1. Longman PoliticalScienceInteractive
Magleby & Light
Government by the People
Chapter 1
Constitutional Democracy
Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman

2. Government by the People
Defining Democracy
Democracy
Demos
(The People)
Kratos
(authority)
Government by the People
The Athenians are here, Sire, with an offer to back us with ships, money, arms, and men—and, of course, their usual lectures about democracy.
Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman

3. Representative Democracy Constitutional Democracy
Defining Democracy
Democracy
Government by the people, either directly or indirectly, with free and frequent elections
Direct Democracy
Government in which citizens vote on laws and select officials more directly
Representative Democracy
Government that derives its powers indirectly from the people, who elect those who will govern
Constitutional Democracy
Government that enforces recognized limits on those who govern and allows the voice of the people to be heard through free, fair, and relatively frequent elections
Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman

4. Democracy as a System of Interacting Values
Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman

5. Democracy as a System of Interacting Values
Equality of Opportunity
Popular Consent
Personal Liberty
Respect for the Individual
These basic values of democracy do not always coexist happily.
Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman

6. American Government and Politicians in Context
Government by the people requires faith in our common human enterprise
Constitutional democracy requires constant attention to protecting the rights and opinions of others
Constitutional democracy means government by representative politicians
Thomas Jefferson, one of our best-known champions of constitutional democracy
Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman

7. Democracy as a System of Interrelated Political Processes
Free and fair elections
Majority rule
Freedom of expression
The right to assemble and protest
A student from Chicago casts an early vote in the 2008 Illinois presidential primary.
Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman

8. Democracy as a System of Interdependent Political Structures
The four distinctive elements of democracy
Separation of Powers
Checks and Balances
Federalism
Constitutionalism
Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman

9. Conditions Conducive to Constitutional Democracy
Educational Conditions
Democracy puts a premium on education
Economic Conditions
Extremes of poverty and wealth undermine the possibilities for a healthy constitutional democracy
Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman

10. Conditions Conducive to Constitutional Democracy
Social Conditions
Overlapping associations and groupings, so that allegiance to one group is not overpowering
Ideological conditions
Acceptance of the ideals of democracy and a willingness from the majority to proceed democratically
Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman

11. Constitutional Democracy
The peaceful transfer of political power through elections
Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman

12. Constitutional Democracy
In 2000, Democrat Al Gore won the popular vote, but George W. Bush was declared winner by the Electoral College. Still, Gore graciously conceded defeat.
“I say to president-elect Bush that what remains of partisan rancor must now be put aside, and may God bless his stewardship of this country. Neither he nor I anticipated this long and difficult road. Certainly neither of us wanted it to happen. Yet it came, and now it has ended, resolved, as it must be resolved, through the honored institutions of our democracy.”
-Al Gore
Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman

13. The Colonial Beginnings
Mayflower Compact
Legalized the Pilgrim’s position as a body politic
Colonial assemblies
Every colony in the New World had an assembly
Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman

14. Influences on the Constitution V British customs and traditions V European philosophers V Colonial experiences (i.e. elected assemblies) V State constitutions
Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman

15. The Rise of Revolutionary Fervor
The Declaration of Independence
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman

16. Toward Unity and Order The Articles of Confederation
Goal: To bring the thirteen states together while allowing each state to remain independent
Adopted on March 1, 1781
Under the Articles, each state issued its own currency
Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman

17. Shays’s Rebellion Shays’s Rebellion Daniel Shays
Economic depression of mid-1780s
Daniel Shays
Rallied farmers to demand change from government
Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman

18. The Constitutional Convention of 1787: The Delegates
Educated
Wealthy
Experienced in state/local government
White
Male
To encourage open debate, the proceedings were kept secret.
Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman

19. The Constitutional Convention of 1787: Consensus
The common philosophy accepted by most of the delegates was that of balanced government
Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman

20. The Constitutional Convention of 1787: Conflict and Compromise
2 competing plans
The Virginia Plan
National government would be supreme over the states
Favored by populous states
Representation based on population
The New Jersey Plan
“Confederation model”
Favored by smaller states
Representation based on equality
Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman

21. The Constitutional Convention of 1787: Conflict and Compromise
The Conflict
State-based approach versus an individual-based approach
Conflict between large and small states
The Compromise
House of Representatives= Proportional
Senate= Equal number of representatives from each state to be elected by state legislatures
(bicameral legislature)
The Great Compromise
Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman

22. The Constitutional Convention of 1787: Conflict and Compromise
The Conflict
Southerners feared that the North’s greater representation in Congress would be used to end slavery
The Compromise
Slaves counted as three-fifths of a free person in determining representation in the House of Representatives AND taxation; protection of the Atlantic slave trade for at least 20 years
Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman

23. Federalists versus Anti-Federalists
The Federalist Papers
James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay
– Property owners, creditors, merchants
Anti-Federalists
– Henry, Mason, Gerry
– Small farmers,
frontiersmen, debtors,
shopkeepers
Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman

24. The Politics of Ratification
Ratification of the Constitution
Patrick Henry’s famous cry, “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death!”
Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman