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