Lesson 5: Representative Democracy in the Early United States
Recommended Length: One class period
Key Ideas:
- When the US was founded, the government was set up to be a representative democracy.
- In a representative democracy, every citizen votes to elect a representative who then votes on issues facing the nation. Majority rules.
- Between five percent and twenty percent of the population of the early US had the right to vote.
- Eighty to ninety-five percent of the population of the early US was disenfranchised.
Recommended Background Reading for Educator:
Materials
- Lesson 5 Slides
- Loose-leaf paper
- Writing implements
- Early US citizenship lottery tickets -- Enough slips of paper for every student in the class. Unless you have a class of thirty-four or more students, there should be only one marked paper.
- Secondary location for voting activity. Ideally, you will move to a second location when it is time for the students to cast their votes. This helps reinforce that voting is a solemn activity that should be taken seriously. The second location does not need to have any particular features, but enough space for students to sit in a circle is the goal. Any relatively empty secondary space (gymnasium, auditorium/stage, cafeteria, library, school yard) will do. At The New York Historical, we typically head to a gallery with enough space for the students to sit in a circle.
- Buttons, sashes, or stickers that will differentiate the student elected members of Congress from the constituents.
- Copies of the following resources for each student (if you do not have the option of displaying the PPT)
Student Resource: The Early United States
Part 1: What is a representative democracy? (20 min)
SLIDE 2 In our last lesson, we learned all about how democracy worked in ancient Athens. What was their form of democracy called? How does direct democracy work? How did you feel about direct democracy by the end of the lesson? Were there any problems with the system that stand out to you?
For this lesson, we’re going to jump ahead to the early US again. The founders of the US government decided to try out democracy just like the ancient Athenians. Can anyone remember how they made that clear in the Constitution?
Deciding to form a democracy is great, but there were a couple of very major differences between ancient Athens and the early US that posed particular challenges. Let’s take a look at some maps to see if we can figure them out together.
- Display or distribute SLIDE 5, The Early US, and give students one minute to write down everything they notice about the image.
Does anyone remember this map? What did we learn the last time we looked at it?
Now, I want you to use this map to answer a new question: why would it be difficult to practice direct democracy in the early US?
- Give the students two minutes to brainstorm together, and then ask them to share out.
In 1790 the population of the early US was nearly four million people! [1] This is way more than Athens’ 300,000-person population. There is no room big enough to bring everyone together to talk through every issue of the day.
Also, in the early US, people lived really far apart. Imagine if every time a decision had to be made, every person in the US had to travel to Washington, D.C. to make a choice about what to do. Every citizen would spend all their time traveling, and no one would ever get anything done! NOW imagine trying to do that 250 years ago. How did people get around? How long would it take to get from Boston, MA to Washington, D.C.? It just wouldn’t work!
- If you have curious students, explain that around the time of the nation’s founding, travel from Boston to Washington, D.C. would take two to three weeks by horseback if the weather cooperated. [2]
So, what did the founders do? They developed something called representative democracy!
- Display or distribute SLIDE 6, Student Resource: Representative Democracy and give students 1 minute to write down everything they notice about the image.
Now that we have some observations down, who is ready to make a guess about what exactly this image is showing us? It’s a diagram of how the US government operated under President Abraham Lincoln, who was president from 1860-1865.
Now let’s get into inferences: what can we learn about the US government from this diagram? It sure does have a lot of pieces! There is a president, something called a Congress, and something called a Supreme Court.
What we are looking at here in this image is the government structure created by the Constitution. It is called a representative democracy.
- This term is critical!! Make sure to spell it out so all the students can write it down, and then have them circle it so they can easily find it later.
Based on this image, how do you think a representative democracy works? In a representative democracy, all citizens still vote. But they vote in groups by state and by locality like we see here on the diagram, to elect a representative that they think aligns with their ideas on how the government should run. Then all those elected representatives get together as part of Congress or the executive branch, and they vote on the issues of the day. When the representatives votes on the issues, majority rules.[3]
Now let’s think back on the map of the early US. How does representative democracy solve the problems we noticed when looking at the map? Representative democracy still allows all citizens to have a say in their government, but it also allows democracies with large populations spread over vast geographic areas to function.
There is another reason the founders decided to go with representative democracy: they did not trust regular citizens! [4] They thought it would be better for a small group of representatives to get together and talk things out, rather than let the whole population vote on everything. The founders thought Athenian direct democracy was a mess, and wanted to improve it.
- SLIDES 7/8 Review the definition for representative democracy before moving on to the next point.
Now we know the basics of how democracy worked in the early US. But how did people learn about the issues of the day? Two hundred and fifty years ago is still centuries before the invention of tv, radio, or the internet. We know in ancient Athens everyone went to the agora. But we don’t have agoras in the US. So where did citizens gather? Let’s use another painting to find out.
