AP Gov - Unit 1: Foundations of American Democracy

State of Nature

Without government being involved, the ‘State of Nature’ is when people do whatever they want with no regulation from others.

Social Contract

People allow for government to have authority over them to promote an orderly and functioning society

Mayflower Compact

A list of rules by the pilgrims on the Mayflower to ensure equality once they land on American soil.

Hobbes’ Social Contract & State of Nature

Hobbes believed that the state of nature is what causes man to be solitary and violent. In order to appease these urges, he states that in the social contract, the authority of the government is absolute, but not all-encompassing.

Locke’s Social Contract & State of Nature

Locke believed that the state of nature allowed for individuals to innately have independence, peace, and liberty and not savagery. Under the Social Contract Theory, humans will nevertheless agree to a government and leave the state of nature behind.

Rousseau’s Social Contract & State of Nature

Rousseau believed the state of nature is in neutral and peaceful conditions, with individuals acting according to their basic urges. With the social contract theory, these individuals start to become increasingly dependent on one another.

Liberty and Order

A balance between governmental power and individual rights has been a hallmark of American political development

What idea(s) is the U.S. government based on?

Limited Government: natural rights, popular sovereignty, republicanism, and social contract

Declaration of Independence

Drafted by Jefferson with help from Adams and Franklin, provides a foundation for popular sovereignty.

Natural Rights

Rights that are inherent, you have them automatically and they can not be taken away

Popular Sovereignty

Government’s right to rule comes from the people

Republicanism

Government’s authority comes from the people, the government is a reflection of the people

Declaration of Independence

Telling King George that we don’t want to be ruled over by him

Provides a foundation for popular soverignty

What does Jefferson have to say about the State of Nature?

He argues that inherent and inalienable rights, such as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, are derived from this equal creation. Thus, governments are established to protect these rights by deriving their power from the consent of the governed. 

For what reason does Jefferson state that ‘governments are instituted among men’?

to secure the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. He explains that when a government fails to protect these fundamental rights, it is the people's right and duty to alter or abolish it and establish a new government that will better ensure their safety and happiness. 

Where does John Locke show up in the Declaration of Independence?

"...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"

What are America’s natural rights?

fundamental, inalienable rights that people possess by nature and cannot be taken away by any government; life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness

What happened to the Social Contract between England and its American colonists?

Because King George:

-got rid of representative houses for opposing him

-sent officers to harass the colonies

obstructed administration of justice

What is the responsibility of the people when the government threatens their natural rights?

to alter or abolish them

From where will power come in the newly independent United States?

the people

how is the resolution of independence an example of republicanism?

authority comes from the people.

A System of Limited Government

• A system of LIMITED GOVERNMENT was designed to keep power closest to the people

  • Articles of Confederation

  • US Constitution

Goals of limited government

• Natural Rights

• Social Contract

• Popular Sovereignty

• Republicanism

What is the root of government?

• Government is rooted in a fundamental tension between the State of Nature and the Social Contract

  • Desire for Liberty versus the need for Order

… whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to ALTER or abolish it…

Representative Democracies

• Representative Democracies can take several forms along this scale:

  • Participatory: broad participation

  • Pluralist: group-based activism

  • Elite: limited participation

What aspects do the U.S. constitution and the debates between Fed #10 & Brutus #1 represent?

They reflect the tension between the broad participatory model and the more filtered participation of the pluralist and elite models

The 3 Models of representative democracy continue to be?

reflected in contemporary institutions and political behavior

Democracy

[Demos: People; Kratos: Power] – system of government where power is held by the people

PARTICIPATORY DEMOCRACY

widespread political participation is essential for a democratic government

PLURALIST DEMOCRACY

groups (rather than individuals) are key to the policymaking process

ELITIST DEMOCRACY

elite members of society have the majority of influence on the policymaking process

Federalist Papers

• Penned by ‘Publius’

  • Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, John Jay

• Collection of 85 essays to support ratification of the Constitution

• Supported strong national government

• Worried about ‘tyranny of the majority’

Anti-Federalist Papers

• Penned by ‘Brutus’

• Collection of 16 essays to raise concerns about the Constitution

• Supported strong state governments

• Worried about oppression of individual/state rights by central authority

Fear and Government

Federalists and Anti-Federalists each feared the new government may fail

TYRANNY OF THE MAJORITY

• Fear that the majority (poor) could overwhelm a smaller ruling class (wealthy)

  • Mostly held by the Federalists – wanted to design systems that favored an elite ruling class against ‘mob rule’

    • Elite

  • The best way to protect the rights of the people from dangerous factions is to encourage a large republic of competing groups.

    • Pluralist

TYRANNY OF THE MINORITY

• Fear that an unpopular minority could use centralized power to crush a majority

  • Mostly held by the Anti-Federalists – wanted to provide protections and safeguards that placed limits on the power of an elite ruling class

  • Advocates for broad citizen involvement in the political process, as opposed to pluralist or elitist models where power is concentrated in specific groups.

  • Participatory Democracy

Is big or small government best?

The federalists believed that the greatest threats to a republic was a faction. The key to controlling factions was to have a big government.

The anti-federalists believed a large government wouldn’t be able to effectively represent the people’s interests