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TRANSCRIPT
• Isa_16:5 And in mercy shall
the throne be established: and
he shall sit upon it in truth in
the tabernacle of David,
judging, and seeking judgment,
and hasting righteousness.
The Foundation:
o We the People.
o The preamble of the
Constitution states, “We the
People.”
o Who are the “people”
o We will explore in this
section.
The First European Colonists:
o The Wealthy came to enhance
their fortunes.
o Commerce was the most
common initial reason for
colonization (Dutch West Indian
Companies establishing trading
posts).
A Religious Tradition Takes Root:
o Protestant Reformation in 1517 challenged the absolute power of the Papacy.
o Gave sense that the people can dissent church leaders (authoritarian)
o Spawned Protestant denominations such as Calvinism and Lutherans.
Enlightenment:
o Rise of philosophers and scientists based on human reason.
o World can be improved through the use of human reason, science, and religious toleration (Isaac Newton).
o Encouraged people to challenge the absolute monarchies, ponder the divine right of Kings, and the role of the church in their lives.
A Religious Tradition Takes Root:
o Radical Protestants called Puritans, called the challenge of the authority of the Christian Church.
o Puritans were persecuted for the religious beliefs by the English monarchy.
o Protestants who were seeking escape from persecution and religious freedom went to the “new world.”
o First being the Pilgrims in 1620.
Puritans: o The motive of these settlers is
religious, and because of commerce.
o They believed they can create a “city on a hill.” (A righteous society)
o Pilgrims enforced a strict of code of authority and obedience but also stressing the importance of individualism.
Roger Williams:
o Challenged the ideas at the core of
these strict Puritanical values.
o Williams preached extreme separation
from the church of England and even
questioned the right of Europeans to
settle Indian lands.
o Was banished from the Massachusetts
colony and founded Rhode Island.
Anne Hutchinson: o Defied social norms by giving Bible
Studies.
o She stressed the importance of religious tolerance as well as on the equality and the rights of women.
o This led to her expulsion from Massachusetts.
o She and her followers eventually also settled in Rhode Island.
Religious Toleration Grows: o 1632, a safe haven for Catholics was
established in Maryland by Kings Charles I.
o William Penn was given a charter to establish a Quaker colony in Pennsylvania that promoted religious diversity.
o It was a holy experiment that attracted other Europeans including German Mennonites, and Lutherans and French Huguenots.
Becoming Americans: o Common of all these colonies was the
need for some type of governance and divine God.
o Stable local and colonial self government began to develop.
o The Virginia House of Burgess created in 1619 was the first representative assembly in North America.
o Twenty-two elected officials were chosen to make the laws for all of the colonists.
Becoming Americans: o Massachusetts Bay Colony, all church members
were permitted the right to participate in what were called town meetings.
o This direct form of government led to greater participation in government.
o Colonists were to keep their religious and cultural values at the center of their governing process.
o This led to the power of self-government and the growing spirit of Independence that challenged British rule and gain independence.
SHORT ANSWER o Explain the effect of the Reformation and the
Enlightenment on the development of
theories of democratic thought.
Objectives:
o Chapter 1:2: To show how
European political thought
provided the theoretical
foundation of American
government.
ACTIVITY
o Social Contract Theory: Class is the people.
Pick individual that represents the
government. Narrate good policy and bad
policy and how people would respond.
Social Contract Theory:
o Social Contract is an
agreement among the
people to give their consent
to be governed.
o The Pilgrims demonstrated
this with the Mayflower
Compact.
Social Contract Theory:
o Two English Theorists introduced this idea.
o Thomas Hobbes
o John Locke
o Locke argued that all individuals were free and equal by natural rights.
o This freedom gives the people the right to give consent to be governed.
Thomas Hobbes:
o Influenced by the chaos of the English Civil War.
o In his most famous work, Leviathan.
o Was a pessimist and argued that humanity’s natural state was one of war.
o Government (monarchy) was necessary to check human’s natural state of violence.
Thomas Hobbes:
o Without written enforceable rules, people would live like animals.
o Self preservation is the natural state.
o Hobbes argued people must give up certain rights to government to maintain social order and protect property.
Thomas Hobbes:
o A single ruler no matter how evil,
guarantee the right of the weak
against the strong.
o Strict laws was a small price to pay
for living in a civilized society.
