GOPO Notes Chapter 1 1. U.S. Government and Politicians in Context

a. “Government by the people requires faith in our common human enterprise

i. A belief that if we are educated we can be trusted to run ourselves.

b. Constitutional democracy requires constant attention to protecting the rights and opinions of others

c. Constitutional democracy means government by representative politicians

2. Defining Democracya. Three types of direct democratic systems:

i. Initiative1. Create a new law

ii. Referendum1. Change an existing law

iii. Recall1. Remove a politician from office in between elections

b. Conditions conducive to constitutional Democracyi. Educational conditions

1. You need an educated citizenry to have people be able to understand elections.

ii. Economic conditions1. A relatively prosperous nations with an equitable

distribution of wealth provides the best context for democracy. You need to be prosperous and not hungry for a democracy to survive.

iii. Social Conditions1. You need a society that has many overlapping

associations and groupings, so they do not identify completely with a single group. The smaller the number of groups, the more likely fighting is to break out aka. The civil war.

iv. Ideological conditions.1. You need the democratic consensus to govern in a

democracy. Basically you all need to belief that democracy is the best political practice.

c. Democracy as a system of interacting valuesi. Personal Liberty

ii. Respect for the individualiii. Equality of opportunityiv. Popular consentv. Democratic values in conflict

d. Democracy as a system of interrelated political processesi. Free and fair elections

1. Political competition and choice.

2. Everyone casts only one vote at the end of it all.ii. Majorite and Plurarlity rule

1. Majority is over 50%2. Plurality is most amount of votes3. But sometimes majority rule can interfere with the

rights of individualsiii. Freedom of Expression

1. Voters need access to facts, competing ideas, and the views of candidates. Non-government news needs to flourish.

iv. The Right to Assemble and Proteste. Democracy as a system of independent political structures.

i. Federalism1. Division of power between national and state

governments2. Separation of Powers: executive, judicial, legislative3. Bicameralism4. Checks and balances5. Bill of Rights

3. The constitutional Convention of 1787a. North-south compromise. 2/3 majority in the senate be required to

ratify a treaty.