1. Introducing Government in America
Edwards, Wattenberg, and Lineberry
Government in America: People, Politics, and Policy
Fourteenth Edition
Chapter 1
Introducing Government in America
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman.

2. Introduction Politics and government matter.
Americans are apathetic about politics and government.
American youth are not likely to be informed about government and politics and rarely participate in politics.

3. Introduction

4. Introduction

5. Introduction

6. Government
Definition: Government is the institutions and processes through which public policies are made for society.
This definition leads to two basic questions:
How should we govern?
What should government do?
Governments typically maintain a national defense, provide services, collect taxes, and preserve order.

7. Politics Definition: Also consider Lasswell’s definition:
Politics is the process by which we select our governmental leaders and what policies they produce—politics produces authoritative decisions about public issues.
Also consider Lasswell’s definition:
Who gets what, when and how.

8. The Policymaking System
The process by which policy comes into being and evolves over time
The six items are hyperlinked to their own slide. A return button is also on the slide.

9. People
Interests
Problems
Concerns

10. Linkage Institutions
Definition: Linkage institutions are the political channels through which people’s concerns become political issues on the policy agenda.
Political Parties
Elections
News & Entertainment Media
Interest Groups

11. Policy Agenda
Definition: The policy agenda are issues that attract the serious attention of public officials.
Political issues arise when people disagree about a problem and how to fix it.
Some issues will be considered, and others will not.
A government’s policy agenda changes regularly.

12. Policymaking Institutions
Definition: Policymaking institutions are the branches of government charged with taking action on political issues.
Legislature (Congress)
Executive (President)
Courts (Federal and State)
Bureaucracies (Federal and State)

13. Policies Impact People
Public Policy: a choice that government makes in response to a political issue.

14. Policies Impact People
Impacts of Policies:
Does it solve the problem?
Does it create more problems?
Depending on the answer, policy impacts carry the political system back to its point of origin: the concerns of people.

15. Democracy
Definition: Democracy is a system of selecting policymakers and of organizing government so that policy represents and responds to the public’s preferences.
Components of Traditional Democratic Theory:
Equality in voting
Effective participation
Enlightened understanding
Citizen control of the agenda
Inclusion

16. Theories of U.S. Democracy
Pluralist Theory
A theory of government and policies emphasizing that politics is mainly a competition among groups, each one pressing for its own preferred policies
Groups will work together
Public interest will prevail through bargaining and compromise

17. Theories of U.S. Democracy
Elite and Class Theory
A theory of government and politics contending that societies are divided along class lines and that an upper-class elite will rule, regardless of the formal niceties of governmental organization
Not all groups equal
Policies benefit those with money and power

18. Theories of U.S. Democracy
Hyperpluralism
A theory of government and politics contending that groups are so strong that government is weakened.
Groups control policy and prevent government from acting
Difficulty in coordinating policy implementation
Confusing and contradictory policies result from politicians trying to placate every group

19. Challenges to Democracy
Increased Technical Expertise
Limited Participation in Government
Escalating Campaign Costs
Diverse Political Interests (policy gridlock)

20. American Political Culture and Democracy
Political Culture: An overall set of values widely shared within a society.
American culture is diverse and comprised of:
Liberty
Egalitarianism
Individualism
Laissez-faire
Populism

21. Questions About Democracy
People
Are people knowledgeable about policy?
Do they apply what the know when they vote?
Do elections facilitate political participation?
Institutions
Is Congress a representative institution?
Does the president look after the general welfare?

22. Questions About Democracy
Linkage Institutions
Do interest groups help the process, or do they get in the way?
Do political parties offer clear consistent choices for voters or do they intentionally obscure their positions?
Do media help citizens understand choices?

23. How Active is American Government?
It spends about $3.1 trillion annually
It employs over 2.2 million people
It owns one-third of the land
It occupies 2.6 billion square feet of office space
It owns and operates 400,000 nonmilitary vehicles

24. Questions about the Scope of Government
Constitution and Federalism
What role does the Constitution’s authors foresee for the federal government?
Does the Constitution favor government with a broad scope?
Why did functions of federal government increase?
Has a more active government constrained or protected civil rights and liberties?

25. Questions about the Scope of Government
Public and Linkage Institutions
Does the public favor a large, active government?
Do competing political parties force government to provide more public services?
Do elections control the scope of government?
Does pressure from interest groups create a bigger government?
Has the media helped control the size of government and its policies?

26. Questions about the Scope of Government
Elected Institutions
Has the president been a driving force behind increasing the scope and power of government?
Can the president control a large government?
Is Congress predisposed to support big government?
Is Congress too responsive to the public and interest groups?

27. Questions about the Scope of Government
Nonelected Institutions
Are the federal courts too active in policy making, intruding on the authority of other branches of government?
Is the bureaucracy constantly try to expand its budget or is it simply reflecting the desires of elected officials?
Is the federal bureaucracy too large and thus wasteful and inefficient in the implementation of policy?

