Unit 1 - Foundations of American Democracy

Big Ideas:

  1. Why are there debates about the balance of power between the federal and state governments?

  2. Is the Bill of Rights necessary? Why or why not?

  3. How does the Constitution affect you and the choices you make?

Ideals of Democracy

  • US gov is based on ideals of

    • natural rights - all people have certain rights that cannot be taken away

      • John Locke

    • social contract - implicit agreement between society to give up some freedom to the government in order to maintain order

      • Thomas Hobbes

    • popular sovereignty - all government power comes from the consent of its people

    • limited government - governmental power is not absolute

    • republicanism - people elect leaders to represent them and create laws in teh public interest

  • These ideals are ensured by:

    • separation of powers

    • checks and balances

    • federalism

    • republicanism

  • Magna Carta

    • first attempt to limit the power of the British King

    • guaranteed all people certain rights

  • Declaration of Independence

    • drafted by Jefferson w/ Adams and Franklin

    • natural rights. foundation for popular sovereignty

    • formal declaration of war. list of grievances used to explain why colonies are declaring independence

  • U.S. Constitution

    • drafted by James Madison

    • example of social contract. establishes limited government.

Types of Democracy

  • Participatory democracy: broad participation in politics and civil society

    • ex. town halls, voting directly on state legislation

  • Pluralist democracy: group-based activism by nongovernmental interests striving for impact on political decision making

    • groups of people associate with interest groups who then compete to influence politics

    • gives a voice to ppl - not individually but in chunks

    • ex. NAACP, National Rifle Association

  • Elite democracy: limited participation in politics and civil society on the assumption that the government is complicated and the most educated people need to run it

    • ex. Electoral college

  • U.S. Constitution:

    • elite democracy: elected representatives legislate on behalf of their people

    • pluralist: 1st amendment freedom of assembly, allows political parties and interest groups

    • participatory: 1st amendment freedom of speech and press, ppl can express their political opinions

      • 15th + 19th amendments that expanded who could vote

Government Power and Individual Rights

  • Brutus 1:

    • participatory model

    • feared the decrease of personal liberties in a larger republic like the U.S.

    • a large centralized government could not adequately represent the views of the people because it would be largely separated from them

    • advocated for a small, decentralized government w/ more power reserved for state governments

  • Federalist 10: James Madison

    • pluralist democracy

    • with so many competing factions in a large republic, liberty would be upheld by their competition

    • they all cancel each other out

    • concerned about factions (groups of people who believe their interests are more important than any other interest)

      • if majority always prevailed, then minority would never be heard

      • Madison said you can either take away the causes of factions (strips liberty) or manage their effects

      • manage mischiefs of factions, delegating authority to elected representatives

        and dispersing power between the states and national government

    • there was a double protection against the tyranny of factions because of the separation of powers in the federal government and the sharing of power between the federal and state governments

Challenges of the Articles of Confederation

  • Lack of centralized military power to address Shay’s Rebellion

    • Shay’s Rebellion - farmers raided a federal arsenal to protest the foreclosure of farms

    • shows need for strong centralized government

  • No executive branch to enforce laws, including taxation

  • No national court system

  • No power to regulate interstate and foreign trade

  • Lack of power to coin money

    • national government was in debt from way with no way to pay it back

    • requested money from states, borrowed money from other governments, and sold lands in the West

    • no national currency

  • no national military

  • 9/13 states had to approve legislation before it was passed

  • Needed unanimous votes to amend the Articles

  • accomplishments:

    • created federalism: interaction and sharing of power between the federal and state governments

    • ended revolutionary war

    • established the Northwest Ordinance - how states would enter U.S.

Ratification of the U.S. Constitution

  • Great Compromise (aka Connecticut Compromise)

    • combined James Madison’s Virginia plan with the New Jersey Plan

    • created a bicameral system of congress - House and Senate

    • electoral college - created system for electing president by electors from each state

      • this system was used instead of popular vote or congressional vote

      • presidential candidate who wins 270 electoral votes wins the election regardless of who wins popular vote

    • 3/5 compromise - formula for calculating a state’s enslaved population for House representation and for taxation

      • postponed decision to bad importation of enslaved people until 1808

    • agreed to add bill of rights to address Anti-Federalist concerns

  • Article V - amendment process

    • 2/3 vote in both houses or proposal from 2/3 of state legislatures with final ratification from 3/4 states

  • Present debates

    • role of national gov

    • powers of state gov

    • rights of individuals

    • 9/11 —> debates about government surveillance

    • debates about role of government in public school education

Principles of American Government

  • separation of powers & checks and balances

    • allow legal actions to be taken against public officials deemed to have abused their power

      • includes impeachment and removal from office

  • Federalist 51 - James Madison

    • explains how constitutional provisions of separation of powers and checks and balances control potential abuses by majorities

    • separation of powers would make the government efficient, dividing responsibilities and tasks

  • separation of powers and checks and balances creates multiple access point for stakeholders and institutions to influence public policy

  • Federalist 70 - Alexander Hamilton

    • executive branch should only have the president - used British monarchy as an example

    • proposed term limits as a way to limit presidential power

      • term limits not set until 1951

Relationship Between the States and National Government

  • Federalism - a system where power is shared between national and state governments.

    • exclusive and concurrent powers explain ongoing debate over balance of power

  • exclusive power - held by only one level of gov.

    • includes enumerated powers in Constitution and implied powers (inferred from Necessary and Proper Clause)

  • Reserved powers - reserved to the states

    • 10th amendment

  • Concurrent powers - shared between federal and state government

    • ex. collect taxes, make and enforce laws, build roads

  • Denied Powers:

    • federal government

      • suspended writ of habeas corpus except during a national crisis

        • protects against unlawful and indefinite imprisonment

  • Distribution of power is shows by Fiscal Federalism - government’s patterns of spending, taxing, and providing grants to influence state and local governments

    • revenue sharing - almost no restrictions to states. least used

    • Block grants - minimal restrictions to the states on its use. preferred by states

    • categorical grants - restricted to specific categories of spending. most common

    • mandates - requirements

Constitutional Interpretations of Federalism

  • 14th amendment - Due process and equal protection clauses give national government the power to enforce protections for any person against the states but supreme court interpretations can influence extent of these protections

  • commerce cause gives national government power to regulate interstate commerce - supreme court interpretations influence the extent of this power

  • necessary and proper clause gives congress power to make laws related to carrying out its enumerated powers, but supreme court interpretations can influence the extent of these powers

  • supremacy clause gives the national government precedence over state laws

Federalism in Action

  • allocations of powers between national and state governments creates multiple access points for stakeholders and institutions to influence public policy

  • national policymaking is constrained by the sharing of concurrent powers with state governments

• Full Faith and Credit – states must honor laws and court rulings of other states

How do societal pressures and racial prejudice, explored in Everything I Never Told You, impact family dynamics and mental health in interracial families?