John Locke:
o Government’s major responsibility was the preservation of private property (influenced the U.S. Constitution).
o Wrote: Second Treatise on Civil Government and Essay Concerning Human Understanding.
o Denied the divine right to govern.
o Individuals were born equal with natural rights that no king can void.
John Locke:
o The consent of the people is the only true basis of any sovereign right to rule.
o People form governments largely to preserve the right of making laws with penalties for regulating and preserving of property.
o And of employing the force of community in the execution of such laws … all this only for the public good.
John Locke:
o If the government acts improperly, they break their contract with the people.
o The people can withdraw their consent to be governed.
o Government should be based on law.
o Locke believed that the branch of government that makes laws should be more powerful than the one that enforces or interprets laws.
John Locke:
o A chief executive to administer law
was important, but that he should
be limited by law or by social
contract with the governed.
o Locke influenced Thomas Jefferson
and the Declaration of
Independence.
Montesquieu
o Adopted from Hobbes’s and Locke’s concepts of the social contract.
o Contributed the theory of liberty which held that governmental power was best when divided into distinct branches that provided a system to check power with power.
Rousseau:
o Argued that feeling not reason is what draws people to life in a community.
o Contended that property rights, the freedom of speech and religion, and other basic rights come from society, not a state of nature.
o Believed that society based on a true social contract would provide absolute equality and freedom for individuals.
Devising a National Government in American
Colonies:
o American colonists rejected a
system with a strong ruler(
Monarchy) when they declared
independence.
o Were fearful of replicating the
landed and titled system of the
British aristocracy.
Devising a National Government in American
Colonies:
o Wanted to create a political system placing the people at the center of power.
o Due to the vast size of the new nation, direct democracy was unworkable.
o Increased settlers phased out town meetings with indirect democracy where people voted representatives to work in their behalf.
Devising a National Government in American
Colonies:
o Ancient Greeks saw that indirect democracy as un-democratic believing that all citizens must have a direct say.
o Rousseau argued that all citizens should participate in governmental decision making.
o Indirect democracy was the form of government used throughout most of the colonies.
Devising a National Government in American
Colonies:
o To many, democracy was a uncomfortable term because people feared mob rule (Hobbes philosophy).
o Preferred the term Republic.
o A government where interests of the people were represented by more educated or wealthier citizens who were responsible to those who elected them.
Aristotle and Plato’s political classification.
o Monarchy: a form of government in
England by the rule of one
hereditary king or queen in the
interest of all of his or her subjects.
o Colonists fled from this system.
TOTALITARIANISM:
o Form of government with a ruler that benefits themselves.
o The leader exercises unlimited power and individuals have no personal rights or liberties.
o Generally ruled in the name of a particular religion, orthodoxy, an ideology or personality cult based upon a supreme leader.
Oligarchy:
o When a few people rule in their
own interest.
o Participation of government is
conditioned on the possession of
wealth, social status, military
position, or achievement.
Democracy:.
o Aristotle called rule of many for the
benefit of all citizens a “polity” and referred to rule of the many benefit themselves as a “democracy.”
o A system of government that gives power to the people, either directly or indirectly through elected representatives.
o The majority of governments worldwide are democracies.
ACTIVITY Devise a skit of the following government
systems: Totalitarianism, Oligarchy, and
Democracy.
Representative Democracy:
o Number of underlying
concepts and distinguishing
characteristics that
sometimes conflict with one
another.
o Ideas make up the core of
American political culture.
Representative Democracy:
o Political culture can be
commonly shared attitudes,
beliefs, and core values about
how government should
operate.
Values Emphasized by American Political Culture:
o Liberty and equality
o Popular consent
o Majority rule
o Popular sovereignty
o individualism
o Religious faith and freedom.
Liberty and Equality:
o Most important characteristics of the American Republican Form of Government.
o The Constitution was written to ensure life and liberty.
o The concept of personal liberty has changed from freedom from to freedom too.
o Framers intended Americans to be free from government infringement as stated in the Bill of Rights.
Popular consent:
o Government must draw their powers from the consent of the governed.
o Today’s citizens willingness to vote represents his or her consent to be governed.
o Derived from Locke’s social contract theory.
