Introduction to GOVT 2306 Texas State and Local Government

1. Introduction to GOVT 2306Texas State and Local Government

2. This section’s topic: What exactly is this class and why do I have to take it?

3. Course Description: This course introduces you to state and local government, and focuses primarily on the government of Texas and area local governments like Alvin and Houston, as well as Brazoria and Harris County.

4. In this class we detail the development and content of Texas Constitution and area city charters, as well and the principle institutions they create. We will also study elections, political parties, interest groups and the media, in addition to public opinion.

5. Special attention will also be given to topical public policy issues.

6. Here is a list of the basic subjects we will cover: The Texas ConstitutionLocal GovernmentsThe LegislatureThe ExecutiveThe JudiciaryFederalismCivil Liberties and RightsPolitical Parties ElectionsPublic PolicyPublic OpinionThe MediaInterest Groups

7. If you took 2305 with me, you’ll notice that this is basically the same content from that class. The major difference of course is that it focuses on states and local governments, as well as the interaction between these two and the national government.

8. This set of slides is designed to welcome you to the class and give you basic information that will allow you to proceed fruitfully.

9. Welcome

10. I want to do three basic things before we dig deeply into the subject matter: (1) explain the role education is meant to play in a democratic republic, (2) broadly define the word “government, and (3) broadly define the word “politics.”

11. This specific set of slides is focused on the first question.Since you are required to take this class, why?

12. As you know, this is one of two required classes designed to introduce you to the United States and Texas government. We will at the constitutions of each, the basic language of government and politics, and the nature of American political institutions.

13. In 2305 we discussed why the founders of the US thought that an educated public was necessary especially in a democratic republic where sovereignty rested with the general population.

14. I’d suggest a quick review of the introductory slides for GOVT 2305 to remind you of the argument. In a nutshell:

15. The founders of the US were concerned that in establishing a republic, they were dooming the nation to an unstable governing system. Why?Because republics had failed repeatedly in the past, most notably when the Roman Republic became an empire under the Augustus Caesar.

16. But they had committed themselves to a nation based on the consent of the governed in the Declaration of Independence, so they were stuck with a republican government of some sort. The only question was whether such a system could survive.

17. Here is the question posed: Is self government really possible? That is the American Experiment.

18. They had no illusions that the process would be difficult. They knew success was not guaranteed: Mrs. Powel: "Well Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?" Benjamin Franklin: "A republic if you can keep it“

19. As we know, the nation faced many challenges over its history. The Civil War being the most serious.Notice how Abraham Lincoln addressed this issue:

20. “Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation, so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. …”Abraham LincolnThe opening of the Gettysburg Address

21. In 2305 we spent time detailing how the U.S. Constitution was designed to compensate for human nature, especially that of the mass public.We do not like to cooperate.

22. “The instability, injustice, and confusion introduced into the public councils, have, in truth, been the mortal diseases under which popular Governments have everywhere perished”- James Madison, Federalist #10.

23. Notice that Madison thinks the general public is unstable, unjust, and confused.Thanks Jimmy

24. While we on the bottom rungs are deficient, our leaders tend to be ambitious and must be contained somehow:

25. “Ambition must be made to counteract ambition.”- Federalist #51

26. The very existence of government is a consequence of human deficiency.

27. “If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary.”

28. So how can a republic survive? Two ways: (1) the structure of the governing system must compensate for these deficiencies, and (2) the general population must be educated in order to make them more capable to rule themselves.

29. The structure of the constitution is meant to provide the first method to preserve the republic. Public education is meant to handle the second.

30. "Public virtue cannot exist in a nation without private, and public virtue is the only foundation of republics." - John Adams Public Virtue

31. A good way to ensure public virtue was to make sure they were educated.

32. Thomas Jefferson was an early promoter of civic education. He was a driving force behind two pieces of legislation that promoted education.1- A Bill for the More General Diffusion of Knowledge2 – The Northwest Ordinance

33. For a good description of the benefits of education, read thePreamble to a Bill for the More General Diffusion of KnowledgeHere is a link to the entire bill.

34. And here is a key part of the preamble: “Whereas it appeareth that however certain forms of government are better calculated than others to protect individuals in the free exercise of their natural rights, and are at the same time themselves better guarded against degeneracy, yet experience hath shewn, that even under the best forms, those entrusted with power have, in time, and by slow operations, perverted it into tyranny; and it is believed that the most effectual means of preventing this would be, to illuminate, as far as practicable, the minds of the people at large, and more especially to give them knowledge of those facts, which history exhibiteth, that, possessed thereby of the experience of other ages and countries, they may be enabled to know ambition under all its shapes, and prompt to exert their natural powers to defeat its purposes.” – From the Preamble.

35. In a sense, that is what this class is about. An educated republic is supposed to be able to recognize attempts to establish tyranny, and how to adequately respond to it.

36. For additional information, here’s some interesting commentary in that vein: Education for Civitas: The Lessons Americans Must Learn

37. A Few Lessons from HistoryRemember that the very idea of a liberal education was originally linked with the practice and preparation for free citizenship--in the polis of democratic Athens and in the civitas of republican Rome. Each generation was to acquire the civic knowledge and commitments of "civitas." This was also the view of discerning founders of the American Republic and of their successors who decided that the responsibilities and the rights of American citizenship in a democratic republic should be defined by law and nourished by a common civic education and civic culture rather than by kinship, ethnicity, race, religion, class, or hereditary status.

38. So the purpose of this class – in addition to other things we’ve mentioned - is to prepare you to participate in government.

39. The Northwest Ordinance was an early attempt to guarantee that this would occur as the nation began to move westward.

40. The Northwest Ordinance (1787) established the rules regarding the development of the territory that would become Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin (click here for background from the Library of Congress).It encouraged the development of schools.

41. Art. 3. Religion, morality, and knowledge, being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged.

42. This is one of the reasons why, coast to coast, there is compulsory K-12 education as well as a comprehensive state sponsored system of colleges and universities.

43. This leads to an important question: Is the general public up to the task of self government? Do polls demonstrate that the general population has the knowledge necessary to rule competently?

44. Some links to some disturbing poll results:- PEW Research- How Dumb Are We?- Is voter ignorance killing democracy?

45. And here is a link to a variety of blog posts I’ve compiled on the subject: Is the American Public Rational?

46. The founders had a low opinion of the capabilities of the general population. The one’s they referred to as “the mob.”Click here for an extensive essay on the founder’s attitude towards democracy.

47. Here is an extended quote from Alexander Hamilton reflecting his view of the general population and their capacity to govern:

48. “For my part, I am not much attached to the majesty of the multitude, and therefore waive all pretensions (founded on such conduct), to their countenance. I consider them in general as very ill qualified to judge for themselves what government will best suit their peculiar situations; nor is this to be wondered at. The science of government is not easily understood. Cato will admit, I presume, that men of good education and deep reflection, only, are judges of the form of a government” - Caesar #2

49. As with Hamilton, many founders expected that the mass public would be incapable of self-government and purposely limited participation to a ruling class that would have the ability to govern effectively.Cato Institute: Why Policymakers Should Ignore Public Opinion Polls.

50. This was one of the reasons why participation was limited to property owners for much of American history. Here’s an instructive quote: Those who own America ought to govern it.- John Jay