Unit 1: Foundations of American democracy
Ideals of Democracy
● In 1776, the Second Continental Congress issued the Declaration of Independence,
stating their grievances with the British monarchy and that they were going to create a
separate government.
● The Framers decided to create a limited government based on the ideas of natural rights,
popular sovereignty, republicanism, and social contract.
○ Demonstrated in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution
● Limited government is the belief that the government should have certain restrictions in
order to protect the individual rights and civil liberties of citizens.
● Natural rights are rights that all people are born with and can never give up. It is the
government's responsibility to maintain these rights.
○ John Locke (life, liberty, and property) influenced Thomas Jefferson (life, liberty,
and the pursuit of happiness)
● Social contract is the agreement between the American society and the federal
government in which the public would relinquish some freedoms for the government to
protect the important ones (your natural rights)
● Popular sovereignty is the idea that the government’s power comes from the “consent of
the governed.”
● Republicanism is a system of government in which elected leaders represent the interests
of people.
● The Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights serve as the
ideological foundations for the democratic government of the United States.
● The Declaration of Independence
○ John Locke, the English Enlightenment philosopher, contributed the ideas of
natural rights and social contract
○ Written by Thomas Jefferson and revised by John Adams and Benjamin Franklin
○ List of grievances against the British Crown to garner the sympathy of the
international community and the inspiration for American democratic values
■ “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.”
○ The colonial representatives approved the Declaration of Independence on July 4,
1776
● The Constitution of the United States
○ Replaced the Articles of the Confederation, a weak system of government that
placed power in the hands of state governments
○ 1787, state representatives met at the Constitutional Convention to draft a
government that would balance individual liberty with public order
○ Revolutionary War hero George Washington oversaw the creation of a
Constitution, strongly influenced by James Madison and Alexander Hamilton
■ “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect
Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the
common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings
of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this
Constitution for the United States of America.”
○ The Constitution was adopted by the federal government in 1788 when New
Hampshire became the 9th state out of the 13 to ratify it.
■ The Federalist Papers were written to help the process of ratification, the
approval of every state was needed if the new system were to be
frictionlessly adopted.
○ The Constitution has undergone 27 amendments since its creation and the first ten
are called the Bill of Rights.
■ These amendments were important to convince Anti-Federalist states in
adopting the Constitution because change was possible.
Types of Democracy
● The US was created a democractic republic by the Founders, meaning that popular
sovereignty exists but people elect officials to represent their interests
● Many people therefore believe that United States citizens can influence government
actions, but different models of democracy have arisen that hold varying opinions.
● A democracy is a system of government in which the power of the government is vested
in the people, who rule directly or through elected representatives.
● Participatory democracy is a model of democracy in which citizens have the power to
decide directly on policy and politicians are responsible for implementing those policy
decisions.
○ Distinct from direct democracy, in which citizens are directly responsible for
policy decisions.
○ Participatory democracy can be represented through local and state forms of
government.
■ Town hall meetings
■ Initiatives allow citizens to bypass their state legislature by placing
proposed laws on the ballot
■ Popular referendums allow voters to approve or repeal an act of the state
legislature
● Pluralist democracy is a model of democracy in which no one group dominates politics
and organized groups compete with each other to influence policy.
○ Pluralist democracy is seen in both state and federal levels of government.
○ Individuals must work through groups formed around common causes.
○ Interest groups are groups of people who attempt to influence policymakers to
support their position on a particular common interest or concern.
■ Interest groups such as the NRA influence politicians through monetary
donations, lobbying, and testifying in Congressional hearings.
● Elite democracy is a model of democracy in which a small number of people, usually
those who are wealthy and well-educated, influence political decision making
○ The Electoral College is an example of elite democracy because it places a small
group in charge of making major political decisions, even if those decisions
contradict the popular will.
Challenges to the Articles of Confederation
● The Articles of Confederation comprised the United States’ first constitution, lasting
from 1776 until 1789. The Articles established a weak central government and placed
most powers in the hands of the states.
○ After the Revolutionary War, America wanted their government to be the
antithesis of that of Great Britain, so they had a weak central government which
they later discovered couldn’t handle the issues faced by the nation.
○ The United States was a confederacy in which states were sovereign and linked
together for limited purposes like national defense. The national government had
few powers like coining money, managing the post office, and negotiating with
foreign powers.
○ The only branch of government was the legislative, the Confederation Congress,
where each state had one vote and 9/13 states had to approve a measure for it to
pass and 13/13 states had to agree to amend the Articles.
● The US economy faltered, since the central government lacked the power to enforce tax
laws or regulate commerce.
