.
2. Protects them from arbitrary taking of life, liberty and property.
3. Promised due process- a fair chance- under the law.
ii. Parliament- advisory committee. Over time, it became a law making body.
iii. Petition of Rights (1628)- it extended the Magna Carta to the commoners. It further limited the king from:
1. Taxing without Parliament.
2. Declaring war.
3. Marshall Law during peace time.
4. Gave people the right to trial by jury even if they criticized the king.
iv. English Bill of Rights- in 1689, the Glorious Revolution took place. It was a bloodless revolution- King James was ousted and William and Mary were put in his place on condition that they sign the Bill of Rights. It guaranteed:
1. Free parliamentary elections.
2. Fair and speedy trial.
3. No excessive bail or excessive punishment.
4. Right to petition.
5. No taxation without consent.
6. The monarch may not suspend the law.
d. Philosophers:
i. John Locke- government by the consent of the governed. He had the Social Contract theory- the government protects the natural rights of a person. If it doesn’t do so, it’s to be removed. Thomas Jefferson used these ideas when he wrote the Declaration of Independence.
ii. Baron De Montesquieu- he believed in separation of powers. He felt that England was so successful because the power was divided into branches.
Colonial Experience- was from 1607- 1776. The American colonies were in a continuous state of political development. England treated them with a policy of salutary neglect, therefore the colonies had time to practice self government. The governments were based on their parliamentary heritage from England- it was based on the ideas of:
1. Liberty
2. Equality
3. Limited government
Every colony started with a charter- permit from the mother country to run a colony.
Most of the colonies wanted self government. Two examples of self government were:
1. Virginia House of Burgesses- was a lawmaking body. This was the first experience with a representative democracy.
2. Mayflower Compact- an agreement by the Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower to be self governed. They had a democratic system of government.
Difficulties with England:
England left us alone for many years. We had a mercantilist relationship where England provided manufactured goods and we provided raw materials and a market for the goods. England took care of our defense and we took care of our internal affairs. For many years this was a grand system.
The turning point in our relationship was the French and Indian war- 1756- 1763 (aka Seven Years war). As a result of the war, England began to tax the colonies more heavily because they felt that since war is expensive, we should help fill the treasury. They began to enforce old taxes and institute new ones:
1. Sugar act
2. Stamp act
3. Townshend act
The colonists protested and war broke out- Boston Massacre. England continued to tax the colonists by means of the Tea act. The colonists acted out in the Boston Tea party and as a punishment to the colonists, the British placed the Intolerable act.
The colonists decided to meet to decide what should be done. In 1774, all the states aside from Georgia sent delegates to what later became known as the First Constitutional Congress in Philadelphia. They sent the Petition of Rights to the king and agreed to meet again.
In May 1775, delegates from every colony met again at the Second Constitutional Congress in Philadelphia one month after the battles of Lexington and Concord. The Second Constitutional Congress became America’s first government. It:
1. Set up an army- George Washington became a commander in chief.
2. Borrowed money from:
a. France
b. Netherlands
3. Set up a monetary system.
4. Made treaties.
5. Wrote the Declaration of Independence- was mainly the work of Thomas Jefferson and based on the works of John Locke. It can be divided into three parts:
a. Our theory of government- government is a social contract and is here to protect our natural rights.
b. Our list of grievances
c. Formal declaration
6. Articles of Confederation- laws written by the Second Continental Congress. The Articles reflect the colonists’ fear of strong, central government. The Confederation was like a league of friendship among the colonies. They didn’t want a repeat of King George, so they limited the power to a strong, central government.
The government could:
a. Borrow money
b. Create an army
c. Declare war
d. Set up a postal system
e. Sign treaties
Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation:
a. Didn’t have the power to tax
b. Couldn’t draft soldiers
c. Couldn’t regulate commerce
d. Had no executive or judicial branch- no one to pull everyone together.
e. Nine out of thirteen states were needed to pass the Articles of Confederation.
f. Every state was equal, regardless of population.
g. Every state had to agree to make an amendment.
These weaknesses allowed states to concentrate on their own power. The states were taxing each other. Some states made their own treaties and printed their own money. Some states refused to listen to Confederation laws.
Successes of the Articles of Confederation:
a. 1781- led to the end of the Revolutionary war.
b. 1783- Treaty of Paris- brought about a successful end to the Revolutionary war.
c. Land Ordinance Act of 1785 and Northwest Ordinance Act of 1787- system of allowing new states to enter the union.
The government under the Articles of Confederation was a failure. It couldn’t deal with the nation’s problems. Chaos and violence broke out. They met in Mt. Vernon and Annapolis, but they still couldn’t work out the problems. It took Shays’ Rebellion to wake people up.
By Shays’ Rebellion, the farmers rebelled because they lost money and land. The wealthy landowners got hysterical that the mob would take over so they decided to meet and attempt to amend the Articles of Confederation.
Fifty- five men from all the states besides Rhode Island met in Philadelphia at the Constitutional Convention. They were all from the elite of society. They realized immediately that the Articles of Confederation couldn’t be fixed and that they had to start new. They decided that the new government would be a republic and run on a federal system where both the state and federal government work together. Additionally, the new government would have three branches of government. Many men came with plans, but the Virginia and New Jersey plans go down in history.
The constitution was full of compromises. Three of these compromises:
1. Great Compromise- this was an argument over representation. Should the people be counted by population or by state? They decided to compromise with a bicameral legislature:
a. Upper house/ Senate- two representatives for every state.
b. Lower house/ House of Representatives- number of representatives is based on population.
2. Three- fifths compromise- how should slaves be counted? The North felt that slaves shouldn’t be counted for representation because they’re not people, but they should be counted for taxation. The South felt that they should only be counted for representation, but not taxation. The compromise that was agreed upon was that three- fifths of all the slaves are counted for both representation and taxation.
3. Commerce compromise- the North wanted the government to regulate business. The South didn’t want the government involved because they were involved in exports and they didn’t want taxes. They also didn’t want the government involved in the slave trade. The compromise was that the government can and will regulate trade, but not tax exports. Additionally, for the next twenty years, the slave trade was not to be touched.
Ratification of the constitution-
On September 17, 1787, the delegates signed the constitution and it was then sent out to the state legislatures. Nine out of thirteen states had to ratify the constitution for it to became the law of the land.
Debates raged in many states- the Federalists vs. the Anti- Federalists.
1. Federalists- were led by John Jay, James Madison and Alexander Hamilton. They wrote a series of eighty- three articles defending the Federalist view called the Federalist Papers. They were signed with the pen name “Publius”. The Federalist Papers supported the constitution and gave us insight into the founding fathers’ thoughts. The Federalists:
a. Believed that the constitution should be left as it is.
b. Stressed the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation and stressed that we need a strong central government.
c. Felt that a system of checks and balances will protect us.
d. The government in the constitution protects property rights.
e. Felt that we don’t need a Bill of Rights because the constitution itself limits the government.
2. Anti- Federalists- were led by Patrick Henry, Richard Henry Lee, Samuel Adams and George Mason. The Anti- Federalists felt that the new constitution gave too much power to the federal government at the expense of the states and people, therefore a Bill of Rights should be added to the constitution to protect people’s liberties. They wanted fewer limits on people’s participation in government.
It took two years for the constitution to be ratified.
The constitution details the:
1. Structure of the government
2. Power of the government
3. Duties of the government- relationship between the power of the federal government and the states.
Basic principles of the constitution:
1. Limited government- the US government is limited. The constitution is the supreme law of the land and no one is above the law.
2. Popular sovereignty- people rule, people are the source of power.
3. Separation of power- power is divided amongst three branches of government. Each branch has its own duties, and is controlled, restrained and limited by the other branches.
The Constitution-
The constitution begins with the preamble. The preamble is the opening paragraph which lists the nation’s goals:
1. “Form a more perfect union”- form a nation where the states have enough power, but not too much that a strong central union can’t exist.
2. “Establishing justice”- set up reasonable and fair laws.
3. “Ensuring domestic tranquility”- preserving public order.
4. “Providing for the common defense”- providing an army and navy.
5. “Promoting general welfare”- provide services to the nation.
6. “Securing the blessings of liberty”- providing individual freedoms.
