Unit 1: Foundations of American Democracy

Types of Democracy

3 Versions of Representative Democracy

1. Pluralist model

2. Representative (participatory) democracy

3. Elite model

Direct Democracy

• Doesn’t exist at a national/federal level, but does exist at the state level

Participatory Democracy

• Emphasizes participation in political & civil society

• Majority rule concept

• Examples

  • Social movements such as BLM, Wall Street, protests, abortions

  • Interest group activism in general

  • Brutus No. 1 (“people power”)

Pluralist

• Emphasizes interest groups & political parties making decisions

• Citizens hold power & successfully advance their concerns

• Interest group activism (blurry line to separate pluralism vs participatory)

• Rejects the idea that any single group is capable of gaining so much power that it dominates all important forms of political decision making

• A form of participation that citizens can get involved in

• Robert Dahl’s “Who Governs” (A pluralist theory)

• Examples

  • Federalist No. 10 → interest groups are factions

  • Democrats vs Republicans

  • Pro & anti lobby

Elite

• Limited role of the people (a distrust in the people & a need of a “filter”)

• Society is separated between class lines and those with wealth rule

  • Produces a plutocracy

• Causes voter apathy bc the general people feel their vote lacks value compared to the rich

• C Wright Mills Model

  • Top Leaders: corporate, political, military

  • Middle Level: Congress, other legislators, interest-group leaders

  • Lowest: Mass of the people - unorganized, exploited, and uninterested

Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, & Montesquieu View on Democracy

Context: Enlightenment & political philosophers are debating on a way of government

• All 4 of these were influential to the DofI and our US Constitution

How are democratic ideals reflected in the DofI & US Constitution?

• Limited government, natural rights + social contract, popular sovereignty, republicanism, rule of law

Thomas Hobbes

• Believes in absolute rule/power & people were naturally brutish, selfish, & greedy

  • People aren’t particularly bad, but self-interest > government for people

• Creates an ideal national government w/ a lot more power

• After Shay’s Rebellion, they figured the AoC doesn’t work & they need to create something more “Hobbesian”

• Similar governments exist today around the world (dictatorships)

• “It’s not wisdom but authority that makes the law”

• Only a powerful government can ensure an orderly society → shaped by his encounters with the English CWs

• Social Contract (implied agreement) between people & rulers

  • People agree to give the rule a lot of power over them to establish law & order & they will not revolt to pursue life interests

  • “The rule of law” - citizens must obey laws of the government chosen

John Locke

• Ideas were a MAJOR influence over Thomas Jefferson & the values reflected in the DofI

• Natural rights

  • Major idea of Locke in the DofI

  • All people are born w/ the natural rights of life, liberty, and property

  • TJ in the DofI

    • “Property” = “pursuit of happiness”

    • “Natural rights” = “unalienable rights”

    • Unalienable rights: fundamental rights you are born w/ & given by God which government can’t take away

• Social Contract between people & government

  • The people agree to obey the gov AS LONG AS they protect their natural rights

  • If the government abuses natural rights, they’ve broken agreement & people have the power to revolt

    • Basically an example of the American Revolution

    • Very different from Hobbes

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

• Believes in power of the people [deciding issues]

• Social contract

  • People are given the opportunity to participate in government (direct democracy)

  • People give up self interest for the people’s interest (general will of the people)

• “The general will is always right” → general will = people will [POPULAR SOVEREIGNTY]

• Wants people to govern themselves entirely & exercise power in the national interest

  • Example: referendum in Kansas on abortion last summer (Kansas’ Constitution - each state has one)

• Key Ideas: majority rule principle & popular sovereignty advocate

Montesquieu

• Identified 3 types of government power (each w/ a piece of power)

  • Legislative, Executive, Judicial

  • Prevents 1 branch from becoming too powerful protecting individual rights

Declaration of Independence

Context: a balance between governmental power & individual rights has been a hallmark of American political development

• Balance has been thrown off in the past during…

  • Times of war

    • Ex: Lincoln’s suspension of writ of habeas corpus (CW), Korematsu

  • Economic Crisis

    • Ex: New Deal

Democratic Ideals & Values reflected in the DofI (an aspiration document)

