Instructor's Manual for American Government by Cal Jillson | Teaching Guide & Resources

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SOLUTION MANUAL FOR j j

AmericanjGovernmentjPoliticaljDevelopmentjandjInstitutionaljChangejBy
jCaljJillson




j Chapterj1-21

Chapterj1
THEjORIGINSjOFjAMERICANjPOLITICALjPRINCIPLES

FOCUSjQUESTIONS

Q1 Whatjarejthejbroadjpurposesjofjgovernment?

A1
Thejancientsjbelievedjthejrolejofjgovernmentjandjpoliticsjwasjtojfosterjhuma
njexcellence.jHowever,jitjisjimperativejtojrememberjthatjthejGreeksjandjRomansj
believedjthejvirtuousjshouldjrulejaccordingjtojnaturaljlaw.jFurthermore,jvaluesjof
jequalityjandjorderjwouldjbejservedjthroughjajsocietyjbasedjuponjthejrulejofjlawjt

ojprovidejforjthejcommonjgood.jInjthejMiddlejAges,jgovernmentjwasjlargelyjused
jtojfacilitatejreligionjandjmaintainedjthejneedjforjthejindividualjtojlivejajproperjlif

ejinjthejservicejofjGod.jThejrolejofjgovernmentjchangedjinjthejearlyjsixteenthjcen
turyjbyjdownplayingjthejrolejofjreligionjwhilejalternativelyjpromotingjthejrolejofjl
imitedjgovernmentjtojprotectjprivatejpropertyjandjindividualjrights.

Q2 Howjshouldjgovernmentjbejdesignedjtojachievejitsjpurposes?

A2 AccordingjtojPlatojthejphilosopher-
king’sjwisdomjandjintellectjwouldjpromotejorder,jstabilityjandjjustice.jYet,jAristot
lejtakesjajmorejrealisticjviewjofjAthenianjsocietyjbyjadvocatingjthejbestjformjofjgo
vernmentjasjajpolity,jwhichjcombinedjoligarchicjandjdemocraticjelementsjtojpro
ducejpoliticaljstability.jThejRomansjcombinedjmonarchical,jaristocratic,jandjdem
ocraticjprinciplesjasjajmixedjgovernmentjwithinjrepresentativejbodiesjlikejthejSe
natejandjthejAssemblyjinjorderjtojchampionjthejcausesjofjbothjthejrichjandjthejpo
or.jGovernmentjinjthejMiddlejAgesjwasjdeterminedjthroughjdivinejright,jwhereb
yjajmonarchjorjPopejwasjordainedjbyjGodjtojrule.jHence,jwisdomjandjvirtuejreste
djwithinjthesejfewjindividualsjwhojgovernedjtojpromotejreligiousjlifejandjprotectj
thejreligiousjestablishment.jThejRenaissance,jProtestantjReformation,jandjEnligh
tenmentjPeriodsjshiftedjthejrolejofjgovernmentjfromjupholdingjreligiousjdoctrin
ejtojsecularjconcerns,jsuchjasjprotectingjinalienablejrights,jincludingjprivatejprop
erty,jandjpromotingjcommerce.jInjturn,jEnlightenmentjpolitical

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philosophersjlargelyjappealedjtojindividualismjandjnotjreligiousjhierarchyjasjajme
ansjtojprovidejorderjandjstabilityjinjwhichjindividualsjcouldjflourish.

Q3
WhatjlessonsjaboutjgovernmentjdidjcolonialjAmericansjdrawjfromjthejhistoryj
ofjancientjGreecejandjRome?

A3
Platojwasjsuspiciousjofjdemocracy’sjrulejofjthejmanyjbecausejgoodjgovernmen
tjwouldjdecayjintojmobjrule.jHence,jthejpassionsjofjthejmassesjneededjtojbejquelle
djbyjmorejaristocraticjelements.jWithjthisjproblemjinjmind,jthejFramersjofjthejU.S.j
ConstitutionjreferencedjthejinstitutionaljdesignjofjthejRomanjrepublicjadheredjtojt
hejtraditionjofjmixedjgovernmentjinitiallyjexpoundedjbyjAristotlejandjthejRomans.j
ThisjwasjmaintainedjinjthejindirectjselectionjofjbothjthejSenatejandjthejpresidencyj
withinjthejConstitution.jAristotlejalsojadvocatedjmixingjaristocraticjandjdemocrati
cjelementsjinjajgoverningjstructurejcalledjajpolity.jInjeffect,jthisjgovernmentaljdesi
gnjallowedjthejfewjandjthejmanyjtojparticipatejinjthejpoliticsjprovidingjanjorderlyjs
ocietyjwherejthejpoorjshouldjbejablejtojselectjgovernmentjofficialsjwhojwerejheldj
accountable.jThisjwasjalsojmadejmanifestjinjthejConstitutionjwithjitsjaristocratic-
likejSenatejandjthejmorejdemocraticjHousejofjRepresentatives.jThusjthejAmericanj
republic’sjConstitutionjestablishedjinstitutionaljpowersjtojgovernjaccordingjtojthej
rulejofjlaw.jWhilejthejFramersjrejectedjthejreligiousjhierarchyjofjthejMiddlejAges,jt
heyjappealedjtojinalienablejrightsjendowedjuponjeveryjindividualjbyjGod,jperjthej
writingsjofjJohnjLocke,jinjwhichjajjustjgovernmentjandjsocietyjcouldjnotjbejimpede
d.

