Welcome to Federal Government! Syllabus (Chapters and Tests) Expectations Textbook Class...

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Prentice HallPoliticalScienceInteractive

Magleby et al.Government by the People

Chapter 1

Constitutional DemocracyMagda Martinez


Constitutional Democracy

The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 changed our perceptions of domestic and

international security: HOW???


Democracy as a System of Interrelated Political Processes

Free and fair elections

Majority rule

Freedom of Expression

The right to assemble and protest

Citizens standing in line to vote


Democratic IdealsA meaningful definition of democracy

must include the following ideals:

Individual Dignity

Equal protection under the law

Participation in decision making

Majority Rule: one person, one vote


Equality

A true democracy requires equal protection of the law for every person


Freedom and Democracy around the World

In 1950, there were 22 democracies.In 2000, 120 countries are considered democracies.


Who Really Governs in a Democracy?

Pluralistic View

The belief that democracy can be achieved in a

large, complex society by competition, bargaining, and compromise among organized groups, and

that individuals can participate in decision

making through membership in these

groups and by choosing among parties and

candidates in elections

Elitist View

Believes that complex decisions need to be made free of public pressure.

The masses should be “spectators” in

the process


Who Really Governs in a Democracy?

“Government is always government by the few, whether in the name of the few, the one, or the

many” -Harold Lasswell and Daniel Lerner

Public Opinion about Who Runs the Country

Would you say the government is pretty much run by a few big interest looking out for themselves or that it is run for the benefit of all the people?



“The pictures of airplanes flying into buildings, fires burning, huge structures

collapsing, have filled us with disbelief, terrible sadness, and

a quiet, unyielding anger. These mass murders were intended to frighten our

nation into chaos and retreat. But they failed; our country is strong.... These deliberate and

deadly attacks were more than acts of terror. They were

acts of war.”-President

George W. Bush



Should our response to

terrorism and the threat of

terrorism be unilateral or

should it involve at least several

countries?


American Government and Politicians in Context

Constitutional democracy requires constant attention to protecting the rights and opinions of others

Constitutional democracy is necessarily government by representative politicians

Thomas Jefferson, one of our best-known champions of constitutional democracy


American Government and Politicians in Context

Why does such a gap persist between our image of the

ideal politician and our views about actual politicians?

Bush’s Approval Ratings


Defining Democracy

Democracy

Government by the People

Demos

(The People)

Kratos

(authority)

The Athenians are here, Sire, with an offer to back us with ships, money,

arms, and men--and, of course, their usual lectures about democracy


Defining DemocracyDemocracy

Government by the people, either directly or indirectly, with free and

frequent elections

Direct Democracy

Government in which citizens vote on laws and

select officials more directly

Representative Democracy

Government that derives its powers indirectly from

the people, who elect those who will govern


Government that enforces recognized limits on those who

govern and allows the voice of the people to be heard through free,

fair, and relatively frequent elections


Democracy as a System of Interacting Values

Equality of Opportunity

Popular Consent

Personal Liberty

Respect for the Individual

These basic values of democracy do not always co-exist happily


Democracy as a System of Interrelated Political ProcessesFree and fair elections

Majority rule

Freedom of expression

The right to assemble and protest

Citizens standing in line to vote


Democracy as a System of Interdependent Political Structures

The five distinctive elements of the U.S. constitutional system

FederalismSeparation of Powers

BicameralismChecks and Balances

Bill of Rights


People & Politics: Joan Blades and Wes Boyd and MOVEON

Founded MOVEON as an e-mail campaign opposing the impeachment of President Clinton

Their work demonstrated the importance of the internet in politics


Conditions Conducive to Constitutional Democracy

Educational Conditions

Democracy puts a premium on education

Economic Conditions

Extremes of poverty and wealth

undermine the possibilities for a

healthy constitutional democracy


Conditions Conducive to Constitutional Democracy

Social Conditions

Overlapping associations and groupings so that

allegiance to one group is not overpowering

Ideological conditions

Acceptance of the ideals of democracy

and a willingness from the majority to proceed

democratically


The Colonial Beginnings

Mayflower compact– Legalized the Pilgrim’s

position as a body politic

Colonial Assemblies– Every colony in the New

World had an assembly


The Rise of Revolutionary Fervor

The Declaration of Independence

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these

are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes

destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect

their Safety and Happiness.


Toward Unity and Order

Goal: to bring the thirteen states together while allowing each state to remain independent

Adopted on March, 1, 1781

The Articles of Confederation

Under the Articles, each state issued its own

currency


Shay’s Rebellion

Shay’s Rebellion– Economic

depression of mid-1780s

Daniel Shays– Rallied farmers to

demand change from government


The Constitutional Convention of 1787

Washington’s prestige helped hold

the Constitutional Convention of 1787

together and later to win support for the new Constitution

“First in war, first in peace, first in the hearts of his countrymen”


The Constitutional Convention of 1787: Consensus

The common philosophy

accepted by most of the delegates

was that of balanced

government


The Constitutional Convention of 1787: Conflict and Compromise

The Virginia Plan

Principle author: James Madison

National government would be supreme over the states

Favored by populous states

The New Jersey Plan

Principle author: William Patterson of New Jersey

“Confederation model”

Favored by smaller states

2 competing plans



The Conflict

State-based approach versus an individual-

based approach

The Compromise

House of Representatives: Proportional; Senate: Equal number of representatives

from each state

The Conflict

The fact that Northerners hated slavery worried Southerners who feared that their greater representation in Congress

would be used to end slavery

The Compromise

The Constitution was to protect the Atlantic Slave Trade for at least twenty

years



The Conflict

If representation is proportional in the House of Representatives, how

should slaves be counted?

The Compromise

Three-Fifths of the slaves in each state would be

counted


Federalists versus Anti-Federalists

The Federalist Papers– James Madison, Alexander

Hamilton and John Jay

The “Brutus” Essays

Federalists versus Anti-Federalists


The Politics of Ratification

Patrick Henry’s famous cry, “Give Me Liberty or

Give Me Death!”

Ratification of the Constitution

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