1
, 2
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Chapter 1 The Origins of American Political Principles
2. Chapter 2 The Revolution and the Constitution
3. Chapter 3 Federalism and American Political Development
4. Chapter 4 Political Socialization and Public Opinion
5. Chapter 5 The Mass Media and the Political Agenda
6. Chapter 6 Interest Groups: The Politics of Influence
7. Chapter 7 Political Parties: Winning the Right to Govern
8. Chapter 8 Voting, Campaigns, and Elections
9. Chapter 9 Congress: Partisanship, Polarization, and Gridlock
10. Chapter 10 The President: Executive Power in a Separation of Powers Regime
11. Chapter 11 Bureaucracy: Redesigning Government for the Twenty-First Century
12. Chapter 12 The Federal Courts: Activism versus Restraint
13. Chapter 13 Civil Liberties: Ordered Liberty in America
14. Chapter 14 Civil Rights: Where Liberty and Equality Collide
15. Chapter 15 Government, The Economy, and Domestic Policy
16. Chapter 16 America’s Global Role in the Twenty-First Century
, 3
Chapter 1
THE ORIGINS OF AMERICAN POLITICAL PRINCIPLES
FOCUS QUESTIONS
Q1 What are the broad purposes of government?
A1 The ancients believed the role of government and politics was to foster human
excellence. However, it is imperative to remember that the Greeks and Romans
believed the virtuous should rule according to natural law. Furthermore, valuesof
equality and order would be served through a society based upon the rule
oflaw to provide for the common good. In the Middle Ages, government was
largely used to facilitate religion and maintained the need for the individual to
live a proper life in the service of God. The role of government changed in the
early sixteenth century by downplaying the role of religion while alternatively
promoting the role of limited government to protect private property and
individual rights.
Q2 How should government be designed to achieve its purposes?
A2 According to Plato the philosopher-king’s wisdom and intellect would promote
order, stability and justice. Yet, Aristotle takes a more realistic view of Athenian
society by advocating the best form of government as a polity, which combined
oligarchic and democratic elements to produce political stability. The Romans
combined monarchical, aristocratic, and democratic principles as a mixed
government within representative bodies like the Senate and the Assembly in
order to champion the causes of both the rich and the poor. Government in
theMiddle Ages was determined through divine right, whereby a monarch or
Pope was ordained by God to rule. Hence, wisdom and virtue rested within
these few individuals who governed to promote religious life and protect the
religious establishment. The Renaissance, Protestant Reformation, and
Enlightenment Periods shifted the role of government from upholding religious
doctrine to secular concerns, such as protecting inalienable rights, including
private property, and promoting commerce. In turn, Enlightenment political
© 2023 Taylor & Francis
, 4
philosophers largely appealed to individualism and not religious hierarchy as
ameans to provide order and stability in which individuals could flourish.
Q3 What lessons about government did colonial Americans draw from the history
ofancient Greece and Rome?
A3 Plato was suspicious of democracy’s rule of the many because good government
would decay into mob rule. Hence, the passions of the masses needed to be
quelled by more aristocratic elements. With this problem in mind, the Framers
ofthe U.S. Constitution referenced the institutional design of the Roman republic
adhered to the tradition of mixed government initially expounded by Aristotle
and the Romans. This was maintained in the indirect selection of both the
Senateand the presidency within the Constitution. Aristotle also advocated mixing
aristocratic and democratic elements in a governing structure called a polity. In
effect, this governmental design allowed the few and the many to participate in
the politics providing an orderly society where the poor should be able to select
government officials who were held accountable. This was also made manifest
inthe Constitution with its aristocratic-like Senate and the more democratic House
of Representatives. Thus the American republic’s Constitution established
institutional powers to govern according to the rule of law. While the Framers
rejected the religious hierarchy of the Middle Ages, they appealed to inalienable
rights endowed upon every individual by God, per the writings of John Locke, in
which a just government and society could not be impeded.
Q4 What circumstances led Europeans to leave their homelands to settle in America?
A4 Individuals immigrated to the colonies to escape religious persecution and civil
unrest after the English Civil War and to pursue social and economic opportunities.
Colonists enjoyed a vast array of natural resources and a large geographical
area where freedom of religion and economic opportunity flourished. Also, their
heterogeneous social composition as well as continual promotion of ideals, such as
equality and tolerance, tended to promote political freedom at the same time that
social expansion of the population was occurring.
Q5 What did democracy mean to our colonial ancestors, and did they approve it?
