Unit 2 Key Concepts – Constitutional Underpinnings
1. Government, politics, and public policy are interrelated. Government makes decisions about public
policy through politics.
2. Politics is a natural and inevitable social process through which society expresses and manages its
conflict. It'’ often been defined as “who gets what, when, and how. The political process is neverending. Every government decision is, therefore, an interim one.
3. Government is made up of institutions that make public policy. We have different levels of
government due to federalism, but each level shares some functions with other levels. Just exactly
what governments should do is resolved through politics.
4. Ours is considered a democratic form of government. Although we do not directly participate in the
everyday making of public policy, we are connected to government through several linkage
institutions (elections, media, interest groups, and political parties).
5. A nation’s politics is profoundly affected by its political culture – people’s fundamental beliefs and
assumptions about how government and politics should operate.
6. The socioeconomic characteristics of the people also have significant consequences for American
politics. Changes in the population’s ethnic and racial composition, age distribution, places of
residence and work, and lifestyle are creating new problems and demands for shifts in government
policy.
7. The government’s past decisions affects today’s current policymaking process as well. The “Great
Debate” is over the role and size of government in our society.
8. The Constitution was written as a result of a combination of historical, social, and political
circumstances and events. Among these is our heritage as a British colony, with Great Britain’s
lengthy evolution of representative government. The Constitution also mirrors the problems the
young nation faced after the Revolution, the conflicts waged and the compromises offered at the
Constitutional Convention of 1787, and the struggle over ratification.
9. The Constitution embodies five basic principles: popular sovereignty and representative government
tempered by indirect election, limited government, separation of powers and checks and balances,
federalism, and judicial review.
10. The unusually long life and durability of the Constitution owes much to its concise yet flexible text,
which has allowed Congress, the president, and the courts to interpret the Constitution in ways
appropriate for changing conditions. Because the Constitution has proven so adaptable, it has not
been necessary to change it frequently through formal amendment. It is, however, not perfect.
11. The drafters of the Constitution sought to create a government capable of governing, promoting
economic development, and maintaining individual rights. The Federalist Papers reflect this
philosophy and were written to convince opponents of ratification. Since ratification, a movement
toward greater political and social equality has resulted in a series of amendments that has
advanced the cause of equality while leaving the fundamental structure unaltered.
12. The Constitution is not neutral in its impact. By dividing government power among the three
branches of government and between the states and the federal government, it has made quick,
decisive, and comprehensive policy making difficult. But at the same time, divided governmental
power has provided citizens with multiple points of access to decision-makers, encouraged policy
making through negotiation, bargaining, and compromise, and proven resistant to authoritarian
rule.