Political Science 1100, Introduction to American Politics, August 31, 2009

 

What were the Founders Thinking? (continued)

 

 

 

    The States managed public policy  in 1787

 

 

    But they could not deal with the nation's mounting problems

       

        State rivalries

 

        Rhode Island & Shays's rebellion

      

        Foreign threats

 

 

 

    The Confederation government was very weak

 

 

 

  Madison's dilemma:

    
        How do you give citizens control of the government
 
               & still make sure that the government makes good laws and protects basic rights?
 

 

4. How did the framers resolve this dilemma?

 

    Roger Sherman of Connecticut: a different vision for the new national government

 

 

    Sherman's political tactics

     

   

 

     The Convention then played out as an unexpected series of compromises that no one anticipated.

 

 

   

        Unexpected Compromise #1: Congress

 

 

        Unexpected Compromise #2: Slavery

 

 

        Unexpected Compromise #3: The presidency

 

 

 

Two Results that we have inherited

                   

                      The Constitution is a political weapon, used as both a shield and a sword

 

                     The Constitution created a government that is potentially very strong, but that is very hard to use

 

Federalism

How and Why do Americans fight about states' rights and federalism?

 

 

1. WHAT IS FEDERALISM?
 

In a federal political system, political authority is divided by a constitution between a central government and regional governments

    Examples: Canada, Australia, U.S.

 

(As Opposed To A Unitary System, Such As Britain Or France)

 

2. WHO CARES ABOUT FEDERALISM?
 

A. States Affect Everyone's Lives

 

B. States do things differently

 

 

3. FEDERALISM AND NATIONAL POLITICS:
 

      

        Interstate economic competititon

 

 

The Economic Shift to the Sunbelt
 

 
 

           The Political Shift to the Sunbelt:

 

 

Population Shifts Result In Shifts In ....


... The distribution of Seats In The House Of Representatives,

 

 

 
.... and Therefore in The Electoral College

 

Civil Rights:
When Government Must Step in to Protect People 

The Constitution left many unanswered questions about civil rights

    How Americans have answered three of these unanswered questions?

1) Unanswered Question #1
       

    Do slaveowners hold the balance of power in America?

 

    How did we answer the question?
     

       Political Compromise (Missouri Compromise)
 

 

 

 

 

2). Unanswered Question #2

        Can slaveowners start their own nation?

 

 

 

 

        How did we answer?
       

        Civil War
 

 

 

 

3). Unanswered Question #3
    

      Are African-American’s civil rights protected by the states?
     

 

 

       How did we answer?

        At first, by letting states decide (de jure segregation; "Jim Crow")

      

    Plessy v. Ferguson, 1896 upheld Jim Crow laws

 

 

    Then, de jure segregation was defeated in the mid-twentieth century by
        court decisions, social movements, and new national laws  

 

 

 4).    How did politics change civil rights?
 

  Brown versus Board of Education (1954) rejects de jure segregation in schools
 

     

 

 

        The Civil Rights Movement

 

 

      - The 1964 Civil Rights Act

 

 

     - The 1965 Voting Rights Act

 

 

5). The Civil Rights legacy

 

    a). The Civil Rights agenda expands to de facto segregation
 

  • Housing (Fair Housing Laws)

     
  • Schools (Busing)

     
  • Jobs (Affirmative Action)

 

... and to other groups

  • Gender: The Equal Rights Amendment
     
  • Other Minorities: Hispanics
     
  • Disability
     
  • Gays