1. Professor: Course/Section: You may be surprised to learn… …that over 25% of all undergraduate students do not utilize their required course material. …student retention is dropping nationwide and while the higher education community has done a remarkable job of opening the doors of college to more and more students, we have not seen equal strides in the number of students who actually complete four-year degrees. (Education Trust, 2004) What you can do… The top factors motivating a student to use their adopted books all involve whether the material is immediately used, referred to, or assessed from in the classroom. Your students take their cues from you and many wait until the third week of class to see how the book is used before deciding whether or not they need it. Please take a few minutes the first day of class to explain and demonstrate why you adopted your book and accompanying technology. The next few slides show the book, technology products, and messaging that indicates that they will be responsible for the content. Feel free to customize the information or delete from your slide set. Chapter one slides begin on slide 6. Your First Day of Class…

2. Professor: Course/Section: Professor: Course/Section: You will need this material for… –tests and quizzes –homework and reading assignments Your Required Technology Materials Bardes/Shelley/Schmidt American Government and Politics Today, The Essentials, 2006-2007, 12e

3. Professor: Course/Section: Resources to help you succeed in this course

4. Professor: Course/Section: Resources to help you succeed in this course …makes your study time more efficient by testing YOU on all the concepts and YOU need more help on. Personalized Time Saving Easy to Use

5. Professor: Course/Section: Student Companion Web Site You also have open access to the student book companion web site which features following for student study drill: Chapter glossaries, audio flash cards, crossword puzzles, web links, critical thinking exercises, tutorial quizzes, a final exam, and more! InfoTrac College Edition You can do your research 24/7 with easy access to over 10 million full-text articles from nearly 5000 academic journals, magazines, and periodicals. Do your research from home, work, or your dorm room! Resources to help you succeed in this course WebTutor Toolbox WebTutor offers real- time access to a full array of premium study tools, including animations and videos that bring the book's topics to life.

6. CHAPTER 1: THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC

7. Politics and Government Lasswell’s definition of politics is “who gets what when and how.” This definition describes the struggle or conflict between members of a society and the distribution of benefits and privileges. Similarly, students definitions tend to describe one part of that process, (those in power get to allocate values, or determine who gets what; typically a government is the structure by which this done; and the perception is that greed or corruption sometimes are involved in the process.

8. Why is Government Necessary? Societies create governments in order to have a structure with which to allocate values. The creation of the structure, sometimes in and of itself, sometimes is the allocation of values, as we will discuss in Chapter 2. –Authority is the ultimate right to enforce compliance with decisions. –Legitimacy refers to the appropriateness, or rightful position and actions taken by those in authority. The appropriate use of power using prescribed and proper decision-making structures should result in compliance.

9. Why is Government Necessary? –Power is the ability to cause other to modify their behavior and to conform to what the power holder wants. One of the problems for leaders is getting individuals to comply to the rules. Some forms of government rely more on force to get the populace to comply. Democratic governments tend to rely less on force and more on the public’s acceptance of the legitimacy of the government. –A family can serve as an example of an informal use of power. The parents have the authority to make the decisions for the family, while the children are responsible for obeying the decisions. Problems arise when authority and or legitimacy are in question. If the parents disagree as to a course of action, the children perceive a problem with authority. Which parent has the authority to make the decision? When the parents leave the children with a sitter, there may be a problem with legitimacy. Do the children obey the decisions of the sitter? Do the actions of the children pertain to the concepts of authority and legitimacy?

10. Democracy and Other Forms of Government While the concept of “democracy” is ancient, the advent of mass democracies, which tend to be representative democracies, is a relatively recent development. In previous centuries, the political culture of many societies thought democratic rule to be unfeasible, unstable and dangerous. The text discusses several forms of government that exist. These include: –totalitarianism –oligarchy –aristocracy –anarchy –democracy

11. Democracy and Other Forms of Government To a large extent, the form of government of a society is a reflection of its political culture, that is, the way the society views how government should operate. In some societies, values like efficiency and absolute equality are prioritized over values like liberty and property for individuals. Of course, some governments do not recognize consent of the governed as a fundamental principle, and thus their governmental structure reflects this.

12. Democracy and Other Forms of Government Democracy is usually separated into two distinct types: –Direct Democracy is where those who are eligible to participate in the political process make the decisions on a collective basis, without the aid or advice of elected officials. While no country or state government practices pure direct democracy today, some countries and states offer limited forms of direct democracy with initiative, referendum and recall. Initiative is when voters petition the government to enact a particular policy. Referendum is when a legislature sends a bill or constitutional amendment to voters for their approval. Recall is when voters can remove an official before his or her term has expired.