○ Only state governments could levy taxes to avoid “taxation without
representation” and the national government had to request money from negligent
states. Thus, paying war debts or securing new funds was difficult. Foreign
countries didn’t want to lend the US money because of their shoddy
representation and the currency was worthless.
○ Since the government also couldn’t impose tariffs on foreign imports or regulate
interstate commerce, it couldn’t protect American producers from foreign
competition.
● Shays’s Rebellion, an uprising of Revolutionary War veterans in Massachusetts that both
the state and national governments struggled to address due to a lack of centralized
military power, illustrated the need to create a stronger governing system.
○ The national government also couldn’t raise an army or navy, although it could
declare war/peace, and had to depend upon states to provide soldiers.
○ Revolutionary war veterans heavily in debt faced retributions, and demanded the
money the Confederation Congress had promised them for their service. But the
government didn’t have the money, so Daniel Shays led others to a courthouse
demanding relief. The MA militia sided with their cause, so the governor
requested help from the national government, but none was available.
○ Revealed the weakness of the Articles of Confederation because the US was
unable to pay its vets and raise a militia. The right to impose taxes, regulate
commerce, and raise an army was imperative.
Government power and individual rights
● Federalists and Anti-Federalists wrote several essays on what type of government would
be strong enough to enforce order and not so strong as to violate the personal liberties of
American citizens. The former were trying to encourage ratification of the Constitution
and the latter prevent it.
● Federalist 10
○ James Madison, 1787
○ Critics of the Constitution argued that the proposed federal government was too
large and would be unresponsive
○ Madison argued that liberty would be safest in a large republic because of factions
and diversity would avoid tyranny
■ Factions inevitable and large government could control them
○ This diversity makes tyranny more difficult since ruling coalitions would always
be unstable
■ Groups would negotiate/compromise, solutions would respect minority
rights
■ Large size of country would make it difficult for factions to gain control
○ Explores minority v. majority rule
● Brutus 1
○ Under pen name, encouraged NY to reject the Constitution
○ Argued that states should not ratify the Constitution because condensing 13 into
one republic would give the federal government “absolute and uncontrollable
power” as shown under the Necessary and Proper clause and Supremacy
Clause
○ State government powerless
○ The federal government had too much power even before the Constitution, our
country won’t survive now because it is too big
Ratification of the US Constitution
● The Constitutional Convention met in 1787 to revise the Articles of Confederation.
They sought a plan that had a central government strong enough to be effective but not so
strong as to promote tyranny.
○ The Virginia Plan suggested a bicameral legislature with the number of
representatives in both houses determined by population, benefitting larger states.
○ The New Jersey Plan proposed a unicameral legislature that gave one vote to
each of the states, benefitting smaller states.
○ The Great Compromise, also known as the Connecticut Compromise,
compromised between the two, proposing a legislative branch that was bicameral
and which we still use today.
■ The lower house (House of Representatives) would be determined by
population.
■ The upper house (Senate) assigned two Senators to each state, which were
then appointed by state legislatures and now selected via popular vote
● The Electoral College is a body of representatives from every state in the United States
who formally cast votes to elect the president and vice president.
○ Article II establishes the executive branch and discusses how presidential
elections work.
○ Each state is assigned electors, equal to their number of representatives in the
House of Representatives and the Senate, and these electors cast votes for the
winner of the popular vote in that state. Whichever candidate received the most
electoral votes wins.
○ This system moves from direct to indirect democracy because the Founders didn’t
trust the will of everyday people.
● The Three-Fifths Compromise is an agreement added to the Constitution that would
count each enslaved person as three-fifths of a white person for purposes of
representation in the House of Representatives.
○ The Constitution outlawed international slave trade as per 1808.
● Article I of the Constitution
○ Legislative
○ Bill of Attainder Clause - Congress cannot pass a law that singles out a person
for punishment without trial.
○ Commerce clause - Congress can regulate trade between nations, between states,
and among Indian tribes.
■ Art 1 Sec 8
○ Contracts clause - No state can interfere with the execution of contracts.
○ Ex Post Facto Clause - Congress cannot pass a law that punishes a person
retroactively, i.e., after the fact. In other words, a person cannot be punished for
something he/she did that was not a crime when committed.
○ Necessary and Proper Clause aka Elastic Clause- Congress can exercise powers
not specifically stated in the Constitution if those powers are "necessary and
proper" for carrying out its expressed powers that are specifically stated
■ Art 1 sec 8
● Article II of the Constitution
○ Executive
● Article III of the Constitution
○ Judicial
● Article V of the Constitution
○ Describes the process for amending the Constitution; the federal government
could add amendments which had to be ratified by three-fourths of states
○ The congressional proposal method is a means to amend the Constitution in
which two-thirds of both chambers of Congress must propose an amendment
which then must be ratified by three-fourths of state conventions or state
legislatures.
