Ahern

Exam #1 _______________________________

Part I. True-False (1 point each, total= 14 points)

__F__ 1. The writing of the U.S. Constitution was inspired by the masses' dissatisfaction with the Articles of Confederation.

It was elites, not the masses who were dissatisfied

__T__ 2. According to Dye and Zeigler, the prevailing philosophy among America's elite is
liberal and public-regarding.

__F__ 3. Schuman argues that the Founding Fathers strongly believed that public morality would check or constrain the behavior of "evil" individuals.

There was no such thing as public morality according to the FFS

__F__ 4. The Explorit data proves that democracy can only exist when all people share a common religion, ethnic background, and socio-economic condition.

It explores the US but what about democracy in other systems? Not explored in this part of the Explorit data

__F__ 5. The Turkish Constitution and the U.S. Constitution both emphasis rights rather than responsibilities.

Turkey does, US doesn't

__F__ 6. Classical democratic theory supports absolute equality or "leveling".

It emphasizes equality of opportunity, not results

__F__ 7. "The Empire of Reason" emphasized that the debate over the Bill of Rights at the Constitutional Convention was a spirited one.

NY ratifying convention, not US constitutional convention

__F__ 8. The concept of social darwinism argues that elites have a duty to "look after" the masses.

Just the opposite

__F__ 9. The Dred Scot decision argued that the corporation was a "person", entitled to all of the rights of a person except voting.

Bank of Augusta v. Earle

_T/F_10. James Madison encouraged the development of factions.

He did but didn't mean to so I'll accept both answers

__F__11. According to Dye and Zeigler, rich people are the most powerful members of the contemporary elite political system.

Corporations/ institutions, not individuals

__T__12. The Constitution would have been ratified without a Bill of Rights.

It was!

__T__13. According to Dye and Zeigler, the leadership for liberal reforms has always come from the upper social class.

__F__14. The closer a correlation coefficient is to zero (0), the greater the degree of correlation.

One
 
 

Part II. Core Concepts (2 points each, total of 6 points)

1. Elite theory: society is inevitably divided into the few who have power and the many who don't

2. Democratic theory: if individuals are allowed to participate meaningfully in the decisions that affect their lives, they become transformed (from individuals to citizens)

3. Plural theory: individual democratic rights are protected in a system of group competition
 
 

Part III. Compare and Contrast/ Short Identification (Points in parentheses, total= 40 points
 
 

1. What is "the irony of democracy"and why is it important for understanding contemporary American government? (7)

That America is an elite political system with elites more committed to democratic values than the masses

it is important for making the distinction between theories (elite, democratic, plural, empirical and normative)
 
 
 
 

2. What federalism and why is "the sagebrush" revolt an interesting concept that demonstrates federalism? (7)
 
 

federalism is the separation of powers between levels of government--federal/ state/ local, etc.

The sagebrush rebellion, over states desires to control land use within their states and the federal governments opposition, demonstrates the tensions between states and the federal government. These are natural tensions in a federal system. Who controls the lands in question? The states or the federal government?
 

3. Schuman argues that the Founding Fathers believed in "freedom from" rather than "freedom to". What do these phrases mean and why is the distinction important for understanding the difference between pluralism and democratic theory. (13)

Freedom from is a freedom from obligation---to participate

freedom to is a freedom to participate

Dem theory argues that individuals have a duty or obligation to participate (freedom to) while pluralism argues that you have the right (or freedom) not to participate.

The overall importance is over the debate about should or should people participate (or be forced to participate!!!)??
 

4. Monsma argues that elites have alternated between feeling an obligation to the masses and no obligation to the masses. Briefly identify the reasons for these swings, relating them to the periods of elite value development discussed in class. (13)

reasons relate to the dominant elite political culture

during Puritan Era--- individual responsibility for the well-being of society is part of the Puritan values. Thus you had an obligation to the community
 
 

during the Frontier and Melting Pot Era-- individual responsibility is replaced by social darwinism --

the Modern Consumer Era---due to the Depression and Stock Market crash have emphasized the notion of noblesse oblige among the elite---thus there is some emphasis on liberal and public-regarding social programs for the "masses"
 
 

These periods reflect

the major influences of: our Puritan founding, the frontier, and the Depression on American elite values
 
 

Part IV. Essay (points in parentheses, total= 40 points)

Be sure to fully answer the following question while demonstrating your knowledge of all materials explored in this first section of the course.

"We have been exploring the three theories (elite, democratic and plural) since the beginning of the semester. They generate two views of politics: as convenience or redemption. On the screen is a chart off of the course webpage. Please answer the following questions:

1. Identify each of the three theories as viewing politics as redemption or convenience, being sure to say why. (9)

elite--convenience---about arrangements

dem theory--redemptive---about transformation

plural theory-- convenience--about arrangement
 
 

2. What do these two views say about human nature and the relationship between the individual and the state? (8)

convenience-- it is not necessary to debate human nature as the state can work in spite of the nature of human beings--politics is about making life as easy as possible--the relationship between the state and the individual is non-existent (or at best minimal)
 
 

redemption--human nature can be either good or bad but the important thing is that people are redeemable through participation--the relationship between the individual and the state is the key to politics as the state's provision of participatory vehicles empowers, redeems (ie., betters) the individual
 
 

3. Also on the screen are Monsma's components of the "the American National Character". Identify and discuss how four of these reflect either a redemptive or convenience view of politics. (12)

dependent on your choices---too many to discuss
 
 
 
 

4. How can one argue that the structure of the American political system is a reflection of convenience view of politics? (11)

the structure of US government is all about implementing the convenience view of politics---everything is about structure and structuring relationships--

between institutions---checks and balances and separation of powers

between levels of the government---federalism 

between inds and state---stay the hell out of politics!