13. Democracy and Other Forms of Government –Representative Democracy is when those who are eligible to participate in the political process elect an official, or officials, to make decisions for the society for a specified period of time. When we use the term democracy today it is assumed we are referring to representative democracy.

14. Democracy and Other Forms of Government Democracy assumes the electorate (those who are eligible to participate) is capable of making rational decisions and is willing to invest the time necessary to make rational decisions. The founding fathers were somewhat skeptical of both of these assumptions. Therefore, suffrage was limited to individuals who were more likely to make informed decisions and who were more likely to have time to invest in the decision- making process. In our nation’s early history, these were defined as white, typically Anglo, Protestant males who owned property. Over time, the suffrage was expanded to include men without property and of various religions. In this century, people have fought for and won suffrage for women, real voting rights for African-Americans and the right to vote for 18-20 year olds. At this point, more people are eligible to vote in the United States than at any other time in our history.

15. Democracy and Other Forms of Government Cont., Many of the founders, however, did not see universal suffrage as a desirable goal, so skeptical they were of the masses’ ability to make rational, educated decision. Indeed, the Constitution, as drafted, only called for the popular election of members of the House of Representatives. (The Senate was to be chosen by state legislatures, the President by the Electoral College and the judiciary by the President, with Congressional consent.) Furthermore, the United States Constitution limits the power of the government so that the majority of the electorate, or the agents of the electorate (governmental officials), are constrained in the policy- making process. These checks and balances will be described further in Chapter Two.

16. What Kind of Democracy Do we Have? The text discusses three theories that seek to explain how the U.S. democracy works. Elite theory assumes the population has little if any impact on the decision-making process. Instead of the general population making policy through elected officials, elite theorists indicate that all policy decisions are made by the desires of a select few within the society. These elites share a goal of governmental stability because they do not want their position within society jeopardized.

17. What Kind of Democracy Do we Have?, cont. –Pluralism assumes that numerous factions (or interest groups) work to make policy for the general public. Each faction works to promote the interests of the faction and through a series of compromises public policy decisions are made. The theory of pluralism developed because social scientists sought to explain why people didn’t participate, while they assumed a certain level of satisfaction. (Pluralists would contend that interest groups do an adequate job of representing all citizens, thus people feel less need to participate.) –Hyperpluralism refers to the strong control that interest groups have on the policy process. Hyperpluralists contend that the policy process is paralyzed in the struggle between interest groups over policy because interest groups are so effective in having favorable policies enacted that the general good is no longer a consideration.

18. Fundamental Values All countries have a distinct political culture. The discussion regarding the types of governments revealed that different societies place different value on some principles. Political culture is transmitted through political socialization. Mechanisms of socialization include the family, schools, organizations and the media. In the United States, there are several principles that have been and continue to be key in our view of what’s important in our society and the role government should play, including: –liberty –equality –property

19. Fundamental Values These principles are key parts of the dominant culture. Other principles, including fraternity and popular sovereignty also have been important during our history. Other cultures in the United States, or subcultures, may order principles differently. Our political culture is characteristically shared by diverse groups of citizens, including naturalized citizens. Yet the changing demographics of our society impacts the both the political culture and the policy priorities that will exist.

20. Political Ideologies The United States does not have a wide range of political ideology when compared to many other countries. In the U.S. the dominant ideologies are conservative and liberal. –Liberals tend to favor governmental regulation of the economy in order to promote the standard of living for individuals within the society. On social issues, liberals advocate a limited governmental role. Social freedom is seen as a necessity for the good of the society. –Conservatives tend to favor limited governmental involvement in the economic sector. Economic freedom is seen as a necessity for the good of the society. On social issues, conservatives advocate governmental involvement to preserve traditional values and lifestyles. Although most Americans view conservatives and liberals as polar opposites, these two ideologies (as practiced in the U.S.) are not vastly different when compared to the ideologies of many other countries.

23. The Changing Face of America The U.S. population is aging. Indeed, the population over age 65 will double by 2050. This has a significant impact on public policies, including Social Security and pension policies, and also immigration policies. Comparatively high levels of immigration have changed the face of America. The ability of the dominant culture to assimilate various subcultures will largely be a factor of the effectiveness of political socialization (the transmission of the dominant political culture through family, schools, the media, and other organizations and rituals).

27. The Changing Face of America Other trends which are changing the face of the political culture include: –increasing urbanization of the U.S. –increasing number of individuals incarcerated (higher prison populations) –the disparity in levels of education, and the increase in women getting an education (twenty percent of the population is barely literate). –the changing composition of the American family.