Friday, August 11, 2023
The Bureaucracy
Definitions
Britannica: Bureaucracy.
. . . specific form of organization defined by complexity, division of labour, permanence, professional management, hierarchical coordination and control, strict chain of command, and legal authority. It is distinguished from informal and collegial organizations. In its ideal form, bureaucracy is impersonal and rational and based on rules rather than ties of kinship, friendship, or patrimonial or charismatic authority. Bureaucratic organization can be found in both public and private institutions.
LII: Bureaucracy.
Bureaucracy is a term composed of bureau (meaning "writing desk" in old French) and -cracy (meaning "power" in Latin). A bureaucracy is a form of work organization. The historical meaning of the term refers to a body of non-elected government officials, but is nowadays understood as an administrative system used by corporations and public institutions.
Some critics explain that the formalism of bureaucracy can lead to a heaviness and rigidity of administrative action, and even a monopolization of power for the sole benefit of the interests of bureaucrats (those who work within a bureaucracy).
Wikipedia: Bureaucracy.
. . . a body of non-elected governing officials or an administrative policy-making group. Historically, a bureaucracy was a government administration managed by departments staffed with non-elected officials. Today, bureaucracy is the administrative system governing any large institution, whether publicly owned or privately owned. The public administration in many jurisdictions and sub-jurisdictions exemplifies bureaucracy, but so does any centralized hierarchical structure of an institution, e.g. hospitals, academic entities, business firms, professional societies, social clubs, etc.
Various commentators have argued for the necessity of bureaucracies in modern society. The German sociologist Max Weber (1864–1920) argued that bureaucracy constitutes the most efficient and rational way in which human activity can be organized and that systematic processes and organized hierarchies are necessary to maintain order, to maximize efficiency, and to eliminate favoritism. On the other hand, Weber also saw unfettered bureaucracy as a threat to individual freedom, with the potential of trapping individuals in an impersonal "iron cage" of rule-based, rational control.
The Checks and Balances
- Britannica:
Checks and balances, principle of government under which separate branches are empowered to prevent actions by other branches and are induced to share power. Checks and balances are applied primarily in constitutional governments. They are of fundamental importance in tripartite governments, such as that of the United States, which separate powers among legislative, executive, and judicial branches.
- Investopedia:
The U.S. government exercises checks and balances through its three branches: the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. It operates as a constitutionally limited government and is bound to the principles and actions that are authorized by the federal—and corresponding state—constitution.
By separating the duties of various employees into clearly defined roles, businesses and organizations are better able to ensure that rogue employees or executives cannot harm a business without the intervention of other employees. Having these types of internal controls in a business can help improve operational efficiency.
- Why do checks and balances matter?
Checks and balances play two key roles. First, they limit the power of the majority to act without regard to the views or interests of others. They ensure that the perspectives of those who are in the minority on a given issue are represented – for example, by guaranteeing that opposition voices are heard in the process of law-making. Second, at a more practical level, they ensure that policy is tested and behavior supervised. This helps to improve the quality of decision-making, and prevent behavior which might threaten the integrity or reputation of the political system.
Nonetheless there can be drawbacks associated with checks and balances when they are particularly strong. Because they make unilateral action more difficult and allow a greater range of actors to participate in governing, strong checks and balances can increase the risk of gridlock. They can also make it easier for vested interests to protect themselves at others’ expense, by creating multiple opportunities to exercise a veto over proposed changes. When designing checks and balances it may therefore be necessary to find a middle ground.
Healthy democracies weigh these competing considerations carefully, preserving effective checks and balances without preventing essential action. By contrast, in countries suffering democratic backsliding, leaders weaken the checks on their power – generally citing the need for decisive government. This can happen gradually, and take subtler forms than the straightforward abolition of institutions.
Thursday, August 10, 2023
Political Eras / Party Systems of the United States
Definition:
- Wikipedia: Political eras of the United States:
Political eras of the United States refer to a model of American politics used in history and political science to periodize the political party system existing in the United States.
- - First Party System
The First Party System was the political party system in the United States between roughly 1792 and 1824. It featured two national parties competing for control of the presidency, Congress, and the states: the Federalist Party, created largely by Alexander Hamilton, and the rival Jeffersonian Democratic-Republican Party, formed by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, usually called at the time the Republican Party (which is distinct from the modern Republican Party).
federal assumption of state debt
a tariff to pay off those debts
a national bank to facilitate financing
encouragement of banking and manufacturing
a standing army and navy
foreign policy: France or Britain.
The Second Party System was the political party system operating in the United States from about 1828 to 1852, after the First Party System ended. The system was characterized by rapidly rising levels of voter interest, beginning in 1828, as demonstrated by Election Day turnouts, rallies, partisan newspapers, and high degrees of personal loyalty to parties.
centralization of the national government- - Third Party System
the central bank
abolition of slavery
enfranchisement
ratification of Texas
war with Mexico
The Third Party System was a period in the history of political parties in the United States from the 1850s until the 1890s, which featured profound developments in issues of American nationalism, modernization, and race. This period, the later part of which is often termed the Gilded Age, is defined by its contrast with the eras of the Second Party System and the Fourth Party System.