• “All men are created equal” → John Locke

  • All men are given fundamental rights at birth; a powerful nation for equality for all Americans but not everyone had life, liberty, & pursuit of happiness (like the poor, blacks, and women)

• “Unalienable rights” - can’t be taken away by government

• DofI provides a foundation for popular sovereignty → Rousseau & Locke

  • Government is instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed

• Locke & Jefferson reject…divine right of kings 

  • They support…social contract approach (if you violate rights, you break it)

• Revolutionary Ideas

  • Revolution = dramatic change

  • Government of royal prerogative rejected (despite being present all around the world) & it requires consent of the governed (popular sovereignty)

  • Political power can’t be exercised on the basis of tradition, but only as a result of a direct grant of power WRITTEN IN the constitution

  • Human liberty existed before government, therefore must be recognized

Influence of DofI on the US Constitution (binding)

• Ideals of the DofI transferred to the Constitution in the Bill of Rights

• We the people give consent for … elections/voting

• Bill of Rights essentially tries to prevent abuse of rights by government

• How does the Constitution address griences of the DofI?

  • “The king has absolute power” → separation of powers (Montesquieu)

  • Homes search w/o warrant → 4th amendment & “probable cause”

  • No trials by jury → right to trial by jury of peers (5th, 6th, 7th)

• 5th amendment guarantees no citizen be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law

  • BUT, under certain circumstances, natural rights can be taken away such as jail (had to have fair proceeding)

• 5th & 14th amendment both refer to life, liberty, and property clause in DofI

  • 14th: no STATE can deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law → no state gov abuse

• Due process rights: elements of fairness & the defendant must know

  • The right to appeal to trial decision if you feel something’s untrue

Articles of Confederation (technically 1st Constitution)

Context: the Constitution emerged from the debate about weaknesses in the AoC as a blueprint for limited government

• Only so much power is given to government & the rest is given to states (10th amendment)

Flaws

• Too weak (couldn’t enforce it’s own laws)

• Referred to as a “league of friendship”

• State sovereignty → each state though of themselves as 13 independent republics w/ their own constitutions

  • Only might work together for war

Triggering incident…Shay’s Rebellion (Hobbesian nightmare)

Why was the AoC so weak? Fear of Britain’s tyranny → but overdid it

• They’re trying to figure out a national government that has enough power to do its job effectively, but not too much to where it abuses power of the people

Constitutional Convention

• Madison is the “brains” behind the Constitutional Convention (like TJ w/ DofI)

• No intention to overthrow gov, just create an alternative

  • Parts of the Articles were placed in the Constitution

  • Only went into effect if 9/13 states ratified

• Madison proposed 3 branches in which each kept each other in check

  • Complicated so no one branch holds all power

• Almost made making laws difficult

Philosophical Issues in making the Constitution

• Which should have more power: States or national government?

  • Federalism

• How can the new nation avoid a return to tyranny?

  • Separation of powers & checks and balances

• What system of government will best protect the rights of people?

  • Republican form of government w/ factions & Bill of Rights 

  • Pluralist system of representative democracy

The Constitution

• Creates a limited government that preserves state power & protects individual liberty

• Creates an elite form of representative democracy

  • 13 people, 1 from each state, given power to make laws (chosen by state legislature)

• Reinforces DOI’s democratic principles

  • Popular sovereignty (republicanism) & natural rights (limited government)

Drafting the Constitution

Key Conflicts in the Constitutional Convention

• Strong central gov vs strong states

• Large vs small states (political power & policymaking power)

• North vs South

Great Compromise

• Creates a bicameral legislature

  • Senate (equal - NJ) vs House of Representatives (proportional - VA)

• An internal check on legislature (Madison) → both must sign off

  • Legislative is so powerful b/c they have the power to make laws

  • Requires coalition building & compromise

3/5th Compromise

• 5 slaves counts as 3 people for taxation & representation purposes

• Big problems that won’t go away

6 BASIC PRINCIPLES OF THE US CONSTITUTION

• Popular sovereignty

• Limited government (limited to Constitution)

• Separation of powers (3 branches)

