West Coast American Leadership Academy

Political Science 5 – Western Political Thought

Spring 2016 / Fall 2016 – Power Point 5

1. Variables

2. Chief Joseph “Indian Perspective”

3. Homestead Act – 1862

4. Transcontinental Railroad Act – 1862

5. Dawes Act – 1887

6. Turner from “The Frontier”

7. Political Action Committees

8. Religion

9. Andrew Carnegie “The Gospel Of Wealth”

10.Upton Sinclair “The Jungle”

11.Masses, Political Parties, And Congress

12.Issue Based Campaigns

Course Lecture Topics

Variables

We have examined how our

system allows interest

groups to openly compete

for market share. What

motivates these groups to

act in the manner that they

do? What about our own

individual behavior? This is

the result of variables. Enjoy

the video demonstration.

Smoke Kills

Chief Joseph

“Indian Perspective” (1)

• Best known for his resistance to the U.S. Government's

attempts to force his tribe onto reservations.

• Spent much of his early childhood at a mission maintained

by Christian missionaries.

• The Nez Perce were a peaceful nation spread from Idaho

to Northern Washington. The tribe had maintained good

relations with the whites after the Lewis and Clark

expedition.

Chief Joseph

“Indian Perspective” (2)

• In 1855, Chief Joseph's father, Old Joseph, signed a treaty

with the U.S. that allowed his people to retain much of their

traditional lands. In 1863, another treaty was created that

severely reduced the amount of land, but Old Joseph

maintained that this second treaty was never agreed to by

his people.

• A showdown over the second "non-treaty" came after Chief

Joseph assumed his role as Chief in 1877. After months of

fighting and forced marches, many of the Nez Perce were

sent to a reservation in what is now Oklahoma, where

many died from malaria and starvation.

Chief Joseph

“Indian Perspective” (3)

• Chief Joseph tried every possible appeal to thefederal authorities to return the Nez Perce to theland of their ancestors. In 1885, he was sent alongwith many of his band to a reservation inWashington where, according to the reservationdoctor, he later died of a broken heart.

Homestead Act – 1862

Transcontinental Act – 1862

Industrialists looked to the Northwest Territory as a

market for manufactured goods. A protective tariff

restricted the American market to American industry

alone. The Homestead Act in 1862 opened more

land to settlers, and the Transcontinental Railroad

Act of 1862 gave the railroads incentives to link

western markets to eastern industry.

Dawes Act (1887)

• The attempt to assimilate Indians into the population.

• Senator Henry L. Dawes: “Till this people will consent to

give up their lands [reservations], and divide them among

their citizens, so that each can own the land he cultivates,

they will not make much more progress.”

• Emphasis on private property as a means of citizenship.

To “civilize” the savage, eliminate cultural patterns

• Plains Indians were hunters; other tribes claimed the land

was not arable.

• Actually resulted in the reduction of Indian lands as the act

permitted sale of land to government at @$2.50/acre.

Turner From “The Frontier” (1)

• Turner’s thesis: “The existence of an area of free land, its

continuous recession, and the advance of American settlement

westward, explain American development.”

• As a type of determinism, Turner’s thesis ties geography to

national ideology/culture, defining the character of Americans and

American society: a type of “primitivism” where “[T]he wilderness

masters the colonist.” (“meeting point between savagery and

civilization”).

• American social development “continually beginning over again

on the frontier.” (“perennial rebirth,” “fluidity of American life”).

Turner From “The Frontier” (2)

• “European life entered the continent” and “America

modified and developed that life and reacted on Europe.”

• “New Product” “away from the influence of Europe, a

steady growth of independence on American lines.”

• “Composite Nationality”; “tides of continental immigration”;

“mixed race.”

• Dangers of individualism out of control; relate to

DeToequeville.

• What endures? The notion of going west for opportunity,

ground for new ideas? Consider that the real move was to

the towns and cities along with the expansion into free,

wilderness land.

Political Action Committees

Political Action Committees (PACs) are

established organizations that serve to

advocate policy recommendations for

various interest groups. Private

companies, corporations, unions, and

other various Public Interest Groups

(PIGs) and Single Interest Groups (SIGs).