It was dominated by the new Republican Party, which claimed success in saving the Union, abolishing slavery and enfranchising the freedmen, while adopting many Whig-style modernization programs such as national banks, railroads, high tariffs, homesteads, social spending (such as on greater Civil War veteran pension funding), and aid to land grant colleges.
industrialization
national banks
railroads
tariffs
western expansion
homesteading
veterans pensions
land grant colleges
- - Fourth Party System
The Fourth Party System was the political party system in the United States from about 1896 to 1932 that was dominated by the Republican Party, except the 1912 split in which Democrats captured the White House and held it for eight years.
American history texts usually call the period the Progressive Era. The concept was introduced under the name "System of 1896" by E. E. Schattschneider in 1960, and the numbering scheme was added by political scientists in the mid-1960s.
The period featured a transformation from the issues of the Third Party System, which had focused on the American Civil War, Reconstruction, race, and monetary issues.
progressivism
race
monetary issues
isolationism
WW1
immigration
- - Fifth Party System
The Fifth Party System, also known as the New Deal Party System, is the era of American national politics that began with the election of Franklin D. Roosevelt to President of the United States in 1932. Roosevelt's implementation of his popular New Deal expanded the size and power of the federal government to an extent unprecedented in American history, and marked the beginning of political dominance by the Democratic Party that would remain largely unbroken until 1952. This period also began the ideological swapping of Democrats and Republicans into their modern versions, largely due to most Black voters switching from the Republican Party to the Democratic Party, while most conservative, White, usually southern Democrats shifted to the Republican Party as Democrats began increasingly prioritizing civil rights;
New Deal- - Sixth Party System
roll of government in the economy
social security
labor laws
segregation
Cold War
Women's Rights
The Sixth Party System is the era in United States politics following the Fifth Party System. As with any periodization, opinions differ on when the Sixth Party System may have begun, with suggested dates ranging from the late 1960s to the Republican Revolution of 1994. Nonetheless, there is agreement among scholars that the Sixth Party System features strong division between the Democratic and Republican parties, which are rooted in socio-economic, class, cultural, religious, educational and racial issues, and debates over the proper role of government.
- - Seventh Party System (?)
Since the election of Donald Trump in 2016, the Republican Party's more moderate, neoconservative faction has been increasingly ostracized by a growing far-right, paleoconservative faction, most commonly known as Trumpists. Peter J. Katzenstein, Professor of International Studies at Cornell University, believes that Trumpism rests on three pillars, namely nationalism, religion, and race. According to Jeff Goodwin, Trumpism is characterized by five key elements: social conservatism, capitalism, economic nationalism, nativism, and White nationalism.
Freedom of the Press: The Media
- Wikipedia: Freedom of the press.
Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic media, especially published materials, should be considered a right to be exercised freely. Such freedom implies the absence of interference from an overreaching state; its preservation may be sought through the constitution or other legal protection and security. It is in opposition to paid press, where communities, police organizations, and governments are paid for their copyrights.
Without respect to governmental information, any government may distinguish which materials are public or protected from disclosure to the public. State materials are protected due to either one of two reasons: the classification of information as sensitive, classified, or secret, or the relevance of the information to protecting the national interest. Many governments are also subject to "sunshine laws" or freedom of information legislation that define the ambit of national interest and enable citizens to request access to government-held information.
- Wikipedia: Freedom of Information.
Freedom of information is freedom of a person or people to publish and consume information. Access to information is the ability for an individual to seek, receive and impart information effectively. This sometimes includes "scientific, indigenous, and traditional knowledge; freedom of information, building of open knowledge resources, including open Internet and open standards, and open access and availability of data; preservation of digital heritage; respect for cultural and linguistic diversity, such as fostering access to local content in accessible languages; quality education for all, including lifelong and e-learning; diffusion of new media and information literacy and skills, and social inclusion online, including addressing inequalities based on skills, education, gender, age, race, ethnicity, and accessibility by those with disabilities; and the development of connectivity and affordable ICTs, including mobile, the Internet, and broadband infrastructures".
Public access to government information, including through the open publication of information, and formal freedom of information laws, is widely considered an important basic component of democracy and integrity in government.
- Britannica: Journalism.
Journalism, the collection, preparation, and distribution of news and related commentary and feature materials through such print and electronic media as newspapers, magazines, books, blogs, webcasts, podcasts, social networking and social media sites, and e-mail as well as through radio, motion pictures, and television. The word journalism was originally applied to the reportage of current events in printed form, specifically newspapers, but with the advent of radio, television, and the Internet in the 20th century the use of the term broadened to include all printed and electronic communication dealing with current affairs.
- Wikipedia: Media.
In mass communication, media are the communication outlets or tools used to store and deliver information or data. The term refers to components of the mass media communications industry, such as print media, publishing, the news media, photography, cinema, broadcasting (radio and television), digital media, and advertising.
- Wikipedia: Mass Media.
Mass media includes the diverse arrays of media that reach a large audience via mass communication.
Broadcast media transmit information electronically via media such as films, radio, recorded music, or television. Digital media comprises both Internet and mobile mass communication. Internet media comprise such services as email, social media sites, websites, and Internet-based radio and television. Many other mass media outlets have an additional presence on the web, by such means as linking to or running TV ads online, or distributing QR codes in outdoor or print media to direct mobile users to a website. In this way, they can use the easy accessibility and outreach capabilities the Internet affords, as thereby easily broadcast information throughout many different regions of the world simultaneously and cost-efficiently. Outdoor media transmit information via such media as AR advertising; billboards; blimps; flying billboards (signs in tow of airplanes); placards or kiosks placed inside and outside buses, commercial buildings, shops, sports stadiums, subway cars, or trains; signs; or skywriting. Print media transmit information via physical objects, such as books, comics, magazines, newspapers, or pamphlets. Event organizing and public speaking can also be considered forms of mass media.
The organizations that control these technologies, such as movie studios, publishing companies, and radio and television stations, are also known as the mass media.
LII: Media.
Congress Annotated: Overview of Media Regulation.
FCC: What We Do.
A History of Interests in the United States
A rough list of the types of things people fought over at different times.
Land
- Indian Removal
Labor
- Enslaved
- Indentured
Fur
Tobacco
Fishing
Whaling
Ship Building
Plantations
.
.
.
The Voting Rights Act, the Department of Justice, and Shelby v Holder
- The Voting Rights Act of 1965.
- - Wikipedia: The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of federal legislation in the United States that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. It was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson during the height of the civil rights movement on August 6, 1965, and Congress later amended the Act five times to expand its protections. Designed to enforce the voting rights protected by the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, the Act sought to secure the right to vote for racial minorities throughout the country, especially in the South.
- Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Voting Section.
- - Website: The Voting Section enforces the civil provisions of the federal laws that protect the right to vote, including the Voting Rights Act, the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, the National Voter Registration Act, the Help America Vote Act and the Civil Rights Acts.
- Shelby County v Eric Holder.
- - Wikipedia: . . . a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States regarding the constitutionality of two provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965: Section 5, which requires certain states and local governments to obtain federal preclearance before implementing any changes to their voting laws or practices; and Section 4(b), which contains the coverage formula that determines which jurisdictions are subject to preclearance based on their histories of discrimination in voting.
Is Voting a Right Guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution?
Simple answer: No.
Less simple answer: It's complicated.
- The Missing Right: A Constitutional Right to Vote.
Amendments to the Constitution have required “equal protection,” eliminated the poll tax, and made it unconstitutional to restrict voting based on race, sex, and age for those over 18. For years the Supreme Court relied on these amendments to expand the franchise, and the broadening of voting rights, which was associated with the civil-rights movement, was widely accepted as a marker of progress toward a just society until about 2000. More recently, in an environment of increasingly rigid partisan loyalties, controlling who votes offers more leverage than persuading voters to change their minds, and thus access to the ballot itself has become an arena of intense political conflict. These conflicts constitute what the election scholar Richard Hasen calls “the voting wars.” Most of these wars end up in the courts, where the rules of engagement—defined by our Constitution—do not sufficiently protect voters’ rights to exercise their franchise. In the absence of an explicit right to vote, the Court has found no issue with a variety of regulations that unnecessarily interfere with voting.
- What Does the Constitution Say About the Right to Vote?
If you were to look for a right to vote in the U.S. Constitution or Bill of Rights, you might have trouble finding one. Surprisingly, nowhere in the original text does it say that U.S. citizens have a right to vote. Instead, much of the government’s authority to protect voting rights stems from amendments adopted following the civil war and legislation passed during the civil rights movement. But thanks to a voting-rights skeptical U.S. Supreme Court and the Senate’s failure to pass new voting legislation, this authority has been severely weakened.
- Does the Constitution Guarantee a Right to Vote? The Answer May Surprise Yo
The Constitution makes reference to voting 15 times in the original document and another 22 in the amendments. But somewhat surprisingly, none of those mentions makes an explicit declaration that Americans have a right to vote — something many politicians and their supporters consider fundamental to democracy.
. . . If it seems odd that such a fundamental right was not enshrined in writing, the explanation is simple enough: The authors of the Constitution, many of them deeply suspicious of universal suffrage, could not agree on a single standard for the right to cast a ballot.
. . . Gouverneur Morris, a New Yorker who wrote the preamble to the Constitution, argued that “the ignorant and the dependent can be as little trusted with the public interest” as could children, Dr. Klarman wrote. James Madison warned that voting should be restricted to the wealthy, “the safest repositories of republican liberty,” because the poorer classes would be swayed by populist appeals. Benjamin Franklin, the most prominent dissenter, pointed out that it was the commoners who had fought for and won American independence and that the rich were hardly immune to corrupting influences.
- The Right to Vote Amendment.
Voting is an American principle and a basic democratic right that should be protected, promoted, and practiced, which is why many people are surprised to learn that the U.S. Constitution provides no explicit right to vote. This leaves voting rights vulnerable to the whims of politicians, and some citizens with fewer rights than others.
More than a decade ago, FairVote became the leading institutional voice calling for the establishment of an explicit individual right to vote in the U.S. Constitution. We believe that a grassroots movement to establish such an amendment would go a long way in ending the “voting wars” that plague us today. FairVote continues to serve as a trusted resource in support of activists, organizations, and elected officials working toward a right to vote amendment. Through our Promote Our Vote project, we work to build widespread support for a right to vote amendment, while advocating for pro-suffrage innovations at the local level.
Wednesday, August 9, 2023
U.S. Election Code
- 3 U.S. Code Chapter 1 - PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS AND VACANCIES.
- 18 U.S. Code Chapter 29 - ELECTIONS AND POLITICAL ACTIVITIES.
- 52 U.S. Code Subtitle I - Voting Rights.
- 52 U.S. Code Subtitle II - Voting Assistance and Election Administration.
- 52 U.S. Code Subtitle III - Federal Campaign Finance.
__________
Congressional elections - process
Presidential election - electors
- when the presidential electors meet
Activities at the polls
- no military interference
- - The Election and the Military.
- - What Are the Laws Governing Military Force During U.S. Elections?
- voter intimidation
- - Fact Sheet: Protecting Against Voter Intimidation.
- bribery / quid pro quo
- appropriations
- spoils system
- solicitation
- people on relief
- - Hatch Act.
- - Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act.
- alien voting
Voting Rights
- enforcement of voting rights.
- - Title 1 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
- equal treatment by voting laws.
- no military intervention
- against abridgement of the right to vote
- AG can enforce the right to vote
- no tests or devices
- observers
- poll taxes
- prohibited acts - voting more than once
Voting Assistance and Election Administration
- elderly and handicapped
- voting locations / registration facilities
- Voting Rights Act of 1965.
- voting by overseas soldiers and voters
- Federal Voting Assistance Program.
National Voter Registration
- Congress finds that voting is fundamental right
- definition
- National Voter Registration Act of 1993.
- voter registration agencies
- criminal penalties for intimidation
Federal Election Records
- retention of records
- destruction of ballots
- officer of election
Federal Election Improvement
- improvement of election equipment
- grants
- replace punch card ballots / lever voting machines
- Election Assistance Commission.
- dissemination of information
- limits on rulemaking
- computerized statewide voting lists
- Help America Vote Act.
Federal Election Campaigns
- disclosure of funds
- political campaign committees
- national party conventions.
- Federal Election Campaign Act.
- Federal Election Commission.
- Buckley v. Valeo.
- advisory groups
- enforcement
- election related reports
- filing the reports
- limits on contributions
- personal funds
- limits on unions and banks
- limits on government contractors
- foreign donations
- soft money
- Economic Opportunity Act of 1964
The 14th Amendment
Perhaps the most consequential of the amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
It was passed - along with the 13th and 15th Amendments - to remedy issues related to the rebellion.
It did the following:
- nationalized citizenship
- mandated that states respect the privileges and immunities of citizens of the United States.
- established the concept of the equal protection of the laws
- removed the 3/5ths Compromise
- restricted the participation of those who participated in the rebellion
- stated that the national debt shall not be questioned
- the United States government is not responsible for the debt of the rebellious states
For the text:
- From Avalon Project.
- From The Annotated Constitution.
1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor to deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of Electors for President and Vice-President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the executive and judicial officers of a State, or the members of the legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State.
3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or Elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State Legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.
4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void.
5. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.
Tuesday, August 8, 2023
8th Amendment - Limits on Punishment
8th Amendment:
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
Legal Information Institute:
The Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution states that: “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.”
The Excessive Bail section provides constitutional protection against excessive bail, including the practical denial of bail by fixing its amount unreasonably high, as decided in United States v. Motlow, 10 F.2d 657 (1926).
The Excessive Fines section provides constitutional protection against grossly excessive fines, as decided in Waters-Pierce Oil Co. v. Texas, 212 U.S. 86 (1909).
The Cruel and Unusual Punishment section provides constitutional protection against grossly disproportionate punishment for capital sentences. In the case of non-capital sentences, gross disproportionate requirements are only available in “exceedingly rare” and “extreme cases,” as discussed in Lockyer v. Andrade, 538 U.S. 63 (2003). This section also provides constitutional protection against inhumane conditions of confinement, discussed in Whitley v. Albers, 475 U.S. 312 (1986).
6th and 7th Amendments - Limits on Judges
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.
LII: 6th Amendment.
7th Amendment:
In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.
LII: 7th Amendment.
Oyez: Gideon v Wainwright.
5th Amendment - Limits on Prosecutors
5th Amendment:
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use without just compensation.
Legal Information Institute:
The clauses incorporated within the Fifth Amendment outline basic constitutional limits on police procedure. The Framers derived the Grand Juries Clause and the Due Process Clause from the Magna Carta, dating back to 1215. Scholars consider the Fifth Amendment as capable of breaking down into the following five distinct constitutional rights: The right to indictment by the grand jury before any criminal charges for felonious crimes
- A prohibition on double jeopardy
- A right against forced self-incrimination
- A guarantee that all criminal defendants have a fair trial, and
- A guarantee that the government cannot seize private property without making a due compensation at - the market value of the property.
While the Fifth Amendment originally only applied to federal courts, the U.S. Supreme Court has partially incorporated the Fifth Amendment to the states through the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The right to indictment by the grand jury has not been incorporated, while the right against double jeopardy, the right against self-incrimination, and the protection against arbitrary taking of private property without due compensation have all been incorporated into the states.
Oyez: Miranda v Arizona.
4th Amendment - Limits on Police
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
- Legal Information Institute:
The ultimate goal of this provision is to protect people’s right to privacy and freedom from unreasonable intrusions by the government. However, the Fourth Amendment does not guarantee protection from all searches and seizures, but only those done by the government and deemed unreasonable under the law.
