Transcript Prentice Hall Political ScienceInteractiv

Welcome to Federal
Government!
Syllabus (Chapters and Tests)
Expectations
Textbook
Class Participation
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Prentice Hall
PoliticalScienceInteractive
Magleby et al.
Government by the People
Chapter 1
Constitutional Democracy
Magda Martinez
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Constitutional Democracy
The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001
changed our perceptions of domestic and
international security: HOW???
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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
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Democratic Ideals
A 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
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Equality
A true democracy
requires equal
protection of the law
for every person
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Freedom and Democracy
around the World
In 1950, there were 22 democracies.
In 2000, 120 countries are considered democracies.
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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
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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?
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?
“Government is always government by the few,
whether in the name of the few, the one, or the
many” -Harold Lasswell and Daniel Lerner
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Constitutional Democracy
“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
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Constitutional Democracy
Should our
response to
terrorism and the
threat of terrorism
be unilateral or
should it involve at
least several
countries?
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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
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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
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Defining Democracy
Democracy
Demos
(The People)
Kratos
(authority)
Government by
the People
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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 Democracy
Democracy
Direct Democracy
Government by the people,
either directly or indirectly,
with free and frequent
elections
Government in which
citizens vote on laws and
select officials more directly
Representative
Democracy
Constitutional
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
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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
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Democracy as a System of
Interrelated Political Processes
Free and fair elections
Majority rule
Freedom of
expression
The right to assemble
and protest
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Citizens standing in line to vote
Democracy as a System of
Interdependent Political Structures
The five distinctive elements of the U.S.
constitutional system
Federalism
Separation of Powers
Bicameralism
Checks and Balances
Bill of Rights
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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
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Conditions Conducive to
Constitutional Democracy
Educational Conditions
Economic Conditions
Democracy puts a
premium on education
Extremes of poverty
and wealth undermine
the possibilities for a
healthy constitutional
democracy
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Conditions Conducive to
Constitutional Democracy
Social Conditions
Ideological conditions
Overlapping associations
and groupings so that
allegiance to one group is
not overpowering
Acceptance of the ideals of
democracy and a
willingness from the
majority to proceed
democratically
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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
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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.
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Toward Unity and Order
The Articles of Confederation
Goal: to bring the thirteen
states together while
allowing each state to
remain independent
Adopted on March, 1, 1781
Under the Articles, each
state issued its own
currency
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Shay’s Rebellion
Shay’s Rebellion
– Economic depression
of mid-1780s
Daniel Shays
– Rallied farmers to
demand change from
government
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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”
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The Constitutional Convention of
1787: Consensus
The common
philosophy accepted
by most of the
delegates was that of
balanced government
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The Constitutional Convention of 1787:
Conflict and Compromise
2 competing plans
The Virginia Plan
Principle author: James
Madison
National government
would be supreme over the
states
Favored by populous states
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The New Jersey Plan
Principle author: William
Patterson of New Jersey
“Confederation model”
Favored by smaller states
The Constitutional Convention of 1787:
Conflict and Compromise
The Conflict
The Compromise
State-based approach
versus an individual-based
approach
House of Representatives:
Proportional; Senate: Equal
number of representatives
from each state
The Conflict
The Compromise
The fact that Northerners hated
slavery worried Southerners who
feared that their greater
representation in Congress would
be used to end slavery
The Constitution was to
protect the Atlantic Slave
Trade for at least twenty
years
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The Constitutional Convention of 1787:
Conflict and Compromise
The Conflict
The Compromise
If representation is
proportional in the House
of Representatives, how
should slaves be counted?
Three-Fifths of the slaves in
each state would be counted
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Federalists versus Anti-Federalists
Federalists versus AntiFederalists
The Federalist Papers
– James Madison, Alexander
Hamilton and John Jay
The “Brutus” Essays
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The Politics of Ratification
Ratification of the Constitution
Patrick Henry’s famous
cry, “Give Me Liberty or
Give Me Death!”
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