Our Path to Democracy

Kenneth E. FernandezAssistant Professor

Department of Political Science

What is Democracy?

The rule of the people (demos + kratein)

Government that is ruled by the people, not one person or one group.

Why is Democracy Important?

It is believed to be the best form of government to protect our rights & freedoms

A democracy allows for citizen discussion and debate, and hopefully a more thoughtful decision

What makes a county a democracy?

Not an easy questions.

No one thing guarantees a democracy.

But political scientists frequently agree that there are a few things very important to a healthy democracy.

These include….

• Free and Fair Elections• The Right to Vote (mass suffrage)• Civil Liberties (freedoms)• A Free Media• Educated Citizens

Democracy & Our Constitution

A democratic government benefits from a clearly written document that defines what a government can and cannot do.

The Development of the Constitution

After declaring independence from Great Britain our political leaders were faced with the question, “ What type of government should we form?

Because of their experience with King George III, the founding fathers did not want to give their new government too much power.

Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation

a. Lasted only 7 years (1781-1788)b. Central government too weakc. No Executive or Presidentd. 9/13 Rulee. No standing armyf. No power to tax (raise money)

The Constitutional Convention (1787)

• 55 delegates from the 12 states• Not everyone agreed on what the new

constitution should look like.• Federalists versus the Anti-Federalists• Many compromises were made to get

the Constitution ratified.

Important Compromises

• Connecticut Compromise

• Electoral College

• Slavery could not be banned until 1808

• Slaves were counted as 3/5 a person

• The Bill of Rights

Improving the Constitution• Abolishing Slavery (13th Amendment, 1865)

• All men allowed to vote (15th Amend., 1870)

• Senators directly elected (17th Amend., 1913)

• Women win right to vote (19th Amend., 1920)

• Voting age changed to 18 (26th Amend, 1971)

Because of these improvements our elections today are very different than how our founding fathers planned.

Early in our history, blacks, women, the poor, people of a certain religion, were not allowed to vote.

Today, we have universal suffrage (every citizen, 18 years or older can vote)

2008 Political Candidates

The Responsibility of Democracy

• Unfortunately, not everyone does participate in our political process

• Turnout is lower than many other democracies

• For a democracy to work well, it requires citizens to be active and get involved.

Voting TurnoutCountry Turnout Penalty Automatic

RegistrationAustralia 84% Yes NoAustria 85% No YesCanada 68% No Yes

Denmark 84% No YesFinland 79% No Yes

Germany 81% No YesIsrael 80% No YesItaly 93% Yes YesJapan 69% No Yes

Netherlands 85% No YesNorway 80% No YesSweden 83% No Yes

United Kingdom 75% No YesUnited States 48% No No

But, democracy is not just about voting.Participation in a democracy involves

many activities:

• Being well informed• Joining organizations• Donating money to candidates• Running for office