The constitution has seven articles:
1. Legislative branch. This article has ten sections:
a. Congress- all the power of the Legislative branch is held by Congress. Congress is composed of the Senate and House of Representatives.
b. House of Representatives- in order to be elected, one must be twenty- five and a US citizen for seven years. He stays in office for a term of two years. The House of Representatives organizes itself however it wants and chooses the speaker. The House of Representatives also has the power of impeachment.
c. Senate- there are two senators per state. In order to be elected, one must be at least thirty and have been a US citizen for no less than nine years. Senators serve for a six year term. Senate serves as the jury during impeachment trials. The vice president is the president of Senate. He doesn’t have a vote unless there is a tie.
d. Discusses congressional elections- congressional elections are decided by every state.
e. Rules and procedures of the House and Senate- the House has many more rules.
f. Payment and privileges- salary is not written into the constitution, but it must be decided by the law.
g. How a bill becomes a law- the bill is presented to either the House or Senate. It is then referred to committees who vote, change and switch…
h. Powers granted to Congress:
i. Coin money
ii. Borrow money
iii. Bankruptcy laws
iv. Make money
v. Copy write
i. Powers denied to Congress:
i. Can’t suspend the writ of habeas corpus
j. Powers denied to the states:
i. Can’t coin money
ii. Can’t declare war.
2. Executive branch-
a. President- must be thirty- five, born in the US and a citizen for fourteen years. He serves a four year term.
b. Powers of the president-
i. Military powers.
ii. Makes treaties
iii. Appoints people
c. Presidential duty- to make sure that the laws are carried out.
d. Can be impeached.
3. Judiciary branch-
a. Federal courts and judges- they serve for life depending on their good behavior.
b. Authority of court- over who the courts have jurisdiction.
c. Treason- a treasonist is someone who declares war against the US.
4. Relations among states-
a. State laws and records- every state must honor other state’s laws- “full faith and credit”.
b. Rights of the citizens- citizens of one state are treated the same as citizens of another state.
i. Citizens are entitled to the privilege of another state.
ii. Extradition- if a convict runs to another state, the state must send him back.
c. Admission for new states.
d. Federal guarantee to the states.
5. Amending the constitution-
a. 2/3 of Congress and ¾ of the states. This has been done for 26/27 amendments.
b. 2/3 of Congress and a special convention held by ¾ of the states.
c. National convention suggested by 2/3 of Congress and then either approved of in ¾ of either state governments or state legislatures.
d. 2/3 of Congress and ¾ of the states agree to have national conventions.
e. Informal amendments-
i. judicial review. Began with Marbury vs. Madison in 1803. John Marshall was presiding over a case in which Marbury asked Secretary of State James Madison to give him his contract that Adams had given to him. Marshall used judicial review and said that the law is unconstitutional.
ii. Executive action- the president can take emergency action and make a change for the moment.
iii. Legislative action- Congress can pass laws that can extend the powers of the Constitution- elastic clause.
iv. Customs- political parties, for example, weren’t written into the constitution but they have evolved and are here today.
6. Supremacy of the national government- the federal government and constitution are supreme- above the state, and everyone must show their loyalty.
7. Ratifying the constitution- 9/13 state need to ratify before it goes into effect.
• Harold Laswell defined government as who gets what, when and how.
• In any nation, government is made up of:
1. Institutions
2. People
3. Process that is used to create public policy.
• What is public policy? The system set up to maintain authority and control over society
Purpose of Government-
Every nation has goals that they would like to implement into public policies. The US has goals. Our goals were set up in the preamble to the constitution by our founding fathers:
1. “Form a more perfect union”- form a nation where the states have enough power, but not too much that a strong central union can’t exist.
2. “Establishing justice”- set up reasonable and fair laws.
3. “Ensuring domestic tranquility”- preserving public order.
4. “Providing for the common defense”- providing an army and navy.
5. “Promoting general welfare”- provide services to the nation.
6. “Securing the blessings of liberty”- providing individual freedoms.
Forms of Government-
Greek philosopher Aristotle classified government by the number of people ruling:
1. Anarchy- rule by none.
2. Autocracy- rule by one
a. Absolute monarch- usually inherits his position.
b. Constitutional monarchy- inherits his position but is limited by the constitution or code of law. Sometimes, he is a figurehead.
c. Dictator- someone who seizes power and maintains military control.
3. Oligarchy- rule by:
a. A few elite or socially high people.
b. Theocracy- religious leaders.
4. Democracy- rule by the people
a. Direct democracy- every single person votes on every single issue.
b. Representative democracy- I choose someone to represent me in government.
Theories of Government-
Who has the real power and influence over decision making?
1. Traditional democracy theory- government by consent of the governed.
2. Pluralist theory- special interest groups compete in the political arena. Interest groups are powerful, sophisticated groups that represent a certain cause. They compete with each other and work things out with each other.
3. Elite theory- the wealthy, corporate leaders or military leaders are running the country.
4. Bureaucratic theory- the bureaucrats are the people in power who are running the country.
5. Hyper- Pluralist theory- when the government is made of so many interest groups pulling in so many different directions that nothing gets done.
Origins of American Government-
1. Early influences of American government-
a. Greece- first democracy.
b. Rome- first republic.
c. English influences-
i. Magna Carta (1215)- Watershed Event- this was the first time that the power of a monarch was limited. The Magna Carta was forced upon the king by the nobility. The Magna Carta is sometimes called the Great Charter. It guarantees the nobles:
1. Right to a trail by jury.
2. Protects them from arbitrary taking of life, liberty and property.
3. Promised due process- a fair chance- under the law.
ii. Parliament- advisory committee. Over time, it became a law making body.
iii. Petition of Rights (1628)- it extended the Magna Carta to the commoners. It further limited the king from:
1. Taxing without Parliament.
2. Declaring war.
3. Marshall Law during peace time.
4. Gave people the right to trial by jury even if they criticized the king.
iv. English Bill of Rights- in 1689, the Glorious Revolution took place. It was a bloodless revolution- King James was ousted and William and Mary were put in his place on condition that they sign the Bill of Rights. It guaranteed:
1. Free parliamentary elections.
2. Fair and speedy trial.
3. No excessive bail or excessive punishment.
4. Right to petition.
5. No taxation without consent.
6. The monarch may not suspend the law.
d. Philosophers:
i. John Locke- government by the consent of the governed. He had the Social Contract theory- the government protects the natural rights of a person. If it doesn’t do so, it’s to be removed. Thomas Jefferson used these ideas when he wrote the Declaration of Independence.
ii. Baron De Montesquieu- he believed in separation of powers. He felt that England was so successful because the power was divided into branches.
Colonial Experience- was from 1607- 1776. The American colonies were in a continuous state of political development. England treated them with a policy of salutary neglect, therefore the colonies had time to practice self government. The governments were based on their parliamentary heritage from England- it was based on the ideas of:
1. Liberty
2. Equality
3. Limited government
Every colony started with a charter- permit from the mother country to run a colony.
Most of the colonies wanted self government. Two examples of self government were:
1. Virginia House of Burgesses- was a lawmaking body. This was the first experience with a representative democracy.
2. Mayflower Compact- an agreement by the Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower to be self governed. They had a democratic system of government.
Difficulties with England:
England left us alone for many years. We had a mercantilist relationship where England provided manufactured goods and we provided raw materials and a market for the goods. England took care of our defense and we took care of our internal affairs. For many years this was a grand system.
The turning point in our relationship was the French and Indian war- 1756- 1763 (aka Seven Years war). As a result of the war, England began to tax the colonies more heavily because they felt that since war is expensive, we should help fill the treasury. They began to enforce old taxes and institute new ones:
1. Sugar act
2. Stamp act
3. Townshend act
The colonists protested and war broke out- Boston Massacre. England continued to tax the colonists by means of the Tea act. The colonists acted out in the Boston Tea party and as a punishment to the colonists, the British placed the Intolerable act.
The colonists decided to meet to decide what should be done. In 1774, all the states aside from Georgia sent delegates to what later became known as the First Constitutional Congress in Philadelphia. They sent the Petition of Rights to the king and agreed to meet again.
In May 1775, delegates from every colony met again at the Second Constitutional Congress in Philadelphia one month after the battles of Lexington and Concord. The Second Constitutional Congress became America’s first government. It:
1. Set up an army- George Washington became a commander in chief.
2. Borrowed money from:
a. France
b. Netherlands
3. Set up a monetary system.
4. Made treaties.
5. Wrote the Declaration of Independence- was mainly the work of Thomas Jefferson and based on the works of John Locke. It can be divided into three parts:
a. Our theory of government- government is a social contract and is here to protect our natural rights.
b. Our list of grievances
c. Formal declaration
6. Articles of Confederation- laws written by the Second Continental Congress. The Articles reflect the colonists’ fear of strong, central government. The Confederation was like a league of friendship among the colonies. They didn’t want a repeat of King George, so they limited the power to a strong, central government.
