A Study
Guide for Political Science Instructors
Written by Dr. Janet M. Martin, professor of government at Bowdoin College and author of
Lessons from the Hill: The Legislative Journey of an Education Program (1994) and
The American Presidency and Women: Promise, Performance and Illusion (forthcoming).
This study guide offers ideas on how instructors can integrate the
Government's 50 Greatest Endeavors of the Second Half of the 20th Century
project into introductory and upper level American government courses. In essence, the project sums up much of the federal government's work of the past half century. The study guide is written in a way to enable instructors to easily begin to work with the project's vast amount of information.
The guide includes a sample lecture based on some of the project's findings. In addition, a module is included with sections designed to provide material that could be used for one class period, part of a class period, a series of classes, or for both in-class and out-of-class exercises. The module can also serve as the basis for a topics course in American government, a senior seminar on presidential-congressional relations, or a course on public policy.
The guide concludes with a series of questions drawing upon the resources of the
Government's 50 Greatest Endeavors of the Second Half of the 20th Century
project, which can be used to guide classroom discussion or provide ideas for paper assignments.
I. Sample Lecture: The Federal Government's Endeavors to Expand and Protect Civil Rights
Among the five greatest achievements identified in the survey report, three have addressed the expansion and protection of civil rights-expanding the right to vote, promoting equal access to public accommodations, and reducing workplace discrimination. Of these three governmental endeavors, expanding the right to vote is viewed as the government's greatest success. The least successful of these endeavors has been the federal government's effort in reducing workplace discrimination.
The expansion and protection of civil rights, like most federal governmental endeavors, has not been an easy undertaking and has involved the work of a number of administrations throughout the past fifty years. The success in achieving results in particular aspects of civil rights policy has corresponded to the relative difficulty associated with each endeavor. For instance, reducing workplace discrimination has been judged more difficult for the federal government to achieve by a group of historians and political scientists than are the efforts by the federal government to expand the right to vote. Perhaps as a result, initiatives taken by the federal government to end discrimination in the workplace have met with less success than have efforts by the government to guarantee the right to vote.
However, in comparing these two endeavors, the more successful one-expanding the right to vote-has also been an issue of longer duration on the agenda of the federal government
A. Expanding the Right to Vote
Voting rights are fundamental to a representative and participatory democracy. The centrality and importance of the right to vote in the United States is reflected in the fact that the most important endeavor undertaken by the federal government in the last fifty years has been in expanding the right to vote. The results of the presidential election of 2000 have provided both citizens and government officials alike a lesson in civics, reminding all of the centrality of voting in the U.S. system of government. Each vote has meaning and is of importance. Protecting the right of voters to freely cast a ballot that will be fairly counted to reflect each citizen's voting intent is of utmost importance.
The 15th Amendment (1865) expanded the electorate to include African-American males. The 20th Amendment (1920) expanded the electorate to include women, a right and privilege already exercised in a number of states. In the 1960s and 1970s constitutional amendments again expanded and protected voting rights. The 23rd Amendment (1961) provided citizens of the District of Columbia electors for the Electoral College, the 24th Amendment (1964) eliminated the poll tax in any federal election and the 26th Amendment (1971) expanded the electorate to include all of those over the age of 18.
Thus five of the 17 amendments successfully added to the Constitution following the Bill of Rights have specifically focused on expanding the right to vote. Additional amendments have also expanded participation in the political process. For instance, the 17th Amendment (1913) provided for the direct election of U.S. Senators.
In addition to these constitutional amendments which greatly expanded the right to vote to a far greater number of citizens, in the 1950s civil rights legislation began to be passed which targeted the protection of voting rights. While limited in scope, the 1957 Civil Rights Act allowed the Attorney General to intervene in cases where intimidation or coercion was used to deny any individual the right to vote on account of their race, religion, or ethnicity. Legislation in the 1960s provided the mechanisms and tools necessary for the federal government to ensure that all citizens of voting age were guaranteed the right to vote and the freedom to exercise that right. (For a detailed listing of voting rights legislation from 1957 to 1964 signed into law go to "Expand the Right to Vote" on the summaries section of this website).
Yet voting participation has not necessarily increased as the right to vote has been expanded. The government's actions in expanding the electorate-amending the constitution, and adding laws to protect the right to vote-have been successful, but the goal driving the expansion of those voting rights, i.e., voting participation in elections, has not materialized.
