Introduction to GOVT 2302

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Introduction to GOVT 2302

• Review of key principles from 2301

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WelcomeOr Welcome Back
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As you know, GOVT 2302 is the second of two
classes designed to introduce students to the
United States and Texas Constitutions, the basic
language of government and politics, and the
nature of American Political institutions.
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In this first set of slides I want to recall the
purpose of this class, as well as GOVT 2301, and
review key principles from 2301.
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Examples Natural RightsConstitutional
DesignCivil Liberties and RightsInstitutionsEle
ctionsPolitical PartiesParticipatory Rights
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In brief, over the course of this semester we
will dig deeply into the nature of the three
branches of government LegislativeExecutiveJu
dicial
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In order to put these into context, we will begin
by reviewing the relevant material from GOVT 2301.
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When you are finished, you will be asked to
answer a series of questions regarding these
principles. They should help this material make
sense.
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Lets review why this class is even offered, much
less required.
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Because you are citizens in a democratic
republic.
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Democracies are based on the people and its
actions are the culmination of the preferences of
the population. This is expressed subtly when
individuals choose to follow or not follow the
laws, pay taxes, in protecting the republic when
threatened, or in deciding to participate in
public events like elections.
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An educated participatory and virtuous citizenry
has always been considered to be necessary to the
survival of a democratic republic.
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Why? Because democratic republics are fragile.
History provides many examples of them losing
public support and falling into anarchy and then
despotism.
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Key example The Lessons of Ancient Rome
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The nations founders were generally classically
educated and were familiar with the history of
Rome.(Who were the founders? Heres the
Wikipedia page on who qualifies as a founder.
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After almost 500 years as a Republic (509 BC27
BC), where it was ruled by its citizens, Rome
became an empire. The driving force behind this
change was Julius Caesar.
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What is a Republic?A republic is a type of
government where the citizens choose the leaders
of their country and the people (or at least a
part of its people) have an impact on its
government. -Wikipedia
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In short, a governing system where the people
rule themselves.But while a republic, Rome was
also chaotic, unstable, and sometimes
ungovernable. Leaders were often corrupt and
unpopular.
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What is an Empire? A major political unit
having a territory of great extent or a number of
territories or peoples under a single sovereign
authority especially one having an emperor as
chief of state. The territory of such a political
unit. Something resembling a political empire
especially an extensive territory or enterprise
under single domination or control.
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During the empire, all civil and military power
rested with the emperor. The people had no say in
governance, though emperors had to appease them
in order to minimize the possibility of rebellion.
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In short, a governing system where the people are
ruled by an emperor and have little ability, if
any, to directly participate in public affairs.
But these could also be times of peace and
prosperity.
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Again, this shift from republic to empire was
driven by Julius Caesar, an ambitious general
who attempted to turn the republic into an empire
under his control.He failed because he was
assassinated by Senators who were aware of his
plans, now you know why he was killed.
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Heres the scene from HBOs Rome
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But his nephew Augustus Caesar would succeed.A
quick video about him.
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Heres some irony The chaotic republic was
transformed into a more peaceful empire. After
Augustus there would be over 200 years of peace
in Rome The Pax Romana.This creates a dilemma
Which system is preferable?
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A bit more history from the movies The emperor
who would end the Pax Romana was Commodus the
guy from the Gladiator. It is argued that the
decline of the Roman Empire began with his rule.
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A few videos on You Tube try to explain this
transition. Here are a few you might want to
watchRome The Fall of the Republic (1-4)
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So the question became What factors led to the
decline of the Republic, and could the decline
have been prevented? In short Is a Republic
a system of government based on the people,
sustainable?
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As a practical matter considering that the
early empire seemed temporarily to be a
successful system what balance ought to be
struck between popular rule and a central state?
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Members of the founding generation wished to
avoid this fate.
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Benjamin Franklin put it this way
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Mrs. Powel "Well Doctor, what have we got, a
republic or a monarchy?" Benjamin Franklin "A
republic if you can keep it- An exchange
alleged to have taken place at the conclusion of
the Constitutional Convention.
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Abraham Lincoln would also ask the question
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Four score and seven years ago our fathers
brought forth on this continent a new nation,
conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the
proposition that all men are created equal. Now
we are engaged in a great civil war, testing
whether that nation, or any nation, so conceived
and so dedicated, can long endure. Abraham
LincolnThe opening of the Gettysburg Address
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Why are they difficult to maintain?Human Nature
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A democratic republic can only be maintained if
the people are willing to look after its general
long term needs.
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"Public virtue cannot exist in a nation without
private, and public virtue is the only foundation
of republics." -John Adams Public Virtue
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But people tend to be more focused on short term
personal needs.
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CorruptionAmbitionWealthComplacencyFactions
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All create problems for the maintenance of a
republic.Note A key philosophic dispute
underlying governmental design is whether human
nature can be improved.
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Whats worse, democratic republics tend to
develop the very factors that will lead to their
demise.
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Conflict over how government ought to be run and
over who ought to be in charge can lead to the
dismantling of the republic.
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But this conflict develops because people are
free to develop, articulate and act on their own
opinions.
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American Government is founded, in a sense, on a
contradiction. While it is based on the people
(popular sovereignty) historically the people
have demonstrated themselves not to be a solid
foundation for government. At least the elites
thought so.
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The countrys founders did not necessarily expect
the republic to last. Previous republics had not.
One of historys lessons is that democracies tend
to be very short lived.
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For my part, I am not much attached to the
majesty of the multitude, and therefore waive all
pretensions (founded on such conduct), to their
countenance. I consider them in general as very
ill qualified to judge for themselves what
government will best suit their peculiar
situations nor is this to be wondered at. The
science of government is not easily understood.
Cato will admit, I presume, that men of good
education and deep reflection, only, are judges
of the form of a government whether it is
constituted on such principles as will restrain
arbitrary power, on the one hand, and equal to
the exclusion of corruption and the destruction
of licentiousness on the other - (Caesar 2)
Alexander Hamilton
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Which raises an important question
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Is self-government possible? That is the
essence of the American Experiment, to discover
whether this is in fact possible.
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Can the population of a country govern
itself?Alexander Hamilton would claim that this
was the question America was to answer for the
world.
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It has been frequently remarked that it seems to
have been reserved to the people of this country,
by their conduct and example, to decide the
important question, whether societies of men are
really capable or not of establishing good
government from reflection and choice, or whether
they are forever destined to depend for their
political constitutions on accident and
force.- Publius (Alexander Hamilton),
Federalist 1
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Reflection and choiceAccident and force
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American government, Texas included, is based on
popular consent. The governmental system is a
choice, It only survives to the degree that
people choose to maintain it.
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American government is based on consent, but is
the general population capable of offering
informed consent?What are people willing to
consent to?
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Is the general population willing to be persuaded
to support one party or the other, or one
candidate or the other, for superficial short
sighted reasons harmful to the long term
interests of the community?
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Bread and CircusesCan the support of the people
be bought? At what price?
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Government based on popular consent requires an
educated population capable of providing a solid
basis for governing.
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An educated choice
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An understanding of the principles of government
is argued necessary to maintain the republic
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But heres the problem
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Most public opinion surveys demonstrate that
people lack the knowledge about governmental
issues, and attentiveness to politics that was
expected necessary by the founders.
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Actually, many founders expected that the mass
public would be incapable of self-government and
purposely limited participation to a ruling class
that would have the ability to govern effectively.
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Those who own America ought to govern it- John
Jay
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But since the early years of the republic,
efforts have been made to broaden participation.
Public education has been seen as being central
to this effort. An educated citizenry can more
effectively govern itself.
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Civic Education
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Thomas Jefferson Preamble to a Bill for the
More General Diffusion of KnowledgeA link to
the entire bill.
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Art. 3. Religion, morality, and knowledge, being
necessary to good government and the happiness of
mankind, schools and the means of education shall
forever be encouraged. -- The Northwest
Ordinance (1787)
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It the Mexican Government has failed to
establish any public system of education,
although possessed of almost boundless resources,
(the public domain,) and although it is an axiom
in political science, that unless a people are
educated and enlightened, it is idle to expect
the continuance of civil liberty, or the capacity
for self government. - one of the grievances in
the Texas Declaration of Independence.
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As a result, a government can be chosen by the
population which can then offer consent to it
based on its evaluations of its performance.
The alternative is coercion.
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As mentioned above, this class focuses on the
nature of the three basic institutions of
governmentLegislativeExecutiveJudicial
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We will define each, explore their historical
evolution, how each is designed in the U.S. and
Texas Constitutions, how they have evolved over
the years and how their current design.
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An exploration of British history and the organic
development of British institutions will be
central to this effort.
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Our institutions were based on British
institutions. Our history is in many ways an
extension of theirs. Our institutions were
designed to learn from the lessons of history.
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They are not based on theory, they are based on
reality.
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This requires that we understand the importance
of basic historical text. Charter of
LibertiesMagna CartaPetition of RightBritish
Bill of RightsBritish Common Law
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Together these, and select other documents,
establish the British Constitution. In many
places, our Constitution uses the same
terminology found in the British Constitution.
