FRQ Practice 2

When James Madison framed the Constitution he had many ideas for how should operate and who should run it. He could never have imagined how the United States, and the world for that matter progressed in the following 200 years. Despite his lack of precognition, Madison did account for change by integrating the ability to change the Constitution and its meaning to better suit the times.

Passing Amendments is the formal way to change the Constitution. Throughout our history, we have done so numerous times, and as a whole, the amendments have made the United States more democratic. There are two "phases" to amending the Constitution, proposing the amendment and passing the amendment. It can be proposed by 2/3 of the House of Representatives or 2/3 of state national conventions. From there, it can be ratified by 3/4 of state legislatures or 3/4 of special state conventions.

While there is a formal process, changes to the Constitution, much of the change has been informal. For example, the Senate and electoral college was originally set up to take the election of the president out of the voters' direct control. Now, most Senators vote with what the will of the majority in their state. Also, the two party system was never created under the Constitution. Even from the early days, it was evident that there was a divide, at the time it was between the Federalists and anti-federalists. In modern day, the equivalent is Democrats and Republicans. The two party system has transformed politics in the United States and, as a result, the meaning of the Constitution.

Looking at American history, it is evident that the informal process of change has been used much more frequently than the formal one. This is due to the fact that the formal process was set up to be slow. Out of fear of mob rule, the framers purposefully set up a system that would encourage change, but only if it was slow. For the formal process, there are many steps to follow and people to appease and compromises to be made. It makes sure that every view is taken into account and the policy best reflects  the ideals of the Constitution and the will of the people, consequently, it is a slow process.

Free Response Practice

2.) Primary elections and the expansion of suffrage are both 20th Century developments that democratized American politics. Primary elections helped the voting populace control the presidential nominations. Prior to primaries, caucuses were held where political leaders controlled the nominations but post-caucus era, the voters chose nominees. The expansion of suffrage also aided the democratization of American politics by increasing participation of the entire population. Prior to the women's suffrage movement in the early 1900's and the Civil Rights movement of the 1960's, a select population actually voted, hardly representative of Americans as a whole.

There are many types of political participation other than voting, such as supporting a candidate and civil disobedience. When a person supports a candidate, they can encourage and convince others to vote for a particular candidate which increases voting. Civil disobedience is another form of participation made famous by names such as Ghandi and Martin Luther King Jr. Civil disobedience often draws a lot of media attention, and unlike protest (another form of participation) is typically nonviolent.

Free Response Practice

1.) The Legislative Branch, specifically the House of Representatives, is the most closely linked to the people. The nature of the House is direct representation. This being the case, people directly elect, and therefore have a direct influence on, representatives. The process of direct election allows voters to select representatives that reflect their ideals and policy they support.

The United States Constitution restricts majority rule with the Judicial Branch and the Senate in Congress. The Judicial Branch is free of the direct influence of the people. The Supreme Court Judges are appointed for life by the president and are not obligated to cave to will of the majority. The role of the judges is to uphold the constitution and since they do not have to worry about re-election, they are unburdened by responsibility or losing their position due to voter displeasure, the will of the majority is not priority. The Senate, similarly, is out of the majority's hands. Selected by state legislatures, the voters do not have a say in the population that controls the electoral college. These two institutions restrict the majority rule and ensure that there is no mob tyranny.

Ideology and Politics

Ideology has minimal impact on political ideology. The majority of the American population does not have enough political knowledge to form educated opinions about politics and make decisions based on ideology. In reality, many of the people who identify with ideology are politicians, and even then they tend to stick to party lines so their opinion is lost in the majority or looming election. While a small portion participate based on ideology, most are classified as "group benefits," "nature of the times," or "no issue content." This means people vote in terms of groups they like or dislike, whether the times seem good or bad (productivity), or because of routine or personality of candidates, respectively. As a general rule, people are conservative in ideology but liberal in practice. There are many institutions that we generally accept and want to keep but are very liberal.