The Democratic Republic ADVANCED PLACEMENT UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT CHAPTER 1

What is Politics?  Politics is the struggle over power and influence within organizations or informal groups that can grant of withhold benefits of privileges.  By this definition, politics are everywhere: in school, in families, in the workplace.  During this course, we will focus on politics within government.  Certain groups (interest groups & political parties)compete for the power to determine who gets the benefits, privileges, or resources of the United States government.

What is government?  The preeminent institution within a society. Government has the ultimate authority to decide how conflicts will be resolved and how benefits and privileges will be allocated.  Security (order, peace)  The Protection of Liberty  A Government Must have Authority  A Government Must have Legitimacy

What Types of Government Exist?  Totalitarian Regime  Authoritarianism  Aristocracy  Theocracy  Oligarchy  Democracy (Direct or Indirect)

Democracy Direct Democracy  A system of government in which political decisions are made by the people directly, rather than by elected officials  Ancient Greece  Initiative (voters propose)  Referendum (legislature refers)  Recall (voters can dismiss officials)  Founders deeply feared direct democracy. Why?  Can the masses be relied upon to educate themselves? Democratic Republic (Indirect Democracy)  Republic (Ancient Rome)  Based on popular sovereignty, rather than a monarch  Democratic Republic: voters elect representatives to make and enforce laws and policies.  Representative Democracy: voters elect representatives, but monarchs might be retained for a ceremonial role. Example?

Features of Democracy  Universal suffrage  Majority Rules, but minority rights must be protected.  A constitution that limits the powers of the government

Democratic Theory  Majoritarianism: Political theory holding that in a democracy, the government ought to do what the majority of people want. (But this only works if citizens are well informed and participate. Do you think this describes American government?)  Elite Theory: Political theory that suggests that society is ruled by a small number of people who exercise power to further their self- interest. Alexander Hamilton believed the upper class should be given “…a distinct, permanent share in the government…”  Pluralism: Political Theory that views politics as a conflict among interest groups. Political decisions are characterized by bargaining and compromise.

Fundamental Values of the US Government  Popular Sovereignty  Respect for the Individual (individual controls state, not vice versa)  Liberty (Basic guarantees of freedom found in the Bill of Rights)  Equality (All people are of equal worth. After FDR- equal opportunity for economic success also becomes important)  Capitalism (private ownership, wealth-creating assets, free markets)  Equal Opportunity is often in conflict with capitalism; however, the desire to own property among all classes of Americans is so widespread, that radical egalitarian movements have not been widespread in the U.S. [ This makes the Bernie Sanders political campaign very interesting to watch. ]

What processes are present in the U.S. democratic system?  Free and fair elections  Competing political parties  Majority rules, but the minority’s rights are protected  Freedom of speech/ expression  Right to assemble and protest

Male Suffrage in the US from

Political Ideologies  Socialism  Liberalism  Conservatism  Libertarianism

The Four-Cornered Ideological Grid Liberals THE Libertarians POLI- TICAL Economic Liberals, Cultural/Social Conservatives CENTER Conservatives