28. Summary
Young people are apathetic about government and politics, even though they affect everyone.
Democratic government, which is how the United States is governed, consists of those institutions that make policy for the benefit of the people.
What government should do to benefit the people is a topic central to questions of American government.

29. The Constitution Chapter 2 Edwards, Wattenberg, and Lineberry
Government in America: People, Politics, and Policy
Fourteenth Edition
Chapter 2
The Constitution
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman.

30. Constitution Definition Sets the broad rules of the game
A constitution is a nation’s basic law. It creates political institutions, assigns or divides powers in government, and often provides certain guarantees to citizens.
Sets the broad rules of the game
The rules are not neutral; some participants and policy options have advantages over others.

31. Origins of the Constitution
The Road to Revolution
Colonists faced tax increases after the French and Indian War.
Colonists lacked direct representation in parliament.
Colonial leaders formed the Continental Congress to address abuses of the English Crown.

32. Origins of the Constitution

33. Origins of the Constitution
Declaring Independence
In May and June 1776, the Continental Congress debated resolutions for independence.
The Declaration of Independence, which listed the colonists grievances against the British, is adopted on July 4, 1776.
Politically, the Declaration was a polemic, announcing and justifying revolution.

34. Origins of the Constitution
The English Heritage: The Power of Ideas
Natural rights: rights inherent in human beings, not dependent on government
Consent of the governed: government derives its authority by sanction of the people
Limited Government: certain restrictions should be placed on government to protect natural rights of citizens

35. Origins of the Constitution

36. Origins of the Constitution
Winning Independence
In 1783, the American colonies prevailed in their war against England.
The “Conservative” Revolution
Restored rights the colonists felt they had lost
Not a major change of lifestyles

37. The Government That Failed
The Articles of Confederation
The first document to govern the United States, it was adopted in 1777 and ratified in 1781.
It established a confederation, a “league of friendship and perpetual union” among 13 states and former colonies.
Congress had few powers; there was no president or national court system.
All government power rested in the states.

38. The Government That Failed
Changes in the States
Liberalized voting laws increased political participation and power among a new middle class.
An expanding economic middle class of farmers and craft workers counterbalanced the power of the old elite of professionals and wealthy merchants.
Ideas of equality spread and democracy took hold.

39. The Government that Failed

40. The Government That Failed
Economic Turmoil
Postwar depression left farmers unable to pay debts
State legislatures sympathetic to farmers and passed laws that favored debtors over creditors
Shays’ Rebellion
Series of attacks on courthouses by a small band of farmers led by Revolutionary War Captain Daniel Shays to block foreclosure proceedings.
Economic elite concerned about Articles’ inability to limit these violations of individual’s property rights

41. The Government That Failed
The Aborted Annapolis Meeting
An attempt to discuss changes to the Articles of Confederation in September 1786
Attended by only 12 delegates from 5 states
Called for a meeting in May 1787 to further discuss changes—the Constitutional Convention

42. Making a Constitution: The Philadelphia Convention
Gentlemen in Philadelphia
55 men from 12 of the 13 states
Mostly wealthy planters and merchants
Most were college graduates with some political experience
Many were coastal residents from the larger cities, not the rural areas

43. The Philadelphia Convention
Philosophy into Action
Human Nature, which is self-interested
Political Conflict, which leads to factions
Objects of Government, including the preservation of property
Nature of Government, which sets power against power so that no one faction rises above and overwhelms another

44. The Agenda in Philadelphia
The Equality Issues
Equality and Representation of the States
New Jersey Plan—equal representation in states
Virginia Plan—population-based representation
Connecticut Compromise
Slavery
Three-fifths compromise
Political Equality and voting left to states

45. The Agenda in Philadelphia

46. The Agenda in Philadelphia
The Economic Issues
States had tariffs on products from other states
Paper money was basically worthless
Congress couldn’t raise money
Actions taken:
Powers of Congress to be strengthened
Powers of states to be limited

47. The Agenda in Philadelphia

48. The Agenda in Philadelphia
The Individual Rights Issues
Some were written into the Constitution:
Prohibits suspension of writ of habeas corpus
No bills of attainder
No ex post facto laws
Religious qualifications for holding office prohibited
Strict rules of evidence for conviction of treason
Right to trial by jury in criminal cases
Some were not specified
Freedom of speech and expression
Rights of the accused

49. The Madisonian Model
To prevent a tyranny of the majority, Madison proposed a government of:
Limiting Majority Control
Separating Powers
Creating Checks and Balances
Establishing a Federal System

50. The Madisonian Model

51. The Madisonian Model

52. The Madisonian Model The Constitutional Republic
Republic: A form of government in which the people select representatives to govern them and make laws
Favors the status quo – change is slow
The End of the Beginning
The document was approved, but not unanimously. Now it had to be ratified.

53. Ratifying the Constitution

54. Ratifying the Constitution
Federalist Papers
A collection of 85 articles written by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison under the name “Publius” to defend the Constitution
Bill of Rights
The first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution, drafted in response to some of the Anti-Federalist concerns about the lack of basic liberties

55. Ratifying the Constitution

56. Ratifying the Constitution
Ratification
Lacking majority support, the Federalists specified that the Constitution be ratified by state conventions, not state legislatures.
Delaware first ratified the Constitution on December 7, 1787.
New Hampshire’s approval (the ninth state to ratify) made the Constitution official six months later.