Majority Rule:
o Officials will be elected and policies made into law if the majority (Normally 50 percent of the total votes cast plus one) casts in support.
o This principle holds for both voters and elected representatives.
o Yet American system also stresses the need to preserve minority rights.
Popular Sovereignty:
o Ultimate authority in society rests with the people, has its basis in natural law.
o A doctrine that society should be governed by certain ethical principles that are part of nature and be understood by reason.
o Political authority rests with the people who can create, abolish, or alter their governments.
Individualism:
o Tremendous value is placed on the individual in American democracy.
o Derive from Protestant thought (e.g., Puritans)
o Individuals have certain unalienable rights that are beyond the scope of government intervention except in extreme instances.
Religious Faith and Freedom:
o Religious conflicts in Europe brought
many settlers to the New World.
o Many sought opportunity to practice
their religious faith.
o However, that faith did not always
imply religious tolerance.
o Today many Americans believe Islam
is a religion that promotes violence.
SHORT ANSWER: America's emphasis on individualism as a core
concept differs from that of many other
nations that place greater value on group
rights. How has that concept changed over
time?
Establishing Justice:
o One of the first expectations of government is the creation of a system of laws for individuals to abide by a common set of principles.
o Societies abiding to the rule of law allows for justice to be implemented by acknowledged legal authorities.
Establishing Justice:
o Constitution authorized Congress to create a federal judicial system to dispense justice.
o The Bill of Rights entitles people to a trial by jury.
o To be informed of the charges against them.
o To be tried in the courtroom presided over by an impartial judge.
Insuring Domestic Tranquility
o Insuring a safe society.
o In times of crisis the government takes extraordinary measures (such as the Civil War, WWII, 9-11).
o Federal Government has unprecedented ability to address domestic tranquility at the expense of public safety.
Providing For the Common Defense:
o One of the major purposes of the government is to provide for the defense of its citizens against threats of foreign aggression.
o The Constitution calls for the president to be the commander in chief of the armed forces.
o Congress is given the authority to raise an army and declare war.
Promoting the General Welfare:
o It was not the intent of the framers for
the government to expand to today.
o Key issues as health care.
Securing the blessings of Liberties:
o Whether its your ability to obtain a
low-interest student loan.
o Buy formerly prescription-only drug
such as Claritin.
o Licensed to drive at a particular
age, government plays a role.
Securing the blessings of Liberties:
o Americans enjoy a wide range of
liberties and freedoms and feel free
to prosper.
o They are free to criticize the
government and to petition it when
they disagree with its policies and
grievances.
Objectives:
o The Changing American Public:
1.5.
o Analyzing the Characteristics of
the American Public
The Changing American Public:
o One year after the Constitution was ratified fewer than 4 million people lived in thirteen states.
o Most were united by a single language and a shared Protestant Christian heritage.
o Those who voted were White male property owners.
The Changing American Public:
o The Constitution mandated that each of the sixty-five members of the original house of representatives should represent 30,000 people.
o Today the nation is 50 states, a sole member of the house of representative represents more than 974,000.
o By 2010 there are 309 million Americans.
Racial and Ethnic Composition:
o American population was altered
constantly with immigration.
o Western Europeans fleeing religious
persecution in the 1600s to early
1700s.
o Slaves brought in chains from Africa
in the late 1700s.
Racial and Ethnic Composition:
o Chinese laborers coming for the Gold
Rush in the late 1840s.
o Irish Catholics escaping the Potato
famine in the 1850s.
o Northern and Eastern Europeans from
the 1880s to 1910s.
o Asians and Hispanic today.
Growing Hispanic Population:
o Assimilation especially language has
been difficult.
o Should the U.S. be English only in
language or bilingual like Canada?
Aging:
o Improve medical advances has extended life spans.
o Baby Boomer generation (born 1946-1964) getting older brings strains upon government programs (Medi-Care, and Social Security).
o 76.8 million people who will be qualified for social security and retirement.
Aging:
o This puts strain on government.
o The elderly also vote more than
younger people and often vote
against programs favored by younger
voters, such as money for new
schools.
Religious Beliefs:
o America was founded with a majority Christian value system that influenced her social and political systems.
o Today there are more religious groups that lead to tensions.
o Evangelical Christians seeking to legislate morality.
o American Jews seeking to ensure the U.S. favors the interest of Israel.
