Basic Concepts of Democracy I Democracy A Worth
Basic Concepts of Democracy
I. Democracy • A. Worth of the Individual – Natural rights • B. Equality of All Persons – Jefferson “all men are created equal” – 1. Opportunity – 2. Law – “rule of law” everyone is treated equally C. Majority Rule, Minority Rights D. Necessity of Compromise E. Individual Freedoms 1. “ The right to swing my fist ends where the other man’s nose begins”. Oliver Wendall Holmes.
II. Forms of Government – Who get to Participate A. Democracy 1. Direct democracy – Greeks, everybody gets to vote. Very rare today. Town meetings in New England Landsgeinde in Switzerland 2. Indirect democracy – Republic or representative democracy. The US uses this form, we vote for a person to represent us in Congress. Roman idea.
B. Distribution of Power 1. Unitary power a. Parliament, all power in one branch 2. Federal government – Federalism a. U. S. = Central government – Washington DC and local government – states like Indiana = Indianapolis 3. Division of Power a. President and Congress
C. Confederation- League of Friendship 1. European Union – sort of loose organization of governments – Euro main connection 2. Articles of Confederation – 1 st government of the U. S. 3. Confederate States of America – Civil War 4. Problems with confederations – Non- binding, states have freedom to come and go, and leadership usually weak.
D. New Government U. S. • 1. Constitution – “We the People” 2. President – elected - Washington 2. Vice President b. John Adams - Federalist 3. Cabinet a. Thomas Jefferson – Secretary of State Anti-Federalist b. Alexander Hamilton – Secretary of Treasury – Federalist c. John Jay – 1 st Chief Justice Supreme Court Federalist
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