Political factors, such as a lack of interest in the candidates running or apathy about the political process and one's sense of political efficacy in that process, depress voting turnout. In addition, a number of institutional barriers remain to confront voters.
Voter registration is required in order to vote. Election day finds some voters disenfranchised upon discovery that they were "purged" from voter registration lists by local government officials. In order to maintain accurate voting registration lists in a society of great mobility, local registrars periodically remove or "purge" names from the roster if the individual has not voted in past elections. Some states allow for same day voter registration on election day, but the vast majority of states have not adopted this policy.
Absentee ballots require forms to be correctly filled out to both receive the ballot, and have the vote counted. Absentee ballots are also dependent on the postal system in order to be returned to election officials by set deadlines.
The impact of ballot design (e.g., the placement of names on the ballot and location of punch-holes to record the votes) on vote count was identified in the 2000 presidential election recounts in Florida.
"Butterfly Ballots" added confusion and may have resulted in errors being made by voters in marking their ballots in the presidential election contest.
"Hanging Chads" became part of the political lexicon of reporters, election officials, and the public alike, while waiting for the results of the Florida election.
Voting rights have also expanded through the judiciary's protection and guarantee of those rights. While the judiciary's role in this endeavor has not been as visible in recent years, the involvement of the judiciary at three levels of government-in federal, state and local courts-has become most evident in resolving the disputed Florida presidential election results following the November 7, 2000 election.
B. Promoting Equal Access to Public Accommodations
One of the greatest achievements of the past fifty years has been the government's action in promoting equal access to public accommodations. Political scientists and historians have ranked access to public accommodations as the third greatest endeavor undertaken by the federal government. However, 39% of these same scholars thought this endeavor very difficult to achieve, and only 34% have found the endeavor very successful.
The effort of the federal government in promoting equal access to accommodations begins prior to 1964. Through a series of Supreme Court rulings leading up to the Court's clear decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka Kansas that segregation would no longer be tolerated, the court moved the government forward in promoting equal access to public accommodations. The Brown ruling by the Court overturned an earlier Supreme Court's ruling from 1896 in the case of Plessey v. Ferguson, which had allowed segregation in public transportation and other public accommodations.
Congress’ endeavors to promote equal access to public accommodations begins in earnest with passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, ten years after the Supreme Court's ruling in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka Kansas. Provisions ensuring equal access to public accommodations provide for lawsuits for damages in federal courts by those denied access to such accommodations as hotels and movie theaters. The law also allowed for intervention by the Attorney General who could bring a lawsuit against an individual or organization suspected of engaging in a practice of discrimination.
The Open Housing Act of 1968 dealt with another aspect of public accommodations-fair housing. The act guarantees protection against discrimination in the sale or rental of housing in all but a few instances (e.g., private sales of housing not involving a real estate agent). The Department of Housing and Urban Development responds to and investigates complaints, with violations then prosecuted by the Justice Department in federal courts.
A recent focus of governmental action to promote equal access to accommodations has addressed the needs of the disabled. In 1990 President George Bush, a Republican, signed into law the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, a law passed by a Democratic Congress which was heavily lobbied by groups of disabled Americans. The visits of many disabled Americans to Capitol Hill to personally lobby members of Congress to support this legislation vividly portrayed the tremendous physical obstacles preventing the disabled from equal access to accommodations. Capitol Hill offices as well as the Capitol itself were not easily accessible, for example, to those in wheel chairs as heavy glass doors or stairs without ramps presented barriers against entry.
C. Reducing Workplace Discrimination
The federal government's endeavors to reduce workplace discrimination have not been as successful as have been the government's endeavors in other areas of civil rights policy-namely, expanding the right to vote and promoting equal access to public accommodations. The government's endeavors regarding voting rights and equal access to public accommodations initially targeted discrimination against African Americans, beginning with the 14th (1868) and 15th (1870) Amendments. Not until 1920 (19th Amendment) did women win the guaranteed right to vote in all elections. One of the first efforts by Congress and the President to end discrimination on the basis of gender was passage of the Equal Pay Act of 1963, focusing on equal pay for women and men working in the same jobs. As recently as the year 2000 President Clinton called for
"equal pay for equal work" for all men and women in delivering his State of the Union message to Congress, suggesting the ongoing endeavors by the federal government in ending workplace discrimination.
