Chapter 1 The Political Landscape Your first lecture should warm up your students to what they can expect for the rest of the semester. A fun and interesting activity is to set up some surveys to see where your students stand on the issues. How many favor the current president? How many oppose the health care bill? What about the war in Afghanistan? What do they think of the BP oil spill? Tax cuts? Hit all the current topics. Have your students write down their responses and hand them in. Display the final counts; e.g., 12 votes for Obama, 15 against, etc. Ask if any would like to discuss their answers. Your students will learn a little about each other, and you will get a feel for where your students stand on the issues.

Government and Politics Government is the formal vehicle through which policies are made and affairs of state are conducted. Politics is the study of who gets what, when, and how - or - how policy decisions are made. How are you involved in politics?

Government and Politics http://learner.org/courses/democracyinamerica/dia_1/dia_1_video.html Start at 8:30 What is the public policy being considered? How did citizens influence the policy?

Government and Politics http://www.learner.org/courses/democr acyinamerica/dia_1/dia_1_video.html?po p=yes&pid=1911# Start at 8:30 5 3

Functions of Government The U.S. Government (according to the Preamble to the Constitution (read it!!)): Establishes justice Insures domestic tranquility Provides for the common defense Promotes the general welfare Secures the blessings of liberty

Aristotle’s Classifications of Government

Types of Government Monarchy - the rule of one in the interest of all. most monarchies today are constitutional monarchies (monarch shares power with elected lawmakers e.g. Great Britain). Totalitarianism vests power in one in self-interest. (e.g. dictators - Kim Jong II of North Korea).

Types of Government Theocracy - no separation of church and state (in Iran the Koran is the basis for law). Democracy - power is given to the people.

Philosophical Origins of American Government Thomas Hobbes and John Locke proposed the social contract theory of government. A social contract is an agreement between the people and their government giving their consent to be governed.

Philosophical Origins of American Government Social contract theory: people are free and equal by natural right, and this freedom requires that all people give their consent to be governed.

Representative Democracy U.S. has a representative democracy (also called a republic) - the will of the majority is expressed through a smaller group of individuals elected by the people to act as their representatives. Founders of the U.S. feared that a pure... direct democracy would deteriorate into mob rule where the majority would ignore the rights and opinions of the minority.

Representative Democracy Assignment #1 - Due next class period. Use the “Who Represents Me” section of http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/Home.aspx to find out who represents you in the U.S. Congress (2 Senators and 1 Representative). Read the biography of each and write one thing you find interesting about each individual.

Basic Principles of American Democracy Personal liberty - freedom from government interference. Political equality - 1 person, 1 vote. Majority rule...but preservation of minority rights.

Basic Principles of American Democracy Popular consent - people agree to be governed. Civil society - citizens organize and express their views publicly as they engage in open debate.

If liberty and equality, as is thought by some, are chiefly to be found in a democracy, they will be attained when all persons alike share in the government to the utmost. Aristotle, Politics c. 340 B.C.

I know of no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves; and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them, but to inform their discretion. Thomas Jefferson (1820)

Apathy is the Enemy http://songofacitizen.org/2010/08/27/an -antidote-to-beckanalia/ 14

Political Ideology Political ideology - a set of ideas or beliefs about the purpose and scope of government. Libertarians favor free markets and personal liberty. Conservatives want less government especially in terms of regulating the economy. Social conservatives favor government regulation of morality. Liberals want an active government.

Labels can be problematic Political Ideology Labels can be problematic

The Traditional Political Spectrum

Adult Self-Identification

Gingrich and Carville Conservatism and Liberalism http://www.c- spanvideo.org/program/282826-1 Start at 24:40 18

In 2010, the Texas Board of Education required textbooks to do which of the following? Stress the positive effects of capitalism Question the Framers’ concept of a purely secular government Present conservative beliefs in a much more positive light All of the above None of the above

How has the U.S. population grown over time? To Learning Objectives Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman

How does the racial and ethnic composition of America now differ from that of 1967? Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman

Is America getting older? Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman