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Before the Bell1. Be prepared to state the term that you were assigned yesterday, explain what it means, and provide one good, original example, either historical or current, of a state that fits the definition of that term.

2. Take out your Reading Question Answer Sheet and be prepared for your reading question.

Previous Class: Notes on Topic 1.5 --- Homework for Today: Research a Form of Government --- Read Chapter 2: Majoritarian or Pluralist Democracy (Online) and Chapter 1: Politics, Democracy and the American People (Textbook) --- Today’s Agenda: Reading Question 3 --- Notes on Topic 2.1

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Yesterday and TodayPrevious Class:• Notes on Topic 1.5

Homework for Today:• Research a Form of Government• Read Chapter 2: Majoritarian or Pluralist Democracy (Online) and

Chapter 1: Politics, Democracy and the American People (Textbook)

Today’s Agenda:• Reading Question 3• Notes on Topic 2.1

2.1: Principles of Democracy

Unit 2: Understanding American Democracy

Theme 1: Philosophy and History: Roots of American Democracy 3

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I. Recitation of Forms of GovermentA. State the term that you were assigned yesterday, explain what it means, and provide one good, original example, either historical or current, of a state that fits the definition of that term.

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II. Describe America ExperimentA. Take out a piece of scrap paper. Individually and silently, and without anyone else seeing your word, write down a word that best describes America’s type of government. Use one word only. Write the word in very large font because you will eventually hold it up for the rest of the class to see. However, keep it covered up for now and do not show anyone until instructed to do so.

B. Hold the papers up high so that I can see your words and keep them up until I tell you to put them down.

C. If that is truly the type of government that we are, then why did the Founding Fathers speak so negatively about it, as you will see? Why do we pledge allegiance to the “republic?” The meaning of these words and the way that people use them will be made clear today.

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III. Basic Definition of DemocracyA. democracy – rule by the people

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IV. Two Types of DemocracyA. direct or pure democracy – system of democracy where the people vote directly on the decisions to be made by the government

1. Advantages:

a) most efficient in terms of accurately reflecting the will of the people

b) encourages participation in government and knowledge of the issues because the people are more directly responsible for the decisions of the government

2. Disadvantages:

a) least efficient in terms of time, effort, and money involved in bringing all the people together to vote on such a large quantity of issues

(1) Why might this no longer be a valid argument?

Perhaps technology is making direct democracy practical.

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b) least efficient in terms of the right decisions being made due to the ignorance of the voters

c) discourages participation in government due to the quantity and complexity of government decisions

d) more susceptible to mob rule

3. Examples:

a) Ancient Athens and the old New England town meetings are often cited as the best examples of direct democracy.

b) No country in the world today is completely a direct democracy at the national level.

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c) Direct democracy is practiced at the local and state level in the United States, with most states (particularly the western states) utilizing one or

more of the following procedures, according to their state constitutions:

(1) initiative – process by which the people can attain a predetermined number of signatures to have a measure

placed on the ballot to be voted on directly by the people

(2) referendum – process by which the people can attain a predetermined number of signatures to have a measure

placed on the ballot to be voted on directly by the people to repeal an already existing act of the

legislature

(3) referral or legislative referendum – process by which the legislature places a proposed act on the ballot to be voted on

directly by the people

(4) recall – process by which the people can attain a predetermined number of signatures to place a measure on

the ballot to be voted on directly by the people to remove and replace an elected official

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B. indirect or representative democracy – system of democracy where the people vote for full-time representatives who in turn then vote on the decisions to be made by the government

1. Advantages:

a) most efficient in terms of time, effort, and money involved in only bringing the people together during set intervals to vote for the representatives only

b) most efficient in terms of the right decisions being made due to the professional expertise of the full-time representatives

c) less susceptible to mob rule

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2. Disadvantages: 

a) least efficient in terms of accurately reflecting the will of the people

b) discourages participation in government and knowledge of the issues because people are less directly responsible for the decisions of the government

c) more susceptible to corruption due to the limited number of representatives

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V. Advanced Definition of Democracy

A. In order to more thoroughly understand the meaning of democracy, it is helpful to look at two theories about what actually constitutes a democratic government:

1. procedural democratic theory – theory that democracy is determined by the procedures a government uses to make decisions, regardless of what those actual decisions end up being

a) Characteristics of Democratic Procedures: 

(1) universal participation – every adult, or nearly every adult, is able to vote

(2) political equality – everyone’s vote counts equally

(a) Abraham Lincolns concluded a vote by his cabinet by stating:

“Seven noes, one aye—the ayes have it.”

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(3) majority or plurality rule – process for determining how decisions will be made either by: 

(a) simple majority – a vote total greater than or equal to 50 percent required in order to reach a decision 

(b) plurality – a vote total that is less than a simple majority, but still enough to reach a decision because it was the

highest vote total received (first place) 

(4) responsiveness (if representative democracy) – the government does what the people want, and are held

accountable through elections if it does not 

b) The problem with relying on procedural democratic theory alone is that it is subject to mob rule or tyranny of the majority where minority rights are not protected

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2. substantive democratic theory – theory that democracy is determined by the substance of the actual government decisions, regardless of the procedures used to make those decisions

a) Characteristics of Democratic Substance:

(1) civil liberties – basic freedoms the government cannot take away

(2) civil rights – basic political and legal equality the government must provide for everyone

b) These minority rights are typically safeguarded in a constitution, which cannot easily be altered by the majority, which essentially means the minority rules.

(1) supermajority – a specified vote total greater than a simple majority, such as two-thirds or three-fourths, required in

order to reach a decision

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VI. Different Understandings of Democracy over Time

A. Historical Understanding:

1. The historical understanding of democracy was based on the procedural democratic theory and thus had a negative connation because it was associated with mob rule.

2. This is why the Founding Fathers spoke so negatively about democracy, particularly direct democracy (see presentation for quotes):

a) Benjamin Franklin’s Quote:

“Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote.”

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b) John Adams’s Quotes:

“That the desires of the majority of the people are often for injustice and inhumanity against the minority, is demonstrated by every page of the history of the world.”

“Democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not

commit suicide.”

c) Thomas Jefferson’s Quote:

“A democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where 51 percent of the people may take away the rights of the other 49 percent.”

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d) Alexander Hamilton’s Quote:

“We are a Republican Government, Real liberty is never found in despotism or in the extremes of democracy...it has been observed that a pure democracy if it were practicable would be the most

perfect government. Experience has proved that no position is more false than this. The ancient democracies in which the people themselves deliberated never possessed one good feature

of government. Their very character was tyranny; their figure deformity.”

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e) James Madison’s Quote:

“Democracies have ever been spectacles of turbulence and contention; have ever been found incompatible with personal

security or the rights of property; and have in general been as short in their lives as they have been

violent in their death.”

f) John Quincy Adams

“The experience of all former ages had shown that of all human governments, democracy was the most unstable, fluctuating and short-lived.”

g) John Marshall:

“Between a balanced republic and a democracy, the difference is like that between order and chaos.”

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h) Winston Churchill’s Quote:

“The best argument against democracy is a five minute conversation with the average voter.”

i) The new Democratic-Republican Party in the 1790s was actually just called the Republican Party. The Federalist Party called them Democractic-Republicans as an insult to them.

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B. Modern Understanding:

1. The modern understanding of democracy is based on a combination of procedural and substantive democratic theory and thus has very positive connotation.

2. This is why more than 20 percent of the world’s political parties contain some variation of the term in their name.

3. When we use the term democracy in this class, this is what we will mean.

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VII. RepublicA. Characteristics of a Republic:

1. constitution created by the people2. representative government3. limited government4. emphasis on minority rights5. rejection of monarchy or hereditary rule

B. A republic is the form of government that the Founding Fathers created.

1. When asked after the Constitutional Convention what type of government had been created, Benjamin Franklin replied:

“A republic, if you can keep it.”

2. Every morning at school you pledge allegiance “to the republic.”

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C. Is a republic a democracy?

1. No, if you define democracy according to the historical understanding and the way the Founding Fathers did.

2. Yes, if you define democracy according to the modern understanding. In that case, it is a type of democracy, more specifically it is a type of representative democracy.

3. Not all democracies are republics, but all republics are democracies. For example, the United Kingdom is a democracy, more specifically it is a representative democracy, but it is not a republic. Why not?

D. Also note that the name of the country does not mean that is what it actually is in practice. For example, North Korea’s formal name is the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).

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VIII. Small-case vs. Upper-case Letters

A. The terms Democratic and Republican, when capitalized, refer to the names of political parties. They are names only, and it does not necessarily mean the party philosophy has anything to do with the definitions of the terms as we have learned them.

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IX. Characteristics of a Healthy Democracy

A. universal participationB. political equalityC. voter participationD. free and timely electionsE. constitutionally limited governmentF. constitutionally protected minority rightsG. loyal opposition of the minority partyH. freedom of speech, press, assembly, petitionI. educated citizenry

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X. Institutional Models of Democracy

A. Finally, there are three models that describe how the institutions of democracy (elections, political parties, etc.) are structured to allow the government to determine what the people want and translate those wants into decisions:

1. majoritarian model – the institutions of government are structured so that decisions are made by the majority of the people

2. pluralist model – the institutions of government are structured so that decisions are made through the compromise of many competing interest groups

3. elite model – the institutions of government are structured so that decisions are made by a small minority of the economic elite

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Homework for Next Class1. Read the essay An Important Distinction: Democracy versus Republic and be prepared for a reading question.