This day in History
*1306 - Robert the Bruce was crowned Scottish king at Scone - would lead during Scotland’s
fight against English rule.
*1634 - The first colonists to Maryland arrived at St. Clement’s Island on Maryland’s western
shore and founded the settlement of St. Mary’s.
*1911 - A fire at the Triangle shirtwaist factory in New York City killed 146 people, prompting
the creation of health and safety legislation.
*1946 - Early in an early example of Cold War tensions, the Soviet Union decides the
withdrawal from Iran, averting a potential crisis between Iran, USSR, and the U.S.
*1975 - King Faisal of Saudi Arabia was assassinated by his nephew.
Tuesday, March 25, 2025
Objective:
Students will be able to identify and describe the roles and functions of interest
groups.
Agenda:
❖ Interest Groups Intro - FED 10
❖ Types of Interest Groups
❖ Lobbying
Homework:
● Chapter 6 RG and CC are due Friday, 3/28
● Chapter 6 Quiz will be Friday, 3/28
AP Gov Exam Review
TEACHERSessions
REVIEW DAY AND TIME Room
Numbe
r
Mr. Delello Mondays during lunch 107
Ms. Muehl Mondays after school, beginning at 2:45 106
Mr. Meier Tuesdays during lunch 114
Ms. Fierst Wednesdays during lunch 148
Ms. Kelley Wednesdays after school, beginning at 109
2:45
Ms. Carter Thursdays during lunch 107
Chapter 5:
Interest Groups
Unit 5: Political
Participation
Linkage Institutions - NEED TO KNOW THIS!
Linkage Institutions:
Channels that allow individuals to communicate their
preferences to policymakers
❖ Political
parties
THIS CHAPTER!
❖ Elections
❖ Interest
groups
❖ Media
5
Recalling Madison’s Views on Factions ...
➔ Recall what Madison wrote about in Federalist 10:
❖ Madison said powerful factions can lead to tyranny of
the majority
❖ He claimed that society and government needed to be
constructed in a way to limit the "mischiefs of faction."
➢ a large federal republic would limit tyranny of the
majority.
➢ Representative must represent competing and
numerous interests - no one interest reigns supreme
Pluralism is often a concept connected with Fed 10
According to Madison, a large republic would create
more factions which would compete for influence, thus
diluting their power.
In such a system in which there are numerous
factions competing for power and influence,
which model of democracy would this
demonstrate?
➔ Pluralist democracy?
➔ Elite Democracy?
➔ Participatory Democracy?
Participatory democracy:
A model of democracy in which citizens have the power to
decide directly on policy and politicians are responsible for
implementing those policy decisions.
Pluralist democracy:
A model of democracy in which no one group dominates politics
and organized groups compete with each other to influence
policy.
Elite democracy:
A model of democracy in which a small number of people,
usually those who are wealthy and well-educated, influence
political decision making.
According to Madison, what is a faction?
Madison called a faction:
"A number of citizens…who are united and actuated by
some common impulse of passion, or of interest, adverse to
the rights of other citizens, or to the permanent and
aggregate interests of the community."
Factions today?
➔ Interest Groups
➔ Political Parties
➔ Advocacy groups
➔ Religious Groups
➔ Social Groups
➔ etc.
Interest Groups:
Collections of people who share a common interest and seek to
influence policy, some for a specific purpose or a more general
purpose
For example:
➔ NRA (National Rifle Association) & Everytown for Gun Safety:
◆ single-issue groups
➔ ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) & NAACP
(National Association for the Advancement of Colored People):
◆ protects civil liberties & rights
● (more general)
➔ AARP (American Association of Retired Persons):
◆ focuses on issues affecting those over the age of 50
Pluralist democracy
Typically, interest groups are said to
embody pluralist democracy
Why
?
11
Interest Groups:
Collections of people who share a common interest and seek to
influence policy, some for a specific purpose or a more general
purpose
● They are increasing in number & influence
Which branch of government do
you believe interest groups focus
most of their efforts?
Why?
12
WHAT DO INTEREST
GROUPS ACTUALLY DO?