- Display or distribute SLIDE 9, Tontine Coffee House, and give the students a moment to write down what they observe.
Let’s start by using our observations to identify what we are looking at. Would anyone like to share? This is a painting of New York City from 1797, nearly ten years after the Constitution was ratified. The artist actually made this painting to show the world how well the new country was doing. For our purposes, the most important element is the building on the left. This building is called the Tontine Coffee House.
In the early US coffee houses were public places where men could get together to trade stocks, meet friends, and discuss the news of the day. [5] So what role do you think coffee houses played in early US democracy?
Coffee houses were one of the places where people gathered to share news and argue about the issues of the day, just like the agora! It was one way information and opinions could be easily shared, and politicians could meet with voters to influence public opinion.
Part 2: Practicing Representative Democracy (40 min)
SLIDE 10 Now that we know a bit about what representative democracy is and how it works, let’s give it a try!
- Take a moment to get the students seated in small groups (preferably an odd number of groups with an odd number of students in each). Then proceed to the next section.
- Display the activity instructions.
[1] Kierner, Cynthia A. “First United States Census, 1790.” George Washington’s Mount Vernon, accessed August 1, 2024, https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/first-united-states-census-1790#note9.
[2] Colonial Williamsburg. “Comparing Horse Power,” accessed August 1, 2024, https://www.colonialwilliamsburg.org/learn/trip-planning/comparing-horse-power/.
[3] “Government and You Handouts,” accessed July 2, 2024. https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/lesson-plans/Government_and_You_handouts.pdf.
[4] Madison, James. “Federalist 55.” National Constitution Center, accessed August 1, 2024, https://constitutioncenter.org/the-constitution/historic-document-library/detail/james-madison-federalist-no-55-1788.
[5] Guy, Francis. Tontine Coffee House, ca. 1797. Purchase, The Louis Durr Fund. Sponsored by Laurie and Sy Sternberg. 1907.32, The New York Historical. https://emuseum.nyhistory.org/objects/22133/tontine-coffee-house-new-york-city?ctx=4c2a5192213e1c36a87144055cac1a90e2c9ecf1&idx=0.
Note to Educator
From this point forward, you are officially in role playing mode. You need to take on the character of an early US political leader, and treat the activity and each student with seriousness and respect.
Here ye, here ye! Each group in this classroom now represents a state in the United States of America. There is a pressing issue at play today. It is an election year, and we need states to send representatives to Washington, D.C. in order to vote on the issue.
SLIDE 11 As we all know, education is a very important part of democracy. But students in government schools are struggling under the workload required of them, and the government wants to do something about it. The people have the chance to eliminate one responsibility. Should the students have to do nightly homework, but never take a test again? Or should there be only tests, and never any homework?
Each state will now have five minutes to debate the issue AND elect a representative that aligns with the feelings of the majority of the people in the state. You may not all agree, but before time is up you must vote and elect one person who will represent you in Congress.
- Once you are sure the students understand the activity, start the timer. While the students debate in their groups, circulate to ask questions and offer challenges, and make sure every group is electing a representative. Do everything you can to make sure there is a split vote. For example, those in favor of keeping only tests often say that homework interferes with after-school activities and leisure time. Those in favor of only homework often argue that if there are only tests than a person’s grade could be ruined by one bad day. It is a thorny issue, and requires serious consideration!
- When time is up, call the room to order, and ask the elected representatives from each state to come to the front of the room and give them each the marker you’ve chosen to signal their role as members of Congress.
The state representatives will now gather in Washington, D.C., to take a final vote on what to do on the issue. The rest of you are now constituents. You can watch the vote happen, but you can’t directly participate. Let’s line up and head to Washington together to see what happens.
- Walk students to the second location. When you arrive, make sure the representatives are seated or standing at the front of the room, facing their constituents.
Representatives of the US, you’ve come here today to vote on an important issue. Students in government schools are struggling under the workload required of them, and the government wants to eliminate homework or tests. Before we take a final vote, each representative will have a moment to state their case and try to sway their fellow representatives. Constituents, please remember, you are welcome to watch but you cannot participate.
- Allow each representative to state their case and allow other representatives to respond or rebut their points. This should be a heavily moderated discussion where you ensure only one person is speaking at a time. If any constituents try to chime in, remind them they are not allowed to speak.
Representatives, it is time to cast your vote. All in favor of eliminating homework raise your hand and say “aye.” All in favor of eliminating tests raise your hand and say “aye.”
- Announce the results and allow time for student reactions. It is quite possible a representative will vote in a way that their constituents did not expect.
