1.1

American Government and Politics

Objective: Describe the balance between governmental power and individual rights.

Intro to Rights

• politics: the process of influencing the actions and policies of the government

  • government: rules and institutions that make up a system of policy-making

• individuals use political tools to secure and exert rights

• the american system of government is complex and balances competing rights

1.2

American Political Culture

Objective: Describe American political culture.

Declaration of Independence

• declaration of independence (1776): foundation of american republic; drew on ideas of liberty and government from great britain and enlightenment

  • preamble: sets the stage for the constitution

  • argument: claimed that british government was “no longer legitimate”

  • definition of citizens’ rights: listed as rights to life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness

  • list of grievances: the many offenses to american colonists (taxes, quartering act, virtual representation, etc.)

  • declaration of freedom: conclusion to document declaring america free from great britain

• democracy: power is held by the people

• influences on declaration of independence:

  • john locke: english enlightenment philosopher

    • natural rights: right to life, liberty, and property, which the government cannot take away

    • social contract: people allow government to rule over them to ensure an orderly and functioning society

    • if government breaks the social contract by violating rights, the people have the right to replace the unjust government with a just one

  • baron de montesquieu: french enlightenment leader

    • proposed that power in government should be divided into branches so no one branch has too much power

  • david hume: scottish enlightenment thinker

    • believed government should be designed to keep the greedy and ambitious from using political power to their own advantage

• american political culture: the set of beliefs, customs, traditions, and values that americans share

  • rodgers smith: contemporary political scientist; argued that contradictions existed in political culture

    • ex. racism and misogyny were commonplace, but the government was designed to be “fair to all”

  • american political culture values popular sovereignty, natural rights, and republicanism

Popular Sovereignty and Republicanism

• sovereignty: right of a government to rule

  • ex. monarchies, divine right, leadership of elite group

  • popular sovereignty: the idea that the government’s right to rule comes from the people

• republicanism: the authority of the government comes from the people

  • representative government replaced direct democracy

  • citizens vote for representatives to assert their interests in the national policy-making process

    • reps are held accountable in free and fair elections to serve their terms:

      • u.s. house of reps: 2 years

      • u.s. senator: 6 years

      • president: 4 years

Inalienable Rights

• inalienable rights: rights the government cannot take away (life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness)

  • just system of political rule will protect these rights (rights compromised = unjust government)

Two Visions of Liberty

• liberty: social, political, and economic freedom; foundational american idea expressed in declaration of independence

• two visions of liberty: the differing interpretations of liberty

  • freedom to exercise rights (ex. students claim to have the right to explore their faith by establishing a church club)

  • freedom from enforced policies (ex. other students might have freedom risked from the school system supporting a specific religious affiliation over nonreligious beliefs)

Pursuit of Happiness and American Dream

• american dream: the belief that individuals should be able to achieve their goals through hard work, sacrifice, and their own talents

  • supported by jefferson’s mentioning of the “pursuit of happiness”

Religion and American Political Culture

• religious traditions have helped shape american political culture

  • ex. many of the earliest british colonies were founded by religious groups fleeing persecution

• america is still a nation partly defined by religious faith and expression (even though it has become less apparent in recent times)

1.3

Competing Theories of Democracy

Objective: Explain and compare models of representative democracy.

Participatory Democratic Theory

• participatory democracy: a theory that widespread political participation is essential for democratic government

• civil society groups: independent associations outside the government’s control; joined to participate in democracy

  • robert putnam: author that wrote “ bowling alone: the collapse and revival of the american community”

    • book emphasized that there is a decline in civil society in america; same amount of groups are being formed but less “leagues” are being joined

    • he argued that fewer americans are participating in in civil society and are becoming less exposed to diversity (which promotes working for the common good)

Pluralist Theory

• pluralist theory: a theory that emphasizes the role of groups in the policy-making process

• groups could influence the government by:

  • contacting government officials

  • donating to campaigns

  • filing lawsuits

  • etc

• pluralists argue that groups could lack in one resource (ex. money) and still have other resources (ex. large number of members)

• pluralists think policy-making is complex and results from bargaining and compromise

Elitist Theory

• elitist theory: a theory that the elites have a disproportionate amount of influence in the policy-making process

  • small minority with economic power dominates politics

  • elected officials are too heavily influenced by wealthy interest groups

  • elite theorists are concerned with the growing income gap in america

    • top 1% have too much influence in politics and benefit far more from lax government and tax exemptions

• critics of theory argue that less wealthy and smaller groups can still participate in other ways (ex. filing lawsuits, encouraging members to vote, etc.)

1.4

Institutions, Systems, and Power

Objective: Describe a constitutional republic.

• devising a system of government requires 2 questions to be answered:

  • how much power will the government have?

  • how will political power be distributed?

• depending on answers, governments can be formed differently:

  • totalitarian: have no limitations on their power

  • authoritarian: suppress the voices of their citizens, but may not have some economic or social institutions under governmental control (government doesn’t exert total control over citizens’ lives)

  • u.s. constitution: establishes constitutional republic as system of government in america

    • constitutional republic: a democratic system with elected representatives to carry out citizens’ interests and which the constitution is the supreme law

• political institutions: the structure of government (including executive, judiciary, and legislature)

  • u.s. constitution forms basis for nation’s political institutions and government

• constitution limits power of national government to protect americans’ fundamental rights

  • constitution also establishes that sovereignty comes from the people

  • giving the national government power to maintain order runs risk of oppressing the citizens

    • americans elect representatives to prevent this

• america is too big to vote directly (representative democracy in place)