WHAT DO INTEREST GROUPS ACTUALLY DO?
What Interest Groups Do:
Educate Voters & Officeholders
❖ Provide expert information to government
officials
❖ Give officeholders feedback from their
constituents
❖ Communicating with the group’s membership
What Interest Groups Do:
Draft legislation
The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is a nonprofit organization of
conservative state legislators and private sector representatives who draft and
share model legislation for distribution among state governments in the
United States.
ALEC provides a forum for state legislators and private sector members to collaborate
on model bills—draft legislation that members may customize and introduce
for debate in their own state legislatures.
ALEC has produced model bills on issues such as:
● reducing regulations
● reducing taxes
● immigration enforcement
● voter ID
● gun rights 16
What Interest Groups Do:
Draft legislation
❖ Suggest and support legislation
❖ Testify at committee hearings
on the formulation of legislation
❖ Write bills that can be
introduced in Congress by a
Representative or Senator
➔ Legislation often benefits the
membership of interest groups
over the general public
What Interest Groups Do:
Mobilize membership
What Interest Groups Do:
Mobilize membership
❖ To apply pressure to
legislators & government
agencies
➢ Encourage members to
take action
■ voting, social media,
phone, email, mail,
town halls, etc.
Organize Protests
“Nothing brings people all together more than a peaceful protest
for a right cause.
The ability to take action for something we all believe in makes
everyone proud.
The courage of our volunteers and activists inspires people to
stand up for Mother Earth no matter where they are.”
Organize Protests
“We’ve had enough. Thoughts and prayers are not enough to honor the victims of
gun violence. What we need now is action.
On March 24, 2018, students will rally in Washington D.C and in local
communities across the country to demand action from our leaders.
Join us in the March For Our Lives, as we fight for an America that is free
from gun violence.”
What Interest Groups Do:
Endorse Candidates
❖ Encourage membership
to vote for particular
candidates
What Interest Groups Do:
Raise Money
❖ Interest groups raise money to
support their efforts to
influence the government.
Does money matter?
Why?
Does the membership
size matter? Why?
What Interest Groups Do:
Raise Money
❖ Interest groups raise money to support their
efforts to influence the government.
❖ What could be a concern with this power of
money?
➢Fear interests groups can “buy” candidates by
contributing lots of money to the candidate’s
election campaign.
➢A candidate might be more concerned about
pleasing the interest group than representing the
voters.
What Interest Groups Do:
Raise Money
The government addresses this concern with strict rules about how
interest groups may collect and donate money to political campaigns.
Those that do must form a political action committee (PAC) that
follows strict government rules about giving money to political
candidates.
How can we categorize the different types of
interest groups that exist today?
What are the different types of interest
groups?
Examples?
How can we categorize the different types of
interest groups that exist today?
ECONOMIC
➔ Business - large corporations
➔ Trade Associations- Chamber of Commerce, National
Association of Manufacturers
➔ Labor - Unions
➔ Professional Associations - American Medical
Association, American Bar Association, National
Education Association
PUBLIC INTEREST
➔ Groups that claim to represent the "public interest": their
goals would help everyone, not just their own members.
➔ Advocates for civil liberties, civil rights, education,
environment
➔ Ex: AARP, NAACP
➔ Such groups have the "free rider" problem
SINGLE-ISSUE GROUPS
➔ Interest groups that focus advocacy on a single issue
➔ members generally share a common view and a desire for
government to pursue policies consistent with it,
◆ Ex: National Rifle Association (NRA)
Everytown for Gun Safety
Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD)
FOREIGN POLICY
➔ Groups organized to promote or oppose certain foreign policies
➔ Council on Foreign Relations, AIPAC
➔ NGOs (Nongovernmental Organizations) like Greenpeace, Amnesty International
PUBLIC SECTOR
➔ Governments function as interest groups, hiring lobbyists in Washington
◆ many cities and most states retain Washington lobbyists, and cities also attempt
to influence Congress and the exec branch of fed gov't
➔ National Governors Association, National League of Cities
