The document discusses key concepts in American government and politics, including the separation of powers between the three branches of government established in Articles I-III, debates around federalism and the role of states in Article IV, and ongoing tensions between liberty and equality. It also examines how immigration has changed the demographic makeup of the United States over time.

1. Setting the foundation

2.  Keep an open mind
 Yet, be skeptical
 Critique an argument based on:
 Logically consistent?
 Factually correct?
 Sufficient evidence?
 Better explanation?

3.  Efforts to influence/control group decision-making

4.  Power: constraining others
 Influence
 Coercion (force)
 Resources (tangible/intangible goods)
• Authority: legitimacy of rulers/rules
 Choose to obey
 “Social Contract”

5.  The Preamble: “We the People”
 Article I: the legislature.
 The intended primary branch?
 Approval ratings?
 Article II: the president
 The current primary branch?
 Article III: federal judicial system
 The unaccountable branch?

6.  Article IV: the states
 The states or the people?
 the power of the Senate & the Electoral College?
 The remaining articles deal with a variety of issues
 including the supremacy clause

8.  BoR not original:
 is it worth less?
 Most rights prohibit govt. infringing on liberty
 Which limit liberty?
 Are our rights clearly stated?
 EX: 2nd Amendment?

10.  Slavery outlawed (13th in 1865)
 Senators directly elected (17th in 1913)
 Limit state’s abilities to limit rights/liberties (14th in
1868)
 Increased Equality (Race via the 15th in 1870; Gender
via the 19th in 1920; D.C. via the 23rd in 1961; Class via
the 24th in 1964); and Age via the 26th in 1971)

11.  Liberty vs. Order
 Equality vs. Liberty
 Economic Equality
 Property Rights & Capitalism
Copyright © 2009 Cengage Learning 11

12.  How much power and what role should it play in the
lives of citizens?
 Morality
 Social Programs
 the Economy
 National Security
Copyright © 2009 Cengage Learning 12

13. A Four-
Cornered
Ideological
Grid
Copyright © 2009 Cengage Learning 13

15. “Here is not merely a nation
but a teeming Nation of
nations”
Walt Whitman
Copyright © 2009 Cengage Learning 15

16. Source: Yearbook of Immigration Statistics, 2005, Table 1. (www.usics.gov)
Copyright © 2009 Cengage Learning 16

17. SOURCE: Washington Post, National Weekly Edition, May 29–June 4, 2006, 8.
Copyright © 2009 Cengage Learning 17

18. 18

19. © The New Yorker Collection 1992. J.B. Handelsman
from cartoonbank.com. All rights reserved.
Click here to go to the U.S. POPClock Projection
Copyright © 2009 Cengage Learning 19

20.  Aging
 Population Growth
 Ethnic Change
 Changes in Hispanic Community
 Women in the Workforce
Copyright © 2009 Cengage Learning 20

21. *Data for 2025 and 2050 are projections.
Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census.
Copyright © 2009 Cengage Learning 21

22. Copyright © 2009 Cengage Learning 22

23.  Politics center on the meaning of the “social contract”
 Americans must reconcile tradition and change
 Continuity vs. change