7. In The Federalist paper number 10, James Madison expressed concern over the possibility that both majority and minority factions would have too much power over government, and he presented ways of minimizing that danger. The United States Constitution established a democratic government but also contained several provisions that limited majority rule. Throughout the next two centuries, the role of majority rule in the United States government and politics continued to change.
a. Identify the part of the national government that was originally most closely tied to citizens and explain how it was tied to citizens.
b. Explain two ways the United States constitution limited majority rule.
c. Choose two of the following twentieth-century developments and explain how each moved the United States from a less democratic system to a more democratic system.
- Primary elections
- The Seventeenth Amendment
- Expansion of suffrage
The part of the national government that was originally most closely tied to the citizens is the House of Representatives, which is one of the two chambers in congress. The House of Representatives has 435 members that are elected by the people. The representatives are elected for 2 year terms and the number of representatives per state is based on population.
ReplyDeleteThe United States Constitution, a document establishing the structure, functions, and limitations of our government, limits majority rule. Majority rule is a central part of direct democracy, only policies with support from majority of voters will become a law. Article 5 of the Constitution outlines a formal method for amending the Constitution, and requires a ⅔ vote by both the senate and House of Representatives in order to pass an amendment. A second way the Constitution limits majority rule is through checks and balances, which is when each branch is given power to overrule another branch’s decisions. An example is congress passing a bill and the president vetoing it. A presidential veto is an authority override of congress.
Through the process of primary elections, when members of the same party are elected to represent the party in in the general election, the United States moved from a less democratic system to a more democratic system. Primary elections allow citizens to have more opportunities and choices for party candidates. The United States is more democratic due to the citizens having more choices and power over candidates. Suffrage is the right to vote. Expansion of suffrage then allows more people to have more say in the government since more people can vote. More people voting makes the government a more democratic system.