To the extent possible, we will try to
establish these relationships this semester.
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Why is this important? If we want to preserve our
constitutional structure is crucial to know this
history. It should also give us a renewed
appreciation for the structure established by the
document.
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It is the product of experience trial and error
dating back centirues.
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Examples
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Our bicameral legislature is similar in form to
the bicameral legislature in Britain. A lower
branch is connected closely to the general
population, while an upper branch is removed from
it.
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The development of the legislature can be traced
to Magna Carta, which was a response to the
abuses of King John. Part of the function of
legislatures since then has been to check
abusive, potentially abusive executives.
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Our singular executive and administrative
structure is similar with exceptions -- to the
singular executive which has existed over
British history and the administrative apparatus
which has evolved to carry out the laws.
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Concerns over the potential abuse of executive
power recur throughout British and American
history. These conflicts peaked during the Stuart
monarchy, and led to our constitutional
understanding of the role of the executive.
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Our judicial system, the concept of judicial
independence, and our common law, is based on
British experience.
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We will follow the following format for each of
the three principle governing institutions.
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First We will define the powers of each
institution, investigate their evolution through
British history, discovery what was stated about
each power in the Declaration of Independence,
and how they were established in the Articles of
Confederation.
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Second We will read how each institution is
established in the United States and Texas
Constitutions. We will also understand the
principle controversies associated with each
institution and how these were handled in the
Constitutional Convention and the Federalist
Papers.
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Third We will investigate the principle changes
each institution has weathered over American
history.
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Fourth We will conclude with an analysis of the
contemporary state of each institution and the
issues and controversies associated with each
institution.
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Hopefully this will allow us to effectively trace
the evolution of the powers of each institution.
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Now for a quick review of the central concepts of
2301.Again, be prepared to answer questions
about this material.
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Some Definitions
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A Couple Definitions of GovernmentThe
institution, or institutions, with the monopoly
on the legitimate use of coercion in societyThe
institutions and procedures through which a land
and its people are ruled.
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Governments do three thingsThey Pass LawsThey
Implement LawsThey Adjudicate Laws
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In the American Constitutional system, these
three functions are vested in three separate
institutionsLegislativeExecutiveJudicial
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These are the separated powers.The
concentration of those powers in the hands of one
person or entity is tyranny.
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The purpose of the separated powers is to prevent
tyranny.The purpose of the checks and balances
is to maintain the separated powers.
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Governments are based on sovereign power.
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What is sovereignty?supreme power,
especially over a body politic the quality of
having supreme, independent authority over a
territory the power to do everything in a
state without accountability
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The only question is where sovereignty
lies.Autocracy rule of oneOligarchy rule
of the fewDemocracy rule of the many
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Each has advantages and disadvantages
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Autocratic rule is efficient but
arbitrary.Oligarchic rule is knowledgeable but
biased.Democratic rule is legitimate, but
subject to mob rule.
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In the American system of government, sovereignty
rests with the people (We the People), but the
precise design of the constitution incorporates
aspects of autocracy, oligarchy and democracy.
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The Executive AutocraticThe Judiciary
OligarchicThe Legislature - Democratic
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The American Governing System is best defined as
a republic.
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Defining Politics
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What is Politics?The authoritarian allocation
of values in society.The struggle over who
gets what, when and how.Intrigue or
maneuvering within a political unit or group in
order to gain control or power
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While government refers to those institutions
that can rule with authority, politics refers
to the effort to determine what those
institutions will do.
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Political institutions are largely private
organizations developed to influence the
activities of government.
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Principle ExamplesPolitical PartiesInterest
GroupsThe Media
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A political party is a group that competes in
elections in order to hold public office and
organizes governing institutions once in power.
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Political parties are not mentioned in the
Constitution but they have evolved as effective
ways to organize both the electorate and
governing institutions, especially the
legislature.
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In addition to recruiting and running candidates
for elective office, parties provide voters a
limited opportunity to influence the course of
public policy.
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The winner take all voting rules in most American
elections has led to the development of two major
political parties. Third parties are
uncompetitive beyond one or two electoral cycles.
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The Democratic and Republican Parties have
dominated American politics since 1856.
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Interest Groups are similar. They organize to
influence how government officials establish
public policy in a particular area.They do not
complete in elections.
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They engage in lobbying and other activities.
All these activities are constitutionally
protected under the right to peacefully assemble
and petition government for a redress of
grievances.
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The U.S. has had a vibrant press since the
colonial era. The press was central not only to
the revolution, but to the expansion of political
participation.
