1
SOLUTION MANUAL
American Government: Political Development and Institutional Change 12th Edition by CalJillson, All
Chapters 1 -16
, 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 toḟoster human excellence.
However, it is imperative to remember that the Greeks and Romans believed the virtuous should
rule according to natural law.ḟurthermore, valuesof equality and order would be served through
a society based upon the rule oflaw to provideḟor the common good. In the Middle Ages,
government was largely used toḟacilitate religion and maintained the needḟor 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
bestḟorm 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 theseḟew individuals who governed to promote religious life and
protect the religious establishment. The Renaissance, Protestant Reformation, and Enlightenment
Periods shifted the role of governmentḟrom upholding religious doctrine to secular concerns,
such as protecting inalienable rights, including private property, and promoting commerce. In
turn, Enlightenment political
© 2023 Taylor &ḟrancis
, 4
philosophers largely appealed to individualism and not religious hierarchy as ameans to provide
order and stability in which individuals couldḟlourish.
Q3 What lessons about government did colonial Americans drawḟrom 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, theḟramers 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
theḟew 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 theḟramers 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 whereḟreedom of religion and economic
opportunityḟlourished. Also, their heterogeneous social composition as well as continual
promotion of ideals, such as equality and tolerance, tended to promote politicalḟreedom 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. Inḟact, theḟounders 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.ḟundamentally, 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
© 2023 Taylor & Francis
SOLUTION MANUAL
American Government: Political Development and Institutional Change 12th Edition by CalJillson, All
Chapters 1 -16
, 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 toḟoster human excellence.
However, it is imperative to remember that the Greeks and Romans believed the virtuous should
rule according to natural law.ḟurthermore, valuesof equality and order would be served through
a society based upon the rule oflaw to provideḟor the common good. In the Middle Ages,
government was largely used toḟacilitate religion and maintained the needḟor 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
bestḟorm 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 theseḟew individuals who governed to promote religious life and
protect the religious establishment. The Renaissance, Protestant Reformation, and Enlightenment
Periods shifted the role of governmentḟrom upholding religious doctrine to secular concerns,
such as protecting inalienable rights, including private property, and promoting commerce. In
turn, Enlightenment political
© 2023 Taylor &ḟrancis
, 4
philosophers largely appealed to individualism and not religious hierarchy as ameans to provide
order and stability in which individuals couldḟlourish.
Q3 What lessons about government did colonial Americans drawḟrom 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, theḟramers 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
theḟew 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 theḟramers 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 whereḟreedom of religion and economic
opportunityḟlourished. Also, their heterogeneous social composition as well as continual
promotion of ideals, such as equality and tolerance, tended to promote politicalḟreedom 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. Inḟact, theḟounders 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.ḟundamentally, 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
© 2023 Taylor & Francis