A5 The colonists were skeptical of democracy and viewed this type of governing
authority as mob rule. Society was largely seen as segmented into those who
should rule and those who should not. In fact, the Founders believed that the elite
(well- educated, land owners) should occupy positions of leadership. Thus, an
aristocratic element within government was necessary to protect against
thethreat of mob rule historically associated with democracy. Fundamentally, the
idea of republicanism was promoted as an ideal at a higher level than
democracy. This was made most manifest in the tendency to prefer mixed
© mm2023 mmTaylor mm&
mmFrancis
, 2
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Chapter 1 The Origins of American Political Principles
2. Chapter 2 The Revolution and the Constitution
3. Chapter 3 Federalism and American Political Development
4. Chapter 4 Political Socialization and Public Opinion
5. Chapter 5 The Mass Media and the Political Agenda
6. Chapter 6 Interest Groups: The Politics of Influence
7. Chapter 7 Political Parties: Winning the Right to Govern
8. Chapter 8 Voting, Campaigns, and Elections
9. Chapter 9 Congress: Partisanship, Polarization, and Gridlock
10. Chapter 10 The President: Executive Power in a Separation of Powers Regime
11. Chapter 11 Bureaucracy: Redesigning Government for the Twenty-First Century
12. Chapter 12 The Federal Courts: Activism versus Restraint
13. Chapter 13 Civil Liberties: Ordered Liberty in America
14. Chapter 14 Civil Rights: Where Liberty and Equality Collide
15. Chapter 15 Government, The Economy, and Domestic Policy
16. Chapter 16 America’s Global Role in the Twenty-First Century
, 3
Chapter 1
THE ORIGINS OF AMERICAN POLITICAL PRINCIPLES
FOCUS QUESTIONS
Q1 What are the broad purposes of government?
A1 The ancients believed the role of government and politics was to foster human
excellence. However, it is imperative to remember that the Greeks and Romans
believed the virtuous should rule according to natural law. Furthermore, valuesof
equality and order would be served through a society based upon the rule
oflaw to provide for the common good. In the Middle Ages, government was
largely used to facilitate religion and maintained the need for the individual to
live a proper life in the service of God. The role of government changed in the
early sixteenth century by downplaying the role of religion while alternatively
promoting the role of limited government to protect private property and
individual rights.
Q2 How should government be designed to achieve its purposes?
A2 According to Plato the philosopher-king’s wisdom and intellect would promote
order, stability and justice. Yet, Aristotle takes a more realistic view of Athenian
society by advocating the best form of government as a polity, which combined
oligarchic and democratic elements to produce political stability. The Romans
combined monarchical, aristocratic, and democratic principles as a mixed
government within representative bodies like the Senate and the Assembly in
order to champion the causes of both the rich and the poor. Government in
theMiddle Ages was determined through divine right, whereby a monarch or
Pope was ordained by God to rule. Hence, wisdom and virtue rested within
these few individuals who governed to promote religious life and protect the
religious establishment. The Renaissance, Protestant Reformation, and
Enlightenment Periods shifted the role of government from upholding religious
doctrine to secular concerns, such as protecting inalienable rights, including
private property, and promoting commerce. In turn, Enlightenment political
© 2023 Taylor & Francis
, 4
philosophers largely appealed to individualism and not religious hierarchy as
ameans to provide order and stability in which individuals could flourish.
Q3 What lessons about government did colonial Americans draw from the history
ofancient Greece and Rome?
A3 Plato was suspicious of democracy’s rule of the many because good government
would decay into mob rule. Hence, the passions of the masses needed to be
quelled by more aristocratic elements. With this problem in mind, the Framers
ofthe U.S. Constitution referenced the institutional design of the Roman republic
adhered to the tradition of mixed government initially expounded by Aristotle
and the Romans. This was maintained in the indirect selection of both the
Senateand the presidency within the Constitution. Aristotle also advocated mixing
aristocratic and democratic elements in a governing structure called a polity. In
effect, this governmental design allowed the few and the many to participate in
the politics providing an orderly society where the poor should be able to select
government officials who were held accountable. This was also made manifest
inthe Constitution with its aristocratic-like Senate and the more democratic House
of Representatives. Thus the American republic’s Constitution established
institutional powers to govern according to the rule of law. While the Framers
rejected the religious hierarchy of the Middle Ages, they appealed to inalienable
rights endowed upon every individual by God, per the writings of John Locke, in
which a just government and society could not be impeded.
Q4 What circumstances led Europeans to leave their homelands to settle in America?
A4 Individuals immigrated to the colonies to escape religious persecution and civil
unrest after the English Civil War and to pursue social and economic opportunities.
Colonists enjoyed a vast array of natural resources and a large geographical
area where freedom of religion and economic opportunity flourished. Also, their
heterogeneous social composition as well as continual promotion of ideals, such as
equality and tolerance, tended to promote political freedom at the same time that
social expansion of the population was occurring.
Q5 What did democracy mean to our colonial ancestors, and did they approve it?
A5 The colonists were skeptical of democracy and viewed this type of governing
authority as mob rule. Society was largely seen as segmented into those who
should rule and those who should not. In fact, the Founders believed that the elite
(well- educated, land owners) should occupy positions of leadership. Thus, an
aristocratic element within government was necessary to protect against
thethreat of mob rule historically associated with democracy. Fundamentally, the
idea of republicanism was promoted as an ideal at a higher level than
democracy. This was made most manifest in the tendency to prefer mixed
© mm2023 mmTaylor mm&
mmFrancis