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A free press is necessary for the electorate to
get the information necessary to form opinions
about governmental activities.
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The press is also constitutionally protected.
Congress cannot pass laws abridging the freedom
of the press.
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Ideology
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A key source of political conflict differences
in attitudes about values and interests
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Ideology A set of positions on issues based on
some underlying value or interest.
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Two dominant ideologies in the
U.S.ConservatismLiberalism
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While there is tension within each, they can be
defined somewhat simply.
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Conservatism tends to prioritize freedom over
equality and also seeks to uphold traditional
relationships in society.
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Liberalism tends to prioritize equality over
freedom and seeks to expand participation and
social benefits to the lower classes.
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We covered the development and application of the
concept of natural rights.Over the course of
British history, the doctrine of the Divine Right
of the Monarchy was replaced with the doctrine of
the Natural Rights of the Individual.
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The Divine Right of King held that people are
born into a divine social order that must be
maintained Natural Right Theory argued that
each individual has natural, or unalienable
rights and it is the purpose of government to
secure them.
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The American governing system begins with the
idea that rights are innate in individuals, not
granted by a government or another individual,
like a king for example.
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This is Jeffersons argument in the Declaration
of Independence
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We hold these truths to be self-evident That
all men are created equal that they are endowed
by their Creator with certain unalienable rights
that among these are life, liberty, and the
pursuit of happiness that, to secure these
rights, governments are instituted among men,
deriving their just powers from the consent of
the governed that whenever any form of
government becomes destructive of these ends, it
is the right of the people to alter or to abolish
it, and to institute new government, laying its
foundation on such principles, and organizing its
powers in such form, as to them shall seem most
likely to effect their safety and happiness.
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The argument is presented as a mathematical
proof.A central point of the argument is that
it is rational to consent to a properly designed
governing system.
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Be able to answer questions about consent and
the unalienable rights.
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The Declaration of Independence is does not
establish a government, so it is not a
constitution.
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The powers of government are defined in written
Constitutions on the national and state levels.
These establish governmental institutions and
define the relationship between them and between
government and the individual.
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The men who adopted the Declaration of
Independence also wrote the Articles of
Confederation.All power rested with the states.
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The commercial interests did not find this
arrangement acceptable and called for a
constitutional convention to correct the
documents alleged deficiencies.
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Not everyone was in favor of the
convention.Patrick Henry thought the
federalists meant to undermine the authority of
the states. He was right.
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Simply put, state control did not allow for
coordination between the states. Interstate
transactions were difficult if not impossible.
Business suffered. The Federalists reflected the
interests of business.
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The principle ringleaders Alexander
HamiltonJames Madison
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Both Hamilton and Madison presented proposals to
the Constitutional Convention that would have
further expanded national power. But they were
unsuccessful.
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The U.S. Constitution was the product of several
compromises.3/5ths CompromiseGreat
CompromiseBill of Rights
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The Constitution contains several principles. We
dug into four dominant ones
RepublicanismSeparated PowersFederalismIndividu
al Liberty
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Principle 1Republicanism(indirect democracy)
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The United States is more accurately described as
being a republic (a representative democracy),
not a democracy or at least a pure democracy.
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The founders at least those that wrote the
constitution believed that direct (or pure)
democracies were unstable and prone to tyranny of
the majority.
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The founders believed that indirect, or
representative, democracy is preferable to direct
democracy since it would be less subject to the
passionate, unsteady preferences of the mob.
Elites were granted a special status in early
American history.
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It was assumed that people in general were more
prone to conflict than cooperation and that given
the chance, the majority would persecute the
minority. Pure democracy provided the majority
that opportunity.This is the argument in
Federalist 10
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But as the country grew, democracy grew,
expansion expanded, and more direct control of
governing institutions were instituted. Texas
government is more democratic than the United
States government.
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The U.S. has become more democratic over its
history primarily due to the expansion of
suffrage.
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Basic Democratic PrinciplesMajority
RulesMinority RightsUniversal Adult Suffrage
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An ongoing problem with democracy is the tension
between majority rules and minority rightsThe
majority can tyrannize the minority.
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Principle 1 Separated Powersbacked up with
the Checks and Balances
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Here we discussed the purpose of the separated
powers, how powers are separated and maintained,
and the logic behind the system of checks and
balances.
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Concentrated legislative, executive, and judicial
powers allow for the development of a tyrannical
system.They must be separated in order to
resist tyranny.
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The Constitution vests governing powers in three
institutions that are made as independent as
possible.
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This explains why each is elected uniquely, and
has a separate term of office.
