The Study of
American Government
Chapter 1
AP
United States
Government
and Politics
What is Government?

What does the word government mean?
Why is a government essential?
What services should it provide?

What services does it provide?


Division: A Source of “Politics”
Why does politics exist?
 What two questions
define it?

Who Governs?

Who governs?
• What is done to us and for us may depend on
who governs.
• Identifying who governs can be difficult.
• Competing views cannot all be correct.
To What Ends?

Government affects our lives in many ways.

This can be seen in larger, long perspectives.
 1935 (Income Tax)
 1960 (race)
Who governs does not necessarily
determine to what ends . . . .
You cannot always predict what goals
government will establish knowing only who
governs
 If we thought that how can you explain :

• Why the rich are taxed more heavily than the poor
• Why the War on Poverty was declared
• Why constitutional amendments giving rights to African
Americans & women passed by large majorities
• Why other religions have been appointed to many
governmental posts
Why Government Matters
Based on a survey from historians and professors, the
government’s top 10 post-1950 achievements:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Rebuilt Europe after WWII
Expanded the right to vote
Promoted equal access to public accommodations
Reduced disease
Reduced workplace discrimination
Ensured safe food & drinking water
Strengthened the nation’s highway system
Increased access to health care for older Americans
Reduced the federal budget deficit
Promoted financial security in retirement
What is Political Power?

Power

Authority

Legitimacy
What is Political Power?

Power definition
• Can be exercised in an obvious or subtle
manner
• Examples
• Can be found in all human relationships
• Examples
• Recognition that, increasingly, matter once
considered “private” are considered
“public”
• Examples Then & Now
What is Political Power?

Authority definition


Normally easier to exercise power with
a claim of right
“Formal authority” when vested in a
government office
What is Political Power?

Legitimacy definition



Historical struggles over what constitutes
legitimate authority
2004 election & gay marriage
Our sense of legitimacy is tied to the desire
for democratic government
• 1787 Constitution
• Today
What is Democracy?




Describe the meaning.
What is the cartoonist’s message?
Agree or disagree with the message?
What does cartoon say about democracy?
American Democracy:
Basic Ideals & Principles
Popular Consent or Popular Sovereignty
 Respect for the Individual
 Equality of Opportunity
 Personal Liberty
 Rule of Law

What is Democracy?
1st Definition

Aristotelian “rule of the many”
(direct or participatory democracy)
• 4th century B.C. Greek city-state or polis
• New England town meeting
• Abandoned as size of towns increased
and issues became more complex
What is Democracy?
2nd Definition

Acquisition of power by leaders via competitive
elections (representative democracy)
•
•
•
•
Joseph Schumpeter
Sometimes disapprovingly referred to as elitist theory
Justifications of representative democracy
• Direct democracy can be impractical
• The people are affected by passions and
demagogues
• Demagogues- A leader who obtains power by
means of impassioned appeals to the emotions
and prejudices of the populace
Concern about direct democracy today
Is Representative Democracy Best?


The Constitution does not contain the word
democracy but the phrase “republican form of
government”
Representative democracy requires genuine
competition for leadership




Individuals & parties must be able to run for office
Communication must be free
Voters must perceive meaningful choices
And other important questions - with multiple answers remain regarding the number of offices, how many officials
(elected & appointed), the financing campaigns, etc.
Is Representative Democracy Best?

Virtues of direct
democracy can
be reclaimed
through


Community
control
Citizen
participation
Is Representative Democracy Best?

Framers did not think the “will of people” was
synonymous with the “common interest” or the
“public good”.

They strongly favored representative over direct
democracy
•
•
•
•
•
Government should mediate, not mirror, popular views
Assumed citizens would have limited time, information,
& interest
Feared demagogues could easily manipulate fears &
prejudices of the masses
Preferred a slow moving government
Framers’ Goal: representative democracy minimized
chance that power would be abused by a popular
majority or self-serving officeholders
Is Representative Democracy Best?

