AMERICAN POLITICAL
SYSTEM
LECTURE 1
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OBJECTIVES OF THE COURSE – THE IMPORTANCE OF US POLITICS
– AN INSTITUTIONAL APPROACH PLUS
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ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES TO THE STUDY OF US:
- 1940-1965 SELF CONGRATULATORY
- 1966 -1980 RADICAL/CRITICAL
- 1981-1993 FUNCTIONAL/CRITICAL
- 1994 – 2001 CRISIS OF PUBLIC EXPECTATIONS
- 2001 – INTERNATIONAL CRISIS AND UNCERTAINTY
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BUT CONSISTENCIES THROUGHOUT:
- POLITICAL FRAGMENTATION – SEPARATION OF POWERS;PLURALISM
- ‘IT’S THE ECONOMY STUPID’ – ECONOMY USUALLY TRUMPS OTHER ISSUES
- CONFUSION OVER WORLD ROLE – DOMESTIC CONSENSUS IS RARE
- US AS A MELTING POT- RACE AND IMMIGRATION ALWAYS MAJOR ISSUES
LECTURE 2
SOCIETY AND ECONOMY
• 1. SIZE: July 2010 310,162.151 (est),
distribution: moving west and south, to suburbs,
edge cities, bi-coastal
• 2. IMMIGRATION: 10.4 per 1000 pop in 19011910 now about 3.7 per 1000 (over 9 million per
year)
Origins away from Europe towards L. America
Laws 1924; 1929; 1965; recent failures
Politicisation of issue
Society, and Economy
• 3. AGEING, 1950: 29; 2000:37.3, 2050: 45.5 international
perspective
• 4. SOCIAL STRUCTURE
>65% white collar
<2% farmers
Obsolescence of old categories
• 5. RACE AND ETHNICITY (slide)
Political cleavages
Recent Changes
• 6. RELIGION (slide)
The Creedal Passion
• 7. Gender
Family structure; women in labour force; # women working;
incomes, gender gap
Distribution of U.S. Population by
Race/Ethnicity, 2010 and 2050
2010
Total = 310.2 million
2050
Total = 439.0 million
NOTES: All racial groups non-Hispanic. Data do not include residents of Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, or the Northern Marina Islands.
Totals may not add to 100%.
SOURCE: Kaiser Family Foundation, based on http://www.census.gov/population/www/projections/downloadablefiles.html U.S. Census Bureau,
2008, Projected Population by Single Year of Age, Sex, Race, and Hispanic Origin for the United States: July 1, 2000 to July 1, 2050.
Religious Affiliation US, 2010
Views on evolution and climate
change
Labour force participation rates
by race
Wome’s earnings as % of men’s
Women’s share of Labour force
1970-2010
Society and Economy
• 8. POVERTY
Trends
• 9. HEALTH
% GDP, 4 categories: private, HMOs,
Government, uninsured - but 2010 reforms
• 10.CLASS
Subjective v. objective social class
Fragmentation?
Recent Trends
Lecture 3: Beliefs and Values
• 1. Origins of beliefs – the Civic Culture
and beyond
• 2. US Beliefs and values
a) individualism and self reliance
- economic versus cultural self reliance
b) Freedom or liberty
- notable exceptions
c) Equality
- of condition
- of opportunity
- of esteem
- of rights
d) Democracy
- majoritarian values
- referenda, initiatives, recalls
e) Rule of Law
- enforcement of contracts
- civic trust
- exceptions
LECTURE 3: CONSTITUTIONAL
GOVERNMENT
• 1.ORIGINS AND INFLUENCES OF INDEPENDENCE
- localism
- individualism
- benign colonial rule
- ‘illegitimate colonial power.’