• Checks & balances (Federalist 51)

• Judicial review

• Federalism (state + national)

Advantages of a federal system

• Federalism can protect liberty

• Dividing up government power makes those who have power less dangerous

Purpose of the Constitution

1. Establish legitimacy → “WE” made it legitimate (ratification)

2. Create Appropriate Structure → 3 branches of government (AoC had 1), federalism (delegated vs reserved powers)

3. Describe & distribute power → separation of powers

4. Limit government power → denying Congress & state powers

5. Allow for change (IMPORTANT) → amendment process (elasticity)

Federalist Essays No. 10 & No. 51

Purpose: to try to explain how the proposed Constitutional system would work, persuade state governments to ratify, and address concerns of Antifederalists → need 9/13 to ratify

• Writing to Anti-Feds, but specifically to state legislatures

Federalist Essay No. 10 - PLURALIST

• Tries to alleviate concerns that political parties will take over government

• Don’t ban factions, bc that’s a liberty (of thought & speech) that we fought for

  • But we can, through the republican style government (representatives), reduce the risks of evils of factions by making a large republic filled w/ interests

• NOT all interest groups have equal amounts of influence

  • But no one group always dominates all leaders of power

• Ex: NRA has a lot of influence on gun laws nationally, but some states have lenient gun laws bc the NRA doesn’t have much influence on a local level

• Protects liberty & reduces the risk of factions

  • Opposing factions show legislatures all views (vital information through studies to persuade lawmakers)

Federalist Essay No. 51 

• “Promote tranquility, law & order” → Hobbesian (Constitution)

• Separation of powers & checks are safeguards to prevent federal government being too powerful

• Constitution is to serve the people

• Multiple access points of [policymaking] power in both federal & state government

• “If men were angels, no government would be necessary” → Hobbesian

  • Men will get greedy, so checks are designed to prevent monopolized power (limited gov)

• Ex: re-election of presidents, governors, etc.

• Strongest branch must be checked…bicameral legislature

  • Makes better public policy bc it requires competition by both factions

Articles in the Constitution

1. Article I: Powers of Congress (Legislative)

2. Article II: Powers of President (Executive)

3. Article III: Powers of Supreme Court & Federal Judges (Judicial)

4. Article IV: The States

5. Article V: Amendments

6. Article VI: Supremacy Clause

7. Article VII: Ratification

Brutus No. 1 - PARTICIPATORY

• Central gov has too much power → should be w/ the states

• Anti-Federalist POV

• Power should be closest to the people therefore should be done at a local level

• In the past, only small republics have worked so a large one wouldn’t

• State power will be consumed

  • Reality: most power & laws are delivered for states

• Sees Supremacy & N+P Clases as a way to dissolve state power

• Threatens personal liberty because of such a large government

FEDERALISM

Federalism limits government by creating 2 sovereign powers - the national & state governments - thereby restraining the influence of both.

Why keep the states? The “History Principle” at work

• Each state already had their own gov & constitution and they wanted to hold onto power and autonomy over local matters

Key Takeaways

1. National policy making is constrained by the sharing of power between & among the 3 branches of federal & state gov

• The national government can fund & suggest laws for states & they agree

2. The federal gov & state gov interact through the use of block grants, categorical grants, and mandates to influence the policy of state government and reach certain goals [COOPERATIVE FEDERALISM]

Reserved Powers → 10th amendment says powers not given to the federal gov are given to states

Police Powers - vast powers given to states

• Powers exercised by the states to enact legislation & promulgate regulations to protect health, welfare, and morals, and to promote the common good

• Ex: each state requires children to have vaccinations before going to school, COVID-19

Dynamic Federalism: relationship between national & state governments has progressed over time (Brutus predicted)

STAGES OF FEDERALISM

Dual Federalism: “layer cake”; power is specifically divided between national & state governments

• Power slowly but greatly increased especially around the Civil War when people looked to the federal government for slave debates

• Ex: US Constitution

Cooperative Federalism: “marble cake”; national, state, and local gov work together to solve problems

• Marked by FDR’s New Deal

• Ex. New Deal Acts (NIRA, Social Security, etc.)

