Unit 1 Joyner Government Test

1787 Constitutional Convention

Delegates met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to revise the Articles of Confederation; instead they wrote a new constitution and formed a federal system of government

What was wrong with the Articles of Confederation?

1. no common form of currency

2. no real form of central government, everything was state led

Sense of urgency

present at the constitutional convention because if they didn't create a working form of government this time, then there's a chance they wouldn't be able to bounce back. the revolution would have been for nothing

Aristotle

- Greek philosopher. Descended from a strong educational tree

Socrates -> Plato -> Aristotle

- Politics was his Jam

The Politics

3 forms of tried and true government

1. Monarchy

2. Aristocracy

3. Polity

Monarchy

ruled by one

Aristocracy

ruled by few, some sort of higher ups (education, wealth, lineage, etc.)

Polity

ruled by many

Similarities between all three politics

- all could work

- all could lead to corruption

- all could devolve into a poor state following corruption

Monarchy can devolve into

Tyranny

Aristocracy can devolve into

Oligarchy

Polity could devolve into

Democracy

Issues the delegates had with each of Aristotle's politics

Monarchy, obviously no, they just left a monarchy

Aristocracy, they like but promised the people freedom

Polity, the equivalent of the Articles of the confederation to the delegates

Delegates solution to their political issue

combine Aristocracy and Polity into the government we now know today, take bits and pieces from lots of different places.

Athenian Government

the reforms of Solon & Cleisthenes

The Reforms of Solon

594 BC

1. got rid if debt slavery entirely

2. restructured the class hierarchy(added 2 new midding farmer/merchant classes)

- wants to fins balance between classes

- leader of a major city state gives a hand to the little guy for the first time

The Reforms of Cleisthenes

508 BC

1. all class distinctions eliminated

2. ekklesia, boule councils, and dikasteria thrived

Ekklesia

national voting area, people could show up & express concerns, then vote

Boule Councils

talk about concerns and have a representative go to the ekklesia

Dikasteria

Athenian court system, cast by lottery

Delegates don't like the Athenian government, so what government do they turn to reference?

Roman republic

Roman Senate

a council of wealthy and powerful citizens who advised Rome's leaders. people elected officials to represent and make decisions

Our congress is VERY similar

Magna Carta (influence on Constitution) 1215

- felt like people were being arrested & charged without just cause

- due process, we deserve rights because we're people

- see things similar in the constitution but not copy & paste

Bill of Rights (influence on constitution) 1689

- days of monarchy are over

- parliament keeps the king in check

- freedom of speech --> same

- freely petition govt. --> same

- protective against cruel and unusual govt.--> same

The Reformation

- Represents what happens when a govt. gets way too big for its britches

- compromises services its supposed to give to its people

- catholic church is an example

The Enlightenment

- philosophical movement in europe during the 17th & 18th centuries

- man is a rational person, does not need church or a monarch

- man is born w/ rights, and is independent. can be compromised by monarchs

- when people start talking, people get ideas, stimulates revolts

Social Contract Theory

A voluntary agreement between the government and the governed. All enlightenment people riff off of this contract, and create their own social contract

Thomas Hobbes

Mid 17th Century, wake of the english civil war. Leviathan was Hobbes publication of his thoughts on the social contract theory.

Hobbes view of human nature

government can only be successful through an absolute monarchy

people = inherently evil

people give up their rights for law & order

John Locke

1689, glorious revolution

Locke's view on human nature

The smaller the govt. the better

People are born free and should stay that way

Rights: Life, Liberty, Estate

Govt. soul responsibility should be to protect whatever rights the people determine

Life

right to live

Liberty

the freedom to do what you would like to do

Estate

right to property: tangible, physical body, money

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Swiss-French political philosopher; he valued the social contract and addressed the nature of man in his work On the Origin of Inequality.

Rousseau's view of human nature

What the hell is a state of nature?

"Man is born free, yet everywhere he's in chains"

From the moment you're born, society corrupts you

You're never truly free

Govt. should respond to general will of the people

Popular sovereignty

Montesquieu

French political philosopher who advocated the separation of executive and legislative and judicial powers (1689-1755)

Montesquieu's views

separation of powers, power is somehow equally distributed over multiple branches of govt.

profiled england

madison loved this

What's used in our Govt. from Rousseau

Popular sovereignty in a more subtle form, state voting vs electoral college

What's used in our Govt. from Locke

Liked what locke said to a certain extent, lets not give a crazy amount of freedom.

Jefferson basically quoted him "Life, Liberty, Pursuit of Happiness"

What's used in our Govt. from Hobbes

we will control people somewhat, because the govt. needs to maintain some order. Capitalism b/c people are greedy

What's used in our Govt. from Montesquieu

branches of govt.

powers more equally spread

How does capitalism work?

operates on the assumption that everyone will work for money, and while they're working will spend money.

How will they prevent the govt. from devolving?

They work little things into the constitution

People ultimately have the most power

Power tree

Power - Leaves

Authority - Trunk

Legitimacy - Roots

Power

Individuals who serve

From time to time, leaves will fall and new leaves will grow (People who serve will leave and new ones will replace)

Authority

The Government

People will vote for representing and have places in government, given authority.