Workplace discrimination is not as well-defined an area as is the act of voting or riding a bus. Nor has it received the same attention by the federal government as given to other areas of civil rights. The evolution of civil rights policy in the area of workplace discrimination has been slowly developing through federal governmental endeavors and federal court decisions. In the past forty years workplace discrimination has broadened to include issues of age discrimination (Age Discrimination Act of 1967), accommodations to enable the disabled to work (Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990), and sexual harassment.
II. Module: Government at Work
This module is designed to provide topics for several different lectures, extending throughout a week, or over the course of a semester. Included in the module are different exercises that can be used in conjunction with lectures or class discussion. The exercises can also be done independent of the module, as appropriate to the course.
A. Overview of the Structure of Government
Introduce the role of the federal government in identifying problems, creating an agenda, setting goals, deciding a coherent policy strategy, making policy, and implementing programs to achieve success.
In the discussion, identify the different levels of government (federal, state, local, and intergovernmental).
Explain ways in which the federal government and state governments have similar goals, and ways in which their goals are different. Discuss the responsibilities of each level of government.
Identify expectations citizens and local and state governments have of the federal government (e.g., the federal government will provide resources to compensate for damage from natural disasters; the federal government will provide resources for social welfare programs; products will be safe; food and drugs will be safe to use; highways will connect city to city and state to state).
Explain how issues come to the attention of the federal government. Consider the role of:
i. constituents (e.g., personal stories told to members of Congress explaining the cost of prescription drugs for senior citizens or technical college students personally explaining to a member of congress or their staff why vocational education programs need funding to keep up with rapidly changing technology);
ii. interest groups (e.g., associations of college librarians explaining the need for construction funds to renovate research and reading spaces to accommodate wiring for new technology or college student government associations testifying before a congressional committee explaining the need to increase funding levels for Pell Grants);
iii. special investigations by public or private commissions;
iv. public opinion;
v. the media (and the use of celebrities to highlight the need for federal governmental involvement-e.g., actor Michael J. Fox testifying, along with members of the medical community and the National Institutes of Health as to the need for federal funding of medical research, but specifically more funding for Parkinson's research);
vi. documentaries;
and
vii. external forces such as international events and crises, or the impact of natural disasters or accidents.
B. Separation of Powers in the Federal Government:
Explain the role of Congress in setting goals and making policy. Include a discussion of the constitutional powers of Congress, identifying powers listed in Article I of the Constitution, and the role of Congress in amending the Constitution.
Explain the role of the President in setting goals and making policy. Compare the provisions in Articles I and II of the Constitution. Note the specificity with which responsibilities are outlined for Congress.
Contrast the responsibilities of Congress with those of the President. Explain how Congress has delegated certain powers to the President over the past century (e.g., responsibility for an annual budget; trade policy, facilitated by creation of an office of the U.S. Trade Representative in the Executive Office of the President).
C. Introduction to the Federal Government's Greatest Endeavors of the Second Half of the Twentieth Century
i. Create a time line from 1945 to 2001. This time-line will be used to illustrate the evolution of the government's greatest endeavors in the second half of the twentieth century.
Identify on the time line the years in which the Democrats controlled the White House, and/or Senate, and/or House of Representatives. Similarly, indicate on the time-line years in which the Republicans controlled the White House and/or Senate, and/or House of Representatives. Once the time-line has been marked indicating partisan control of government, initiate a discussion of divided government. Note the prevalence of that pattern since World War II, with Presidents Truman, Eisenhower, Nixon, Ford, Reagan, Bush, and Clinton all facing opposite party control of at least one house of Congress at some point in their presidency.
Use the time line to trace federal efforts toward one of its greatest achievement and greatest failures. The lists of legislation included in the ‘summaries’ section of this website provide dates for passage of legislation or ratification of amendments. Discuss whether students agree with the “Lessons of Achievement” identified in the Government's Achievements of the Past Half Century.
ii. Using the survey of federal endeavors on this site, have students rate each goal as to its importance. Once the students have completed the survey using the same four-point scale provided with the survey (where
"1" rates the goal as not being very important, and
"4" rates the goal as being very important) tabulate the responses calculating the average score for each goal. (To calculate the average, sum the results for each goal and divide the sum by the number of students completing the survey). The resulting mean score for each goal, ranging from 1 to 4, can then be used to identify and rank order the top ten federal government goals the students view as most important.
