D2.Civ.2.9-12: The Role of Citizens in the U.S. Political System, Compared Across Theories, Time and Countries

Overview

Lesson Procedure

75-90 minutes of class time across 5 phases.

1. Warm-Up5-10 minutes
2. Direct Instruction25 minutes
3. Guided Practice15-20 minutes
4. Independent Practice15 minutes
5. Closure15-20 minutes

1. Warm-Up5-10 minutes

   Warm-Up Prompt

   "Finish this sentence in two different ways: 'In a democracy, the citizen's most important job is ___.' Then write one sentence on which ending you think the U.S. system is built around, and why."

   Collect endings on the board (vote, stay informed, serve on juries, join groups, run for office, decide laws directly). Point out that each ending implies a different theory of democracy, an explanation of who should rule and what citizens should do. The lesson tests these theories against evidence from American history and other countries.

2. Direct Instruction25 minutes

   Part 1: Theories of democracy. Present the table. The first and last rows are illustrated by sources on this page; the pluralist and competitive-elite rows are short SVHS summaries of two twentieth-century political scientists, given so students can compare more than two views. Stress that these theories describe and argue; none is the official American view.

   Five theories of democracy and the citizen's role

   Theory	Associated with	What citizens are expected to do
   Representative (republican)	Madison, Federalist No. 57 (1788)	Choose representatives and judge their record at the next election
   Participatory	John Stuart Mill, Considerations on Representative Government (1861)	Take part in public business, such as juries and local offices, as often as possible
   Pluralist	Summary of Robert Dahl, Who Governs? (1961)	Join and support groups that compete to influence decisions; power is spread across many groups
   Competitive elite	Summary of Joseph Schumpeter, Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy (1942)	Choose between competing teams of leaders at elections; leaders, not citizens, make most decisions
   Direct	Athens (Source 3); Swiss initiatives and referendums (Source 5)	Decide laws and cases in person, in assemblies, courts or popular votes

   Read Source 1. In 1788 opponents of the Constitution charged that the House of Representatives would be run by a wealthy few; Madison answers them. Remind students that in 1788 most voters were white men, and many states required voters to own property. Then read Source 2, from Mill's 1861 book.

   1The aim of every political Constitution is, or ought to be, first, to obtain for rulers men who possess most wisdom to discern, and most virtue to pursue, the common good of the society; and, in the next place, to take the most effectual precautions for keeping them virtuous, whilst they continue to hold their public trust. The elective mode of obtaining rulers, is the characteristic policy of republican Government. The means relied on in this form of Government for preventing their degeneracy, are numerous and various. The most effectual one, is such a limitation of the term of appointments, as will maintain a proper responsibility to the People.

   2Let me now ask, what circumstance there is in the Constitution of the House of Representatives, that violates the principles of republican Government, or favors the elevation of the few, on the ruins of the many? Let me ask, whether every circumstance is not, on the contrary, strictly conformable to these principles; and scrupulously impartial to the rights and pretensions of every class and description of citizens?

   3Who are to be the electors of the Fœderal Representatives? Not the rich, more than the poor; not the learned, more than the ignorant; not the haughty heirs of distinguished names, more than the humble sons of obscurity and unpropitious fortune. The electors are to be the great body of the People of the United States. They are to be the same who exercise the right in every State of electing the correspondent branch of the Legislature of the State.

   4Who are to be the objects of popular choice? Every citizen whose merit may recommend him to the esteem and confidence of his country. No qualification of wealth, of birth, of religious faith, or of civil profession, is permitted to fetter the judgement or disappoint the inclination of the People.