Q4 WhatjcircumstancesjledjEuropeansjtojleavejtheirjhomelandsjtojsettlejinjAmerica?

A4
Individualsjimmigratedjtojthejcoloniesjtojescapejreligiousjpersecutionjandjcivilj
unrestjafterjthejEnglishjCiviljWarjandjtojpursuejsocialjandjeconomicjopportunities.j
Colonistsjenjoyedjajvastjarrayjofjnaturaljresourcesjandjajlargejgeographicaljareajw
herejfreedomjofjreligionjandjeconomicjopportunityjflourished.jAlso,jtheirjheterog
eneousjsocialjcompositionjasjwelljasjcontinualjpromotionjofjideals,jsuchjasjequalit
yjandjtolerance,jtendedjtojpromotejpoliticaljfreedomjatjthejsamejtimejthatjsocialje
xpansionjofjthejpopulationjwasjoccurring.

Q5 Whatjdidjdemocracyjmeanjtojourjcolonialjancestors,jandjdidjtheyjapprovejit?

A5
Thejcolonistsjwerejskepticaljofjdemocracyjandjviewedjthisjtypejofjgoverningja
uthorityjasjmobjrule.jSocietyjwasjlargelyjseenjasjsegmentedjintojthosejwhojshoul
djrulejandjthosejwhojshouldjnot.jInjfact,jthejFoundersjbelievedjthatjthejelitej(well
-
educated,jlandjowners)jshouldjoccupyjpositionsjofjleadership.jThus,janjaristocrat

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icjelementjwithinjgovernmentjwasjnecessaryjtojprotectjagainstjthejthreatjofjmobj
rulejhistoricallyjassociatedjwithjdemocracy.jFundamentally,jthejideajofjrepublica
nismjwasjpromotedjasjanjidealjatjajhigherjleveljthanjdemocracy.jThisjwasjmadejm
ostjmanifestjinjthejtendencyjtojpreferjmixed




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constitutionaljschemesjoverjsingle-
bodyjregimes,jsuchjasjmonarchies,jaristocracies,jandjdemocracies.jItjwasjinjthisjre
spectjthatjourjcolonialjancestorsjwerejbothjinnovativejandjcriticaljofjextantjgover
nmentaljformsjyetjsimultaneouslyjweddedjtojthejpast,jespeciallyjthejGreco-
RomanjAncients.

CHAPTERjOUTLINE

I. AjTraditionjtojDrawjFrom
HistoryjandjexperiencejprovidedjlessonsjuponjwhichjthejFoundersjreferencedjinjdesignin
gjAmericanjpoliticaljinstitutions.
A. ThejAncients:jWhojRulesjandjforjWhatjPurpose?
ThejphilosophyjofjPlatojandjAristotlejwasjconcernedjwithjstructuringjajsociet
y,jknownjasjajcity-
state,jandjbasedjuponjhumanjnature:jSpeechjandjreasonjasjthejfundamentalj
characteristicsjofjhumans.jThus,jthejpoliticaljcommunityjorjpolisjisjdesignedja
ccordingjtojthejvirtuesjandjabilitiesjofjitsjinhabitants.
1. ThejGreeks:jMonarchy,jAristocracy,jDemocracy
a. AccordingjtojAristotle,jthejpurposejofjpoliticsjisjtojcreatejanjorderjth
atjfostersjhumanjexcellence.jPlato’sjleaderjwasjthejphilosopherjkin
g.jSincejPlatojdoubtedjthejrealityjofjthisjking,jhejconcludedjthatjgoo
djgovernmentjwouldjbejuncommonjandjshortjlived.j Platojandjparti
cularlyjAristotlejidentifiedjthreejformsjofjgovernment:
1) Monarchy—rulejbyjonejleader
2) Aristocracy—rulejbyjajfewjgoodjmen
3) Democracy—rulejbyjthejmany
b. Aristotlejalsojtheorizedjthatjgovernmentsjwouldjdecay.jThus,jmona
rchyjdecaysjintojtyrannyjthroughjdespoticjactionsjofjajsinglejruler.jS
econd,jaristocracyjdecaysjintojoligarchyjwherebyjthejfewjrulejtojad
vancejtheirjself-
interestsjcontraryjtojthejcommonjgood.jFinally,jdemocracyjdecaysji
ntojmobjrulejasjthejmassesjrulejaccordingjtojtheirjpassions.
c. Aristotle’sjadditionaljcontribution:jPoliticaljorderjbasedjonjreality
1) Aristotle’sjcontributionjwasjpragmaticjbyjaddressingjthejn
eedsjofjthejwealthyjandjthejmassesjwithinjajsocietyjtojfor
mjajmixedjgovernment.
2) Hejbelievedjthatjoligarchyjandjdemocracyjarejthejmostjco
mmonjregimes.jTherefore,jthejbestjelementsjofjeachjmigh
tjbejcombinedjandjmadejintojajgood,jworkable,jandjstablej
government.jHejcalledjthisjformj“polity.”
2. ThejRomans:jRepublicanismjandjMixedjGovernment
a. ThejRomans,jnotablyjPolybiusjandjCicero,jbelievedjthatjgovernm
ent’sjinstitutionaljstructurejshouldjarbitratejpowerjbetweenjrichj
andjpoor.jAccordingly,jthisjorderjwasjajrepublicjor


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