To claim a violation of Fourth Amendment rights as the basis for suppressing relevant evidence, courts have long required that the claimant must prove that they were the victim of an invasion of privacy to have a valid standing. However, the Supreme Court has departed from such requirements, an issue of exclusion is to be determined solely upon a resolution of the substantive question whether the claimant's Fourth Amendment rights have been violated, which in turn requires that the claimant demonstrates a justifiable expectation of privacy, which was arbitrarily violated by the government.
- Oyez: Search and Seizure.
- LII: Warrantless Searches.
- Oyez: Terry v Ohio.
The Procedural Liberties - Due Process
4th Amendment: The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
5th Amendment: No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use without just compensation.
6th Amendment: In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.
7th Amendment: In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.
8th Amendment: Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
The 9th Amendment: The Unenumerated Rights
- Congress.gov: The Ninth Amendment Explained.
From ChatGPT:
Provide a comprehensive list of unenumerated rights alledged to exist under the Ninth Amendment.
- Click here for the full answer.
Below is a comprehensive, structured list of unenumerated rights alleged to exist under the Ninth Amendment, as recognized, argued, or debated in U.S. constitutional law, political theory, and Supreme Court jurisprudence.
I divide them into five analytical categories, distinguishing between rights with strong judicial recognition, partial or indirect recognition, and contested or theoretical claims.
I. Core Personal Autonomy & Bodily Integrity Rights
(Most strongly associated with modern Ninth-Amendment-adjacent doctrine, often via substantive due process)
1. Right to Privacy (General)
-
Control over intimate personal information
-
Freedom from unwarranted government intrusion into private life
-
Foundation for many derivative rights below
2. Reproductive Autonomy
-
Right to use contraception
-
Right to decide whether to bear or beget a child
-
Right to bodily autonomy in reproductive decisions
(Status varies post-Dobbs; still claimed as unenumerated)
3. Medical Autonomy
-
Right to refuse unwanted medical treatment
-
Right to informed consent
-
Right to make end-of-life decisions (e.g., declining life-sustaining care)
4. Sexual Intimacy
-
Right to engage in private, consensual adult sexual conduct
-
Freedom from criminalization of private sexual relationships
II. Family, Home, and Child-Rearing Rights
(Among the most historically rooted unenumerated rights)
5. Right to Marry
-
Choice of spouse
-
Marriage as a fundamental personal decision
6. Right to Establish a Family
-
Right to procreate
-
Right to live together as a family unit
7. Parental Rights
-
Right to direct the upbringing and education of one’s children
-
Right to choose private, religious, or home schooling
-
Right to make medical and moral decisions for children
8. Right to Family Integrity
-
Freedom from arbitrary state interference in family relationships
-
Limits on forced separation absent due process
III. Property, Labor, and Economic Liberty Claims
(Historically important but judicially weakened after the New Deal)
9. Right to Acquire, Use, and Dispose of Property
-
Ownership beyond explicit Fifth Amendment protections
-
Control over lawful use of property
10. Freedom of Contract
-
Right to enter voluntary economic agreements
-
Once treated as fundamental, now largely regulatory
11. Right to Choose One’s Occupation
-
Freedom to pursue a lawful trade or profession
-
Opposition to arbitrary licensing or exclusion
12. Right to Earn a Living
-
Economic self-sufficiency without unreasonable state barriers
IV. Intellectual, Associational, and Personal Development Rights
13. Freedom of Thought
-
Inner freedom of belief beyond speech or religion
-
Cognitive liberty (often discussed in modern contexts)
14. Right to Personal Identity and Self-Definition
-
Control over personal identity
-
Autonomy in defining one’s life path
15. Freedom of Association (Beyond the First Amendment)
-
Choice of personal relationships
-
Freedom from compelled association in private life
16. Right to Travel
-
Interstate travel
-
International travel (subject to regulation)
V. Political, Structural, and Residual Natural Rights
(Closest to the original understanding of the Ninth Amendment)
17. Natural Rights Retained by the People
-
Rights existing prior to government
-
Rights not surrendered upon entering civil society
18. Right to Be Free from Arbitrary Government Action
-
General liberty interest against unjustified state power
-
Often invoked rhetorically rather than doctrinally
19. Right to Local Self-Governance
-
Community control over local affairs
-
Especially argued in federalism contexts
20. Right to Resist Tyranny (Highly Theoretical)
-
Moral or philosophical right of resistance
-
Not judicially enforceable
VI. Modern & Emerging Ninth Amendment Claims
(Not judicially settled but increasingly discussed)
21. Data Privacy
-
Control over personal digital information
-
Resistance to mass surveillance
22. Cognitive Liberty
-
Freedom from manipulation of thought or perception
-
Increasing relevance in AI and neurotechnology debates
23. Genetic Privacy
-
Control over genetic information
-
Freedom from genetic discrimination
24. Right to Informational Self-Determination
-
Originating in comparative constitutional theory
-
Sometimes argued as implicit in Ninth Amendment logic
VII. What the Ninth Amendment Does Not Do (Doctrinal Limits)
-
It does not automatically create new rights
-
It does not specify enforcement mechanisms
-
It does not override federalism
-
Courts rarely rely on it alone; it is usually paired with:
-
Substantive Due Process (14th Amendment)
-
Privileges or Immunities arguments
-
Natural law reasoning
-
Structural constitutional principles
-
Political Liberty: Speech, Press, Assembly, Petition
Free Speech:
Free Press:
Peaceful Assembly:
Petition for a Redress of Grievances:
Religious Liberty: Establishment Clause
The Establishment Clause:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion
Explanations:
- Legal Information Institute:
The First Amendment's Establishment Clause prohibits the government from making any law “respecting an establishment of religion.” This clause not only forbids the government from establishing an official religion, but also prohibits government actions that unduly favor one religion over another. It also prohibits the government from unduly preferring religion over non-religion, or non-religion over religion. Although some government action implicating religion is permissible, and indeed unavoidable, it is not clear just how much the Establishment Clause tolerates.
