Chapter 1 DEMOCRACY AND AMERICAN POLITICS

The Struggle for African- American Voting Rights The right to vote in meaningful elections is fundamental to democracy. Long struggles for the right to vote Despite Constitutional protections, voter registration among African-Americans in the South was miniscule until the Civil Rights Movement pressed the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

The Struggle for Democracy We live in an age of democratic aspiration and upsurge. American political ideas and institutions often have provided inspiration for democratic movements elsewhere. Yet, the struggle for democracy still continues in our own society.

Democracy Demos = “the people” Kratein = “to rule” “Rule by the people:” the idea that ordinary people want to rule themselves and are capable of doing so.

Direct Versus Representative Democracy Direct participatory democracy — to the ancient Greeks, democracy meant rule by the people exercised directly in open assemblies. Representative democracy — rule by the people, exercised indirectly through representatives selected by the people.

Fundamental Principles of Representative Democracy Popular sovereignty –Government policies reflect what the people want –People participate in the political process –High-quality information and debate are available –The majority rules Political equality Political liberty

Possible Objections to Majoritarian Representative Democracy Democracy leads to bad decisions Majority tyranny threatens liberty The people are irrational and incompetent Majoritarian democracy threatens minorities

Democracy As an Evaluative Standard: How Democratic Are We? Each of the fundamental principles of democracy suggests a set of questions that can be used to think critically about American political life. These questions help us to evaluate how well the American political system lives up to the democratic ideal.

Understanding How American Politics Works The main factors of political life are interconnected (illustrated in the text by the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act).

The main factors of political life can be organized into three categories. Structural sector — includes fundamental and enduring factors that influence government and politics Political linkage sector — includes political actors, institutions, and processes that are involved in transmitting the wants and demands of individuals and groups to government officials Governmental sector — includes all public officials and institutions that have formal, legal responsibilities for making public policy

American politics should be understood holistically American political life must be understood as an integrated, ordered whole. What goes on in government can only be understood by considering all three sectors of analysis. Feedback also occurs — influences sometimes flow from the governmental level to the others.