Foundation of the U'S' Government

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Foundation of the U.S. Government

• Overview
• Fall 2003
• Gail Johnson

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What is Government?

• Government is the political direction or control
  exercised over the actions of citizens form or
  system of rule.
• Democracy government by the people power is
  vested in the people.

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In the Beginning. The Articles of Confederation

• A firm league of friendship
• Each state retains its sovereignty, freedom and
  independence
• Each state could create its own money, rules of
  commerce (tariffs, etc.).

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In the Beginning. The Articles of Confederation

• Unicameral representative Congress
• No executive, no independent judiciary, no upper
  chamber of the legislature
• Delegates to Congress
• Each state legislature appoints between 2-7
  people
• Each state has one vote

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In the Beginning. The Articles of Confederation

• Decisions in Congress made by the majority
• Expenses for national defense paid out of the
  common treasury
• No power of the purse
• Taxes levied and sent to the Congress by the
  direction of each state legislature

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Ten Year Later..need for change

• Treasury is empty Debts cannot be paid
• Unmet expectations equality and political
  participation
• Threat of a social revolution
• Competition between the statesduties to pay at
  every state border
• Lack of quorum in congress
• Conflict and chaos

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Ten Year Later..need for change

• Our present federal government is a name, a
  shadow, without power, or effect. Henry Knox

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What Went Wrong?

• Fear ruledavoid pain inflicted by the King and
  parliament.
• Fear of a strong central government led them to
  create a confederacy with no executive, no money,
  no power to raise money.
• Narrow state self-interestloyalty to the state,
  not nation.
• Power to the states

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Shays Rebellion

• Farmers stormed courthouse in Mass.
• Property taxes increased and their profits
  declined
• Threatened by foreclosure
• The government did not serve them, so they did
  not owe loyalty to the government
• Their rebellion, unlike the Revolution, was seen
  as evil minded persons.

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Bloodless coup detat

• Constitutional Convention, 1787 in Philadelphia
• Met behind locked doors.
• Consensus a more effective central government
  was needed. But what powers, form or how
  representation should be determined were up for
  grabs.

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Philosophy Founding a Government

• Hobbs evil nature of people, pessimistic view
• Lock and Rouseau good nature of people
• optimistic view
• Plato democracy would result in tyranny of the
  majority
• Aristotle rule by the upper class
• Burke representative democracy
• Iroquois influence?

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James Madison

• "If men were angels, no government would be
  necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither
  external or internal controls on government would
  be necessary. In framing a government which is
  to be administered by men over men, the great
  difficulty lies in this You must first enable
  the government to control the governed and in
  the next place oblige it to control itself." (51)

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Madisons Dream

• Diffused Power
• Love/Fear View of Power
• Mistrust of concentrated power
• Competing Power Rather than Hierarchical Power
• Competing rather than Collaborative Power

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Madison Mischief of Factions

• By faction I understand a number of citizens
  whether amounting to a majority or minority...who
  are united and actuated by some common impulse of
  passion, or of interest, adverse to the rights of
  other citizens or the to the permanent and
  aggregate interests of the community.

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Madison Mischief of Factions

• There are two methods of curing the mischief of
  faction the one, by destroying the
  liberty....the other, by giving every citizen the
  same opinions.... (p.78)
• Control the Effects of Faction
• Extend the spheres so permanent majorities cannot
  be formed

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Madison Mischief of Factions

• To avoid the concentration of power and
  encroachment of power
• Ambition must be to made to counteract
  ambition

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Madison Mischief of Factions

• Tyranny of the Majority avoid permanent fixed
  majorities
• Tyranny of the Minority
• Power to stop, slow things down

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MadisonFederal form of government

• a republic not only guard the society against
  the oppression of its rulers, but to guard one
  part of the society against the injustice of the
  other part.....If a majority be united by a
  common interest, the rights of the minority will
  be insecure. (P. 323)

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Madison Legislature

• In a republican government, the legislative
  authority necessarily predominates. The remedy
  for this inconviency is to divide the legislature
  into different branches and to render them, by
  different modes of elections and different
  principles of action

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Madison

• It was intended that the legislature would be the
  source of policy making, as the more deliberative
  body. He believed that "promptitude of decisions
  is oftener an evil than a benefit.

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Federalism Different Levels of Government

• Federal Defense, Money, Postal, Space,
  Veteran's Services, Natural Resources,
  Retirement, Safety Net
• State higher education, welfare, roads,
  corrections, inspections, liquor control
• Local (83,000 local governments) schools,
  roads, police and fire, utilities, public
  transportation, parks, sanitation, libraries.

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Structure Separation of Powers

• Executive Branch
• Stronger than Articles of Confederation but held
  in check by Congress and Courts
• President is not as strong as Hamilton wanted
• Not the CEO
• Hapless giant
• Little control over the bureaucracy
• National constituency
• Bully Pulpit
• Job is not to legislate but to administer, but
  FDR gave rise to the legislative presidency
• Administration is harder but not seen as important

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Structure Separation of Powers

• Executive Branch
• Cabinet president recommends, Senate must
  approve
• Delegated power from the President (not in the
  constitution)
• Cabinet works at the pleasure of the president
  but is accountable to Congress, the agency and
  the agencys clientele
• Government of Strangers
• Political appointees 3,000 at the federal
  level. Vestiges of the spoils system

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Structure Separation of Powers

• Congress competing power
• House and Senate 535 members, short-term focus,
  ad hoc policy setting no national plan
• Non-hierarchical sources of power not
  necessarily in position
• Work is done in committees.
• Parochial view from sub-committees

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Structure Separation of Powers

• Congress competing power
• House proposes budget
• Senate has to agree but cant propose House
  more rowdy, shorter terms, more responsive to
  voters
• Senate more deliberative, longer terms, bigger
  picture
• Political payoff casework, bills passed in
  constituents interest

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Structure Separation of Powers

• Judiciary
• Power is judicial review
• Interprets the law but has to wait for a case to
  come to them
• Cant take initiative
• Supreme Court
• To be removed from politics, justices serve for
  life
• The can also tell administrators what to do

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Closing Mediation We the People

• JFK Profiles in Courage
• Pp. 256-257