- role of the mob
• 2. EVENTS
- 1774 Continental Congress
- 1775 fighting in Mass. Seizure of colonial govts
- 1775-82 War of Independence
- 1776 Declaration of Independence
• 3. TWO CONSTITUTIONS
- 1781 Articles of Confederation
powers and weaknesses
- 1787, 55 delegates in Philadelphia
Constitution of the United States
• 4. INFLUENCES
- social contract – Locke, Hobbes
- separation powers – Montesquieu
- fear of majority rule, of factions and of
a strong executive
- federalism
• 5. THE GREAT COMPROMISE
- NJ Plan; Virginia Plan
- detailed provisions – Connecticut Compromise
• 6. RATIFICATION
- 9 of 13 states
- Bill of Rights
• 7. CHANGES TO CONSTITUTION
- amendments – only 17 after 1791
changes to elections and representation;
changes to powers of federal government
- interpretation – role of federal government, executive,
Supreme Court, protection of rights
The Virginia Plan
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Branches
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Three - legislative, executive, and judicial. The legislature was more powerful, as it chose people to serve in the
executive and judicial branches.
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Legislature
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Two houses (bicameral). The House of Representatives was elected by the people and the Senate was elected by
the state legislatures. Both were represented proportionally.
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Other
Powers
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The legislature could regulate interstate trade, strike down laws deemed unconstitutional and use armed forces to
enforce laws.
The New Jersey Plan
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Branches
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Three - legislative, executive, and judicial. The legislature appoints people to serve in the executive branch, and
the executive branch selects the justices of the Supreme Court.
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Legislature
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One house (unicameral). States would be represented equally, so all states had the same power.
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Other
Powers
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The national government could levy taxes and import duties, regulate trade, and state laws would be subordinate
to laws passed by the national legislature.
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• 8. ASSESSMENT
- changes to USA
- separation of powers
- US World role
- federalism
- political fragmentation
LECTURE 5: FEDERALISM
• 1. What is federalism
- compared with unitary and confederal
- conception of dual sovereignty
• 2. Advantages and disadvantages of
federalism:
- protection of minorities, but….
- heterogeneity, but…..
- experimental policy ground, but….
- bad features isolated, but….
- government closer to people, but….
• 3. Evolution of American Federalism – 6
stages
a. Slavery, the bank and the tariff, 17901865
b. Reconstruction and the new federal
bargain, 1865 – 1932
c. The New deal and its aftermath, 19331964 – the rise of federal power
d. The states in retreat, 1964-1980
e. Retrenchment, 1981-2001
f. Federal power resurgent? 2001 -
• 4. Conclusions
Political parties
• 1. the nature of US political parties
a. Structure and organisation
b. Ideological spread – why
no socialists?
c. Why only two parties?
- institutional obstacles
- societal/ideological obstacles
LECTURE 8: POLITICAL PARTIES
• 2. Development
a. Jeffersonian to 1824
b. Jacksonian, and after 1824-1860
c. Civil war, reconstruction and
sectionalism, 1860-1890
d. Populism, progressivism and the
Republican majority, 1890-1908
e. The New Deal coalition, 1932-1968
f. Party decline and fragmentation, 1969-1980s
g. 1980s- date
• 3. Significance of the changes
- Anger – cause and effect
- Effects on radical change – 2 periods
- Puts premium on individual candidates
- Quality of governance, oversight,
accountability
AMERICAN POLITICAL SYSTEM:
INTEREST GROUPS
• A: Theories of interest group power
1. Populist – big interests v. small players
constant theme but popular in populist/
progressive eras. (Justice)
2. Pluralism – balancing concept
(Truman, Dahl), systems analysis.
(equality)
3. Radical critique Mills, Domhoff. (Inequality)
4. Overload – interest group liberalism;
rational choice approaches. (efficiency)
• B. Rise of interest group activity.
Why?
1. access to institutions; changes in
institutions
2. Role of media – information
revolution
3. Freedom of information
4. Globalization
• C. Rise and decline of particular groups
- Labour
- Agriculture
- Business – large and small
- Advocacy groups – professional
and cause
- Foreign lobbies
- Public interest organizations
- Public interests and special interests –
definitional and political problems
• D. Political Action Committees (PACs)
for and against
• E. Conclusions
THE MASS MEDIA
• 1. STRUCTURE
a) TV and radio
The big 3 ABC, CBS, NBC plus Fox
CNN plus many other cable channels
PBS
Radio similar but….