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House election by the peopleSenate
originally elected by state legislaturesPresident
Electoral CollegeCourts Nomination and
Confirmation
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But it was assumed that each institution would be
controlled by people of great ambition, and that
continued ambition would lead members of one
institution to seek to control the others.
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The powers granted in the Constitution to those
institutions are largely meant to allow one
institution to resist the threats posed by the
other two.
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Examples Impeachment VetoJudicial Review
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Principle 3Federalism
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The federal system The U.S. Constitution splits
sovereignty between the national and state
governments. Conflict continues between these two
levels of government.
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The Constitution delegates certain powers to the
national government and reserves the rest to the
states.
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Some national powers are implied by loose
readings of the commerce and necessary and proper
clauses. The nature of these powers has been an
ongoing source of conflict between advocates of
national and state power respectively.
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Key Terms Delegated (Enumerated)
PowersReserved PowersImplied Powers
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While the Constitution only mentions the national
and state governments, thousands of local
governments exist throughout the country. They
exist by the authority of the state constitutions.
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Principle 4Individual LibertyorCivil Liberties
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Here we discussed the justifications for
individual liberty civil liberties -- and the
way that the Bill of Rights, and other features
of the Constitution secure them them.
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The Bill of Rights places limits on the powers of
the government.Until the 14th Amendment, it
applied only to the national government.
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Two types Substantive What government can
pass laws aboutProcedural How someone can be
searched, tried and punished.
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Certain specific substantive and procedural
limitations are placed on the powers of
government. These establish the idea that people
are free in those areas. These are primarily
found in the Bill of Rights.
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Substantive Liberties are established by limiting
the ability of Congress to pass laws on certain
subjects, for example free exercise or religious
belief, press, and speech.
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Procedural liberties are established by removing
the ability of government to arbitrarily search,
try and imprison individuals.
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Civil liberties are not absolute. They can be
limited based upon whether the courts determine
that a particular use of right has violated the
greater interest of society.Shouting fire in a
crowded theater.
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The breadth of civil liberties is an ongoing
source of controversy in the United
States.Does, for example, a right to privacy
exist?
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An additional source of controversy is the
consequence of the 14th Amendment. By
nationalizing citizenship the citizens of the
state could use the national courts to seek
redress against the state government.
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This gave the national government additional
power against the states.
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Civil Rights and the Equal Protection Clause
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The concept of civil rights and the impact of the
14th Amendment, most notably the equal protection
clause, on the constitutional order.
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As a consequence of the 14th Amendment, No state
shall deny to persons within their jurisdiction
the equal protection of the law.
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The 14th Amendment made the U.S. Bill of Rights
applicable to the states.
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States had to treat people the same before the
law.But what exactly does this mean?
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It can be controversial depending on what
criteria is being used to distinguish between
people.RaceGenderAge
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The Supreme Court has had to weigh in over time
to determine what types of criteria can be used
to treat people differently and what types are
not.
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Distinctions based on race and citizenship are
suspect classifications meaning that they must
survive the most rigid analysis by the courts.
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The conflict continues.
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Elections
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We covered the purpose of elections in a
democracy, the nature of the electoral system on
all three levels of government, with a special
emphasis on the consequences of the winner take
all system.
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Most, but not all, offices are staffed with
periodic elections. Many judicial and
bureaucratic positions are appointed in order to
ensure professionalism in the occupant, but this
minimizes the democratic nature of American
government.
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While suffrage was limited in the early years of
the republic, over the course of American history
it has expanded to include most groups in
society.
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Turnout varies among different groups in society.
Wealth, age and education are good predictors of
voter turnout.
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A democratic society is dependent upon an
informed electorate.
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Political Parties, which were mentioned above,
are the key players in an electoral system
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Participatory Rights
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The Participatory FreedomsThe First Amendment
limits the ability of Congress to pass laws
restricting the ability of people to participate
politically. This has led to the development of
political organizations.
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The Freedoms Are SpeechPressAssemblyPetition
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These are considered to be fundamental rights.
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Freedom of Speech allows people to develop and
communicate their own opinions. As a result,
public opinion has evolved as a distinct force in
society.
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It is a hard earned right. At one point
government could curtail both speech and the
press with claims that such acts were seditious.
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Sedition Conduct or language inciting rebellion
against the authority of a state.
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Much of what people engage in today politically
would have been considered to be sedition in
previous centuries.
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While there is more to cover, this is a
reasonable review and should place the governing
institutions in proper context.
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In the next set of slides we will outline the
basic features of the legislative branch and
discuss its historical evolution.