- Oyez: Establishment Clause Cases.
Landmark Cases:
- Lemon v Kurtzman.
- - The Lemon Test.
Substantive Liberties
These are protections from governmental interference into substantive areas that are determined to be worth protecting. The is done in the strict language of the United States Constitution, and in the case law that has evolved due to decisions issued by the United States Supreme Court in response to cases and controversies brought before it by the parties to various disputes surrounding them.
These are the substantive liberties written out in the Bill of Rights:
- First Amendment:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
- establishment of religion
- free exercise
- speech
- press
- peaceful assembly
- petition
- Second Amendment:
A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.
- the right to keep and bear arms
- Third Amendment:
No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.
- quartering soldiers
That's it. Some people involved in the process argued that this was not enough. Other rights exist. Not listing them would allow these additional rights to be ignored. The ninth amendment was meant to make it clear that other rights existed. Nevertheless, not everyone agrees.
- Ninth Amendment.
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
What might these additional rights be?
- travel
- privacy
- autonomy
- dignity
- vote
- work
- marriage
- choose and follow a profession
- a presumption of innocence
- demand proof beyond a reasonable doubt before being convicted of a crime
- reproductive autonomy/right to be free from compulsory sterilization
- use the federal courts
- run for office
- serve on a jury
- sue
- testify
Fiscal Federalism
Dear ChatGPT: What is fiscal federalism?
- Click here for the full answer.
Fiscal federalism is the system that governs how taxing power, spending authority, and fiscal responsibilities are divided and shared among different levels of government—in the United States, federal, state, and local governments.
It explains who raises money, who spends it, and how money flows between governments.
Core Idea (Plain Language)
Fiscal federalism answers three basic questions:
Who collects taxes?
(income taxes, sales taxes, property taxes, etc.)
Who pays for what?
(defense, education, highways, health care, welfare)
How does money move between governments?
(grants, revenue sharing, mandates)
The Three Core Functions of Fiscal Federalism
1. Revenue Assignment
Which level of government has authority to tax—and what kinds of taxes it may levy.
In the U.S.:
Federal: income tax, payroll tax, corporate tax, customs duties
States: sales tax, income tax (in most states), excise taxes
Local governments: property taxes, local sales taxes, fees
This division is shaped by:
Constitutional limits
Political accountability
Administrative efficiency
2. Expenditure Responsibilities
Which level of government is responsible for delivering which public services.
Typical pattern:
Federal: national defense, Social Security, Medicare, national infrastructure
States: education systems, Medicaid administration, highways, public safety
Local: schools, police, fire protection, zoning, utilities
In practice, many programs are shared, especially social welfare and transportation.
3. Intergovernmental Transfers
Money that flows from one level of government to another, especially from the federal government to states and localities.
Key forms include:
Categorical grants – funds for specific purposes (e.g., Medicaid)
Block grants – broader discretion within a policy area
Matching grants – federal funds tied to state spending levels
These transfers are central to modern fiscal federalism.
Fiscal Federalism in the U.S. Constitutional System
The Constitution:
Grants Congress the power to tax and spend for the “general welfare”
Leaves most day-to-day governance to states and local governments
Does not explicitly design a fiscal system—one evolved over time
Early debates over fiscal federalism appear in the Federalist Papers, especially disputes between:
Alexander Hamilton (strong national fiscal capacity)
James Madison & Thomas Jefferson (greater state fiscal autonomy)
Evolution of Fiscal Federalism (Brief Timeline)
1. Dual Federalism (≈1789–1930s)
Clear separation of federal vs. state fiscal roles
Minimal federal grants to states
2. Cooperative Federalism (New Deal–1960s)
Massive expansion of federal grants
Shared responsibility for welfare, infrastructure, education
3. New / Competitive Federalism (1970s–present)
Block grants and devolution efforts
Ongoing tension over mandates and funding conditions
Why Fiscal Federalism Matters
Fiscal federalism affects:
State and local autonomy
Tax burdens and distributional equity
Policy uniformity vs. local control
Political accountability
Budget conflicts (e.g., unfunded mandates)
It is at the heart of disputes over:
Medicaid expansion
Education funding
Infrastructure spending
Federal conditions on state policy choices
One-Sentence Summary
Fiscal federalism is the framework that determines how money is raised, spent, and shared across levels of government in a federal system—shaping power, accountability, and policy outcomes.
Public Finance: Government Revenue
- Wikipedia:
Government revenue or national revenue is money received by a government from taxes and non-tax sources to enable it to undertake public expenditure. Government revenue as well as government spending are components of the government budget and important tools of the government's fiscal policy. The collection of revenue is the most basic task of a government, as revenue is necessary for the operation of government, provision of the common good (through the social contract in order to fulfill the public interest) and enforcement of its laws; this necessity of revenue was a major factor in the development of the modern bureaucratic state.