Regulated Federalism: gov sets up mandates that states must follow

• Ex: Medicare & Medicaid

Devolution: power is shifted back to states (70s)

• Block Grants

New Federalism

• Dates back to the 70s by Nixon - revenue sharing [no longer exists]

  • Loved by states (way more than block grants)

  • States could do whatever with the money

  • Gave states more POWER, more AUTONOMY, more DISCRETION

• Morphed into block grants under Reagan & Bush → DEVOLUTION REVOLUTION

• Congress passed legislation to impose unfunded mandates

• Ex: Unfunded Mandates Act

• Ex: Welfare Reform Act in 90s

  • Puts cap on # of years you are eligible for welfare dollars

  • Gets people back in the workforce & supporting themselves

  • US v Lopez case → another example of SCOTUS returning more power to states pursuing to their police powers

Enumerated/delegated powers: directly written in the Constitution 

Implied powers: not directly written in the Constitution

Judicial Review: SCOTUS interpreting the Constitution

3 Constitutional provisions interpreted to expand federal power:

1. Necessary + Proper Clause - McCulloch case

2. Commerce Clause - Gibbons & Lopez case

3. Supremacy Clause - McCulloch case

ALL CASES EXPAND POWER EXCEPT LOPEZ

McCulloch v MD (1819)

• Congress has implied powers & can establish a national bank → N&P

• Related to enumerated powers like borrowing & coining money

  • If Congress feels a national bank is necessary to implement it’s powers, it’s okay

• National gov holds power to tax, so the state can’t tax the bank → SUPREMACY

  • Since it’s a national bank, they can’t, but if it was a state bank, they could

Gibbons v. Ogden

• Only the federal gov has the power to regulate interstate commerce

  • Issue of Interpretation: What constitutes interstate commerce?

• Gave Congress the authority to regulate intrastate commerce if it affects interstate

• CC interpretation after Gibbons

  • B4, narrow view of scope of commerce

  • Under Sherman Antitrust act, manufacturing was a local activity (Congress couldn’t regulate)

  • Federal Child Labor Act overturned concerning child labor issues (local decision)

  • Efforts by Congress to regulate the economy via the commerce clause stuck down by SCOTUS

  • Efforts to regulate local workplace constituted an attempt to exercise “police powers” which are reserved to the states

Post-New Deal

• Federal gov power greatly expands over states

• Broad interpretation of Commerce Clause

• US v. Lopez: ruled gun possession doesn’t affect interstate commerce, so congressional power is still LIMITED

  • Narrow interpretation - directly affects

• SCOTUS has gone back & forth on how it interprets the commerce clause

Mandates: unfunded or funded requirements by the federal government imposed on states to do

• Ex: Americans with Disabilities Act - unfunded, but required public buildings to have accommodations for those with disabilities

  • No child left behind act - unfunded, but required schools to give standardized tests

  • Clean Air Act (unfunded)

Block Grants: blocks of $ given to states to promote a general policy goal (states love this)

• More AUTONOMY & DISCRETION

• Emerged in 80s + 90s as part of New Federalism

• Ex: “You can spend on healthcare”

VS

Categorical Grants: “strings attached”; money given, but must be spent on a specific policy stated by the federal gov

• Ex: “You can only spend on medicare”

Advantages of Federalism

• MULTIPLE ACCESS POINTS for political participation (local, state, and federal) → Federalist 51

• States can make policies for their unique needs (like weather)

• States can make policy in absence of national consensus (ex: abortion)

• Federal gov can make unified policy for everyone to follow

• States can be LABORATORIES OF DEMOCRACY

  • Great Examples: weed experiments throughout US - medicinal & same-sex marriage

Full Faith & Credit Clause

• States must respect each other’s laws

• Ex: license transfers in each state

• Problem: If one state has a law that is not passed in another, do they have to comply? (same-sex marriage)

  • Defense of Marriage Act gave states rights not to recognize same-sex status of married couples in other states

    • Later nullified by Obergefell v Hodges which said marriage was legal no matter the sex

Gonzales v. Raich

• Increased the commerce clause by regulating intrastate manufacturing since it affected interstate commerce