   1[...] Giving him something to do for the public supplies, in a measure, all these deficiencies. If circumstances allow the amount of public duty assigned him to be considerable, it makes him an educated man. Notwithstanding the defects of the social system and moral ideas of antiquity, the practice of the dicastery and the ecclesia raised the intellectual standard of an average Athenian citizen far beyond any thing of which there is yet an example in any other mass of men, ancient or modern. The proofs of this are apparent in every page of our great historian of Greece; but we need scarcely look further than to the high quality of the addresses which their great orators deemed best calculated to act with effect on their understanding and will. [...] Still more salutary is the moral part of the instruction afforded by the participation of the private citizen, if even rarely, in public functions. He is called upon, while so engaged, to weigh interests not his own; to be guided, in case of conflicting claims, by another rule than his private partialities; to apply, at every turn, principles and maxims which have for their reason of existence the general good; and he usually finds associated with him in the same work minds more familiarized than his own with these ideas and operations, whose study it will be to supply reasons to his understanding, and stimulation to his feeling for the general interest. He is made to feel himself one of the public, and whatever is their interest to be his interest. Where this school of public spirit does not exist, scarcely any sense is entertained that private persons, in no eminent social situation, owe any duties to society except to obey the laws and submit to the government. There is no unselfish sentiment of identification with the public. Every thought or feeling, either of interest or of duty, is absorbed in the individual and in the family. The man never thinks of any collective interest, of any objects to be pursued jointly with others, but only in competition with them, and in some measure at their expense. A neighbor, not being an ally or an associate, since he is never engaged in any common undertaking for joint benefit, is therefore only a rival. Thus even private morality suffers, while public is actually extinct. [...]

   2From these accumulated considerations, it is evident that the only government which can fully satisfy all the exigencies of the social state is one in which the whole people participate; that any participation, even in the smallest public function, is useful; that the participation should every where be as great as the general degree of improvement of the community will allow; and that nothing less can be ultimately desirable than the admission of all to a share in the sovereign power of the state. But since all can not, in a community exceeding a single small town, participate personally in any but some very minor portions of the public business, it follows that the ideal type of a perfect government must be representative.

   Part 2: Changes in participation over time. Walk through the timeline. Ask students to sort each change into one of two kinds: a change in who may take part, or a change in how citizens take part. Then read Source 4 and show Diagram 2, drawn from its numbers.

   Selected changes in Americans' participation

   When	Change
   1790s-1850s	Most states drop property requirements for white male voters
   1870	Fifteenth Amendment: the vote may not be denied on account of race, color or previous condition of servitude
   1890s-1960s	Poll taxes, literacy tests and violence keep most Black citizens in the South from voting
   1900s-1910s	Many states adopt primaries, the initiative and the referendum; Oregon's initiative process begins in 1902
   1913	Seventeenth Amendment: voters, not state legislatures, elect U.S. senators
   1920	Nineteenth Amendment: the vote may not be denied on account of sex
   1924	Indian Citizenship Act makes Native Americans born in the United States citizens; some states keep barriers into the 1940s and 1950s
   1964-1965	Twenty-fourth Amendment ends poll taxes in federal elections; the Voting Rights Act of 1965 suspends literacy tests where registration was lowest and adds federal oversight (Congress bans literacy tests nationwide in 1970)
   1971	Twenty-sixth Amendment: citizens 18 or older may not be denied the vote on account of age in any election

   1Despite unique challenges to voter registration and voting created by COVID-19 and heightened concerns about turnout as a result, the 2020 election had the highest voter turnout of the 21st century.

   2In 2020, 67% of all citizens age 18 and older reported voting, up 5 percentage points from 2016 (Figure 1).
   Only citizens — U.S.-born or naturalized — age 18 or older are eligible to vote.
   In addition, 73% of all voting-age citizens were registered to vote, 2 percentage points higher than in 2016.

   [...]

   3Turnout by Sex and Age
   In 2020, 68% of women eligible to vote reported voting — higher than the 65% turnout for men.
   In the 2016 election, 63% of women and 59% of men reported voting.
   Voting rates were higher in 2020 than in 2016 across all age groups, with turnout by voters ages 18-34 increasing the most between elections:
   For citizens ages 18-34, 57% voted in 2020, up from 49% in 2016.
   In the 35-64 age group, turnout was 69%, compared to 65% in 2016.
   In the 65 and older group, 74% voted in 2020, compared to 71% in 2016.