The government could:
a. Borrow money
b. Create an army
c. Declare war
d. Set up a postal system
e. Sign treaties
Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation:
a. Didn’t have the power to tax
b. Couldn’t draft soldiers
c. Couldn’t regulate commerce
d. Had no executive or judicial branch- no one to pull everyone together.
e. Nine out of thirteen states were needed to pass the Articles of Confederation.
f. Every state was equal, regardless of population.
g. Every state had to agree to make an amendment.
These weaknesses allowed states to concentrate on their own power. The states were taxing each other. Some states made their own treaties and printed their own money. Some states refused to listen to Confederation laws.
Successes of the Articles of Confederation:
a. 1781- led to the end of the Revolutionary war.
b. 1783- Treaty of Paris- brought about a successful end to the Revolutionary war.
c. Land Ordinance Act of 1785 and Northwest Ordinance Act of 1787- system of allowing new states to enter the union.
The government under the Articles of Confederation was a failure. It couldn’t deal with the nation’s problems. Chaos and violence broke out. They met in Mt. Vernon and Annapolis, but they still couldn’t work out the problems. It took Shays’ Rebellion to wake people up.
By Shays’ Rebellion, the farmers rebelled because they lost money and land. The wealthy landowners got hysterical that the mob would take over so they decided to meet and attempt to amend the Articles of Confederation.
Fifty- five men from all the states besides Rhode Island met in Philadelphia at the Constitutional Convention. They were all from the elite of society. They realized immediately that the Articles of Confederation couldn’t be fixed and that they had to start new. They decided that the new government would be a republic and run on a federal system where both the state and federal government work together. Additionally, the new government would have three branches of government. Many men came with plans, but the Virginia and New Jersey plans go down in history.
The constitution was full of compromises. Three of these compromises:
1. Great Compromise- this was an argument over representation. Should the people be counted by population or by state? They decided to compromise with a bicameral legislature:
a. Upper house/ Senate- two representatives for every state.
b. Lower house/ House of Representatives- number of representatives is based on population.
2. Three- fifths compromise- how should slaves be counted? The North felt that slaves shouldn’t be counted for representation because they’re not people, but they should be counted for taxation. The South felt that they should only be counted for representation, but not taxation. The compromise that was agreed upon was that three- fifths of all the slaves are counted for both representation and taxation.
3. Commerce compromise- the North wanted the government to regulate business. The South didn’t want the government involved because they were involved in exports and they didn’t want taxes. They also didn’t want the government involved in the slave trade. The compromise was that the government can and will regulate trade, but not tax exports. Additionally, for the next twenty years, the slave trade was not to be touched.
Ratification of the constitution-
On September 17, 1787, the delegates signed the constitution and it was then sent out to the state legislatures. Nine out of thirteen states had to ratify the constitution for it to became the law of the land.
Debates raged in many states- the Federalists vs. the Anti- Federalists.
1. Federalists- were led by John Jay, James Madison and Alexander Hamilton. They wrote a series of eighty- three articles defending the Federalist view called the Federalist Papers. They were signed with the pen name “Publius”. The Federalist Papers supported the constitution and gave us insight into the founding fathers’ thoughts. The Federalists:
a. Believed that the constitution should be left as it is.
b. Stressed the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation and stressed that we need a strong central government.
c. Felt that a system of checks and balances will protect us.
d. The government in the constitution protects property rights.
e. Felt that we don’t need a Bill of Rights because the constitution itself limits the government.
2. Anti- Federalists- were led by Patrick Henry, Richard Henry Lee, Samuel Adams and George Mason. The Anti- Federalists felt that the new constitution gave too much power to the federal government at the expense of the states and people, therefore a Bill of Rights should be added to the constitution to protect people’s liberties. They wanted fewer limits on people’s participation in government.
It took two years for the constitution to be ratified.
The constitution details the:
1. Structure of the government
2. Power of the government
3. Duties of the government- relationship between the power of the federal government and the states.
Basic principles of the constitution:
1. Limited government- the US government is limited. The constitution is the supreme law of the land and no one is above the law.
2. Popular sovereignty- people rule, people are the source of power.
3. Separation of power- power is divided amongst three branches of government. Each branch has its own duties, and is controlled, restrained and limited by the other branches.
The Constitution-
The constitution begins with the preamble. The preamble is the opening paragraph which lists the nation’s goals:
1. “Form a more perfect union”- form a nation where the states have enough power, but not too much that a strong central union can’t exist.
2. “Establishing justice”- set up reasonable and fair laws.
3. “Ensuring domestic tranquility”- preserving public order.
4. “Providing for the common defense”- providing an army and navy.
5. “Promoting general welfare”- provide services to the nation.
6. “Securing the blessings of liberty”- providing individual freedoms.
The constitution has seven articles:
1. Legislative branch. This article has ten sections:
a. Congress- all the power of the Legislative branch is held by Congress. Congress is composed of the Senate and House of Representatives.
b. House of Representatives- in order to be elected, one must be twenty- five and a US citizen for seven years. He stays in office for a term of two years. The House of Representatives organizes itself however it wants and chooses the speaker. The House of Representatives also has the power of impeachment.
c. Senate- there are two senators per state. In order to be elected, one must be at least thirty and have been a US citizen for no less than nine years. Senators serve for a six year term. Senate serves as the jury during impeachment trials. The vice president is the president of Senate. He doesn’t have a vote unless there is a tie.
d. Discusses congressional elections- congressional elections are decided by every state.
e. Rules and procedures of the House and Senate- the House has many more rules.
f. Payment and privileges- salary is not written into the constitution, but it must be decided by the law.
g. How a bill becomes a law- the bill is presented to either the House or Senate. It is then referred to committees who vote, change and switch…
h. Powers granted to Congress:
i. Coin money
ii. Borrow money
iii. Bankruptcy laws
iv. Make money
v. Copy write
i. Powers denied to Congress:
i. Can’t suspend the writ of habeas corpus
j. Powers denied to the states:
i. Can’t coin money
ii. Can’t declare war.
2. Executive branch-
a. President- must be thirty- five, born in the US and a citizen for fourteen years. He serves a four year term.
b. Powers of the president-
i. Military powers.
ii. Makes treaties
iii. Appoints people
c. Presidential duty- to make sure that the laws are carried out.
d. Can be impeached.
3. Judiciary branch-
a. Federal courts and judges- they serve for life depending on their good behavior.
b. Authority of court- over who the courts have jurisdiction.
c. Treason- a treasonist is someone who declares war against the US.
4. Relations among states-
a. State laws and records- every state must honor other state’s laws- “full faith and credit”.
b. Rights of the citizens- citizens of one state are treated the same as citizens of another state.
i. Citizens are entitled to the privilege of another state.
ii. Extradition- if a convict runs to another state, the state must send him back.
c. Admission for new states.
d. Federal guarantee to the states.
5. Amending the constitution-
a. 2/3 of Congress and ¾ of the states. This has been done for 26/27 amendments.
b. 2/3 of Congress and a special convention held by ¾ of the states.
c. National convention suggested by 2/3 of Congress and then either approved of in ¾ of either state governments or state legislatures.
d. 2/3 of Congress and ¾ of the states agree to have national conventions.
e. Informal amendments-
i. judicial review. Began with Marbury vs. Madison in 1803. John Marshall was presiding over a case in which Marbury asked Secretary of State James Madison to give him his contract that Adams had given to him. Marshall used judicial review and said that the law is unconstitutional.
ii. Executive action- the president can take emergency action and make a change for the moment.
iii. Legislative action- Congress can pass laws that can extend the powers of the Constitution- elastic clause.
iv. Customs- political parties, for example, weren’t written into the constitution but they have evolved and are here today.
6. Supremacy of the national government- the federal government and constitution are supreme- above the state, and everyone must show their loyalty.
7. Ratifying the constitution- 9/13 state need to ratify before it goes into effect.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Politcal Science- Chapter 7
Chapter 7: Political parties:
What makes up a political party?
1. Electorate- people who associate themselves with that particular party.
2. Government- all office holders who associate themselves with the party.
3. Party in organization- people who work to maintain the party.
Party systems-
1. One party system- a dictatorship. Membership is not voluntary- you must belong to it. Anyone elected is elected through the one party.