PACs are primarily utilized to influence

public policymakers through campaign

donations, offering legitimate information

regarding their various interests and even

coordinating issue based campaigns

directed to a constituency. Enjoy this

campaign example created by People For

The Ethical Treatment Of Animals (PETA).

PETA

Religion

Religion is one sphere of great

interest as it definitely influences

public policy. This video examines the

link between the Christian Coalition,

Friends Of Israel and the Israeli

Government. Enjoy this special report

from “Nightline”. It originally aired on

November 26, 2002

Religion

Carnegie From “Wealth”

Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919) was a massively successful

business man - his wealth was based on the provision of iron

and steel to the railways, but also a man who recalled his

radical roots in Scotland before his immigration to the United

States. To resolve what might seem to be contradictions

between the creation of wealth, which he saw as proceeding

from immutable social laws, and social provision he came up

with the notion of the “gospel of wealth.” He lived up to his

word, and gave away his fortune to socially beneficial projects,

most famously by funding libraries. His approval of death taxes

might surprise modern billionaires!

Upton Sinclair’s “The Jungle”

• Upton Sinclair was a poor reformer who sought to write the Great

American Novel.

• “The Jungle” examined the unsanitary methods of Chicago’s

meatpacking industry of Chicago. It was released in 1906.

• President Theodore Roosevelt received advanced copy. Used

his influence to push Congress to pass a law establishing the

Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Roosevelt coined the term

“muckrakers” to describe Sinclair and other reformist crusaders.

• Roosevelt’s phrase was not meant to be wholly complimentary.

• Muckrackers are journalists who expose political and commercial

corruption.

Masses & Parties

Super PACs came following the July

2010 outcome of SpeechNow.org versus

Federal Election Commission (FEC).

Super PACs may raise unlimited sums of

money from corporations, unions,

associations and individuals, then spend

unlimited sums to overtly advocate for or

against political candidates. Super PACs

must report their donors to the FEC on a

monthly or quarterly basis -- the Super

PAC's choice -- like traditional PACs.

Unlike traditional PACs, Super PACs are

prohibited from donating money directly

to political candidates.

Masses & Parties

Congress

Congress is a less representative branch than the

Founding Fathers intended.

1. Members of Congress are political entrepreneurs recruited

from the upper classes of their home constituencies.

2. Members of Congress represent the elites of their districts

and responsibly vote on their behalf with strong regularity.

3. Members of Congress have a reputation for using

incumbency advantages and consistently raising money to

seek reelection.

4. Leadership procedures and structures in Congress appear

to form interlocking conglomerates of policy responders,

iron triangle members, and status quo protectors.

Congressional Millionaires (1)

1. The Center for Responsive Politics analyzed thepersonal financial disclosure data from 2012 ofthe 534 current members of Congress and foundthat, for the first time, more than half had anaverage net worth of $1 million or more: 268 tobe exact, up from 257 the year earlier. Themedian for congressional Democrats was $1.04million and, for Republicans, $1 million even.

2. To calculate the net worth of lawmakers, theCenter added together members’ significantassets, such as corporate bonds and stocks, thensubtracted major liabilities such as loans, creditcard debt and property mortgages.

Congressional Millionaires (2)

3. Here’s the breakdown: themedian net worth for all Housemembers was $896,000.

4. Democrats averaged $929,000.

5. Republicans averaged $884,000.

6. Senators averaged $2.5 million.

7. The median net worth for SenateDemocrats was $1.7 million,down from $2.4 million in 2011.

8. The median net worth forRepublicans was $2.9 million, upfrom $2.5 million in 2011.

Congressional Millionaire Club

Selling Issues To Society

The mass media’s greatest

power is the ability to decide

what will be decided. How do

interest groups direct mass

opinion today? We will examine

a marketing campaign led by

the “Consumers Union” that

addresses the issue of

prescription cost. Humor very

effective in pulling on emotional

heartstrings. The ending directs

viewers to a website that states

the primary purpose of this clip.

Drugs I Need