Regulation FCC, ownership diverse
But 1996 Television Communication Act
• B) The Press
Localised
Declining readership
Opinion and editorial
Conservatism
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Internet
70% plus penetration
• 2. NEWS, BIAS AND POLITICAL
INFLUENCE
a) TV. Local biases in local stations
Balance and big 3, but… Fox
Changes in news content; dominant
themes; trivialization
Political influence – what is not said
b) Press. Republican bias, but
local variations are declining
Political influence – reinforcing theory
c) Internet
Self selection of news and bias
Political influence -only 5/6% of hits
are political, but can make a
difference – Howard Dean
• 3. Censorship and control
1st Amendment freedoms
But self censorship, conformity, privileged
position of business
McCarthyism, Patriot Act
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4. Uniqueness of US media
Less unusual than used to be
Trivialization everywhere
Print journalism different
ELECTIONS AND VOTING
• 1. Nature of US elections
- number of offices, number of levels
- votes on offices, referenda, initiatives,
recalls
- importance of elections, value placed
on majority opinion
- Who is elected profiles of candidates
• 2. Voting and non-voting
- Why is turnout so low? But is it so
low? Turnout by state/region
- Attempts to increase turnout
- Voters and non voters – who votes?
• 3. Who votes for who?
- region
- race
- gender
- ideology
- age
- religion
• 4. Party Identification
1896: The Urban/Rural divide
replaces the North-South divide
1968: After faithless (1956) and unpledged
(1960) electors, Southern Democrats form
third party
4. Aftermath: Persistent
Regional Blocs
• West/South vs. North/Great Lakes division
persists to this day: 1896 vs. 2004
• 3. Significance of the changes
- Anger – cause and effect
- Effects on radical change – 2 periods
- Puts premium on individual candidates
- Quality of governance, oversight,
accountability
CONGRESS 1
• 1. The Nature of Congress
- bicameralism
- powers
- agenda setting
• 2. Representation
- microcosmic
- party
- trustee (virtual)
- delegated
• 2. The electoral connection
-Fenno’ s Home Style and Mayhew’s
Congress: the Electoral Connection
- Is it still applicable? Recent changes
• 3. Logrolling and the committee system
- The rise of partisanship
- Leadership and the committees –
centrifugal and centripetal forces
- changing status of Congress
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The characteristics of Congress
Overwhelmingly older, white, educated
males with law and business
backgrounds.
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111th Congress (2009-2011) is a little
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Currently, in the House of Representatives, there are 262 Democrats (including five Delegates
and the Resident Commissioner) and 178 Republicans. The Senate has 55 Democrats; two
Independents, who caucus with the Democrats; and 41 Republicans. There are two Senate
vacancies and one House vacancy.
The average age of Members of both Houses of Congress at the convening of the 111th Congress
is 58.2 years; of Members of the House, 57.0 years; and of Senators, 63.1 years. The
overwhelming majority of Members have a college education. The dominant professions of
Members are public service/politics, business, and law. Protestants collectively constitute the
majority religious affiliation of Members. Roman Catholics account for the largest single
religious denomination, and numerous other affiliations are represented.
The average length of service for Representatives at the beginning of the 111th Congress is 11.0
years (5.5 terms); for Senators 12.9 years ( 2.2 terms).
A record number of 95 women serve in the 111th Congress: 78 in the House, 17 in the Senate.
There are 41 African American Members of the House and none in the Senate. This number
includes two Delegates. There are 31 Hispanic or Latino Members serving: 28 in the House,
including the Resident Commissioner, and three in the Senate. Eleven Members (seven
Representatives, two Delegates, and two Senators) are Asian or Native Hawaiian/other Pacific
Islander. The only American Indian (Native American) serves in the House.
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“111th Congress: Statistically Speaking,” CQ Today, vol. 44, no. 138 (November 6, 2008), p. 72. In the overwhelming
majority of previous Congresses, business has followed law as the dominant occupation of Members. However, in the
111th Congress, 214 Members (182 Representatives, 33 Senators) list their occupation as public service/politics, 204
Members (152 Representatives, 51 Senators) list law, and 201 Members (175 Representatives, 27 Senators) list
business. Ninety-four (78 Representatives and 16 Senators) list education as a profession. Members often list more than
one profession when surveyed by Congressional Quarterly, Inc.
As has been true in recent Congresses, the vast majority of Members (95%) of the 111th Congress
hold university By comparison, 30 years ago in the 96th Congress (1979-1981), at least 48 Members of the House
and 7 Senators had no degree beyond a high school diploma.
