Imagine being so interested in American politics that you decide to do some independent research into the relationship between power and representation in these politically polarized times. As you are learning, knowing who exercises political power helps you understand how power is used and the interests that are represented. Where do you start looking for information?
Since the three branches of government (legislative, executive, and judicial) make national policies, you decide to begin with the US Congress because it is the one institution of government where the people’s interests—theoretically—are represented. You choose to look into the makeup of Congress as the first step to understanding who is in power to see if they are representative of “the people.” To get you going, here is some data you can review to learn about the makeup of Congress. Take your time reviewing the link below:
https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/03/10/the-changing-face-of-congress/.
What you find may surprise you. Like the number of young people who are now serving or the improvements in the racial, ethnic, gender, and religious diversity of the Congress. The projected changes in the US population over the next 25 years indicate that even greater population diversification will occur (see the Census tables below).
Instructions
In a concise (250-300 words) post, answer the following questions utilizing course materials, concepts, and the information above:
• Make a logical argument about power and representation that is informed by the Pew Research article, the US 2020 Census information (see below), and the study of Congress this term. Answer the following questions:
How do these demographic changes in the U.S. population reflect the demographic make-up in Congress? Explain.
How is the quality of representation affected? Would these congressional changes affect the political power of this more diverse population? Explain.
US Census Bureau 2020 Census QuickFacts https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/HSD410219