   Part 3: Models from other countries, past and present. Read Source 3. The Athenian Constitution describes Athens in the 320s BC. Gloss "magistrates" (officials), "by lot" (chosen at random, like drawing names), "obol" (a small coin), "Prytanes" (the Council members on duty) and "demesmen" (members of a deme, a local district). Stress who was excluded: women, enslaved people and resident foreigners could not take part, so the citizen body was a minority of the people living in Athens. Then read Source 5, an SVHS fact sheet on three present-day systems, and show Diagram 1.

   1[...] The democracy has made itself master of everything and administers everything by its votes in the Assembly and by the law-courts, in which it holds the supreme power. Even the jurisdiction of the Council has passed into the hands of the people at large; and this appears to be a judicious change, since small bodies are more open to corruption, whether by actual money or influence, than large ones. At first they refused to allow payment for attendance at the Assembly; but the result was that people did not attend. Consequently, after the Prytanes had tried many devices in vain in order to induce the populace to come and ratify the votes, Agyrrhius, in the first instance, made a provision of one obol a day, which Heracleides of Clazomenae, nicknamed 'the king', increased to two obols, and Agyrrhius again to three.

   [...]

   2The present state of the constitution is as follows. The franchise is open to all who are of citizen birth by both parents. They are enrolled among the demesmen at the age of eighteen. [...]

   [...]

   3All the magistrates that are concerned with the ordinary routine of administration are elected by lot, except the Military Treasurer, the Commissioners of the Theoric fund, and the Superintendent of Springs. These are elected by vote, and hold office from one Panathenaic festival to the next. All military officers are also elected by vote.

   4The Council of Five Hundred is elected by lot, fifty from each tribe. Each tribe holds the office of Prytanes in turn, the order being determined by lot; the first four serve for thirty-six days each, the last six for thirty-five, since the reckoning is by lunar years. The Prytanes for the time being, in the first place, mess together in the Tholus, and receive a sum of money from the state for their maintenance; and, secondly, they convene the meetings of the Council and the Assembly. The Council they convene every day, unless it is a holiday, the Assembly four times in each prytany. [...]

   1Switzerland. Swiss citizens vote on national questions several times a year. If 100,000 voters sign a popular initiative within 18 months, a proposed change to the federal constitution goes to a national vote. If 50,000 voters sign within 100 days after a new federal law is published, the law goes to a referendum, a direct vote of the people. A change to the constitution needs a double majority: a majority of voters nationwide and a majority of the cantons (the Swiss states). These rules are set out in Articles 139-142 of the Swiss Federal Constitution. In two cantons, Glarus and Appenzell Innerrhoden, citizens still meet once a year in an open-air assembly, the Landsgemeinde, and vote by raising their hands. Swiss women gained the right to vote in federal elections in 1971.

   2Australia. Australian citizens must enroll and vote in federal elections: enrollment has been compulsory since 1911, and voting since a federal law passed in 1924. Today the voting age is 18. A person who does not vote and has no valid reason can be fined. Turnout in federal elections has been about 90 percent of enrolled voters or more in recent decades, according to the Australian Electoral Commission. For the House of Representatives, voters rank the candidates in order of preference.

   3United Kingdom. Voters elect the members of the House of Commons, one for each district. The person who can win the support of a majority in the Commons, usually the leader of the largest party, becomes prime minister, so voters choose the head of government only indirectly.

   • Representative theory (Source 1, paragraph 2)

     What charge is Madison answering when he asks whether the House "favors the elevation of the few, on the ruins of the many"?

     Result: Opponents of the Constitution, the Anti-Federalists, charged that the House would be an oligarchy, rule by a few. Madison asks whether "every circumstance is not, on the contrary, strictly conformable to these principles" of republican government (Source 1, paragraph 2). His theory: in a large republic the people rule through representatives they choose and can replace, and that is still popular government.

   • Participatory theory (Source 2, paragraph 1)

     What example from the ancient world does Mill use to show what participation does for ordinary citizens?

     Result: Mill writes that "the practice of the dicastery and the ecclesia raised the intellectual standard of an average Athenian citizen far beyond any thing of which there is yet an example" (Source 2, paragraph 1). The dicastery was the Athenian jury court and the ecclesia the citizen Assembly. Mill's theory: participation is valuable in itself, not only as a way to pick rulers, because of what it does for the people who take part.

