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384 BCE
Aristotle is born.
Aristotle was taught in Plato's Academy and later became tutor to Alexander the Great. Created the idea of the Aristotelean Mean, that virtue comes from moderation of traits. Declared constitutional government to be the greatest realistic system of government. -
Jan 1, 1512
Machiavelli's 'The Prince' is published
Niccolo Machiavelli's political treatise 'The Prince' is published, detailing the path a prince must take to attain, retain, and use power in 16th century Italian politics. This work is the basis of all political science for the next 250 years and gives a very stark look at politics an an amoral and nonreligious entity. The idea of power being the basic unit of politics as well as an end in and of itself is introduced. -
Thomas Hobbes is born
Thomas Hobbes wrote several political texts, most notably Leviathan, in which he introduces the idea of a social contract and natural law. The social contract according to Hobbes is that in a society of man, the individual waives the right to personal violence, that is to exact revenge to his content, in favor of investing the power of justified violence into an absolute sovereign. He was a proponent of absolute power for monarchies and considered the laws of nature to be above the law of man. -
John Locke publishes his 'Two Treatises of Government'
Locke's Two Treatises lay out his argument that man is not a naturally selfish and self-interested being and man's law is an extension of natural law. He establishes the idea of a social contract sustained by tacit agreement and states the rights of the individual to be life, liberty, and property. -
James Madison is born
James Madison was a political theorist and fourth president of the United States. He contributed invaluably to the Constitution and it's first ten amendments. The Virginia Plan was written by Madison and proposed a bicameral legislature as well as an early form of the checks and balances system. Several Federalist Papers are credited to him #10 and 51 in particular. He establishes that men are ambitious and factional and that pitting ambition against faction can negate the effects of both. -
Continental Congress signs the U.S. Constitution
Prominent men gather together to write a document to further their business interests and give the central government more power. Most people still disagree with the document. -
Constitution is ratified in 9 states.
After several months of published arguments and counterarguments, called the Federalist Papers and the Anti-Federalist Papers, the constitution is ratified and the American Republic is founded. -
Thomas Jefferson is elected President of the United States
Jefferson was a Statist and founded the Democratic-Republican Party with James Madison to oppose the Federalists. He eliminated taxes and doubled the size of the country. -
Civil War begins
The election of Abraham Lincoln triggers the Civil War. States rights are the point of contention with slavery being just one part of the cause. The South fights for the right to keep slaves to support their economy while the Union wants to reincorporate the Secessionists. The wars ends with none of the problems solved and reconstruction leaves marks for generations. -
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Co-operative Federalism
The New Deal set the stage for a new era of American Federalism in which power shifted from the states to the federal government in a 'Marble Cake' of powers with no limit set to federal powers. The Supreme court allowed this through a generous interpretation of the commerce clause and the sixteenth amendment. This expanded power led to federal funding for public schools, medicaid, the passage of the Civil Rights Act, and the Voting Rights Act. -
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FDR's New Deal
Laws passed by congress as well as executive orders and actions move vast amounts of power into the hands of the federal government. The New Deal creates a 40 hour work week, Social Security, and thousands of work programs to boost the economy. -
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New Federalism and Devolution
Beginning with Nixon, the federal government began a change in it's attitude toward states. A change in grants left the states with more leeway in what they spent federal money on and Reagan began to issue block grants. Clinton began with a push for larger government but eventually worked with congress to contract government eventually leaving office without much effect. -
George W. Bush is elected
The Presidency of George W. Bush saw the expansion of federal power in the No Child Left Behind act, military power, and a crackdown on state medical marijuana programs. -
Today
Under the Obama Administration, federal authority has expanded even further though not necessarily in a states vs central government setting. Military power has increased and infringement on personal freedoms has occurred at an increasing rate but few policies have stepped on the toes of states aside from the usual complaints about the EPA. Several decisions have swung in the direction of states rights such as a hands off approach to medical marijuana and a reversal of Bush era emission rulings. -
TOMORROW!
SOCIALISM, GLORIOUS SOCIALISM. WE SHALL JOIN OUR SCANDINAVIAN COUSINS IN THE BEAUTY OF MANDATORY EQUALITY UNDER OUR GLORIOUS LEADER CHAIRMAN SANDERS!!!!
