Democratic Theory - AP Government and Politics

Minority rights is a principle that even in a democracy ruled by majority voting, those people who are not members of the majority in belief, ethnicity, or cultural backgorund should not be shut out of the democratic process. While this is usually quite difficult to achieve, one method that can help is by creating congressional districts that are built around certain constituencies so as to insure they have representation.

Direct Democracy refers to a system of government in which citizens directly vote on issues and the majority prevails. This is impractical on a national level, where there are millions of would-be voters, so a representative democracy, or a republic, is established where representatives are elected to "represent" the voting interests of the people.

While many Constitutionally-related changes have occurred over the span of American history, the most widespread and vital transformation has been the various expansions of democracy that have taken place. The abolition of slavery, suffrage for both African Americans and women, the lowering of the national voting age (to eighteen), the passage of civil rights legislation, and the direct election of Senators are just some of the most crucial ways in which more and more American citizens have gained increased democratic rights, influences, and freedoms. This Together with the nation and its people, the Constitution has continually evolved along these lines, often through the passage of relevant amendments (such as the Fifteenth Amendment which banned racial discrimination and the Nineteenth Amendment’s grant of voting rights to women). Further democratic expansions and changes are sure to come.

"First past the post" describes a system in which elections are won by the candidate with the most votes. This is in contrast to systems where, for example, numbers of representatives are elected proportional to the share of the votes their party received. Students who know this can ignore answers that are fundamentally at odds with the American governmental system, such as the "requires nonpartisanship" and "ambiguous electoral results" answers. Then, it becomes a matter of striking out answers which are not necessarily restricted to this type of electoral system ("low voter turnout" and "electoral fraud"). This leaves us with the correct answer, marginalizing third parties.

Alternately, students can contrast the American electoral system with say, the British system of proportionate representation and find key contrasts, e.g. the relative scarcity vs. abundance of third parties.

Minority rights is a principle that even in a democracy ruled by majority voting, those people who are not members of the majority in belief, ethnicity, or cultural backgorund should not be shut out of the democratic process. While this is usually quite difficult to achieve, one method that can help is by creating congressional districts that are built around certain constituencies so as to insure they have representation.

Direct Democracy refers to a system of government in which citizens directly vote on issues and the majority prevails. This is impractical on a national level, where there are millions of would-be voters, so a representative democracy, or a republic, is established where representatives are elected to "represent" the voting interests of the people.

While many Constitutionally-related changes have occurred over the span of American history, the most widespread and vital transformation has been the various expansions of democracy that have taken place. The abolition of slavery, suffrage for both African Americans and women, the lowering of the national voting age (to eighteen), the passage of civil rights legislation, and the direct election of Senators are just some of the most crucial ways in which more and more American citizens have gained increased democratic rights, influences, and freedoms. This Together with the nation and its people, the Constitution has continually evolved along these lines, often through the passage of relevant amendments (such as the Fifteenth Amendment which banned racial discrimination and the Nineteenth Amendment’s grant of voting rights to women). Further democratic expansions and changes are sure to come.

"First past the post" describes a system in which elections are won by the candidate with the most votes. This is in contrast to systems where, for example, numbers of representatives are elected proportional to the share of the votes their party received. Students who know this can ignore answers that are fundamentally at odds with the American governmental system, such as the "requires nonpartisanship" and "ambiguous electoral results" answers. Then, it becomes a matter of striking out answers which are not necessarily restricted to this type of electoral system ("low voter turnout" and "electoral fraud"). This leaves us with the correct answer, marginalizing third parties.

Alternately, students can contrast the American electoral system with say, the British system of proportionate representation and find key contrasts, e.g. the relative scarcity vs. abundance of third parties.

Minority rights is a principle that even in a democracy ruled by majority voting, those people who are not members of the majority in belief, ethnicity, or cultural backgorund should not be shut out of the democratic process. While this is usually quite difficult to achieve, one method that can help is by creating congressional districts that are built around certain constituencies so as to insure they have representation.

Direct Democracy refers to a system of government in which citizens directly vote on issues and the majority prevails. This is impractical on a national level, where there are millions of would-be voters, so a representative democracy, or a republic, is established where representatives are elected to "represent" the voting interests of the people.

While many Constitutionally-related changes have occurred over the span of American history, the most widespread and vital transformation has been the various expansions of democracy that have taken place. The abolition of slavery, suffrage for both African Americans and women, the lowering of the national voting age (to eighteen), the passage of civil rights legislation, and the direct election of Senators are just some of the most crucial ways in which more and more American citizens have gained increased democratic rights, influences, and freedoms. This Together with the nation and its people, the Constitution has continually evolved along these lines, often through the passage of relevant amendments (such as the Fifteenth Amendment which banned racial discrimination and the Nineteenth Amendment’s grant of voting rights to women). Further democratic expansions and changes are sure to come.

"First past the post" describes a system in which elections are won by the candidate with the most votes. This is in contrast to systems where, for example, numbers of representatives are elected proportional to the share of the votes their party received. Students who know this can ignore answers that are fundamentally at odds with the American governmental system, such as the "requires nonpartisanship" and "ambiguous electoral results" answers. Then, it becomes a matter of striking out answers which are not necessarily restricted to this type of electoral system ("low voter turnout" and "electoral fraud"). This leaves us with the correct answer, marginalizing third parties.

Alternately, students can contrast the American electoral system with say, the British system of proportionate representation and find key contrasts, e.g. the relative scarcity vs. abundance of third parties.

Minority rights is a principle that even in a democracy ruled by majority voting, those people who are not members of the majority in belief, ethnicity, or cultural backgorund should not be shut out of the democratic process. While this is usually quite difficult to achieve, one method that can help is by creating congressional districts that are built around certain constituencies so as to insure they have representation.

Direct Democracy refers to a system of government in which citizens directly vote on issues and the majority prevails. This is impractical on a national level, where there are millions of would-be voters, so a representative democracy, or a republic, is established where representatives are elected to "represent" the voting interests of the people.

While many Constitutionally-related changes have occurred over the span of American history, the most widespread and vital transformation has been the various expansions of democracy that have taken place. The abolition of slavery, suffrage for both African Americans and women, the lowering of the national voting age (to eighteen), the passage of civil rights legislation, and the direct election of Senators are just some of the most crucial ways in which more and more American citizens have gained increased democratic rights, influences, and freedoms. This Together with the nation and its people, the Constitution has continually evolved along these lines, often through the passage of relevant amendments (such as the Fifteenth Amendment which banned racial discrimination and the Nineteenth Amendment’s grant of voting rights to women). Further democratic expansions and changes are sure to come.