2. Two party system- two basic parties. The minority party doesn’t really have power. Usually, the nation is in agreement as to how the country should be run. Single member districts also promote the two party system. Why? Because the majority wins.
Factors that influence your party identification:
1. Ideology
2. Education
3. Income
4. Occupation
5. Race
6. Gender
7. Religion
8. Family
9. Region
10. Marital status
In America we have a two party tradition. The constitution doesn’t discuss political parties. James Madison in the Federal Papers wrote against factions in government. Washington, when he left office, told the nation to remain unified. Nonetheless, the seeds of political parties were sown way back when with the Federalists vs. Anti- federalists. Actual political parties began with Jefferson vs. Madison.
Why has America maintained a two party tradition? Over the years, smaller parties have cropped up.
1. Historical roots.
2. Way our electoral college works, it’s winner takes all. So there can’t be three parties because there would be no majority. We have a single member district- you either win or lose.
3. Election laws- some state laws make it hard for third parties to get onto the ballot.
Rise of political parties in America:
Formed during George Washington in the dispute between Hamilton and Jefferson. Hamilton was the Secretary of Treasury. He believed in a strong federal government. He wanted wealthy backing of the nation. Jefferson was a state’s rights man. His followers were called the democratic republicans. This was from 1789- 1800. In 1800, Jefferson became president and the Democrats took over from 1800- 1824. In 1824, there was a split in the Democratic Party. In 1828, Jackson became president. He won and formed a new democratic party called the Jacksonian democrats. This party wasn’t long lasting. Towards the end of his term, the Whigs took over. They were anti- Jackson. The Whigs won the presidency two times- Harrison and Taylor. In the election of 1860, a new party formed and a republican won- Abe Lincoln. But from 1860 and on, the Democratic Party became the party of the common man.
From 1860- 1932, the Republican Party was in power. It began as a third party- was a split off of the Whigs just before the Civil war- Lincoln was nominated. The party started out as a combination of many ideas, for example they were anti slavery and pro business. The Republican Party was nicknamed GOP- Grand Old Party. It dominated in the presidency and Congress for a long time.
The Democratic Party returned to strength in 1932 until 1968. FDR as a democrat was able to unite a lot of people- blacks, city dwellers, laborers and blue collared workers, unlike the republicans who couldn’t do this. This voting block was called the New Deal Coalition. FDR served four terms. From 1932- 1968, there were only two republican presidents. Until 1994, the Republicans didn’t have control of both houses of Congress.
From 1968 until today is called the Era of Government- one party controls the president and one party controls Congress. This causes a grid lock- nothing can happen because there are two sides.
In the election of 2000, George Bush, a republican, won the election. The Republicans also won in the House and Senate. In the mid-term election, they still kept control of the House and Senate. In the 2006 election, the Democrats controlled Congress, but the president was a republican. In 2008, both the presidency and Congress were unified under Democratic control.
Electoral dealignment- when voters don’t align themselves to any party.
Electoral realignment- when the dominant party loses control and the non-dominant party takes over.
Third parties-
Third parties never won a presidential election, but they have won state and local elections. Third parties are great because they bring reform. They introduce new ideas that have been adopted by the main party. The success of a third party leads to its downfall because other parties take their ideas.
Types of third parties:
1. Ideological third parties- specific social, political or economical belief.
2. Splinter/ fractional party- party that broke away from a major party. They are usually based around a poplar person:
a. Bull Moose party- broke away from the Democrats.
b. Strom Thurmond- formed a states’ rights party.
c. George Wallis- formed his own party called the American Independent party.
3. Single Issue party- focus on only one issue.
a. Free Soil party- slavery.
b. Anti-right- anti abortion.
4. Protest- political parties form in protest. These parties are formed in times of economic discontent.
Structure of Political parties-
Political parties must have organization in order to work. Parties are not really organized. They are somewhat decentralized and fragmented. The party of the president is usually somewhat more organized because they have a leader.
National conventions are the parties’ voice. Delegates meet the summer before election year and they choose presidential candidates. They also discuss and write up party platforms. The national committee manages the parties business between conventions. They choose the place for the convention, publish party literature and help the party raise money.
The national chairperson is chosen by the committee and he is responsible for directing the work of the committee. He helps fundraise and recruit.
Each party has a committee in the House and Senate. They make sure party members are being reelected and distribute money for campaigns.
State laws differ from state to state as to how the party is organized. Party organization in the state is similar to national organization. State parties are better because they are smaller and better funded than the past. State law determines how state party works. They have more money than in the past because of soft money- money that comes to the party from the national party doesn’t have to be reported to the federal government. The Federal Elections Campaign was passed in 1971- helped control money coming into the state. They could get money from the national party without reporting it. The McCain Feingold act limited soft money.
In recent years, affiliation with political parties declined.
Why are political parties weakening?
1. Third parties are challenging them.
2. There is a loss of loyalty.
3. Split ticket- can vote both ways.
4. There isn’t much difference between the two parties.
5. Party reform- parties are continuously reforming because they want to have a diverse group of people joining. This causes conflict in the party.
6. Methods of campaigning- allows politicians not to need the party so much.
What makes up a political party?
1. Electorate- people who associate themselves with that particular party.
2. Government- all office holders who associate themselves with the party.
3. Party in organization- people who work to maintain the party.
Party systems-
1. One party system- a dictatorship. Membership is not voluntary- you must belong to it. Anyone elected is elected through the one party.
2. Two party system- two basic parties. The minority party doesn’t really have power. Usually, the nation is in agreement as to how the country should be run. Single member districts also promote the two party system. Why? Because the majority wins.
Factors that influence your party identification:
1. Ideology
2. Education
3. Income
4. Occupation
5. Race
6. Gender
7. Religion
8. Family
9. Region
10. Marital status
In America we have a two party tradition. The constitution doesn’t discuss political parties. James Madison in the Federal Papers wrote against factions in government. Washington, when he left office, told the nation to remain unified. Nonetheless, the seeds of political parties were sown way back when with the Federalists vs. Anti- federalists. Actual political parties began with Jefferson vs. Madison.
Why has America maintained a two party tradition? Over the years, smaller parties have cropped up.
1. Historical roots.
2. Way our electoral college works, it’s winner takes all. So there can’t be three parties because there would be no majority. We have a single member district- you either win or lose.
3. Election laws- some state laws make it hard for third parties to get onto the ballot.
Rise of political parties in America:
Formed during George Washington in the dispute between Hamilton and Jefferson. Hamilton was the Secretary of Treasury. He believed in a strong federal government. He wanted wealthy backing of the nation. Jefferson was a state’s rights man. His followers were called the democratic republicans. This was from 1789- 1800. In 1800, Jefferson became president and the Democrats took over from 1800- 1824. In 1824, there was a split in the Democratic Party. In 1828, Jackson became president. He won and formed a new democratic party called the Jacksonian democrats. This party wasn’t long lasting. Towards the end of his term, the Whigs took over. They were anti- Jackson. The Whigs won the presidency two times- Harrison and Taylor. In the election of 1860, a new party formed and a republican won- Abe Lincoln. But from 1860 and on, the Democratic Party became the party of the common man.
From 1860- 1932, the Republican Party was in power. It began as a third party- was a split off of the Whigs just before the Civil war- Lincoln was nominated. The party started out as a combination of many ideas, for example they were anti slavery and pro business. The Republican Party was nicknamed GOP- Grand Old Party. It dominated in the presidency and Congress for a long time.
The Democratic Party returned to strength in 1932 until 1968. FDR as a democrat was able to unite a lot of people- blacks, city dwellers, laborers and blue collared workers, unlike the republicans who couldn’t do this. This voting block was called the New Deal Coalition. FDR served four terms. From 1932- 1968, there were only two republican presidents. Until 1994, the Republicans didn’t have control of both houses of Congress.
From 1968 until today is called the Era of Government- one party controls the president and one party controls Congress. This causes a grid lock- nothing can happen because there are two sides.
In the election of 2000, George Bush, a republican, won the election. The Republicans also won in the House and Senate. In the mid-term election, they still kept control of the House and Senate. In the 2006 election, the Democrats controlled Congress, but the president was a republican. In 2008, both the presidency and Congress were unified under Democratic control.
Electoral dealignment- when voters don’t align themselves to any party.
Electoral realignment- when the dominant party loses control and the non-dominant party takes over.