57. Constitutional Change

58. Constitutional Change
The Informal Process of Constitutional Change
Judicial Interpretation
Marbury v. Madison (1803): judicial review
Changing Political Practice
Technology
Increasing Demands on Policymakers

59. The Importance of Flexibility
The Constitution is short, with fewer than 8,000 words.
It does not prescribe every detail.
There is no mention of congressional committees or independent regulatory commissions.
The Constitution is not static, but flexible for future generations to determine their own needs.

60. Understanding the Constitution
The Constitution and Democracy
The Constitution is rarely described as democratic.
There has been a gradual democratization of the Constitution.
The Constitution and the Scope of Government
Much of the Constitution reinforces individualism and provides multiple access points for citizens.
It also encourages stalemate and limits government.

61. Summary
The Constitution was ratified to strengthen congressional economic powers, even with disagreements over issues of equality.
Protection of individual rights guaranteed through the Bill of Rights.
Formal and informal changes continue to shape our Madisonian system of government.

62. Federalism Chapter 3 Edwards, Wattenberg, and Lineberry
Government in America: People, Politics, and Policy
Fourteenth Edition
Chapter 3
Federalism
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman.

63. Defining Federalism What is Federalism?
Federalism: a way of organizing a nation so that two or more levels of government have formal authority over the land and people
Unitary governments: a way of organizing a nation so that all power resides in the central government
Confederation: The United Nations is a modern example.
Intergovernmental Relations: the workings of the federal system- the entire set of interactions among national, state and local governments

64. Defining Federalism

65. Defining Federalism Why Is Federalism So Important?
Decentralizes our politics
More opportunities to participate
Decentralizes our policies
Federal and state governments handle different problems.
States regulate drinking ages, marriage, and speed limits.
States can solve the same problem in different ways and tend to be policy innovators.

66. The Constitutional Basis of Federalism
The Division of Power
Supremacy Clause: Article VI of the Constitution states the following are supreme:
The U.S. Constitution
Laws of Congress
Treaties
Yet, national government cannot usurp state powers.
Tenth Amendment

67. The Constitutional Basis of Federalism

68. The Constitutional Basis of Federalism
Establishing National Supremacy
Implied and enumerated powers
McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
Commerce Powers
Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)
The Civil War ( )
The Struggle for Racial Equality
Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

69. The Constitutional Basis of Federalism
States’ Obligations to Each Other
Full Faith and Credit: Each state must recognize official documents and judgments rendered by other states.
Article IV, Section I of Constitution
Privileges and Immunities: Citizens of each state have privileges of citizens of other states.
Article IV, Section 2 of Constitution
Extradition: States must return a person charged with a crime in another state to that state for punishment.

70. Intergovernmental Relations Today
Dual Federalism
Definition: a system of government in which both the states and the national government remain supreme within their own spheres, each responsible for some policies
Like a layer cake
Narrowly interpreted powers of federal government
Ended in the 1930s

71. Intergovernmental Relations Today
Cooperative Federalism
Definition: a system of government in which powers and policy assignments are shared between states and the national government
Like a marble cake
Shared costs and administration
States follow federal guidelines

72. Intergovernmental Relations Today
Fiscal Federalism
Definition: the pattern of spending, taxing, and providing grants in the federal system
The cornerstone of the national government’s relations with state and local governments

73. Intergovernmental Relations Today

74. Intergovernmental Relations Today
Fiscal Federalism (continued)
The Grant System: Distributing the Federal Pie
Categorical Grants: federal grants that can be used for specific purposes; grants with strings attached
Project Grants: based on merit
Formula Grants: amount varies based on formulas
Block Grants: federal grants given more or less automatically to support broad programs
Grants are given to states and local governments.

75. Intergovernmental Relations Today
Fiscal Federalism (continued)
The Scramble for Federal Dollars
$460 billion in grants every year
Grant distribution follows universalism—a little something for everybody.
The Mandate Blues
Mandates direct states or local governments to comply with federal rules under threat of penalties or as a condition of receipt of a federal grant.
Unfunded mandates

76. Understanding Federalism
Advantages for Democracy
Increases access to government
Local problems can be solved locally
Hard for political parties or interest groups to dominate all politics
Disadvantages for Democracy
States have different levels of service
Local interest can counteract national interests
Too many levels of government and too much money

77. Understanding Federalism

78. Understanding Federalism

79. Understanding Federalism
Federalism and the Scope of Government
What should the scope of national government be relative to the states?
National power increased with industrialization, expansion of individual rights, and social services.
Most problems require resources afforded to the national, not state governments.

80. Understanding Federalism

81. Summary
American federalism is a governmental system in which power is shared between a central government and the 50 state governments.
The United States has moved from dual to cooperative federalism; fiscal federalism.
Federalism leads to both advantages and disadvantages to democracy.