Regional Growth and Expansion:
o Sectional Differences: (North and
South).
o North favored a strong National
Government.
o Southerners advocated for a weak
national government.
Regional Growth and Expansion:
o The Civil War was fought in part over
differences between states rights
and strong federal government.
o South continues to favor return of
power to the states at the expense of
the national government and lags
behind support for Civil Rights.
Regional Growth and Expansion:
o The West is also different than the
rest of the U.S.
o Some moved to avoid city life and is
anti-government bias.
o Others are very interested in water
rights and seek governmental
solutions to their problems.
Rural versus Urban areas.
o Those who live in rural areas
are much more conservative
than those who live in large
cities.
o Obama carried almost every
large city when he was elected
for his first term.
Family and Family Size:
o Households and gender roles have
changed.
o Lower birthrates, and prevalence of
single-parent families affect the kinds of
demand people place on government.
o Single-parent families are more
supportive of governed subsidized
programs.
SHORT ANSWER: About 40 percent of Americans under age 25
(excluding illegal aliens) are members of a
minority group. How will this ultimately affect
politics in the United States?
Objectives:
o Political Ideology: 1.6: Assess the
Role of political Ideology in
Shaping American Politics.
Political Ideologies:
o Political ideologies are a coherent set
of values and beliefs people hold
about the purpose and scope of
government in the action of
individuals.
o Ideologies are sets or systems of
beliefs that shape the thinking of
individuals on how they view the world.
Political Ideologies Shape Views On:
o Race, nationality, the role and
function of government,
o The relations between men
and women,
o human responsibility for the
natural environment,
o and many other matters.
Four functions political scientists attribute to
ideologies:
o Explanation: Ideologies can provide us with reasons for why social and political conditions are the way they are especially in time of crisis.
o Evaluation: Ideologies can provide the standards for evaluating social conditions and political institutions and events.
Four functions political scientists attribute to
ideologies:
o Orientation: Much like a compass,
ideologies provide individuals with an
orientation toward issues and
positions within the world.
o Political Program: Ideologies help
people to make political choices and
guide their political actions.
Conservatives:
o Is a defender of the status quo, who when change becomes necessary in tested institutions or practices, prefers change slowly and in moderation.
o Conservatives tend to believe that a government is best when it governs least.
Conservatives:
o They want less government especially in terms of regulation of the economy.
o Conservatives favor local and state action over federal intervention.
o Emphasize fiscal responsibility, most notably in the form of balanced budgets.
o Programs to help the poor and address discrimination should be done through the private sector and not government.
Social Conservatives:
o Many of religious ties such as evangelical or religious right, increasingly have affected politics and policies in the U.S.
o Social conservatives believed that moral decay must be stemmed and that traditional moral teachings should be supported and furthered by the government.
Social Conservatives:
o They support government intervention
to regulate sexual and social behavior.
o Have mounted effective efforts to
restrict abortion and ban same-sex
marriage.
Liberals:
o One who seeks to change the political, economic, and social status quo to foster the development of equality and the well-being of individuals.
o Liberals generally value equality over other aspects of shared political culture.
Liberals:
o They are supportive of well-funded
government social welfare programs that
seek to protect individuals from
economic disadvantages,
o They also seek to correct past injustices.
o Generally oppose government efforts to
regulate private behavior or infringe on
civil right and liberties.
Problems with Ideological Labels:
o People have conservative economic
philosophy and liberal moral outlook.
o It is not easy to quantify.
o Many also view themselves as
libertarians.
o Political scientists generally do not
measure for this choice.
Problems with Ideological Labels:
o Libertarians believe in limited
government and decry government
interference with personal liberties.
o Libertarians were among many of who
protested various government policies
in the tea party movement.
Objectives:
o 1.7 Toward reform: People and
Politics.
o Characterize Changes in American
attitudes toward and expectations
of government.
Problems with Ideological Labels:
o Politics; Is the study of who gets what,
when, and how, or how policy
decisions are made.
American Dream:
o An American ideal of a happy
successful life.
o People are more cynical towards the
government and parties are better
against each other.
o There is a growing lack of faith in
institutions.
SHORT ANSWER What is political ideology? Give an example of
how a particular political ideology might color
one's thinking about stem cell research.
QUIZLET: https://quizlet.com/_2xwjql