○ The convention method is a means to amend the Constitution in which two-thirds
of states ask Congress to organize a convention in which an amendment is
proposed that must be ratified by three-fourths of state conventions or state
legislatures.
● Article VI of the Constitution
○ Debts would be paid
■ The US borrowed money to pay for the Revolutionary War and wanted to
establish that this new nation would pay the debts of the old. It was
important to establish themselves as accountable and trustworthy.
○ No religious tests for office
■ Connected to idea of separation of Church and State
■ Wanted to avoid system of Test Acts in England
○ Establishes the Constitution as the Supreme Law of the Land, Supremacy Clause
■ The Constitution prevails over any other kind of law in a conflict,
including state and federal law. It is the pinnacle of American democracy.
● Resistance occurs when states argue that their actions don’t violate
the Constitution because the justices exercise incorrect
interpretation
● Article VII of the Constitution
○ In order for the conditions of the Constitution to become law, 9 states must ratify
it
○ Bill of Right promised to ensure ratification
○ Anti-feds said this was illegal; full consent needed to amend articles
○ Constitution wanted conventions > legislatures to ratify
○ The Federalists were pro-Constitution
■ Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay wrote essays called
The Federalist Papers encouraging states to adopt the Constitution
■ Believed that the Articles weren't working and the federal government
lacked power
○ The Anti-Federalists were anti-Constitution
■ Patrick Henry and Samuel Adams
■ Believed that repairing the Articles wasn’t urgent, the Constitution puts
too much power in the nation government, it was too elitist, and the federal
government would use the vague phrases in the Constitution to seize more
power
Principles of American government
● Separation of Powers: The Framers of the US Constitution structured the government so
that the three branches - legislative, executive, and judicial - have separate powers. The
branches must both cooperate and compete to enact policy.
○ Legislative branch: pass laws, declare war, impeach president and judges, approve
presidential appointments, ratify treaties, levy taxes, establish the number of
Supreme Court justices, regulate the Supreme Court’s jurisdiction
○ Executive branch: veto legislation, command armed forces, grant pardons,
appoints judges, ambassadors, and department heads, conduct foreign affairs and
negotiate treaties
○ Judicial branch: declare laws unconstitutional, hear cases on federal law, preside
over impeachment trials, declare presidential acts unconstitutional
● Checks and balances: Each of the branches has the power to check the other two, which
ensures that no one branch can become too powerful and that government as a whole is
constrained.
○ The President can veto legislation, but Congress can impeach the President.
○ The President can nominate judges, but the Supreme Court can declare
presidential acts unconstitutional.
○ The Supreme Court can declare laws unconstitutional, but Congress can impeach
judges.
● Federalist 51
○ James Madison, 1787
○ Defends system of checks and balances in the Constitution and advocates for
separation of powers
■ The power of each branch of government checks that of the other two and
depends on the people
○ Reflection on human nature: “if men were angels, no government would be
necessary”
○ Government must first control the governed, then itself
○ Republican government can check power of factions and tyranny of the majority
■ Authority derived from diverse society
○ Checks and balances preserve liberty by ensuring justice
● This structure ensures that the people’s will is represented by allowing citizens multiple
access points to influence public policy, and permitting the removal of officials who
abuse their power.
○ Government officials who commit crimes or abuse the power of their office may
face impeachment, indictment as determined by a majority vote of the House of
Representative. The Senate then decides conviction and removal from office by a
2/3 supermajority, or acquit them.
○ A stakeholder is a person with an interest or a concern in a political issue.
The relationship between states and the federal government
● Federalism describes the system of shared governance between national and state
governments.
○ The federalist system emerged because the states evolved from separate colonies,
which had diverse populations and different needs. The Framers envisioned that
the state governments would be responsible for the day-to-day operation of
citizens.
○ Layer or Dual Federalism
■ Views the Constitution as giving a limited list of powers - primarily
foreign policy and national defense - to the national government, leaving
the rest to the sovereign states. Each level of government is dominant
within its own sphere. The Supreme Court serves as the umpire between
the national government and the states in disputes over which level of
government has responsibility for a particular activity.
○ Marble or Cooperative Federalism
■ Developed during the New Deal and characterized by the federal
government becoming more intrusive in what was traditionally states'
powers.
○ Fiscal Federalism
■ Through different grant programs, slices up the marble cake into many
different pieces, making it even more difficult to differentiate the functions
of the levels of government.
