Origins and Purposes of American Government and Political Culture

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1 Origins and Purposes of American Government and Political Culture

2 Origins and purposes of government Evaluate the statement: Government is a necessary evil. Purpose of government Examine the Preamble Who? Why? What? Extent of success? Define politics. Politics in your life?

3 Types of government Explain Aristotle s classification system, including definitions and examples of the six forms of government in your explanation

4 Roots of American Government Classical Greece and Rome Enlightenment Reformation (Luther, Calvin, Pilgrims) Thomas Hobbes (Leviathan) Life is solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short Strong government vs. life in the state of nature ie war John Locke (Second Treatise on Civil Government; Essay Concerning Human Understanding) Consent of the governed Social contract Natural rights Influence on Declaration of Independence

5 Early American experiments and experiences with governance Self-government Mayflower Compact House of Burgesses Town Meetings Types of democracies: Compare, considering strengths and weaknesses of each Direct Indirect Republic What would Locke, Hobbes prefer? Strong or weak central power Articles of Confederation Constitution

6 American Political Culture Personal liberty From freedom from to freedom to Equality one person, one vote Popular consent and majority rule Consent of the governed Locke Majority rule and minority rights Popular sovereignty Power to the people Uses in history

7 American Political Culture (continued) Civil Society Created when people have the right to openly organize and debate public policy Individualism Each individual possesses unalienable rights Rugged individualism changes for the better? Religious faith Role in politics Impact on social issues

8 Attitudes towards Government: Take this True false quiz for a class profile: 1. Our government does a good job, given the many responsibilities it has 2. Government is generally ineffective in its efforts to improve societal concerns 3. Some government programs are very effective at resolving the issues they target 4. I will definitely vote regularly in the future 5. Most of the people in the senior class care about political issues 6. Individuals and local charities should take primary responsibility for addressing social issues 7. Politicians are most interested in getting re-elected or improving their own economic situation so they are not concerned with helping the people 8. Less government is better 9. Government must get involved otherwise certain problems will never be addressed 10.Frequent news about scandals reflects both better governmental oversight and media hype

9 American Attitudes Towards Government High expectations Dwelling on the negatives Mistrust of politicians Voter apathy

10 Identify a significant trend. Develop theories concerning the significance and impact of the numbers

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17 The Impact of American Demographics: has great summaries of data! Increased population Changes in racial and ethnic composition Role of immigration Impact of Hispanic-Americans Changes in the age pyramid Impact on Social Security Families: size and structure

18 Political Ideologies: Go to to find out where you stand! Functions Explanation Evaluation Orientation Political Program Common American Ideologies Liberalism Moderate Conservativism Libertarian Labels can gloss over divergent views i.e. a social liberal who is fiscally conservative

19 Political Ideologies Video on libertarianism: see hotchalk.com nbcnews-gov/pol pol beliefs libertarian ed clark

20 Listen to the roundtable discussion on self-government to fill in the chart Professor Obasohan Reece Falcon Ideology Evidence As you think about the arguments given by each, consider the strategies employed to convince the listener: emotional appeal, appealing to your values, using facts and reason, or using humor (inc. satire, parody, or irony) Consider the relative merits as well as the weaknesses in their respective arguments.