Third parties-
Third parties never won a presidential election, but they have won state and local elections. Third parties are great because they bring reform. They introduce new ideas that have been adopted by the main party. The success of a third party leads to its downfall because other parties take their ideas.
Types of third parties:
1. Ideological third parties- specific social, political or economical belief.
2. Splinter/ fractional party- party that broke away from a major party. They are usually based around a poplar person:
a. Bull Moose party- broke away from the Democrats.
b. Strom Thurmond- formed a states’ rights party.
c. George Wallis- formed his own party called the American Independent party.
3. Single Issue party- focus on only one issue.
a. Free Soil party- slavery.
b. Anti-right- anti abortion.
4. Protest- political parties form in protest. These parties are formed in times of economic discontent.
Structure of Political parties-
Political parties must have organization in order to work. Parties are not really organized. They are somewhat decentralized and fragmented. The party of the president is usually somewhat more organized because they have a leader.
National conventions are the parties’ voice. Delegates meet the summer before election year and they choose presidential candidates. They also discuss and write up party platforms. The national committee manages the parties business between conventions. They choose the place for the convention, publish party literature and help the party raise money.
The national chairperson is chosen by the committee and he is responsible for directing the work of the committee. He helps fundraise and recruit.
Each party has a committee in the House and Senate. They make sure party members are being reelected and distribute money for campaigns.
State laws differ from state to state as to how the party is organized. Party organization in the state is similar to national organization. State parties are better because they are smaller and better funded than the past. State law determines how state party works. They have more money than in the past because of soft money- money that comes to the party from the national party doesn’t have to be reported to the federal government. The Federal Elections Campaign was passed in 1971- helped control money coming into the state. They could get money from the national party without reporting it. The McCain Feingold act limited soft money.
In recent years, affiliation with political parties declined.
Why are political parties weakening?
1. Third parties are challenging them.
2. There is a loss of loyalty.
3. Split ticket- can vote both ways.
4. There isn’t much difference between the two parties.
5. Party reform- parties are continuously reforming because they want to have a diverse group of people joining. This causes conflict in the party.
6. Methods of campaigning- allows politicians not to need the party so much.
Politcal Science- Chapter 9
Chapter 9: Special Interest Groups and the Mass Media
Background of interest groups:
Interest groups have been viewed with suspicion from the beginning of time. James Madision in the Federalist papers warned against different factions in government. Madison knew that different factions were necessary, but he hoped that separation of powers would moderate the faction issue.
What’s the function of special interest groups?
1. Bring awareness to the public.
2. Represent their people- link between the members and the government.
3. Provide information to the government.
4. A channel for political activism.
Types of interest groups:
1. Economic- most interest groups are economic.
a. Labor groups- AFL, Teemsters Union.
b. Business- groups who help businesses- Chamber of Commerce, National Associations of Manufacturers.
c. Professionals- ABA, AMA.
d. Agriculture.
2. Groups that represent a cause-
a. Specific causes- NRA- National Rifle Association.
b. Wellfare of specific groups- AARP, NAACP, veterans of foreign wars.
c. Religious causes- National Council of Churches and the American Jewish Congress.
3. Public interest groups- are concerned with the environment, consumer products, civil rights, crime etc.
Strategies of interest groups:
1. Influence elections- encourage candidates to vote. They campaign for candidates and contribute to the campaign through PACs.
2. Lobby- supply information to the officials. Some of the lobbying is direct lobbying and some is grass roots lobbying- send letters and emails. Coalition lobbying is when they join with similar groups to influence the legislatures.
3. Litigation- through legal means, to take your case to court. Special interest groups will go to court for you. The most famous example is Brown vs. Board of Education.
4. Going public- try appealing to the public to get support for their cause, often through the media or other methods.
PACs-
During the 1970s, there were many reforms in how much money the PACs could give. Huge corporations and labor unions were no longer allowed to give direct contributions to these citizens. Federal laws regulate the PACs today. They must register, give money to lots of people and all of their accounting must be open to the public.
The first time lobbyists were regulated was in 1946 with the Federal Regulation of Lobbying Act. Lobbyists had to register with the clerks from the House of Representatives, but the regulation was only for those sitting in DC directly, influencing Congress. The 1946 law was directed only at those speaking directly to members of Congress. In 1995, they passed the Lobbying Disclosure Act- regulated lobbyists much more. They had to disclose more information about their agenda. This wasn’t only for lobbyists speaking directly to congressmen but also to those influencing Congressmen.
Mass Media:
Mass media is all kinds of communication that speaks to the general public- radio, TV, newspaper and internet.
Original newspapers expressed the views of specific groups. By the 1890s, every city had at least one or more daily newspaper. Circulation wars led to yellow journalism- souping up the news. This had political consequences. By the 1950s, newspaper competition had ended and by 2009, many newspapers had gone out of business.
Magazines have smaller circulation. The earliest public affairs magazines were in 1880s with the Muckrakers exposing political and economic corruption such as Ida Tarbell wrote about the Rockefellers. In the 20s and 30s, there were news weeklies like Time, News Weekly and US News and World Report. Today there is still readership. Also, there are select conservative and liberal magazines.
Television attracts the largest mass media audience. After WWII, it really took off. News anchormen were made into celebrities. They helped promote politicians. They brought about McCarthy’s end and pumped Kennedy up. Today, because of cable TV, we had a different view of mass media.
Media organizations use the internet to convey information. It has newspapers, magazines and personal blogs. More and more people are receiving their news via the internet.
Widespread radio use began in the 20s. In the 30s, FDR used radio as means of communication in his famous fireside chat.
Role of the media:
1. Informs the public.
2. Shapes your opinion.
3. Provides a link between citizen and government.
4. It’s a watchdog- investigates citizen’s personality and the governments like the Muckrakers by the Watergate Scandal.
5. Set the agenda- influence what becomes public news. A key example is the Vietnam conflict- filmed what they wanted to in order to turn people away from the war.
Media is privately owned. They have tremendous political freedom. Because it is private money funding the media, they are also dependant on advertisers so they must please the people. Government regulates radio and TV more than newspaper.
All kinds of regulation:
1. Technical regulation- began in 1934. The Federal Communications Act was set up to regulate the technicalities of the media.
2. Structural regulation- in regard to ownership of the companies. You don’t have one person owning all of the media. In 1996, the Telecommunications Act brought in a field of competition.
3. Content regulation- the first amendment allows for freedom of the press. But over the years, the media has been regulated somewhat.
What is news? Any important thing that the media would like to tell you that happened in the past twenty- four hours. Media decides what is newsworthy. The gatekeepers decide what goes onto the paper and radio and how it is presented. The time limitation and impact of the story are factored into what is news. In politics, there is something called horserace journalism- focus on the guy who is winning.
Media and the president:
All major news organizations have journalists in all cites. In Washington DC they have disproportionate number. Of all the press corporations in Washington DC, a third are assigned to cover the White House. The White House allows special access to the president and sometimes addresses the media. They have the office of the president and the secretary give information to the press.
Some ways the press receives information:
1. News releases- prepared speeches.
2. News briefing- every day there is an announcing and releasing of the press secretary.
3. News conferences- high level officials are questioned by the press. This is often rehearsed.
4. Leaks- often intentional. Information is given out by officials. Officials are guaranteed anonymity. Sometimes leaks are sent out to gage a response- called floating ideas.
Reporters are expected to behave in a certain way:
1. On the record- official could be quoted by name.
2. Off the record- you can’t mention his name or what he said.
3. On background- what he said could be printed, but not his name.
4. On deep background- you can’t even say you heard it from a source.
Congress gets less media attention than the president and they don’t have such tight control over the press. Most of the news about Congress is about Congress in general, not about a particular person. It’s about hearings or scandals… CSPAN is a cable network with twenty- four hour news of what goes on in Congress.
Media tends to be liberal and there is huge media bias.
Background of interest groups:
Interest groups have been viewed with suspicion from the beginning of time. James Madision in the Federalist papers warned against different factions in government. Madison knew that different factions were necessary, but he hoped that separation of powers would moderate the faction issue.
What’s the function of special interest groups?
1. Bring awareness to the public.
2. Represent their people- link between the members and the government.
3. Provide information to the government.
4. A channel for political activism.
Types of interest groups:
1. Economic- most interest groups are economic.
a. Labor groups- AFL, Teemsters Union.
b. Business- groups who help businesses- Chamber of Commerce, National Associations of Manufacturers.
c. Professionals- ABA, AMA.
d. Agriculture.