   • Change over time (Source 4, paragraph 2)

     Source 4 says 73% of voting-age citizens were registered in 2020, "2 percentage points higher than in 2016." What was the 2016 figure?

     Result: 73% - 2 percentage points = 71% of voting-age citizens registered in 2016. A percentage point is the plain difference between two percentages; it is not the same as a percent change (2 / 71 is about a 2.8 percent increase).

   • A model from the past (Source 3, paragraph 1)

     Why does Aristotle's account approve of moving the Council's judicial power "into the hands of the people at large"?

     Result: The account calls it "a judicious change, since small bodies are more open to corruption, whether by actual money or influence, than large ones" (Source 3, paragraph 1). In Athens, citizens judged cases themselves in large courts instead of leaving them to a small body, a sharper version of the American jury.

3. Guided Practice15-20 minutes

   Groups complete Activity 1, matching ten statements to the five theories, then build a three-column chart: Theory, Evidence it fits the U.S. system, Evidence it does not fit. Each cell needs a source and paragraph or a timeline row.

   Teacher model for one row: Competitive elite. Fits: Americans choose between candidates of two major parties in most elections, and the Constitution gives voters no national way to vote on a law directly. Does not fit: many states let citizens pass laws by initiative (timeline, 1900s-1910s), and juries let ordinary citizens decide cases, which is closer to Mill's view.

4. Independent Practice15 minutes

   Students answer the quiz, which uses Sources 1-5 and the timeline. Before starting, they write one sentence for each source that states what role it gives citizens.

5. Closure15-20 minutes

   Exit ticket: Which theory of democracy best describes the role of citizens in the United States today? Give one piece of evidence for it and one piece of evidence against it.

   Teacher note on the sources: Sources 1-3 are quoted exactly as published, including "Fœderal" in the 1863 Dawson edition and Mill's 1861 wording. Mill's praise of Athens sets aside, as he says, "the defects of the social system and moral ideas of antiquity," which include slavery and the exclusion of women. Source 4 reports survey answers, which can differ from official vote counts. Source 5 summarizes rules that can change; the figures are as of 2026. The pluralist and competitive-elite rows of the theory table are SVHS summaries, not quotations.

   Homework passage. Source 6 gives two sample interpretations written for this page.

   1Interpretation A. The citizen's main job in a large republic is to choose and judge leaders. Madison expected representatives to be people of "wisdom" and "virtue," and he trusted elections with limited terms to keep them responsible. Most citizens have jobs and families and little time to study every law. When the people elect officials, review their record and replace them when they fail, democracy works. Asking every citizen to decide every question directly would give more power to whoever has the most free time.

   2Interpretation B. Choosing leaders every few years is too thin a role for a citizen. Mill argued that taking part in public business makes people better citizens, because it teaches them to "weigh interests not his own." Jury duty, town meetings, school boards and ballot questions give ordinary people that education. A democracy that asks citizens only to vote leaves the real decisions to a small class of officials and lobbyists, and over time citizens lose interest.

   3Both interpretations were written for this page as samples. Neither is the view of SVHS; each is a position that political thinkers and citizens defend.

Differentiation Strategies

Assessment Guidance

1. Question 1 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   According to Source 1, paragraph 1, what is "the most effectual" means of keeping elected rulers from degeneracy?

   ARequiring every one of them to own property BLetting the courts remove them from office CChoosing them by lot every single year DLimited terms that keep them answerable

2. Question 2 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   In Source 1, paragraph 3, who does Madison say will elect the members of the House of Representatives?

   AThe rich and learned citizens of each State BThose who elect each State's lower house CThe State legislatures, voting as one body DSpecial electors chosen by the governors

3. Question 3 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Which requirement does Madison say in Source 1, paragraph 4, may NOT be placed on a person elected to the House?

