Welcome to Federal Government!

1. Welcome to Federal Government! • Syllabus (Chapters and Tests) • Expectations • Textbook • Class Participation • Stay current with the news! • dreamhistory.org • magmtz@hotmail.com • 956-286-9693

2. Prentice HallPoliticalScienceInteractive Magleby et al. Government by the People Chapter 1 Constitutional Democracy Magda Martinez

3. Constitutional Democracy The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 changed our perceptions of domestic and international security: HOW???

4. 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

5. 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

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

7. Freedom and Democracy around the World In 1950, there were 22 democracies. In 2000, 120 countries are considered democracies.

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. Constitutional Democracy Should our response to terrorism and the threat of terrorism be unilateral or should it involve at least several countries?

12. 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

13. 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

14. Defining Democracy Democracy Demos (The People) Kratos (authority) Government by the People 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

15. Defining Democracy Democracy 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 Constitutional Democracy 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

16. 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

17. 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

18. 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

19. 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

20. 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

21. 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

22. 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

23. 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.

24. 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

25. Shay’s Rebellion • Shay’s Rebellion • Economic depression of mid-1780s • Daniel Shays • Rallied farmers to demand change from government

26. 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”

27. The Constitutional Convention of 1787: Consensus The common philosophy accepted by most of the delegates was that of balanced government

28. 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 • The New Jersey Plan • Principle author: William Patterson of New Jersey • “Confederation model” • Favored by smaller states

29. The Constitutional Convention of 1787: Conflict and Compromise 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

30. The Constitutional Convention of 1787: Conflict and Compromise 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

31. Federalists versus Anti-Federalists Federalists versus Anti-Federalists • The Federalist Papers • James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and John Jay • The “Brutus” Essays

32. The Politics of Ratification Ratification of the Constitution Patrick Henry’s famous cry, “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death!”