2. Groups that represent a cause-
a. Specific causes- NRA- National Rifle Association.
b. Wellfare of specific groups- AARP, NAACP, veterans of foreign wars.
c. Religious causes- National Council of Churches and the American Jewish Congress.
3. Public interest groups- are concerned with the environment, consumer products, civil rights, crime etc.
Strategies of interest groups:
1. Influence elections- encourage candidates to vote. They campaign for candidates and contribute to the campaign through PACs.
2. Lobby- supply information to the officials. Some of the lobbying is direct lobbying and some is grass roots lobbying- send letters and emails. Coalition lobbying is when they join with similar groups to influence the legislatures.
3. Litigation- through legal means, to take your case to court. Special interest groups will go to court for you. The most famous example is Brown vs. Board of Education.
4. Going public- try appealing to the public to get support for their cause, often through the media or other methods.
PACs-
During the 1970s, there were many reforms in how much money the PACs could give. Huge corporations and labor unions were no longer allowed to give direct contributions to these citizens. Federal laws regulate the PACs today. They must register, give money to lots of people and all of their accounting must be open to the public.
The first time lobbyists were regulated was in 1946 with the Federal Regulation of Lobbying Act. Lobbyists had to register with the clerks from the House of Representatives, but the regulation was only for those sitting in DC directly, influencing Congress. The 1946 law was directed only at those speaking directly to members of Congress. In 1995, they passed the Lobbying Disclosure Act- regulated lobbyists much more. They had to disclose more information about their agenda. This wasn’t only for lobbyists speaking directly to congressmen but also to those influencing Congressmen.
Mass Media:
Mass media is all kinds of communication that speaks to the general public- radio, TV, newspaper and internet.
Original newspapers expressed the views of specific groups. By the 1890s, every city had at least one or more daily newspaper. Circulation wars led to yellow journalism- souping up the news. This had political consequences. By the 1950s, newspaper competition had ended and by 2009, many newspapers had gone out of business.
Magazines have smaller circulation. The earliest public affairs magazines were in 1880s with the Muckrakers exposing political and economic corruption such as Ida Tarbell wrote about the Rockefellers. In the 20s and 30s, there were news weeklies like Time, News Weekly and US News and World Report. Today there is still readership. Also, there are select conservative and liberal magazines.
Television attracts the largest mass media audience. After WWII, it really took off. News anchormen were made into celebrities. They helped promote politicians. They brought about McCarthy’s end and pumped Kennedy up. Today, because of cable TV, we had a different view of mass media.
Media organizations use the internet to convey information. It has newspapers, magazines and personal blogs. More and more people are receiving their news via the internet.
Widespread radio use began in the 20s. In the 30s, FDR used radio as means of communication in his famous fireside chat.
Role of the media:
1. Informs the public.
2. Shapes your opinion.
3. Provides a link between citizen and government.
4. It’s a watchdog- investigates citizen’s personality and the governments like the Muckrakers by the Watergate Scandal.
5. Set the agenda- influence what becomes public news. A key example is the Vietnam conflict- filmed what they wanted to in order to turn people away from the war.
Media is privately owned. They have tremendous political freedom. Because it is private money funding the media, they are also dependant on advertisers so they must please the people. Government regulates radio and TV more than newspaper.
All kinds of regulation:
1. Technical regulation- began in 1934. The Federal Communications Act was set up to regulate the technicalities of the media.
2. Structural regulation- in regard to ownership of the companies. You don’t have one person owning all of the media. In 1996, the Telecommunications Act brought in a field of competition.
3. Content regulation- the first amendment allows for freedom of the press. But over the years, the media has been regulated somewhat.
What is news? Any important thing that the media would like to tell you that happened in the past twenty- four hours. Media decides what is newsworthy. The gatekeepers decide what goes onto the paper and radio and how it is presented. The time limitation and impact of the story are factored into what is news. In politics, there is something called horserace journalism- focus on the guy who is winning.
Media and the president:
All major news organizations have journalists in all cites. In Washington DC they have disproportionate number. Of all the press corporations in Washington DC, a third are assigned to cover the White House. The White House allows special access to the president and sometimes addresses the media. They have the office of the president and the secretary give information to the press.
Some ways the press receives information:
1. News releases- prepared speeches.
2. News briefing- every day there is an announcing and releasing of the press secretary.
3. News conferences- high level officials are questioned by the press. This is often rehearsed.
4. Leaks- often intentional. Information is given out by officials. Officials are guaranteed anonymity. Sometimes leaks are sent out to gage a response- called floating ideas.
Reporters are expected to behave in a certain way:
1. On the record- official could be quoted by name.
2. Off the record- you can’t mention his name or what he said.
3. On background- what he said could be printed, but not his name.
4. On deep background- you can’t even say you heard it from a source.
Congress gets less media attention than the president and they don’t have such tight control over the press. Most of the news about Congress is about Congress in general, not about a particular person. It’s about hearings or scandals… CSPAN is a cable network with twenty- four hour news of what goes on in Congress.
Media tends to be liberal and there is huge media bias.
Politcal Science- Chapter 8
Chapter 8: Voting and Elections
There are different methods in participating politically:
1. Vote.
2. Talk about politics.
3. Call your public officials.
4. Campaign.
5. Give money.
6. Protest against government decisions.
7. Form an interest group or PAC- Political Action Committee.
Unconventional methods-
1. Protest.
2. Voting- most traditional way.
Over the years, suffrage has expanded. People could vote for the House and Senate- that’s all that the constitution allows.
Over the years, electorate has expanded. There have been many changes:
1. After 1800 they eliminated religious, land and tax qualifications.
2. By 1870 they got rid of race qualifications.
3. When they got rid of all impediments.
4. In the 1920, the nineteenth amendment was added to the constitution giving woman the right to vote.
5. In 1965, the Civil Rights act was passed- ended the Grandfather Clause, literacy test and white primaries.
6. In 1964, the poll taxes were eliminated with the twenty- fourth amendment.
7. In 1961, the twenty- third amendment gave the citizens of Washington DC the right to vote- until now they weren’t considered a state.
8. In 1971, the twenty-sixth amendment was passed lowering the voting age from twenty- one to eighteen.
Increased participation-
During the Progressive Era in the early 1900s, they wanted to get the American people more involved in government so they began:
1. Initiative- you initiate a law.
2. Referendum- you vote on a law.
3. Recall- when you kick someone out of office.
Direct primaries allow citizens to pick candidates. This is the most common form of political participation. This allows you to choose candidates that will service the nation best. The voter turnout has decreased in America. It is higher during a presidential election and issues of importance.
Why is it low?
1. Expanded electorate.
2. Failure of political parties to people.
3. Mistrust of government- people don’t trust the government.
4. Apathy- disinterest.
5. Satisfaction- people are happy with the way things are.
6. Political efficacy- people don’t believe that their vote counts.
7. Mobility- moving leads to a lack of social belonging.
8. Registration process is a pain in the neck. To make it easier, they passed the Motor Voter bill- when you apply for your driver’s license, you sign up to vote.
Who votes? There are factors which influence voting:
1. Education- the more education you have, the more likely you are to vote.
2. Occupation and income- those with white collar jobs are more likely to vote than those with blue collar jobs.
3. Age- older people are more likely to vote.
4. Race- minorities are less likely to vote.
5. Gender- at one time, gender wasn’t an indicator. But now, more women come out to vote.
6. Religion- people linked to religion are more likely to vote.
7. Marital status- if you are married, you are more likely to vote.
8. Union membership- unions encourage members to vote.
9. Community membership- of you are part of a community, you are more likely to vote.
10. Party identification- if you belong to a party, you are more likely to vote.
11. Geography- if you are in a state where the parties are competitive, you are more likely to vote.
Type of elections:
1. Primary elections- when you choose a candidate from your party.
a. Closed primary- when you may vote only for the party you are registered under.
b. Open primary- you may vote for any party. Some states have this.
c. Blanket primary- you can vote for both sides. This exists in the states of Alaska and Washington.
d. Run- off primaries- there is no majority, so you take the two with the highest votes and they have a run- off- they run again.
2. General elections- elections in which voters choose from all of the candidates nominated.
3. Special election- held when there is a need.
When are elections held?
