LESSON 1.02

Democracy, filtered

How does representative democracy decide whose voices matter?

1.2 · TYPES OF DEMOCRACY

LESSON 1.02

Democracy, filtered

ESSENTIAL QUESTION

How does representative democracy decide whose voices matter?

1.2 · TYPES OF DEMOCRACY

TODAY

01 · STUDY (15 Minutes)

02 · 1.1-1.2 AP Quiz + FRQ

03 · IF YOU RAN THE PLACE PT. 2

COMING UP

• THE HISTORY LESSON PROJECT

DEVICES READY · EYES UP

ASSESSMENT READY

ASSESSMENT

IDEALS+ MODELS QUIZ

LOCATION

AP CLASSROOM

PASSCODE

NONE

IF YOU RAN THE PLACE… · PART 2

Figure Out Your Move

Turn one issue from Part 1 into a researched, realistic action.

PICK YOUR FIGHT

Choose one issue from Part 1 that you care about.

GET THE RECEIPTS

Find:

• one solid fact

• what government is already doing

• one reason the problem is hard to solve

WHO’S GOT THE POWER?

Identify the local, state, or federal representative who can act.

YOUR MOVE

Choose one:

KEEP IT · CHANGE IT
START IT · STOP IT

Then explain why.

Research first. Decide second. Make a move you can defend.

HAVE A SAY · MAKE THEM LISTEN

STEP 3 · WHO’S GOT THE POWER?

Match Your Issue to the Right Level

LOCAL

STATE

FEDERAL

City rules, services,
or neighborhoods?

Would California law, funding,
or policy need to change?

Would national law, funding,
or policy need to change?

Henry L.
Foster III

City Council
District 4

Dr. LaShae
Sharp-Collins

State Assembly
District 79

Dr. Akilah
Weber Pierson

State Senate
District 39

Juan
Vargas

U.S. House
District 52

Alex
Padilla

U.S. Senator
for California

Adam
Schiff

U.S. Senator
for California

START WITH THE LEVEL. THEN CHOOSE THE REPRESENTATIVE WHO CAN ACT.

Prom has a democracy problem.

More than 100 seniors have opinions about the music. To get your songs played, you have to tell Mrs. Avila what you want to hear.

But Mrs. Avila is also hearing from the juniors who organized prom, the dance chaperones, the DJ, and groups of students all pushing for different music.

Then prom arrives. The chaperones are singing along, the juniors love the playlist—and your request never plays. Not once.

At what point do you start getting annoyed?

TPS: Who should Mrs. Avila listen to most when choosing the music? What would make you feel like your opinion actually counted?

RETRIEVAL BEAT

PROM WAS THE EASY PART.

Use what you remember from our last lesson.

Before we go further, what does REPUBLICANISM mean?

REPUBLICANISM means that we elect representatives to make decisions for us instead of voting on every issue ourselves.

But republicanism does not answer the harder question: Once representatives have power, who are they really listening to?

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A Replubic, if...

Last lesson, we studied six democratic ideals. A DEMOCRATIC IDEAL is a belief about how democracy should work.

One ideal was REPUBLICANISM. It means that people govern through elected representatives.

A REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY is the system that puts this ideal into practice. Citizens elect officials to make public decisions for them.

But representatives cannot follow every request. How can the system live up to the promise that the people should govern?

Three models offer different answers.

EQ: How does representative democracy decide whose voices matter?

DEMOCRATIC MODELS

PARTICIPATORY DEMOCRACY

INDIVIDUAL
CITIZENS

DIRECT
PARTICIPATION

GOVERNMENT

MODEL 01

We The People

One model of representative democracy is PARTICIPATORY DEMOCRACY. A model is a way of explaining how a political system works.

This model says government works best when ordinary people take an active role.

Citizens participate by voting, contacting officials, attending meetings, protesting, joining campaigns, and sometimes voting directly on policies.

Representatives should remain close to the people and respond to what citizens say they want.

More participation gives the public a stronger voice.

[ADD SQUARE IMAGE]

EQ: How does representative democracy decide whose voices matter?

Public comments are one way citizens practice PARTICIPATORY DEMOCRACY.
Citizens can use Regulations.gov to respond directly to proposed federal rules.
Agencies review relevant comments before issuing a final rule.

Regulations.gov rulemaking docket for proposed grizzly bear protections

More than 100,000 people jumped into the conversation. That is PARTICIPATORY DEMOCRACY in action—but federal agencies do not count comments like votes.

Regulations.gov docket showing more than 107,000 public comments

HOLD THAT THOUGHT

Visit Regulations.gov and search for something you care about—or something strange that makes you curious.

See whether the federal government has proposed a rule about it. Then open the rule and explore a few public comments.

TPS: Is this an effective way to get the government to listen to you? Why or why not?

REGULATIONS.GOV

Regulations.gov homepage · U.S. General Services Administration

DEMOCRATIC MODELS

PLURALIST DEMOCRACY

INDIVIDUAL
CITIZENS

ORGANIZED
GROUPS

GOVERNMENT

MODEL 02

[ADD SQUARE IMAGE]

Strength in Numbers

A second model of representative democracy is PLURALIST DEMOCRACY. It says people gain influence by joining others who share their concerns.

A FACTION forms around a shared interest. Modern factions often work through INTEREST GROUPS. The AARP represents older Americans, the Sierra Club supports environmental protection, and the NRA supports gun-ownership rights.

