American Government Unit I Assessment (MATHGUY18 ONLY)

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Thomas E. Patterson

By Diane Feibel, Ed.D.

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Chapter 1

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Learning to Think Politically  Political thinking:

 Involves the careful gathering and sifting of information to

form a knowledgeable view about a political issue

 Important for responsible citizenship

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Learning to Think Politically  Barriers to political thinking

 Main barrier: unwillingness of citizens to make the effort to

self-inform

 Changes in media consumption: more people consume

biased cable television and Internet blogs

 “Spin” by political leaders and government entities

 Research shows faulty perceptions becoming more

prevalent

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Learning to Think Politically  What political science can contribute to political thinking

 Political science: the systematic study of government and

politics

 A descriptive and analytical discipline; can increase ability

to think politically

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Learning to Think Politically  What political science can contribute to political thinking

 Political science can provide deeper analysis

 Shows that America’s culture of individualism

was important obstacle to whole-scale healthcare reform

 Individualistic culture has roots in colonial wilderness

society

 Polls shows continued strength of individualism

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Political Culture:

Americans’ Enduring Beliefs  Political culture:

 Derived from a country’s traditions

 Defines the relationship between citizens and government

 America’s core ideals are rooted in the European heritage of

the first white settlers

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Political Culture:

Americans’ Enduring Beliefs  Core political values:

 Liberty

 Individualism

 Equality

 Self-government

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Political Culture:

Americans’ Enduring Beliefs  Core political values

 Liberty

 Individuals should be free to act as they choose

 Unsettled land fostered freedom through migration

 Many fled Europe to escape religious persecution

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Political Culture:

Americans’ Enduring Beliefs  Core political values

 Individualism

 The individual is paramount; government is secondary

 Government’s role is to serve the people

 Tocqueville: Americans’ chief aim is to “remain their own

masters”

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Political Culture:

Americans’ Enduring Beliefs  Core political values

 Equality

 European aristocratic privilege versus American equal treatment

under the law

 Perplexing ideal in the early years of the nation: Some were free

while others were enslaved

 Differing opinions on the meaning of equality persist

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Political Culture:

Americans’ Enduring Beliefs  Core political values

 Self-government

 American colonials had substantial self-determination

 Vision of a self governing nation with powers “…from the

consent of the governed”

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Political Culture:

Americans’ Enduring Beliefs  The limits and power of America’s ideals

 America’s cultural beliefs are idealistic

 Failures to meet the high ideals:

 Slavery

 Post-slavery “Jim Crow” era

 Racial immigration and property restrictions

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Political Culture:

Americans’ Enduring Beliefs  The limits and power of America’s ideals

 Reaching to meet the high ideals:

 Abolition and suffrage movements

 Emancipation

 Civil rights movement

 Public education

 Higher education

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Politics and Power in America  Politics: the means by which society settles its conflicts

and allocates the resulting benefits and costs

 Power: the ability of persons, groups, or institutions to

influence political developments

 Authoritarian and totalitarian governments:

nondemocratic, repressive regime types

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Politics and Power in America  A democratic system

 System in which the people govern, by direct or

representative means

 In practice, majority rule through the free and open election

of representatives

 Majoritarianism: the majority effectively determines what

government does

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Politics and Power in America  A democratic system

 Pluralism: the preference of the special interest that largely

determines what government does

 Authority: the recognized right of officials to exercise

power

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Politics and Power in America  A constitutional system

 The Constitution: elaborate checks and balances, Bill of

Rights

 Constitutionalism: idea that there are lawful restrictions on

government’s power

 Restraints on majority power

 Judicial action channel through which ordinary citizens can

exercise power

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Politics and Power in America  A free market system

 Operates mainly on private transactions

 Some government intervention through regulatory, taxing,

and spending policies

 Tax rate much lower in U.S. than in European countries

 Corporate power: influence firms have over policymakers

 Elitism: power exercised by the influential few

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Politics and Power in America  Who does govern?

 Defining characteristic of American politics: widespread

sharing of power

 Women and minorities initially excluded; their power will

steadily grow over time

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The Text’s Organization  The constitutional system

 The political role of citizens and intermediaries

 Governing officials, the elective institutions, and their

appointive bodies

 Focus on public policies throughout book

 Focus on difficulty of governing effectively, and how

important it is to try