○ New Federalism or Devolution
■ The effort to slow the growth of the federal government by returning many
functions to the states
● Article IV of the Constitution
○ Establishes the responsibilities of the states to each other and the responsibilities
of the federal government toward the states.
○ Section 1: states must honor each other’s decisions and legal judgments (“full
faith and credit clause” → a marriage in one state is valid in another)
○ Section 2: states can’t treat newcomers worse than their own citizens (“privileges
and immunities clause”)
○ Also promises states the protection of the federal government. It does this by
promising to defend states against invasion, guaranteeing them a republican form
of government, and barring the federal government from splitting up a state
without the consent of its legislature and Congress.
● The states and the federal government have both exclusive and concurrent powers,
which help to explain the negotiation over the balance of power between them.
○ Exclusive powers are those powers reserved to the federal government or the
states.
○ Delegated powers - powers of federal government
○ Reserved powers - powers for the states and people
○ Concurrent powers are powers shared by the federal government and the states.
○ Exclusive federal powers - coining money, regulating interstate and foreign
commerce, regulating the mail, declaring war, raising armies, conducting foreign
affairs, establishing inferior courts, establishing rules of naturalization
○ Concurrent powers - taxation, lawmaking and enforcement, chartering banks and
corporations, taking land for public use (eminent domain), establishing courts,
borrowing money
○ Exclusive state powers - conducting elections, establishing local governments,
providing for public safety, health, and welfare, maintaining militia, ratifying
Constitutional amendments
● The federal government can encourage the adoption of policies at the state-level through
federal aid programs.
○ Since the Civil War in the 1860s, the federal government’s powers have
overlapped and intertwined with state powers (Great Depression). But states have
also pushed back (US v. Lopez)
○ Categorical grants from the federal government can only be used for specific
purposes, and frequently include nondiscrimination provisions.
○ Mandates are unfunded federal requirements that states or local governments
meet a specific condition in order to receive federal aid.
■ For example, the National Minimum Drinking Act of 1984 stipulated that
states must have a minimum drinking age of 21 in order to receive full
federal highway funding.
○ Block grants are federal grants given to states or localities for broad purposes.
The state or local governments can then disburse those funds as they see fit.
○ Federal revenue sharing is the practice of sharing federal income tax revenue
with state and local governments.
Constitutional interpretations of federalism
● The commerce clause is in Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution and gives Congress
the power to regulate interstate commerce (buying and selling of goods across state lines).
● The necessary and proper clause also known as the Elastic Clause is in Article I,
Section 8 of the Constitution and gives Congress the power to create laws that they find
“necessary and proper” for performing their constitutional responsibilities/enumerated
powers.
● Enumerated powers (also called expressed powers, explicit powers or delegated powers)
are powers of the federal government that are explicitly named in the Constitution.
● Implied powers are powers of the federal government that are not explicitly named in the
Constitution but are implied so that the federal government can carry out its enumerated
powers.
● The 9th Amendment states that rights not enumerated in the Constitution belong to the
people.
● The 10th Amendment stipulates that all powers not delegated to the federal government
or prohibited to the states are reserved to the states or the people.
○ Reserved Powers Clause
● The 14th Amendment grants citizenship, equal protection, and due process under the
law to all people born in the United States.
○ Due Process Clause: “nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or
property, without due process of law” is applicable to STATES
○ Equal Protection Clause: “not shall any state ... deny to any person within its
jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws”
● McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
○ Confirmed the supremacy of the national government over the state government
■ Supremacy clause
○ In 1818, Maryland taxed the Second Bank of the United States
○ The Baltimore Branch Cashier McCulloch refused to pay
○ McCulloch brought to case to the Supreme Court, which 1) overturned the ruling
of a lower Court claiming the Bank was unconstitutional by citing the necessary
and proper clause (art 1, sec 8) and 2) said that Maryland couldn’t interfere with
congressional powers
● US v. Lopez (1995)
○ Limited national power in favor of state power; Congress may not use the
commerce clause to make possession of a gun in a school zone a federal crime
○ First case since 1937 in which the Court maintained that Congress had exceeded
its power under the commerce clause
○ High school student Lopez carried concealed weapon on school grounds and was
charged under federal law, the Gun Free Schools Zones Act of 1990
○ The Court ruled this act was unconstitutional because it exceeded the powers of
the commerce clause
Federalism in Action
● Public Policy
○ Agenda setting (i.e. identifying issues)
○ Policy formulation
○ Policy adoption/legitimization
○ Policy implementation
○ Policy assessment