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The average length of service of Members of the House at the beginning of the 111th Congress is
11.0 years (5.5 terms), a year longer than that of the 110th Congress (10.0 years), and a year and
half longer than the average service (9.3 years) in the 109th Congress.14 Representatives are
elected for two-year terms. Representative John Dingell (D-MI), the dean of the House, has the
• 4. The Functions of Congress
- Legislation – changing nature of
- Oversight
- reform attempts, the 1970s to date
- Is Congress ‘The Broken Branch?’
CONGRESS II
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1. The functions of Congress
collect taxes; borrow money; regulate
commerce; coin money; declare war;
raise and support army and navy; power over
DC; make laws; ‘necessary and proper clause
Oversight and investigations
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2. Foci of power
- centrifugal forces – the committee
system – House and Senate contrasts
Committee hierarchies House (Rules, Appropriations, Ways
and Means, Budget. Senate- Finance Foreign Relations
Judiciary, Budget
- centripetal forces – parties and party
leadership – Speaker, minority leader, Senate majority and minority
leaders
3. The changing pattern of power in
Congress
A. Party control, 1889-1910
• B. Committee power 1911-1971 (and
especially 1937-1971) the central
importance of seniority
• C. The new Congress 1971-1994 –reforms
Rise of individual members, dispersal of power
and the decline of party. New Policy Initiatives in
foreign and economic policy
D. 1995-2006, The new Republican
agenda – the Contract with America
the rise of earmarking and the decline
of oversight and deliberation
• E. The Democrats in power, 2006 – 11 and beyond?
• Conclusions – is Congress the Broken
Branch?
Can Congress act in the public interest,
or is it fated to serve only particular
interests?
THE PRESIDENCY 1:
PRESIDENTIAL SELECTION
• 1. Problems of presidential selection
- does the selection system pre-select
certain types of candidate?
mid century v. late century candidates
DE/Stephenson, JK/RMN, LBJ/BG, RMN/HHH
v.
RMN/McGovern, JC/JF, RR/JC,RR/Mondale, GB/MD,
BC/GB/RP, BC/Dole, GWB/AG,GWB/JK
3. The Selection Process
• Pre-primary – recent changes
• Primary
– nature of, state variety
- the changing timetable - the rise of super Tuesday
• The Convention
Changing function – now a coronation
Vice presidential selection
• The campaign starts after Labor Day
debates – famous achievements and gaffes
5. The Electoral College
• Each state receives a number of votes in the
Electoral College equal to its total representation
in both Houses of Congress. For example
California, which has 53 representatives in the
House and two in the Senate, casts 55 votes in
the College. Since the passage of the 23rd
Amendment, the District of Columbia also
receives a number of electoral votes (currently
three) equal to the number it would cast if it were
a state. No other U.S. territory has any voice in
the election of the president.
Presidency II
• 1. Formal Powers
- Chief executive
- Commander in Chief
- Chief legislator (Article 2, Section 3
+ the veto power)
- Chief recruiting officer
- Head of state
• 2. Limits to formal powers
- Neustadt – the power to persuade
Presidential failure and the formal
powers – Steel Mills, McArthur,
Little Rock, Bombing N.
Vietnam, 1973, Bush and
Iraq
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• 3. Informal powers
- The public
- Defender of the public or
National interest
- Party leader
- World leader
• 4. The Institutional Presidency
White House Staff and the Executive
Office of the President (EOP)
- patterns of organisation Kennedy, Nixon,
Carter, Reagan, Clinton and Bush43
compared
• 5. The cabinet
- constraints on role of the Cabinet
- power of individual cabinet secretaries
• 6. Independent Agencies and
Commissions
• 7. Conclusions
• Applies to type of personality and quality
of candidate?
• 2. What accounts for the changes?
- closed party caucuses to open
primaries
- the importance of money
- rise of plebiscitary and public
presidency
• Problems
- not proportional
- minority candidate might win
- members may not follow voter intentions
• Reforms
- simple vote
- juggle composition
• 2. Limits to formal powers
- Neustadt – the power to persuade
Presidential failure and the formal
powers – Steel Mills, McArthur,
Little Rock, Bombing N.
Vietnam, 1973, Bush and
Iraq
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