Our Path to Democracy Kenneth E. Fernandez Assistant Professor Department of Political Science.

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Presentation transcript:

Our Path to Democracy Kenneth E. Fernandez Assistant Professor Department of Political Science

What is Democracy? The rule of the people (demos + kratein) Government that is ruled by the people, not one person or one group.

Why is Democracy Important? It is believed to be the best form of government to protect our rights & freedoms A democracy allows for citizen discussion and debate, and hopefully a more thoughtful decision

What makes a county a democracy? Not an easy questions. No one thing guarantees a democracy. But political scientists frequently agree that there are a few things very important to a healthy democracy.

These include…. Free and Fair Elections The Right to Vote (mass suffrage) Civil Liberties (freedoms) A Free Media Educated Citizens

Democracy & Our Constitution A democratic government benefits from a clearly written document that defines what a government can and cannot do.

The Development of the Constitution After declaring independence from Great Britain our political leaders were faced with the question, “ What type of government should we form? Because of their experience with King George III, the founding fathers did not want to give their new government too much power.

Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation a. Lasted only 7 years ( ) b. Central government too weak c. No Executive or President d. 9/13 Rule e. No standing army f. No power to tax (raise money)

The Constitutional Convention (1787) 55 delegates from the 12 states Not everyone agreed on what the new constitution should look like. Federalists versus the Anti-Federalists Many compromises were made to get the Constitution ratified.

Important Compromises Connecticut Compromise Electoral College Slavery could not be banned until 1808 Slaves were counted as 3/5 a person The Bill of Rights

Improving the Constitution Abolishing Slavery (13 th Amendment, 1865) All men allowed to vote (15 th Amend., 1870) Senators directly elected (17 th Amend., 1913) Women win right to vote (19 th Amend., 1920) Voting age changed to 18 (26 th Amend, 1971)

Because of these improvements our elections today are very different than how our founding fathers planned. Early in our history, blacks, women, the poor, people of a certain religion, were not allowed to vote. Today, we have universal suffrage (every citizen, 18 years or older can vote)

2008 Political Candidates

The Responsibility of Democracy Unfortunately, not everyone does participate in our political process Turnout is lower than many other democracies For a democracy to work well, it requires citizens to be active and get involved.

Voting Turnout

But, democracy is not just about voting. Participation in a democracy involves many activities: Being well informed Joining organizations Donating money to candidates Running for office