Local, state and federal elections are determined by their own laws. Congress has decided that the presidential elections will take place on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. Congressional elections are held every other year and the presidential is every fourth year. On the even year that there is no presidential election, it’s called an off year. On an off year election, if the president is popular, he can help Congressmen get elected- Coattail effect.
Road to presidency:
The minute the president is elected, he starts the ball rolling for his next election:
1. Exploration- whether he has the political and economic clout to win again.
2. Announcement- you make a public announcement in front of the press and announce that you are running for president.
3. Start with the presidential primaries and caucuses. It used to be that presidents were selected through a caucus- state party officials got together and nominated him. Because of corruption, all of the states, aside from Iowa, have gotten rid of their caucuses. Even Iowa lets other people give their input. Primaries allow voter to vote for the candidate they want.
4. Nominating conventions- the summer before the November elections, each party holds a convention. Delegates come up from every state and the party decides how to choose delegates. At the convention, the candidate for president and vice president are chosen. They also write out the party platform at the convention. They also bring unity.
5. Campaigning- you travel to the important states known as swing states and you put a lot of effort in to make sure you get that state. Usually at this point, the candidate for president and vice president try to be more moderate so that they can reach everyone. Since 1960, there have been televised debates where the candidates face off each other.
6. After all of the campaigning is the election. On the first Monday after the first Wednesday in December, electors meet in DC and electors cast votes for president. This election determines which candidate wins the votes for each state.
7. Electoral College- electors go to DC on the first Monday after the first Wednesday in December. The candidate who wins the majority of the electoral votes wins the presidency. He needs to win 270. Electoral vote by the state is winner takes all. If no one wins, it goes to the House of Representatives.
Partisanship in elections- do or don’t people vote along party lines? Parties want to maintain their base.
1. Maintaining elections- people vote along party lines and the party in control remains in control.
2. Deviating election- minority party is able to gain control from other sources. The base stays the same- second and third parties vote for them. Voter loyalties don’t really change.
3. Critical elections- where there’s a real change- party loyalties change because of either a social or political change.
4. Realigning elections- when the minority party forms a greater base of voters.
5. Dealigning elections- when party loyalty becomes unimportant.
In the election of 2000, sides spent over a billion dollars.
Candidates got donations from businessmen up until 1970. Then they set up a campaign finance reform. The Federal Elections Campaign Act limited money you can spend on campaigning and you must say where you got the money from. This allowed tax payers to list donations as tax deductions.
In 1974, after the Watergate scandal, congress established a Federal Election Commission. It helped enforce the Federal Elections Act and it set up public financing. There were amendments to this in 1976 and 1979. The amendment stated that there will be federal funding on the primary and general level. It also restricted contributions from foreigners and from individuals. Furthermore, it restricted the formation of PACs and their contributions. In Buckley vs. Valeo, the Supreme Court said that you can limit individual contributions, you can ask where the money came from and is going to, but you can’t place a limit on a self financed campaign.
Soft money is money that isn’t regulated by the US government. It is supposed to be used for general ideas. In the end, it was really used for specific campaigns. In the election of 2002, 400 million dollars where used as soft money.
The McCain Feingold Act, or Bipartisan Reform Campaign Act stated that you can’t use soft money in federal campaigns. It also limited individual and group contributions.
Another loophole was 527- unregulated political organization- a single issue group. Parties could have many 527s and get money through these.
In 2004, they tried to pass laws regulating 527s, regulating their usage of soft money and making it that the FEC must be able to look at their books.
There are different methods in participating politically:
1. Vote.
2. Talk about politics.
3. Call your public officials.
4. Campaign.
5. Give money.
6. Protest against government decisions.
7. Form an interest group or PAC- Political Action Committee.
Unconventional methods-
1. Protest.
2. Voting- most traditional way.
Over the years, suffrage has expanded. People could vote for the House and Senate- that’s all that the constitution allows.
Over the years, electorate has expanded. There have been many changes:
1. After 1800 they eliminated religious, land and tax qualifications.
2. By 1870 they got rid of race qualifications.
3. When they got rid of all impediments.
4. In the 1920, the nineteenth amendment was added to the constitution giving woman the right to vote.
5. In 1965, the Civil Rights act was passed- ended the Grandfather Clause, literacy test and white primaries.
6. In 1964, the poll taxes were eliminated with the twenty- fourth amendment.
7. In 1961, the twenty- third amendment gave the citizens of Washington DC the right to vote- until now they weren’t considered a state.
8. In 1971, the twenty-sixth amendment was passed lowering the voting age from twenty- one to eighteen.
Increased participation-
During the Progressive Era in the early 1900s, they wanted to get the American people more involved in government so they began:
1. Initiative- you initiate a law.
2. Referendum- you vote on a law.
3. Recall- when you kick someone out of office.
Direct primaries allow citizens to pick candidates. This is the most common form of political participation. This allows you to choose candidates that will service the nation best. The voter turnout has decreased in America. It is higher during a presidential election and issues of importance.
Why is it low?
1. Expanded electorate.
2. Failure of political parties to people.
3. Mistrust of government- people don’t trust the government.
4. Apathy- disinterest.
5. Satisfaction- people are happy with the way things are.
6. Political efficacy- people don’t believe that their vote counts.
7. Mobility- moving leads to a lack of social belonging.
8. Registration process is a pain in the neck. To make it easier, they passed the Motor Voter bill- when you apply for your driver’s license, you sign up to vote.
Who votes? There are factors which influence voting:
1. Education- the more education you have, the more likely you are to vote.
2. Occupation and income- those with white collar jobs are more likely to vote than those with blue collar jobs.
3. Age- older people are more likely to vote.
4. Race- minorities are less likely to vote.
5. Gender- at one time, gender wasn’t an indicator. But now, more women come out to vote.
6. Religion- people linked to religion are more likely to vote.
7. Marital status- if you are married, you are more likely to vote.
8. Union membership- unions encourage members to vote.
9. Community membership- of you are part of a community, you are more likely to vote.
10. Party identification- if you belong to a party, you are more likely to vote.
11. Geography- if you are in a state where the parties are competitive, you are more likely to vote.
Type of elections:
1. Primary elections- when you choose a candidate from your party.
a. Closed primary- when you may vote only for the party you are registered under.
b. Open primary- you may vote for any party. Some states have this.
c. Blanket primary- you can vote for both sides. This exists in the states of Alaska and Washington.
d. Run- off primaries- there is no majority, so you take the two with the highest votes and they have a run- off- they run again.
2. General elections- elections in which voters choose from all of the candidates nominated.
3. Special election- held when there is a need.
When are elections held?
Local, state and federal elections are determined by their own laws. Congress has decided that the presidential elections will take place on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. Congressional elections are held every other year and the presidential is every fourth year. On the even year that there is no presidential election, it’s called an off year. On an off year election, if the president is popular, he can help Congressmen get elected- Coattail effect.
Road to presidency:
The minute the president is elected, he starts the ball rolling for his next election:
1. Exploration- whether he has the political and economic clout to win again.
2. Announcement- you make a public announcement in front of the press and announce that you are running for president.
3. Start with the presidential primaries and caucuses. It used to be that presidents were selected through a caucus- state party officials got together and nominated him. Because of corruption, all of the states, aside from Iowa, have gotten rid of their caucuses. Even Iowa lets other people give their input. Primaries allow voter to vote for the candidate they want.
4. Nominating conventions- the summer before the November elections, each party holds a convention. Delegates come up from every state and the party decides how to choose delegates. At the convention, the candidate for president and vice president are chosen. They also write out the party platform at the convention. They also bring unity.
5. Campaigning- you travel to the important states known as swing states and you put a lot of effort in to make sure you get that state. Usually at this point, the candidate for president and vice president try to be more moderate so that they can reach everyone. Since 1960, there have been televised debates where the candidates face off each other.
6. After all of the campaigning is the election. On the first Monday after the first Wednesday in December, electors meet in DC and electors cast votes for president. This election determines which candidate wins the votes for each state.
7. Electoral College- electors go to DC on the first Monday after the first Wednesday in December. The candidate who wins the majority of the electoral votes wins the presidency. He needs to win 270. Electoral vote by the state is winner takes all. If no one wins, it goes to the House of Representatives.
Partisanship in elections- do or don’t people vote along party lines? Parties want to maintain their base.
1. Maintaining elections- people vote along party lines and the party in control remains in control.
2. Deviating election- minority party is able to gain control from other sources. The base stays the same- second and third parties vote for them. Voter loyalties don’t really change.