These groups collect money, contact officials, run advertisements, and support candidates.

Organization can make a shared voice harder to ignore.

EQ: How does representative democracy decide whose voices matter?

“

LIBERTY is to FACTION
what AIR is to FIRE.”

James Madison · Federalist No. 10 · 1787

TEST THE ANALOGY

Madison compared LIBERTY to air: it allows FACTIONS to form and grow.

For the next 13 minutes, test his analogy. Search an issue you care about. Follow the organizations that catch your attention. Notice who wants government to do what.

BE READY: Where did you see Madison’s “air to fire” analogy come alive?

OPEN THE EXPLORER

GO TO

tinyurl.com
/apgheard

TYPE IT AS ONE LINE

Search freely. You do not need to open every result.

THINK–PAIR–SHARE: How do the crowds and spending we just saw help explain Madison’s air-to-fire analogy?

“Liberty is to faction what air is to fire.”

James Madison, Federalist No. 10 (1787)

Fight fire with fire

In FEDERALIST NO. 10, Madison argued that LIBERTY—people’s freedom to hold different beliefs and organize around shared interests—allows FACTIONS to form, just as air feeds fire. Taking away that freedom would be worse than the factions themselves.

His solution was a large REPUBLIC with so many competing factions that no single group could easily take control. As Madison wrote, “Ambition must be made to counteract ambition.”

Madison’s argument supports A PLURALIST MODEL of representative democracy.

[ADD SQUARE IMAGE]

EQ: How does representative democracy decide whose voices matter?

DEMOCRATIC MODELS

ELITE DEMOCRACY

INDIVIDUAL
CITIZENS

ELECTED LEADERS
& EXPERTS

GOVERNMENT

MODEL 03

A Small Number

PARTICIPATORY DEMOCRACY brings individuals into the process. PLURALIST DEMOCRACY brings organized groups. A third model, ELITE DEMOCRACY, narrows the funnel: many people may express opinions, but a much smaller group does the detailed work of governing.

Elected leaders rely on judges, administrators, scientists, economists, and other experts who understand complicated issues. Supporters believe this produces more informed and steady decisions.

But is limiting decision-making to a few voices ANTITHETICAL to the ideal of REPUBLICANISM?

[ADD SQUARE IMAGE]

EQ: How does representative democracy decide whose voices matter?

[ADD SQUARE IMAGE]

An Intermediate Body

The Constitution includes several features that place decisions in the hands of a smaller group:

The ELECTORAL COLLEGE formally selects the president.
The SENATE gives two members from each state longer six-year terms.
FEDERAL JUDGES are appointed rather than elected and serve for life.
The president appoints officials and experts to lead EXECUTIVE AGENCIES.

These features give decision-makers space to use their own judgment, but the ELITE MODEL rarely operates alone; elections, citizens, and organized groups still influence them.

EQ: How does representative democracy decide whose voices matter?

LESSON RECAP

American representative democracy blends three routes of influence: citizens participate directly, organized groups compete, and leaders and experts make the final decisions.

REPUBLICANISM gives citizens a voice through elected representatives.
PARTICIPATORY DEMOCRACY offers direct access, but individual voices may get lost in the crowd.
PLURALIST DEMOCRACY amplifies organized groups, but those groups do not have equal resources.
ELITE DEMOCRACY relies on experienced leaders and experts, but places final decisions in fewer hands.

EQ: [ESSENTIAL QUESTION]

BEHIND THE FRAME

[ADD PORTRAIT IMAGE]

[IMAGE TITLE]

• [FIRST IMPORTANT FACT]

• [SECOND IMPORTANT FACT]

• [WHAT THE IMAGE REVEALS]

• [ONE FINAL DETAIL OR MYTH CHECK]

CIVIC CHECK

[OR]

[TRIVIA OR
REVIEW TITLE]

[ONE-SENTENCE DIRECTIONS]

[GAME NAME]

[TYPE THE QUESTION HERE]

[CHOICE A]

[CHOICE B]

[CHOICE C]

[CHOICE D]

TRUE OR FALSE

[TYPE THE TRUE OR FALSE STATEMENT]

TRUE

FALSE

ANSWER

[CORRECT ANSWER]

[EXPLAIN WHY THIS IS THE CORRECT ANSWER.]

[ADD AN IMPORTANT CONNECTION, RULE, CASE, PIECE OF EVIDENCE, OR REAL-WORLD IMPACT.]

NEXT UP

[ACTIVITY TITLE]

YOUR GOAL

[WHAT STUDENTS WILL DO, CREATE, DISCUSS, OR SUBMIT]

GET READY

[MATERIALS, PARTNERS, DOCUMENT, OR STARTING LOCATION]

[SHORT TRANSITION CUE]

ACTIVITY INSTRUCTIONS

[ACTIVITY NAME]

[OPTIONAL ONE-SENTENCE PURPOSE]

[ACTION VERB]

[SHORT INSTRUCTION.]

[ACTION VERB]

[SHORT INSTRUCTION.]

[ACTION VERB]

[SHORT INSTRUCTION.]

[ACTION VERB]

[SHORT INSTRUCTION.]

[WHAT STUDENTS SHOULD HAVE READY OR COMPLETE]

WORD WALL

[TERM ONE]