FIRST EDITION
AMERICAN DEMOCRACY
AND CITIZENSHIP
A READER
Edited by Mark Ellickson, Ph.D.
Missouri State University
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CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
vii
1. CITIZENSHIP
Citizenship: The Precious Legacy
3
By Thomas Lifson
2. CONSTITUTIONAL FOUNDATIONS
U.S. Constitution a Document Worth Celebrating
7
By Wilfred McClay
Should the Constitution Be Amended?
9
By Richard Rahn
3. FEDERALISM
Federalism, Red and Blue
13
By Adam Freedman
4. CIVIL LIBERTIES
The Bill of Rights: Its History and Significance
21
By Doug Linder
College: Where Free Speech Goes to Die
By Bruce Thornton
27
5. CIVIL RIGHTS
No, Women Don’t Make Less Money Than Men
33
By Christina Hoff Sommers
6. PUBLIC OPINION AND POLITICAL SOCIALIZATION
The New American Divide
37
By Charles Murray
7. NOMINATIONS AND ELECTIONS
Electoral College Is Democratic, Not democratic
47
By Steve Chapman
8. POLITICAL PARTICIPATION AND VOTING BEHAVIOR
The Case Against Early Voting
51
By Eugene Kontorovich and John McGinnis
9. INTEREST GROUPS
Who Rules America?
55
By Allan J. Lichtman
10. CONGRESS
The End of Government
By Robert Samuelson
59
11. THE PRESIDENCY
Will Congress Rein in This ‘Imperial’ Presidency?
63
By Diana West
12. THE BUREAUCRACY
Bureaucracy and Some Bureaucracy Problems
67
By Kimberly Hendrickson
13. THE JUDICIARY
Constitution Check: Did the Founders Want Term Limits for Supreme Court Justices?
By Lyle Denniston
75
INTRODUCTION
TO AMERICAN
DEMOCRACY AND
CITIZENSHIP
A
s James Madison, Father of the U.S. Constitution, so aptly observed
more than 200 years ago, “If men were angels, no government would
be necessary.” Since the beginning of time, human beings have struggled to
balance the desire for individual freedom with the need for protection and
stability. Government was the solution to this conundrum. In exchange for
limitations on personal liberties, government was vested with the authority to
make laws promoting a civil society while also possessing the power to enforce
those laws. However, finding and maintaining the correct balance between
government authority and individual liberty has been an ongoing challenge.
The articles in this anthology were selected to illustrate this challenge.
In the opening article, “Citizenship: The Precious Legacy,” Thomas Lifson
reminds us of the importance of citizenship in maintaining a viable political
system. In particular, he addresses the difficulty in balancing the benefits of
an open immigration policy with the need to protect fundamental American
values as well as our civic and political culture. What does it mean to be an
VII
VIII | INTRODUCTION TO AMERICAN DEMOCRACY: INSIGHTS AND PERSPECTIVES
American citizen, and what obligations are required of those who desire to
become American citizens?
In his article, “U.S. Constitution a Document Worth Celebrating,”
University of Oklahoma history professor Dr. Wilfred McClay notes that the
U.S. Constitution has shaped the American political system over the past 227
years and yet relatively few people understand the Constitution and its impact
on our national identity. His article addresses these shortcomings.
Richard Rahn’s article, “Should the Constitution Be Amended,” broaches
the subject of whether our constitutional republic is broken and in need
of repair. Referencing Mark Levin’s recent book, The Liberty Amendments:
Restoring the American Republic, Rahn asks whether America has become an
oppressive bureaucratic state that is slowly stifling individual freedom. If so,
would amending the U.S. Constitution help address this problem? For example, would constitutional amendments requiring term limits for members
of Congress and the Supreme Court help or hurt the situation?
Adam Freedman examines the evolution of the federal-state relationship
in his article, “Federalism, Red and Blue.” In reviewing the three eras of
federalism—dual, cooperative, and coercive—Freedman argues that under
cooperative federalism, state and local governments are being forced to implement federal government priorities such as health and welfare entitlement
programs at the expense of state and local government priorities. He explores
the pros and cons of various strategies states could implement in their efforts to
find relief from federal government micromanagement and coercion.
Doug Linder’s review of the Bill of Rights, its history, and its significance is
important because understanding the circumstances and events leading up to
the Bill of Rights provides valuable insights as to why many supporters of the
U.S. Constitution were initially reluctant to include a list of rights.