Legitamcy

The Governed

The people determine what is legitimate & what's not in their eyes --> expressed through VOTING!

Population before

small

early 1790's- roughly 4 mil people in the US

13 states, each member of congress represented roughly 30,000 individuals

Population now

Large

roughly 330,000,000 people in the US

50 states, one representative can represent up to 1 mil people.

Problems with population increase

- one representative is representing too many people

- presents the question of, am I truly represented

Why do we have representatives in the first place.

The overall reason is the limitation of pure democracy, which in the eyes of the framers, is equivalent to mob rule.

- Didn't want the people to have 100% control

electoral college

- amount of representatives is based on how many people live in each state.

- the more people, the more representatives

- slavery played a role, a good amount of the south was slaves, so the south wanted that population added

Racial & ethnic demographics

-US could be argued as a pretty diverse place

-Within this diverse population not everyone had equal rights

-Overall racial and demographic trends form into political issues

Minority Issues

#1 minority = Latinos

- acknowledge past & current discrimination

how are you gonna address past & current discrimination?

equity

Democrat version of equity

government needs to assure equity to minority groups

Republican version of equity

equity programs aren't fair, you're still factoring a person's race or overall whiteness

Age

- around founding time, the average life expectancy was 35

- today the life expectancy for a man is 75 and 80 for a woman

Health Care

- One of the problems with people living longer

- The older people get, the more problems they have, the more medical assistance they're gonna need.

Insurance

- Would rather people just die so they get their money without having to pay for peoples medical expenses

- about risk management, want to get more money out of you than they ultimately have to pay for your expenses

Social Security

- Income stablity for our elderly or anyone who who qualifies (age 65)

- contribute by working, once you are eligible you take benefit for the rest of your life

Social security problems

- putting less in than what you're receiving

- less workers than beneficiaries

- the government has raided fund before

- expected to run out in 2034

seperation of church and state

- if you're in the "bible belt" region

- see the framers as Protestants who created a country who honors christain morals

- be aware of that regional vibe

Legitamacy of regional customs & traditions

- stronger emphesis on the 2nd amendment

- pay attention to who has what traditions

- sector-specific job growth

Family makeup & Family size

1940's normal family size - 6 people

Current family size- .5 kids

Why? Single parents, lgbt parents, education costs

Income

- catergorized based on how much money you make

Wealth Disparity

the growing divide between the wealthiest few hundred individuals worldwide, and everyone else

Mean income 2019 vs Median income

Mean income in 2019 - 111,700

Median income - 68,400

Wealthy individuals largely skew the overall mean of our population's income.

Cost of living & taxation

- inflation

- mandate a higher minimum wage

- if you're not paying enough in taxes, you should pay

- constant back and forth

- convos rooted in income statistics

Ideology

set of beliefs that you use as a guide in your life to make decisions.

political ideology

set of beliefs that are used to make decisions and determine what political decisions you make and where you stand politically

Liberals

- Bigger & more active government

- Ensure economic stability & rights for citizens

- Modern liberalism, protect & help minority groups

- Environment protection

Conservatives

- Less active federal government, state governments should instead manage affairs

- Don't like to spend too much money

- Unless its on defense or military spending

- Not the government's place to help, let private sectors or states handle issues

Libertatians

Mix of republican and democratic parties

- Locke mentality

- Government should limit tax dollar spending and we should know exactly what is spent.

- Less government overall, stay the hell away

- Advocate for fair treatment, similar social values to liberals

Brands of political powers

Republican - Conservitive

Democratic - Liberal

"Only in America" Brooks and Dunn

- Patriotic

- big theme of freedom

- not gonna have 100% equal outcomes, but you have 100% equal opportunities

- american exceptionalism

- American dream

"Empire State of Mind" Alicia Keys

- similar to the previous

- lots of freedom, new york itself is one of the key cities you associate with america

- opportunities are all around

- not everyone will achieve the same outcome, but you're given the same opportunities

"Pink Houses" John Mellencamp

- sarcastic

- the American dream is not really as achievable as advertised

- most people live a life with struggle, while others live in luxury

"Talkin' Bout a Revolution" Tracy Chapman

- no direct reference to America, but we can assume based off of the line "armies of salvation"

- the folks are crying at doorstops of these armies, and you better listen, or they'll be a revolution

- more like a call for help and a threat to listen more to the american people

"Courtesy of The Red, White, And Blue (The Angry American)" Toby Keith

- written after 9/11

- showcases that automatic anger most americans had of, lets find out who did this and punish them

- don't mess with america, we'll beat your ass

- pro-military

- very aggressive song

"Born in The U.S.A" Bruce Springsteen

- opposite of the last

- very anti-war

- written about the vietnam war

- talks about the glorification and normalization of war from a young age

- lack of help for veterans post-war

- death of his brother during war

- only bad things really followed the war

"Politically Uncorrect" Gretchen Wilson

- sensing a change in what america values

- for the working man

- bible and flag are becoming unrepresented