But were the Framers right?
• Are their assumptions about direct
democracy applicable today?
• Has representative democracy really
protected minority rights and prevented
politicians from using public offices for
private gain?
“So . . . . How Democratic Are We?”
How is Political Power Distributed?
Scholars differ in their interpretations of
history
Focus on actual distribution of power within
American representative democracy
How is Political Power Distributed?
Variation in representative democracy

Majoritarian politics
•
•

Leaders constrained to follow wishes of the people very
closely
Applies when issues are simple, clear, & feasible
Non-majoritarian (or Elite) politics
•
•
•
Sometimes the opinion of the people is not known, or
even consulted
The shaping of policy detail probably reflects opinions of
those who are more informed & motivated to participate
• The number of those who are informed & motivated
is probably small
• They are probably not representative of the
population as a whole
Elites definition
Four Theories of Elite Influence

Marxism: Government merely a reflection of
underlying economic forces

Marxists hold that in modern societies:
•
•
Two economic classes contend for power –
• Capitalists (business owners or the
“bourgeoise”)
• Workers (laborers or the “proletariat”).
• Which ever class dominates the economy also
controls the government, which is, nothing
more than a piece of machinery designed to
express & give legal effect to underlying class
interest.
In the U.S. Marxist state capitalists (especially big
business & multinational corporations in U.S.) have
generally dominated the economy & government.
Four Theories of Elite Influence

C. Wright Mills: Mid-20th century American
sociologist
•
•
•
•
Power elite composed of corporate leaders, generals, &
politicians
Closely related to Marxism
Coalition of 3 groups dominate politics & government
• Corporate leaders
• Top military officers
• Handful of elected officials
Today, some add major communications media chiefs,
top labor union officials, heads to special interest
groups to his list
Four Theories of Elite Influence

Max Weber: Founder of Sociology
•
•
•
•
•
All institutions, governmental and nongovernmental,
have fallen under the control of large bureaucracies
bureaucracies based on expertise, specialized
competence
Capitalists or workers may come to power or coalitions
of elites, but government they create and laws they
enact will be dominated by bureaucrats who staff &
operate the government on a daily basis
Bureaucratic view definition
Power not in hands of elected representatives, but in
appointed officials or career government workers, who
are invisible to the average citizen, who can exercise
vast power by deciding how to translate public laws into
administrative actions
Government bureaucrats do not implement public
policies, but effectively “make” policies that best suit
their own ideas and interests
Four Theories of Elite Influence

Pluralists: Power is widely dispersed & no
single elite has monopoly on it
•
•
•
•
Policies are the outline of bargaining, compromise and
shifting alliances
Suggests that big business, elites, bureaucrats may
dominate but political resources (money, prestige,
expertise, organizational position, access to mass
media) are so widely scattered in American society that
no single elite has monopoly on them
Point out that in American governmental institutions in
which power may be exercised (city, state, & federal),
which includes mayors, managers, legislators,
governors, presidents, judges, no single group could
dominate the political process.
All elites must bargain & compromise while being
responsive to followers
Is Democracy Driven by Self Interest?
Elite Theories & Cynicism


All four theories suggest politics is a self-seeking
enterprise
Some important qualifications
•
•
Policies may not be wholly self serving
Alexis de Tocqueville
•
”Americans…are fond of explaining almost all the actions of
their lives by the principle of self-interest rightly understood…In
this respect I think they frequently fail to do themselves justice;
for in the United States as well as elsewhere people are
sometimes seen to give way to those disinterested and
spontaneous impulses that are natural to man; but the
Americans seldom admit that they yield to emotions of this kind;
they are more anxious to do honor to their philosophy than to
themselves.”
Is Democracy Driven by Self Interest?
•
Democracy may be driven by other motives &
desires
•
•
•
September 11 & self-interest
AFL-CIO & civil rights
Some act against long odds & without the certainty
of benefit
What Explains Political Change?

Great shifts in character of government reflect
change in elite or mass beliefs about what
government is supposed to do



Growth in federal power & subsequent attempts to
cut back
Variations in levels of interest in international
affairs
Politics about views of the public interest, not
just who gets what

If you were alive in 1861…
Nature of Politics






The answer to “Who Governs?” is often partial,
contingent, or controversial
Preferences vary, and so does politics
Politics cannot be equated with laws on the
books
Sweeping claims are to be avoided
Judgments about institutions & interests should
be tempered by how they behave on different
issues
The policy process can be an excellent
barometer of change in who governs
“Democracy” in Quotes
Free Response Question
Read, interpret, and give your opinion of
the ten “Democracy” in Quotes
 Choose one for which you have strong
feelings and write a free response:

A. Identify and explain your interpretation of
the quote.
 B. Provide three examples of how American
society portrays or disproves this ideal today.