Sources in the American Federal System:
National:
- Income Taxes
- Payroll Taxes
- Treasury Bonds
-
-
Texas:
- Federal Funds
- Sales Taxes
- Bonds
- etc...
-
-
Local Governments in Texas
- Federal Funds
- State Funds
- Property Taxes
- Bonds
-
Public Finance: Government Expenditures
- Wikipedia:
Government spending or expenditure includes all government consumption, investment, and transfer payments. In national income accounting, the acquisition by governments of goods and services for current use, to directly satisfy the individual or collective needs of the community, is classed as government final consumption expenditure. Government acquisition of goods and services intended to create future benefits, such as infrastructure investment or research spending, is classed as government investment (government gross capital formation). These two types of government spending, on final consumption and on gross capital formation, together constitute one of the major components of gross domestic product.
Government spending can be financed by government borrowing, taxes, custom duties, the sale or lease of natural resources, and various fees like national park entry fees or licensing fees. When Governments choose to borrow money, they have to pay interest on the money borrowed. Changes in government spending is a major component of fiscal policy used to stabilize the macroeconomic business cycle.
Public expenditure is spending made by the government of a country on collective or individual needs and wants of public goods and public services, such as pension, healthcare, security, education subsidies, emergency services, infrastructure, etc. Until the 19th century, public expenditure was limited due to laissez faire philosophies. In the 20th century, John Maynard Keynes argued that the role of public expenditure was pivotal in determining levels of income and distribution in the economy. Public expenditure plays an important role in the economy as it establishes fiscal policy and provides public goods and services for households and firms.
Expenditures in the American Federal System:
- National
- State (Texas)
- Local (In Texas)
The 27 Amendments to the Unites States Constitution
The 27 amendments to the United States Constitution:
- Click here:
- Avalon.
- Constitution Annotated.
The Original United States Constitution
The seven articles as originally ratified.
- Click here:
- Avalon.
- Constitution Annotated.
British Colonization of the Americas - Merchant Adventurers
- Wikipedia: British colonization
- What is colonization?
- What is mercantilism?
- History of company law in the United Kingdom.
- 1357: The Company of Merchant Adventurers of the City of York. Merchant Adventurers' Hall.
- 1407: The Company of Merchant Adventurers of London was a trading company founded in the City of London in the early 15th century.
- 1497: King Henry VII of England dispatched an expedition led by John Cabot to explore the coast of North America, but the lack of precious metals or other riches discouraged both the Spanish and English from permanently settling in North America during the early 17th century.
- The Spanish Company was an English chartered company or corporate body established in 1530, and 1577, confirmed in 1604, and re-established in 1605 as President, Assistants and Fellowship of Merchants of England trading into Spain and Portugal, whose purpose was the facilitation and control of English trade between England and Spain through the establishment of a corporate monopoly of approved merchants.
- 1553: The Company of Merchant Adventurers to New Lands was an early joint stock association, which began with private exploration and enterprise, and was to have been incorporated by King Edward VI in 1553, but received its full royal charter in 1555.
- 1578: After receiving letters patent on 11 June 1578, Gilbert set sail in November 1578 with a fleet of seven vessels from Plymouth in Devon for North America. The fleet was scattered by storms and forced back to port some six months later.
- 1584: Walter Raleigh took up the cause of North American colonization, sponsoring an expedition of 500 men to Roanoke Island. In 1584, the colonists established the first permanent English colony in North America, but the colonists were poorly prepared for life in the New World, and by 1590, the colonists had disappeared.
- The Marocco Company or Barbary Company was a trading company established by Queen Elizabeth I of England in 1585 through a patent granted to the Earls of Warwick and Leicester, as well as forty others.
- 1585 Bernard Drake launched an expedition to Newfoundland which crippled the Spanish and Portuguese fishing fleets there from which they never recovered.
- 1600: The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874.
- In 1606, King James I of England granted charters to both the Plymouth Company and the London Company for the purpose of establishing permanent settlements in North America.
- 1607: - Martin Frobisher and Henry Hudson sailed to the New World in search of a Northwest Passage between the Atlantic Ocean and Asia, but were unable to find a viable route.
- 1607: The Popham Colony—also known as the Sagadahoc Colony—was a short-lived English colonial settlement in North America. It was established in 1607 by the proprietary Plymouth Company
- 1607: Jamestown: It was established by the Virginia Company of London as "James Fort" on May 4, 1607 O.S.
- 1610: The London and Bristol Company came about in the early 17th century when English merchants had begun to express an interest in the Newfoundland fishery. Financed by a syndicate of investors John Guy, himself a Bristol merchant, visited Newfoundland in 1608 to locate a favourable site for a colony. Upon his return to England 40 people applied for incorporation as the Tresurer and the Companye of Adventurers and planter of the Cittye of london and Bristoll for the Collonye or plantacon in Newfoundland. The company was known as the London and Bristol Company or simply the Newfoundland Company. The company was granted a charter by James I on May 2, 1610, giving it a monopoly in agriculture, mining, fishing and hunting on the Avalon Peninsula.