3. Critical elections- where there’s a real change- party loyalties change because of either a social or political change.
4. Realigning elections- when the minority party forms a greater base of voters.
5. Dealigning elections- when party loyalty becomes unimportant.
In the election of 2000, sides spent over a billion dollars.
Candidates got donations from businessmen up until 1970. Then they set up a campaign finance reform. The Federal Elections Campaign Act limited money you can spend on campaigning and you must say where you got the money from. This allowed tax payers to list donations as tax deductions.
In 1974, after the Watergate scandal, congress established a Federal Election Commission. It helped enforce the Federal Elections Act and it set up public financing. There were amendments to this in 1976 and 1979. The amendment stated that there will be federal funding on the primary and general level. It also restricted contributions from foreigners and from individuals. Furthermore, it restricted the formation of PACs and their contributions. In Buckley vs. Valeo, the Supreme Court said that you can limit individual contributions, you can ask where the money came from and is going to, but you can’t place a limit on a self financed campaign.
Soft money is money that isn’t regulated by the US government. It is supposed to be used for general ideas. In the end, it was really used for specific campaigns. In the election of 2002, 400 million dollars where used as soft money.
The McCain Feingold Act, or Bipartisan Reform Campaign Act stated that you can’t use soft money in federal campaigns. It also limited individual and group contributions.
Another loophole was 527- unregulated political organization- a single issue group. Parties could have many 527s and get money through these.
In 2004, they tried to pass laws regulating 527s, regulating their usage of soft money and making it that the FEC must be able to look at their books.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Political Science- Chapter 6
Chapter 6: Political Culture
Political culture- a set of values and beliefs about government that are shared by the people.
American political culture gives people a sense of community, security, unity, togetherness… Our political culture is our ideas that support democracy.
Concepts of Democracy:
1. Majority rule, minority rights- majority rules, but at the same time the rights of the minority must be protected.
2. Equality- everyone is equal under the law.
3. Private property- ownership of property is protected by the law- you can own property and do whatever you want with it.
4. Individual freedoms- my personal freedoms will be protected:
a. Civil liberties
b. Religious protection
c. Freedom of the press
5. Compromise- allows for different thoughts to combine and form public policy to benefit you.
6. Limited government- the powers of the government are restricted by the will of the people and law.
These principles shift over time, for example, during Bush’s term in office (war of terror), the government’s powers were expanded.
Political socialization- process by which you and I develop our political identity.
How do you develop your political identity? The process starts early on. It allows you to learn political facts, political ideas and form ideas of your own. Although the process varies, people are exposed to a combination of influences that shape their ideas.
Who shapes your political ideas?
1. Family.
2. School- they teach patriotism, structure of government… They also encourage political participation.
3. Group affiliation- labor unions, professional organizations… provide a common bond for people.
4. Demography- all kinds of demographic factors such as race, religion, gender and income effect your political participation.
5. Mass media- the TV and internet.
6. Opinion leaders.
7. Events- for example, the Watergate scandal minimized people’s trust in the government, and 9/11 inspired people.
Public opinion- how people think about politics. This is shaped by political culture and political socialization. Public opinion can be analyzed through:
1. Intensity of the opinion.
2. Stability of the opinion.
3. Distribution- shape of the area when graphed.
Consensus- when there’s an agreement on the issue.
Divisive opinion- when public opinion is divided into many strong views.
Measuring public opinion-
It’s very difficult to do so. The most reliable system is with a poll. Businesses, governments and political candidates all use polls. In the US, early polls were called straw polls- you ask the same question to a bunch of people. One example of when the straw poll made a disastrous error- in 1936, the Literary Digest announced that Alf Landon was going to win the presidency and not FDR. Then, FDR won by a landslide and it was so embarrassing. When they researched their error, they realized that they got all of their information from telephone listings and car registrations. In those days, only a select few had phones and cars. Additionally, this information was gathered very early on.
Modern polling-
This began with George Gallup- he figured out a scientific method for polling:
1. Sampling should be of a cross section of all of society. It must be represented by the general population.
2. Preparing valid questions- make sure that the question is clear, fair and unbiased.
3. Controlling how the poll is taken- make sure that the person you are polling knows what you are talking about. Make sure that your body language doesn’t skew their opinion.
Sometimes polls are taken by phone, in person or through the mail.
4. Analyzing and reporting results- you must say how you got your results. You must mention your sampling errors and say when the poll was taken.
Ideology- set of beliefs:
Political ideology- consistent set of political beliefs. People’s political ideology changes over time.
1. Radical- you favor rapid, fundamental change. Sometimes, people don’t mind using violence to impact that change. They want extreme change.
2. Liberal- support. They want the government to be actively involved in social welfare, civil rights… They want peaceful change.
3. Moderates- they fall between liberal and conservative. They are usually tolerant of other people’s views and are not extreme.
4. Conservative- promotes limited government in economics- fell that the government should be heavily involved, there should be no handouts. They support traditional values and a traditional lifestyle. They want an active role of government in security. They aren’t so into change.
5. Reactionary- people who want to go back to the old ways.
Political culture- a set of values and beliefs about government that are shared by the people.
American political culture gives people a sense of community, security, unity, togetherness… Our political culture is our ideas that support democracy.
Concepts of Democracy:
1. Majority rule, minority rights- majority rules, but at the same time the rights of the minority must be protected.
2. Equality- everyone is equal under the law.
3. Private property- ownership of property is protected by the law- you can own property and do whatever you want with it.
4. Individual freedoms- my personal freedoms will be protected:
a. Civil liberties
b. Religious protection
c. Freedom of the press
5. Compromise- allows for different thoughts to combine and form public policy to benefit you.
6. Limited government- the powers of the government are restricted by the will of the people and law.
These principles shift over time, for example, during Bush’s term in office (war of terror), the government’s powers were expanded.
Political socialization- process by which you and I develop our political identity.
How do you develop your political identity? The process starts early on. It allows you to learn political facts, political ideas and form ideas of your own. Although the process varies, people are exposed to a combination of influences that shape their ideas.
Who shapes your political ideas?
1. Family.
2. School- they teach patriotism, structure of government… They also encourage political participation.
3. Group affiliation- labor unions, professional organizations… provide a common bond for people.
4. Demography- all kinds of demographic factors such as race, religion, gender and income effect your political participation.
5. Mass media- the TV and internet.
6. Opinion leaders.
7. Events- for example, the Watergate scandal minimized people’s trust in the government, and 9/11 inspired people.
Public opinion- how people think about politics. This is shaped by political culture and political socialization. Public opinion can be analyzed through:
1. Intensity of the opinion.
2. Stability of the opinion.
3. Distribution- shape of the area when graphed.
Consensus- when there’s an agreement on the issue.
Divisive opinion- when public opinion is divided into many strong views.
Measuring public opinion-
It’s very difficult to do so. The most reliable system is with a poll. Businesses, governments and political candidates all use polls. In the US, early polls were called straw polls- you ask the same question to a bunch of people. One example of when the straw poll made a disastrous error- in 1936, the Literary Digest announced that Alf Landon was going to win the presidency and not FDR. Then, FDR won by a landslide and it was so embarrassing. When they researched their error, they realized that they got all of their information from telephone listings and car registrations. In those days, only a select few had phones and cars. Additionally, this information was gathered very early on.
Modern polling-
This began with George Gallup- he figured out a scientific method for polling:
1. Sampling should be of a cross section of all of society. It must be represented by the general population.
2. Preparing valid questions- make sure that the question is clear, fair and unbiased.
3. Controlling how the poll is taken- make sure that the person you are polling knows what you are talking about. Make sure that your body language doesn’t skew their opinion.
Sometimes polls are taken by phone, in person or through the mail.
4. Analyzing and reporting results- you must say how you got your results. You must mention your sampling errors and say when the poll was taken.
Ideology- set of beliefs:
Political ideology- consistent set of political beliefs. People’s political ideology changes over time.
1. Radical- you favor rapid, fundamental change. Sometimes, people don’t mind using violence to impact that change. They want extreme change.
2. Liberal- support. They want the government to be actively involved in social welfare, civil rights… They want peaceful change.
3. Moderates- they fall between liberal and conservative. They are usually tolerant of other people’s views and are not extreme.
4. Conservative- promotes limited government in economics- fell that the government should be heavily involved, there should be no handouts. They support traditional values and a traditional lifestyle. They want an active role of government in security. They aren’t so into change.
5. Reactionary- people who want to go back to the old ways.
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