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AMERICAN IDEALS and the AMERICAN CONSTITUTION

AMERICAN IDEALS and the AMERICAN CONSTITUTION. Cont’d May 14th, 2003. 3.) Limits on Government. Bill of Rights the first Ten Amendments (1789) “Congress shall make no law...”. Amending the Constitution (Article V). Methods of Amending the Constitution Proposing Amendments...

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AMERICAN IDEALS and the AMERICAN CONSTITUTION

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  1. AMERICAN IDEALS and the AMERICAN CONSTITUTION Cont’d May 14th, 2003

  2. 3.) Limits on Government • Bill of Rights • the first Ten Amendments (1789) • “Congress shall make no law...”

  3. Amending the Constitution (Article V) • Methods of Amending the Constitution • Proposing Amendments... • 2/3 of both Houses of Congress • or 2/3 of state legislatures • Ratifying Amendments... • 3/4 of states (either by the state legislature or special convention)

  4. Recent Amendments/Proposals for Amendment • 27th Amendment (1992) -- Congressional Pay • Equal Rights Amendment • Flag Amendment • Balanced Budget Amendment

  5. Assessing the American Constitutional Framework (...from a democratic perspective) • bicameral legislature • indirectly elected president (e.g. electoral college) • unelected Supreme Court • separation of powers/checks and balances • federalism • formal limits on the powers of government • rigid constitution

  6. Democracy -- Protection of Individual Rights Protection of Individual Rights Low (Emphasis on General Welfare) High UNITED STATES

  7. Final Point... • American Constitution grounded in emphasis on rights of individual and limits on government • American emphasis on mass political participation emerged out of American political context, political culture and political practice

  8. AMERICAN POLITICAL CULTURE American Political Ideals May 14th, 2003

  9. POLITICAL CULTURE: What is It? • value consensus regarding the appropriate method of making political decisions and the appropriate spheres subject to political decision-making • constitution (formal rules of the game)/political culture (operational rules of the game) • both about process and outcome

  10. POLITICAL CULTURE:What is It? • CHARACTERISTICS • consensus -- not monolith • enduring -- not transitory • different from (but related to) political ideology • more complex, less consistent than ideology

  11. Elements of American Political Culture • liberty • egalitarianism • equality of opportunity • mass democracy/populism • individualism and individual responsibility • voluntarism • moral absolutism • patriotism

  12. POLITICAL CULTURE:Where Does It Come From? • IMMIGRATION • religious/ethnic background • fleeing religious persecution • emphasis on liberty • puritanism • moral absolutism • protestantism • distrust of hierarchy • protestant work ethic • voluntarism

  13. POLITICAL CULTURE:Where Does It Come From? • GEOGRAPHY • more land than labour • undermined development of rigid social hierarchy • reinforced emphasis on individualism • frontier imagery • settlement preceded authority

  14. POLITICAL CULTURE:Where Does It Come From? • HISTORICAL EVENTS • American Revolution • patriotism • emphasized liberty and democracy • American Civil War • emphasized idea of “one nation”

  15. POLITICAL CULTURE:Where Does It Come From? • ECONOMY • dynamic, rapidly growing economy • reinforced notions of equality of opportunity, individualism, and individual responsibility

  16. POLITICAL CULTURE:Where Does It Come From? • POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS • reflect political culture but also reinforce it • constitutional emphasis on individual rights and limited government • political practice emphasizing mass participation

  17. POLITICAL CULTURE:Where Does It Come From? • PLACE IN THE WORLD • major superpower • doctrine of isolationism ultimately unsustainable • reinforced patriotism and moral absolutism

  18. Main Point! • American politics is shaped by various values (sometimes contradictory) which arose out of the historical context in which the US political system developed • these values and the historical context have been self-reinforcing • this political culture is widely shared and deeply embedded • commitment to these values is often shared by those critical of American political practice

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