Universities are the one place you would expect freedom of speech and
expression to flourish. In a thought-provoking article, “College: Where Free
Speech Goes to Die,” Dr. Bruce Thornton contends that campus speech codes
and other university practices and policies inhibit free speech and expression
in the name of tolerance, multiculturalism, and progressive orthodoxy. He
believes the larger consequences for society include less personal freedom,
more self-censorship and deference to authority, and less intellectual diversity.
More than fifty years ago, Congress passed the Equal Pay Act of 1963, a
landmark piece of civil rights legislation to address the pay gap between men
and women in the workplace. Today, women comprise about one-half of the
INTRODUCTION | IX
U.S. workforce yet earn about three-quarters of what men earn. This statistic
is frequently cited as proof that gender bias remains in the workplace and
that new federal legislation is needed to close this gap. In “No, Women Don’t
Make Less Money Than Men,” Dr. Christina Hoff Summers, scholar at the
American Enterprise Institute and former university professor, argues that this
gap can be largely explained by such factors as career choices and the amount
of time spent in the labor force.
Charles Murray’s article, “The New American Divide,” addresses the issue
of cultural and economic inequality in America. According to Murray, the
civic culture of America has unraveled as core American values such as marriage, honesty, hard work, and religiosity no longer dominate across all levels
of society regardless of socioeconomic standing. If Murray’s analysis is correct,
what are the consequences for society and our political system?
In the 2000 presidential election, Al Gore received half a million more popular votes than George W. Bush, yet Bush was declared the winner. The reason
for this outcome is that the Constitution establishes the Electoral College as
the legal mechanism for determining who will be president every four years.
Steve Chapman’s article, “Electoral College Is Democratic, Not democratic,”
examines arguments for and against the continuation of the Electoral College.
Efforts by states to allow their citizens to participate in early voting have
expanded rapidly in recent decades. For example, during the 2012 presidential
election, about one-third of all ballots were cast prior to Election Day. Despite
the convenience and increase in voter turnout, is early voting harmful to a
constitutional republic? Eugene Kontorovich and John McGinnis explore the
potential dangers associated with this fundamental shift in voting protocol.
In “Who Rules America?” Allan Lichtman reviews a groundbreaking study
that examines the influence of ordinary citizens, economic elites, and interest
groups on government policymaking. The study concludes that ordinary citizens have virtually NO impact in shaping government policy in this country.
In contrast, economic elites and business-based interest groups dominate the
policymaking process in American politics. Lichtman warns that if less affluent
voters do not become better organized and increase their turnout during elections, there will be dire implications for American democracy.
Will America’s aging population and growing dependence on costly government entitlement programs such as Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid,
and the Affordable Care Act bring about the end of government as we know
it? This is the question posed in Robert Samuelson’s article, “The End of
X | AMERICAN DEMOCRACY AND CITIZENSHIP: A READER
Government.” Despite significant increases in the federal budget, each year
less money is available for national problems and priorities because a larger
percentage of the federal budget is consumed by entitlement programs for the
elderly.
“Will Congress Rein in the Imperial Presidency?” is the title of Diana
West’s article. In particular, West is concerned that the Obama administration’s
expansion of executive powers may threaten the survival of our constitutional
republic. While executive branch power also increased under George W. Bush,
the article notes that under President Obama, it has accelerated to such an
extent it may be creating a constitutional crisis.
In “Bureaucracy and Some Bureaucracy Problems,” Kimberly Hendrickson
examines the lessons learned from James Q. Wilson’s 1989 seminal book on
American bureaucracy entitled Bureaucracy: What Government Agencies Do and
Why They Do It. Her article revisits Wilson’s critique of modern bureaucracy
and his suggestions for ways to “fix” the system.
Finally, Lyle Denniston’s article (“Did the Founders Want Term Limits for
Supreme Court Justices?”) addresses the question of whether the Founders
intended members of the U.S. Supreme Court to serve lifetime appointments
or prefered term limits as some have suggested. The author points out that
Article III in the Constitution defines judicial tenure at the federal level as
based on “good behavior” which implies a lifetime appointment. Moreover,
Article II of the Constitution states that federal judges, including Supreme
Court justices, shall be removed from office if impeached and convicted of
“treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.” The author points
to this “impeachment” provision of Article II as further evidence that lifetime
appointments, not term limits, were the original intent of the Founders. What
do you think? What are the advantages and disadvantages of lifetime appointments for Supreme Court justices? Should term limits be imposed on U.S.
Supreme Court justices?