Provide the students with a list of the "top ten" important goals identified by a group of political scientists and historians:
Provide the students with the list of the "top ten" goals identified in the class survey. Explain and discuss each of the items on the two lists. Discuss the items that are the same on the two lists. Identify the items that are different and discuss why the lists might not be in agreement.
Identify groups in the community with different demographic characteristics (e.g., senior center; rotary club; teachers' association; veterans' organization; church groups ) or classes on campus with students primarily majoring in, for example, the sciences, sociology, or engineering, and provide each with the survey to complete. Tabulate the results and analyze the lists and discuss why the lists may present different results.
Assign students individual endeavors from the two lists. For each endeavor, identify the role of the federal government. Can the starting point of the federal government's role be clearly identified? Is the endeavor preceded by public concern? Does the issue appear in any Gallup polls over time? Is there media coverage of the federal government's endeavor? At what point in time is there coverage? Does coverage precede specific constitutional or statutory action? Does coverage continue to monitor the government's endeavor?
iii. Of the top ten endeavors achieved by the federal government, the three endeavors ranked by historians and political scientists as the
"most difficult" are:
1. Reduce Workplace Discrimination
2. Reduce the Federal Budget Deficit
3. Promote Equal Access to Public Accommodations
And the three easiest are:
1. Strengthen the Nation's Highway System
2. Promote Financial Security in Retirement
3. Increase Older Americans’ Access to Health Care
Select one of the three "most difficult" endeavors and one of the
"easiest" endeavors and compare and contrast efforts by Congress and the President in each of the two endeavors. During which administrations are statutes passed? Is legislation passed during periods of divided government? When did the federal government begin working in each endeavor? Using Gallup polls, examine public support for each endeavor. Does support shift over time? Use the Public Papers of the President to identify whether the president publicly addresses the issue. If so, at what point in time does the president do so and before what audiences?
III. Paper Topics and Discussion Questions:
A. One of the most important endeavors of the federal government in the twentieth century has been expanding the right to vote. The federal government has successfully expanded the electorate through constitutional amendments and congressional statutes, most recently with "motor voter" legislation in the 1990s. Yet citizen participation in elections in the United States remains low.
i. Using the 2000 election contests to select the Democratic and Republican presidential nominees (both caucuses and primaries), examine citizen participation in selecting Al Gore and George W. Bush as each party's respective nominee. Did voter turnout vary by state, over time, by type of election (caucus, primary), or by system of delegate selection (winner-take-all, plurality winner, proportional representation)? What was voter turnout during the primary election process? Who voted in these elections?
ii. Examine the 2000 election with a focus on voter participation. How do citizens become eligible to vote? What requirements must citizens meet in order to vote in your home state and in other states? Consider voter registration requirements, including how one goes about registering, and the power of local election officials to maintain voter registration lists. How are absentee ballots handled?
B. Assess how endeavors undertaken by the federal government evolve over time using civil rights as a case study. For example, read the platforms of the Republican and Democratic parties during the 1950s and 1960s. Is the issue of civil rights (including expanding the right to vote, promoting equal access to public accommodations, and reducing workplace discrimination) a plank in the platforms? Is the issue a prominent one, with specific plans of action, or is civil rights discussed in a more generalized manner? Is there agreement between the Democratic and Republican party platforms. Do the party's nominees raise the same issues in their convention acceptance speeches? Using the Public Papers of the President document how and when Presidents Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon talked about civil rights. To what audiences were these remarks made. What questions concerning civil rights are asked in Gallup polls? Examine the evolution of public opinion on issues of civil rights, in part framed by the questions asked in the Gallup polls. How did executive orders by the president supplement legislation passed by Congress in the government's pursuit of equal rights? How were executive orders substituted for legislation in the federal government's endeavors in civil rights?
C. One of the greatest endeavors of the federal government is financial security in retirement. What is the Social Security program? How does it work? What were the issues surrounding the government's initial role in developing a social security system? How has the system been modified during the past fifty years? What are the issues in the current debate over social security? How have the other statutes included in this endeavor contributed to promoting financial security in retirement?
D. The 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act is included in two of the top five achievements-promoting equal access to public accommodations and reducing workplace discrimination. Read the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Identify how the act has been implemented on your campus and throughout your community. Talk to facilities/physical plant personnel, administrators, and others on campus to learn how the act came to be implemented. How have modifications to comply with the act affected budgets? Take a walking tour of your campus or town. Is there compliance with provisions of the act?
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