What is the least democratic region of the United States?
Critical Analysis
Find answers to the following questions using the visual above, using your big brain and the links below:
Democracy is a system of government in which supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or through their elected representatives under a free and fair electoral system. Key principles include popular sovereignty (rule of the people), the right to vote, protection of human rights and freedoms, the rule of law, and government accountability to its citizens through regular elections. How democratic is your state?
There are many ways to divide America, but one handy way to divide the U.S. is into the following regions: the Northeast, Midwest, West, and South. What is the least democratic region of the U.S.?
Why do you think some regions are more democratic than others?
The Democracy Maps currently track more than 50 election laws, policies, and data points. Currently, states are scored on a rubric with a maximum of 34.5 points overall, with positive policies generally receiving one point. Conversely, some laws and policies that are designed to make elections more partisan, or to unnecessarily limit voting and civic engagement, are scored as negative. The democracy ratings in the map above look at the following areas: voter registration, voting in person, election security, representation & participation, voting by mail, and election independence and integrity. If you had to rank the entire country, based on an average of the state scores, how would you say the U.S. ranks overall: high, medium, fair, low, or negative?
Two pillars of democracy are voting rights (as shown in the visual above) and civil liberties and freedoms (freedom of speech, press, assembly, etc.). Explain how often you think people intentionally move from states with relatively low levels of voting rights and freedoms such as Arkansas or West Virginia - to states with high levels of democracy like Massachusetts or Colorado?
We recently looked a a visual of education spending per state which showed that generally the least democratic regions of our nation have the least amount of education spending. Look at the visual above and compare it to the visual below* that tracks party affiliation by state. Draw a conclusion about how party affiliation and levels of democracy are connected?
Federalism is a system of government in which the same territory is controlled by two levels of government. Generally, an overarching national government is responsible for broader governance of larger territorial areas, while the smaller subdivisions, states, and cities govern the issues of local concern. Both the national government and the smaller political subdivisions have the power to make laws and both have a certain level of autonomy from each other. In the United States, the Constitution established a system of “dual sovereignty,” under which the States have surrendered many of their powers to the Federal Government, but also retained some sovereignty. How does the visual above illustrate the concept of federalism.
On Tuesday, a federal judge in San Francisco found that Trump's deployment of National Guard troops to L.A. in June — to respond to protests against immigration raids — violated the Posse Comitatus Act, which limits the use of the military for domestic law enforcement purposes. Explain how the court’s ruling illustrates the concept of checks and balances.
President Donald Trump posted a meme on social media (see below*) Saturday saying that Chicago “will find out why it’s called the Department of WAR,” as the city’s officials brace for an immigration crackdown. “I love the smell of deportations in the morning … Chicago about to find out why it’s called the Department of WAR,” the post reads. The post includes what appears to be an artificially generated image of the president wearing a hat and sunglasses, with the Chicago skyline in the background, accompanied by text reading “Chipocalypse Now.” Does military occupation of American cities against the will of those cities’ leadership and the majority of their population increase or decrease democracy?
If, as the Preamble to the Constitution asserts, “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” How close to perfect is our Union?
Write and Discuss
Take ten minutes to write about the question at the top of the page and then discuss with your classmates.
Act on your Learning
"The President of the United States is threatening to go to war with an American city. This is not a joke," Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, a Democrat, wrote in a post on X, responding to Mr Trump's post about war in Chicago. "This is not normal. Donald Trump isn't a strongman, he's a scared man. Illinois won't be intimidated by a wannabe dictator." Contact Illinois Governor, J.D. Pritzker and let him know what you think about U.S. troops deploying to Chicago.
Get Creative
The image from President Trump’s Tweet below* is a reference to the movie Apocalypse now a film about American forces fighting in Vietnam. Create a meme responding to President Trump’s meme below* about sending troops to Chicago.