SLIDE 12 Citizens, come to order! I’ve just received word that a new issue has arisen. There is a critical budget shortfall, and the government needs to save money. Today, we need to decide whether to cut funding to public sports events, or public music and theatre performances. We cannot keep both!
As the elected representatives of your states, you are eligible to vote on this matter. I will give each of you a chance to make your case, and then we will have a vote.
- If the constituents are squirming, remind them that they are witnesses only.
- Allow each representative to state their case and allow other representatives to respond or rebut their points. This should be a heavily moderated discussion where you ensure only one person is speaking at a time.
Representatives, it is time to cast your vote. All in favor of eliminating public sports events raise your hand and say “aye.” All in favor of eliminating music and theatre performances raise your hand and say “aye.”
- Announce the results and allow time for student reactions. It is extremely likely that a representative voted in a way that their constituents did not approve of. Break character to talk through how they feel about participating in a representative democracy. You can do this in the secondary location, or back in your classroom, as you prefer.
Our role playing time has come to an end, and now I want us to think about the experience we just had together. Let’s talk through these questions to assess how we are feeling about representative democracy:
- What was it like electing your representatives in your state groups?
- How was this different from the experience of trying to convince people to vote with you in the agora?
- Was there anyone who ended up with a representative that did not align with their views? How did this feel?
In small groups, it’s easier for everyone to have a say, but that doesn’t mean the group will reach a consensus. Seeing someone get elected when they don’t support the thing you support is hard! Now let’s think about how things went down in the first vote:
- How was the voting experience this time different from when we practiced direct democracy earlier?
- Representatives, what was it like being up there knowing there were voters counting on you to get the issue decided their way?
- Did any representatives think about changing their minds up here? Why?
- Constituents, what was it like watching the representatives work it out without being able to participate? How did it make you feel?
Now let’s talk about the big twist. After the vote was done, I announced a new issue had come up and allowed the representatives to vote on that. This happens all the time in the US. You don’t elect a representative for every issue that comes up. You elect one person who will serve for many years. In the US members of the House of Representatives serve for two years, the President serves for four, and senators serve for six years! It is really common for voters to choose a candidate they like based on the issues they know about … and then some new issue will come along. In these situations, voters are stuck hoping their representative believes the same things they do.
So let’s discuss.
- Constituents, how did you feel when you heard the representatives were going to vote on a second issue without your input?
- Representatives, what was it like casting that vote? Did you care how your constituents felt? Why or why not?
- What are the strengths of representative democracy? What are the flaws in this system?
Those of you who were constituents might be feeling pretty upset about the way the second vote went, and this is totally reasonable! One important takeaway from this exercise is that representative democracy allows huge countries to function in a democratic way, but that in order to keep the system functioning voters have to put a lot of faith in the people they elect.
Now it’s time for one more complication! You knew this was coming! Remember in ancient Athens, only ten percent of the population were citizens? Everyone else was disenfranchised. Do you remember what that means?
In the early US, 250 years ago, there were also lots of people who didn’t have the right to vote (women, enslaved people, Indigenous people, and people who did not have enough money to qualify). Historians estimate that only five to twenty percent of people in the early US had the right to vote. In this class, in the worst-case scenario that would mean only one of you would get to vote to decide what happens for everyone. Yikes!!
- Hand around the slips of paper, and ask the student who got the marked slip to stand up. Tell them it’s their lucky day! They are the only citizen in the class, and they get to decide: tests or homework? Sports or music/theatre? If the other students are flabbergasted at this point, make sure they understand that this is how nearly everyone in the early US felt.
Our feelings about our country’s democracy may be reaching a breaking point, so we need to take a deep breath and remember one final important thing. The US Constitution was the only written government document at the time to invite any amount of regular people to participate in the government. Most other countries in the world had a monarchy or an oligarchy. So it was limited, and it was flawed, but it was still revolutionary.
But even better, the Constitution was written to allow it to be changed! Tomorrow we’ll learn about how people have fought to make change in our democracy, including the disenfranchised folks who fought to get the right to vote.
Part 3: Conclusion (10 min)
SLIDE 13 Let’s review what we’ve covered this lesson. It was so much!
- Why doesn’t direct democracy work in the US?
- What is representative democracy?
- How are representatives chosen?
- What happens if a new issue comes up during a representative’s tenure?
- Who could vote in the early US?
- What are some of the strengths of representative democracy? What are the drawbacks?
We’ve now reached the end of Unit Two, “how does democracy work?” Using evidence from everything we’ve explored so far, can someone answer this question?
We learned about two different models of democracy: direct democracy and representative democracy. These systems are very different, but they have one core thing in common: people get to vote to determine what their government does next. So if you want the government to do what you think is best, you have to convince a lot of people to vote with you. In the next unit, we’ll start to explore how people do exactly that in a democracy.