- 1618: The Company of Adventurers of London Trading to the Ports of Africa, more commonly known as "the Guinea Company", was a private joint stock company founded to trade in Africa for profit. It was a trading company trading in slaves,
- 1660: The Royal African Company (RAC) was an English trading company established up in 1660 by the House of Stuart and City of London merchants to trade along the West African coast.
Britain's Unwritten Constitution
- Magna Carta 1215.
a royal charter[4][5] of rights agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215.[b] First drafted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Cardinal Stephen Langton, to make peace between the unpopular king and a group of rebel barons, it promised the protection of church rights, protection for the barons from illegal imprisonment, access to swift justice, and limitations on feudal payments to the Crown, to be implemented through a council of 25 barons. Neither side stood behind their commitments, and the charter was annulled by Pope Innocent III, leading to the First Barons' War.
- Petition of Right, 1628.
an English constitutional document setting out specific individual protections against the state, reportedly of equal value to Magna Carta and the Bill of Rights 1689.[3] It was part of a wider conflict between Parliament and the Stuart monarchy that led to the 1638 to 1651 Wars of the Three Kingdoms, ultimately resolved in the 1688 Glorious Revolution.
Following a series of disputes with Parliament over granting taxes, in 1627 Charles I imposed "forced loans", and imprisoned those who refused to pay, without trial. This was followed in 1628 by the use of martial law, forcing private citizens to feed, clothe and accommodate soldiers and sailors, which implied the king could deprive any individual of property, or freedom, without justification. It united opposition at all levels of society, particularly those elements the monarchy depended on for financial support, collecting taxes, administering justice etc, since wealth simply increased vulnerability.
A Commons committee prepared four "Resolutions", declaring each of these illegal, while re-affirming Magna Carta and habeas corpus.
- Habeas Corpus Act, 1679.
an Act of Parliament in England (31 Cha. 2. c. 2) during the reign of King Charles II.[2] It was passed by what became known as the Habeas Corpus Parliament to define and strengthen the ancient prerogative writ of habeas corpus, which required a court to examine the lawfulness of a prisoner's detention and thus prevent unlawful or arbitrary imprisonment.
- British Bill of Rights 1689.
. . . an Act of the Parliament of England that set out certain basic civil rights and clarified who would be next to inherit the Crown. It remains a crucial statute in English constitutional law.
Largely based on the ideas of political theorist John Locke,[3] the Bill sets out a constitutional requirement for the Crown to seek the consent of the people as represented in Parliament.[4][5] As well as setting limits on the powers of the monarch, it established the rights of Parliament, including regular parliaments, free elections, and parliamentary privilege.[6] It also listed individual rights, including the prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment and the right not to pay taxes levied without the approval of Parliament.
Max Weber: Power and Authority
Sources:
- Power, Authority and the State.
- Power and Authority.
- You Tube: Max Weber: Authority and Power.
- OER: Power and Authority.
__________
What is Power?
the ability to have one’s will carried out despite the resistance of others.
What is Legitimate Authority?
power whose use is considered just and appropriate by those over whom the power is exercised. In short, if a society approves of the exercise of power in a particular way, then that power is also legitimate authority.
- Three Types:
- - Charismatic Authority: stems from an individual’s extraordinary personal qualities and from that individual’s hold over followers because of these qualities. Such charismatic individuals may exercise authority over a whole society or only a specific group within a larger society. They can exercise authority for good and for bad
- - Traditional Authority: power that is rooted in traditional, or long-standing, beliefs and practices of a society. It exists and is assigned to particular individuals because of that society’s customs and traditions. Individuals enjoy traditional authority for at least one of two reasons. The first is inheritance, as certain individuals are granted traditional authority because they are the children or other relatives of people who already exercise traditional authority. The second reason individuals enjoy traditional authority is more religious: their societies believe they are anointed by God or the gods, depending on the society’s religious beliefs, to lead their society.
- - Rational Legal Authority: derives from law and is based on a belief in the legitimacy of a society’s laws and rules and in the right of leaders to act under these rules to make decisions and set policy. This form of authority is a hallmark of modern democracies, where power is given to people elected by voters, and the rules for wielding that power are usually set forth in a constitution, a charter, or another written document.
From ChatGPT:
1. Traditional Authority
Definition: Authority derived from longstanding customs, traditions, or historical practices.
Characteristics:
- Rooted in heritage, culture, or age-old practices.
- Leaders are often seen as legitimate because "it has always been this way."
- Examples: Monarchies, tribal systems, or religious leaders like priests in traditional societies.
2. Charismatic Authority
Definition: Authority based on an individual's exceptional qualities, vision, or ability to inspire devotion and loyalty.
Characteristics:
- The leader is often perceived as extraordinary or gifted.
- Followers are attracted to the leader's charisma and personal qualities, rather than institutional structures.
- Examples: Revolutionary leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., or religious figures like Jesus Christ.
3. Rational-Legal Authority
Definition: Authority derived from established laws, rules, and procedures.
Characteristics:
- Leaders gain legitimacy through a legal framework and bureaucratic systems.
- Authority is tied to a role or position, not the individual occupying it.
- Examples: Elected officials, corporate executives, or government officials in modern democracies.
These types of authority often coexist, and transitions between them can occur during significant societal changes. Weber's framework provides a lens to analyze the legitimacy of power and leadership in various contexts.