- Compare how various models of representative democracy are reflected through major institutions, policies, events, or debates in the U.S.
Some small communities in the United States have had participatory democracies where everyone votes. This Is seen as a waste of time by critics, who argue that there are more efficient types of democracy. If there are different groups that have influence in a democracy, it is known as pluralist. The different political parties in America makes it this type. Furthermore, if a small group of wealthy and powerful people control a democratic government, it is known as an elite democracy.
- Analyze and compare democratic ideals reflected in U.S. foundational documents.
The founding fathers thought the United States should be a democracy. Because, they based the country's foundational documents on it. An example of this is the Declaration of Independence and constitution, where they are tired of a monarchy and decided to have a representative democracy.
- Compare and interpret Federalist and Anti-Federalist views on central government and democracy.
In the federalist papers, the argument was for the ratification of a constitution. Also, Madison argued that a big and strong republic would be a better guard against those dangers than smaller republics. In Brutus, the argument was against a constitution. Additionally, Anti-federalists thought that the new national government would likely not be able to efficiently govern an extent of territory as vast as the United States.
- Explain the relationship between key provisions of the Articles of Confederation and the debate over granting greater power to the federal government formerly reserved to the states.
The Articles were weak. central government didn't have an army, couldn't tax, and states had different money. The founding fathers said it was important to have a strong central government. They knew that a strong central government would help the colonies stay together and create a union that wouldn't be broken.
- Analyze causes and effects of constitutional compromises in addressing political, economic, and regional divisions.
The north and south had differences that resulted in compromises. one outstanding compromise was the 3/5ths compromise, which made slaves count as three-fifths of a person. A more important compromise, known as the "Great Compromise" helped make the United States a reality. It combined the Virginia and New Jersey plans and took the best parts of both of them to make the best compromise they could.
- Explain how the issues raised in the ratification debate are reflected in ongoing philosophical disagreements about democracy and governmental power.
Issues raised in the ratification debate are fundamental issues. It is hard to find the right amount of power a government should have. The Federalists wanted to ratify the constitution, but the Anti-Federalists did not because they thought it would give the central government too much power, and that is still a point of discussion today.
- Evaluate the relationship between separation of powers and checks and balances.
Separation of powers and checks and balances are very important parts of the government in the United States. Both of these ensure that no branch of government becomes too powerful. Separation of powers gives certain branches different responsibilities than there branches so that no branch gets to make all of the decisions. Checks and balances lets some branches "check" other branches to keep the in line and prevent them from getting stronger than the other branches. The checks and balances also ensure that the branches can try to avoid things that they disagree with.
- Assess how the distribution of powers among three federal branches affects policy making
The distribution of powers among the three branches makes sure that one branch cannot make a policy that is unfair. They have to take into account that the other branches have power and can affect the outcome of whether or not the policy actually makes it or not. A policy that one or two branches really like, may not make it through the other branch if they are not in favor of it.
- Explain how and why the appropriate balance of power between national and state governments has been interpreted differently over time.
Over time, people have disagreed about the powers of state and the federal government. This is because there is no definitive answer. The people of the United States have had to decide who should get what powers. The tenth amendment gives the states rights that are not implied to the national government in the constitution. This was and is a big part of the argument for states' rights.
- Analyze questions over the allocation and scope of central power within a federal structure.
Within a federal structure, the allocation and scope of central power should be pretty big. The government should have a lot of influence on different things in a society. For example, take the Articles of Confederation. They had strong state governments, but an extremely weak central government and that did not turn out so well, in fact, they had to start a completely new type of government.