GOVT 2301 American Government: National, State, and Local I

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GOVT 2301 American Government National, State,
and Local I
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Oh No Not a Test Already!

• Name of the President
• Name of the Vice President
• Name of your Member of Congress
• Name of one of our two U.S. Senators
• Name of the Governor
• Name of the Lt. Governor
• Name of your State Representative
• Name of your State Senator
• Name of your Mayor

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Why did we fill out that goofy survey?

• To give you an idea about what well be covering
  this Semester

• Politics, Power Citizenship
• Public Opinion
• Political Culture
• Interest Groups
• Politics of the American Founding
• Civil Liberties

• The Mass Media
• The U.S. Texas Constitutions
• Political Parties
• Federalism
• Voting, Campaigns Elections
• Local Government

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Why Should We Study Government?

• Because I said so -)
• Because one day soon (if not already) youll be
  paying taxes!
• Because government affects you everyday in
  everyway

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Why Does Government Exist?

• What is the purpose of government?
• Why have a government?
• Because we cant really trust some people
• Because some people mean us harm
• Is government really necessary?
• Yes
• No

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Principles and Theories of Government

• What are the essentials of government?
• Aristotle and Plato
• Machiavelli
• Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau
• Jefferson and Madison
• What exactly is democracy?

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Principles and Theories of Government

• a.       Government - Composed of people and
  institutions (structures) ex. Congress, courts
  who make binding decisions for society. Necessary
  to prevent anarchy. Passes laws, rules,
  regulations
• b.      Politics - Any activity attempting to
  influence government. Ex voting, contributing
  money to a candidate for a cause you believe in,
  demonstrations, letter campaigns, joining an
  interest groups, personal visits.
• c.       Political culture - the beliefs
  practices and traditions of a group of people.
• d. Political socialization - the
  process of how have you acquired you political
  beliefs and attitudes

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Principles and Theories of Government

• e.    Democratic Theory - Government of limited
  power. And secondly democracies are governments
  guided by public opinion.
• Direct Democracy - you have a vote on every issue
  that comes up. New England town meeting.
• Indirect Democracy - Representative Democracy.
  The voters elect representatives at all levels of
  government. They listen to our opinions and vote
  according to our concerns.
• f. Ideology - political beliefs our political
  philosophy.

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What Makes a Nation a Democracy? The Essentials

• 1.      Freedom of speech - right to criticize
  government and express dissent and unpopular
  viewpoints.
• 2.      Free and open elections - a choice of two
  parties or sets of candidates must exist. to
  give the voters a choice.
• 3.      Freedom of press - ex newspapers,
  magazines, Internet. Necessary to have an
  educated and informed public. Must have no
  government influence, be independent. Allowed to
  criticize the government. no government
  censorship.

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What Makes a Nation a Democracy? The Essentials

• 4.      Freedom of assembly - The right to
  organize. Allows you to join the organizations of
  your choice. Protects opposition groups and
  unpopular groups.
• 5.      Freedom of thought - (Religion) Free to
  chose political, economic, and religious beliefs.
• 6.      Equality - all has equal rights. Also
  equal treatment. Equal opportunity.
• 7.      Decisions made by majority rule.
  Determines winning candidates, bills become laws.

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What Makes a Nation a Democracy? The Essentials

• 8.      Minority Rights - example no segregation.
  No prayer in public schools. No loss of vote. The
  losers do not lose any fundamental rights.
• 9.      Limited Government - by constitution
• 10. Right to remove government Officials - by 3
  processes impeachment, recall, and elections.

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Problems with Democracy

• Democracies are slow
• Require a consensus
• Require compromise
• Follow procedural rules - must allow for a debate
• Low voter turnout - allows a minority of voters
  to control what goes on in government.
• Voter Ignorance - through laziness
• Voter Apathy - people just dont care.
• Conflict Between Majority rule and Minority
  Rights
• Constitutional Procedures Protections - Limit
  Governments Power to Deal with problems

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The Three Basic Beliefs of American Political
Culture

• 1.      Equality - Belief that all people are
  created equal and have equal rights under law.
• 2.      Individualism - Belief that government
  exists to serve the people and protect our rights
  and individual rights come first.
• 3.      Liberty - Freedom from unnecessary
  government control. We want to live as free as we
  choose so long as we arent hurting anyone else.