Civic Values and Principles of Democracy

“A society that will trade a little liberty for a little order will lose both, and deserve neither”--Thomas Jefferson, Author of the Declaration of Independence, Ambassador to France, Third President of the United States, and Founder of the University of Virginia.

Perhaps the most recognizable symbol of an American civic value is the Statue of Liberty. The civic value of liberty--the freedom to choose--is often expressed by politicians but rarely examined as a civic value. However, liberty is just one of many ideas that Americans believe to be civic values that frame the unique democratic government of the United States.

Liberty, equality, freedom, responsibility, integrity, courage, respect, common welfare, etc...This list of buzzwords could come from your government class or from any number of speeches from an American politician of any political party. However, these “buzzwords” were not always the trite elements of a soundbite played on your favorite cable news station. Rather, these words were and are a small listing of the civic values and principles of the United States of America. Civic values are the founding principles of American democracy and many of them are expressed in the Declaration of Independence, the Preamble to the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. Whatever values we as Americans may hold, civic values are the concepts that frame how we think about the principles of democracy in the United States. These democratic principles include respect for the equality of all people, protection for individual freedoms, recognition of majority rule, support for minority rights, and the application of compromise. During this unit, you will examine the impact of constitutionalism, encounter the theoretical sources of the government’s authority, discover the historical origins of American government, understand the significance of federalism, and compare the varied governmental structures of nations throughout the world with those of the United States.