American National Government

Transcription

1 American National Government 1. Politics Defined 2. Federalism PS 101

2 POLITICS synonyms: confidence in government The process of who gets what when and how; the rules of the game What is Political Science? The study of government and political processes, institutions and behavior.

3 How does a nation decide who gets what, when and how? POWER ability to influence behavior AUTHORITY legitimate power GOVERNMENT created to make the rules of the game, determining distribution of society s values

4 What Do We Value as Americans? American DNA LIBERTY LAW AND ORDER COMPETITION EDUCATION HARD WORK PROSPERITY LIMITED POWER PATRIOTISM OPTIMISM JUSTICE FIRST AMENDMENT OPPORTUNITY 4

5 Who holds the majority of the power (the MOST) important player in our Republic? The electorate. Who, Regner sez, can be the greatest threat to health of our republic today? The electorate.

6 Outside Independence Hall when the Constitutional Convention of 1787 ended, Mrs. Powel of Philadelphia asked Benjamin Franklin, "Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?" With no hesitation whatsoever, Franklin responded, "A republic if you can keep it. 6

7 us voter turnout The Cancer

8 The Cancer Apathy: Having little interest or concern. The electorate does not do its job in keeping our government accountable. Vicious Circle of Apathy 1. Because the Congress ignores those who do not vote. 2. Bad representatives get elected by good citizens who do not vote. 8

9 Consent of the governed 9

10 American Constitution The rules for the government

11 Basic Constitutional Principles What issue more than any other concerned the founding fathers the most in writing the new set of rules for the game.? Established the structure of government. Federalism POWER Distributed certain powers. Checks and Balances; Separation of Powers Restrained government power. Divided, checked, balanced, delegated, reserved, shared Power is both granted and limited. Judicial Review 11

12 FEDERALISM: Divided Power between one national and several regional authorities

13 How is the concept of FEDERALISM in 1789 gone from a bowl of cereal to like a stack of pancakes? FEDERAL GOV T POWER

14 What is the proper role of the federal government? How much power should the sovereign states have? (1790) first National Bank.. FEDERAL EXPANSION Progressive Era ( ) New Deal Era ( ) Great Society Era ( ) National Health Care (2009) New Federalism Reagan Revolution ( ) Government IS the problem. 14

15 Recent Federal Government Power Expansion vs. State Government Sovereignty Issues No Child Left Behind (NCLB) School Lunch Election Reforms Federal Mandates v. States Rights National Health Care: Obamacare Immigration Reform Transgender Bathrooms 15

16 FEDERALISM advantages disadvantages Laws may be written to address specific problems of the diverse states Creates Laboratories of Democracy; pragmatic solutions Leads to political stability Prevents tyranny/concentration of power Prevents Creation of National Policy Regional governments lack resources needed to address big problems Nation more susceptible to splitting apart (regionally) Can be confusing lack of accountability (bureaucracy)

17 225 Years Later Legislation Amendments Judicial Interpretation of the Constitution Protectorate of our basic cultural values The Constitution keeps going, and going 17