Note:- In the 1920s, state/local governments had 67% of the power while national government had 33%- Today the balance is more like 40% : 60% with the national government holding the lion’s share of power.Exam 1 Study Guide: Lectures 1-10 POLS 207 Lecture 1Outline of Lecture:Centralization of American GovernmentI. Government Centralization at the national levelA. Loss of state and local powersB. Congressional actionII. Sources of/reasons for this centralizationA. Federal government has more money than state/localB. “Nationalist” interpretation of US ConstitutionThe Big Idea: A nationalist interpretation of the Constitution combined with the power of the purse allows the national government to constantly expand its powers at the expense of state and local authority. We call this “Centralization.” In the tug-of-war battle for power, the national government definitely has the upper hand. With vastly more resources at its disposal than any of the states have, the Federal government has more power. Article 1, Section 8 (Simply denoted by “1:8”) of the Constitution is the source of much of this authority: “Congress shall have the power to…” followed by a laundry list of powers Congress is authorized to exercise. One of these is the “power of the purse,” i.e. the authority to levy and collect taxes. Another is the power to regulate interstate commerce. VERY IMPORTANT. In general, since the 1930s, SCOTUS (Supreme Court of the United States) has embraced an expansive interpretation of Congress’ 1:8 powers (a “Nationalist” interpretation of the Constitution), BUT, starting in 1995, there have been more than a dozen major decisions that limit national power over state and local governments.Note: - In the 1920s, state/local governments had 67% of the power while national government had 33%- Today the balance is more like 40% : 60% with the national government holding the lion’s share of power. Lecture 2 Outline of Lecture:Congressional power limits and modern centralization cont.I. SCOTUS’ dual-track strategyA. Narrowing Congress’ commerce powerB. Reviving “sovereign immunity”II. Sources of modern centralization cont.A. Political participation systemB. Shifting ideological centerThe Big Idea: The Supreme Court is currently following a dual-track plan to limit Congress’ power. Their first goal is to narrow the scope of Congress’ 1:8 powers, especially the commerce clause. Their second method is reviving the notion of “sovereign immunity.”  In United States v. Lopez (1995), SCOTUS recognized a limit to Congress’ power for the first time in sixty years.  “Sovereign immunity” is the idea that the government can’t sue itself.  More about centralization: Now that women and ethnic minorities can vote, the electorate has obviously been greatly expanded and diversified. This changes the political landscape and makes it easier for the government to follow an “activist” strategy since women and minorities are more supportive of it. It’s also important to note that from the 1930s to the 1970s there wasa fairly constant consensus about the role of the national government. But in 1964 Barry Goldwater challenged the premise of this consensus, and since the eighties there’s been a major conservative movement that challenged the status quo interpretation about the government’s role in national affairs. Lecture 3 Outline of Lecture:Surges in CentralizationI. Centralization varies by historical periodA. 1780sB. 1860sC. 1930sD. 1960sII. Centralization varies by policy areaThe Big Idea: Centralizing efforts surge in response to a national crisis, and although they subsideafter the crisis is passed, things never return to the old degree of centralization afterwards – inevitably some government programs stay in place indefinitely. Four periods in American historyhad notably high levels of centralization: 1780s, 1860s, 1930s, and 1960s.  1780s (ratification of Constitution) – It’s pretty clear that the ratification of the Constitution gave the national government more power than it had possessed before because it didn’t havemuch power at all before ratification, not even the power to tax, which we consider a very basic power of the Federal government now. 1860s (Civil War and Reconstruction) – Many consider the Civil War to have been fought over states’ rights in addition to slavery. When the South lost, the Federal government proved itself to be superior to the states in terms of power. Every state had to submit to its ruling on slavery, although the division of authority between national and state/local governments was never settled. 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments passed. 14th was especially important because it definedstate AND national citizenship. 1930s (Depression/New Deal) – During the Depression, the government stepped in to help the states. The New Deal ushered in HUGE changes in terms of concentrating power in the Federal government at the expense of state power (Nobody argues with this). 1960s (Civil Rights Movement) – More on this later. Lecture 4 Outline of Lecture: Alternate Reasons for the 14 th AmendmentI. Reasons for the 14th AmendmentA. To “constitutionalize” the Civil Rights ActB. To “constitutionalize” the spirit of the Declaration of IndependenceThe Big Idea: Explanations for 14th Amendment: Narrower and broader purpose. The narrower purpose was to “constitutionalize” the Civil Rights Act of 1966 and the broader purpose was to “constitutionalize” the independent “spirit” of the Declaration of Independence (“all men are created equal”) The Civil Rights Act of 1866 defined US citizenship but was silent about state citizenship.  In some ways, the Fourteenth Amendment was a revamping of the CRA. It elaborated on the citizenship question, defining state as well as national citizens.  Lecture 5 Outline of Lecture: Alternate Reasons for the 14 th Amendment Part 2I. Was the 14th Amendment meant to correct a counter-revolutionary Constitution?A. Powerful central governmentB. Short-term majorities have their hands tiedC. No word on “fundamental rights”D. Allows slaveryE. Moral deficiencies?II. Judicial perspectives on interpretationA. Narrower interpretation – “Race”B. Broader interpretation – “Everyone”The Big Idea: Why do some consider the Constitution to have been “counter-revolutionary?” What does this even