   AWinning the esteem of the voters first BBeing chosen in a popular election CServing for a limited term DA qualification of wealth or birth

4. Question 4 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   According to Source 2, paragraph 1, what does a "considerable" amount of public duty do for an ordinary person?

   AIt makes him an educated man BIt makes him wealthy and secure CIt keeps him away from his work DIt gives him the right to rule alone

5. Question 5 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   According to Mill in Source 2, where "this school of public spirit does not exist," what do private persons think they owe society?

   AA share in every public decision BNothing beyond obeying the laws CService in the army in wartime DHelp for neighbors in need

6. Question 6 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Why, according to Mill's last paragraph (Source 2, paragraph 2), must "the ideal type of a perfect government" be representative?

   ABecause ordinary people are not wise enough to govern BBecause representatives are better educated than citizens CNot all can take part in person beyond a small town DBecause Athens proved that direct democracy fails

7. Question 7 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   According to Source 3, paragraph 1, why did Athens begin paying citizens to attend the Assembly?

   APeople were not attending without pay BWealthy citizens demanded the payment CThe Council of Five Hundred had been abolished DSoldiers needed money after a war

8. Question 8 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   In Source 3, paragraph 3, how were most Athenian officials for "the ordinary routine of administration" chosen?

   ABy vote of the Assembly BBy the Council of Five Hundred CBy lot DBy the Military Treasurer

9. Question 9 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Source 3, paragraph 4, says the Council of Five Hundred has "fifty from each tribe." How many tribes does that imply?

   A5 B10 C50 D100

10. Question 10 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    According to Source 3, paragraph 2, who was open to enrollment as a citizen in Athens?

    AAnyone who had lived in Athens for ten years BEvery free man living in Athens over twenty CAll residents who paid the city's taxes each year DChildren of two citizen parents, at eighteen

11. Question 11 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    Source 4 says 67% of citizens reported voting in 2020, "up 5 percentage points from 2016." What was the 2016 figure?

    A62% B64% C67% D72%

12. Question 12 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    According to Source 4, by how many percentage points did reported turnout among citizens ages 18-34 rise from 2016 to 2020?

    A3 B4 C8 D57

13. Question 13 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    In Source 4, how did women's reported turnout in 2016 compare with men's?

    A5 percentage points lower BAbout the same as men's C3 percentage points higher D4 percentage points higher

14. Question 14 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    Under the Swiss rules in Source 5, what happens when 50,000 voters sign within 100 days after a new federal law is published?

    AThe law is cancelled at once without a vote BParliament must pass the law again CIt goes to a vote of the people DThe cantons decide the law in an assembly

15. Question 15 of 20 · Short Answer

    Compare the role Madison (Source 1) and Mill (Source 2) give to ordinary citizens. Give one similarity and one difference, with a quotation from each.

    Show model answer

16. Question 16 of 20 · Short Answer

    Using Source 3, explain two ways citizens in Athens governed more directly than U.S. citizens do at the national level today.

    Show model answer

17. Question 17 of 20 · Short Answer

    Use the timeline and Source 4 to describe one change in who takes part in American elections and one change in how much they take part. Give dates or numbers for each.

    Show model answer

18. Question 18 of 20 · Short Answer

    Australia requires citizens to vote (Source 5). Give one argument a participatory theorist like Mill might make for this rule and one argument a defender of the representative or competitive-elite view might make against it.

    Show model answer

19. Question 19 of 20 · Short Answer

    Would Madison, as he writes in Source 1, have approved of the Swiss popular initiative described in Source 5? Make a claim and support it with evidence from both sources.

    Show model answer

20. Question 20 of 20 · Short Answer

    Which theory of democracy best describes the role of citizens in the U.S. political system today? Support your answer with two pieces of evidence from different sources and answer one counterclaim.

    Show model answer

These standards connect to D2.Civ.2.9-12: prerequisites to review first, parallel standards at the same level, and next steps that build on it.

Standard text: National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS), The College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards: Guidance for Enhancing the Rigor of K-12 Civics, Economics, Geography, and History (Silver Spring, MD: NCSS, 2013). NCSS was not involved in the production of this lesson and does not endorse it.