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Political Science: American Government
The major theories that revolve around the American leadership are pluralism and
elitism, which concentrate on the distribution of power. In this case, the pluralist theory is
defined as one where the government has all the members sharing equal status with regards to
possessions, authority, and privileges (Krutz and Waskiewicz 17). In other words, this form of
leadership seems to appeal to the public including the less fortunate. On the other hand, elite
theory entails the privileged individuals and those who have attained the success ladder in the
sense that they are in a position to take up the governing power due to their notable prominence.
Such power distinction of power started to be evident during the historical periods. The main
reason the American colonists revolted was due to their belief that they had been denied their
privileges, especially in the aftermath of the French and Indian battle (Bardes et al. 45). The
initial feeling before the revolt was that they were becoming more prosperous and that they
deserved more rights than those from Britain. In essence, the American government is formed
through elitism despite many arguing that pluralism has a part to play in its creation. In fact, this
can be seen from the political class that rules the nation, who are well educated and prominent
individuals in the United States.
Chapter 1: Elitism vs. Pluralism
The question whether the American government is formed by the citizens or the elite is
debatable. In this case, it is clear that the United States gives a chance to its people to take part in
leadership in various ways. Moreover, it is created into many diverse levels and departments
where citizens can access services. In this case, some people may argue that the citizens in the
United States influence the actions by their government (Krutz and Waskiewicz 16). However,
opponents of this pluralist theory argue that this is not the case in the United States because
many economically and politically privileged individuals tend to influence the leadership.
The above information leads me to the belief that the elites form the government in the
current regime. In this case, I would agree with authors, such as Wright Mills who indicated that
the government is mostly under the hands of the business community, military, and the political
elites (Krutz and Waskiewicz 16). The leaders are well-established individuals who have
graduated from prestigious institutions of higher learning. With this regard, elite theory indicates
that the rich use their privileges to command the country’s economy in a way that the less
fortunate do not grow economically. For instance, the current president of the United States is a
renowned businessman in the real estate industry and has much control in the American
economy.
Furthermore, it has become clear in the current regime that the wealthy control large part
of the American economy. In fact, they are in a position to secure important posts in politics of
the day. In effect, they use the power to come up with decisions and distribute the nation’s
resources in a way that benefits them. It has become a common belief that the elite are the best fit
to rule over the average Americans as they have proven content to remain the same (Bardes et al.
55). Therefore, I am of the opinion that elitism takes the order of the day in American politics
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Chapter 2: Revolt by the Colonists

The American colonists revolted against the Britain as they had realized that they were being
overruled and could no longer have more privileges. The revolt happened after the battle
between France and India when Britain started to impose taxes on the colonists as a way of
recovering the cost of war (Gagnon 371). Despite being taxed before, they found the latter
retrogressive as it was only for revenue purposes rather than regulatory objectives. They felt that
only duly elected representatives were supposed to tax them as Englishmen. The colonists
believed that they had to be granted more rights in England as they had become more established
and prosperous at the same time. Indeed, they held on to the perception that they deserved proper
treatment due to their high profiles.
Furthermore, they had felt content to remain as colonies when the British were friendly,
but all changed when they began to grow big. The British government started to emerge as more
controlling. The belief was that the government should not be in a position to deny individuals
their liberties (Erikson and Tedin 31). In this case, it should be constrained in its authority over
people’s livelihoods. The understanding was a vital factor which led to the colonist’s
controversial decision to revolt and declares their independence. Therefore, it meant that they
had to rebel Britain’s rule and establish a new nation, which led to a new government that was
limited in its power over the citizens.
It is evident that the belief that the colonist had before the revolt played a significant role
in establishing the government after winning independence. The aim of limiting the power of the
administrative body seems to be what led to self-governance of the people. The Americans
became accustomed to the representative agencies ideology from the very start. It was this that
led to the establishment of House of Burgesses in Virginia (Krutz and Waskiewicz 28). The
founders arrived in North America formulated an agreement that could enable them to govern
themselves with regards to the statutes developed by the voters within Plymouth Colony.
Conclusion
In general, it is clear that the theories of elitism and pluralism define the manner and approach in
which people can be governed. In pluralism, the common interest of the wider group of citizens
within a country is considered whereby the people are given the chance to form the government.
However, the opposite is true with elitism whereby the wealthy have large controls over the
government of the day. In this case, the privileged seem to take advantage of their power to
coordinate and run the business of the day in the political arena. Most of the leaders are
graduates from highly profiled institutions of higher learning and are successful in their careers
and businesses. For instance, the Congress is made of the elite who have climbed up the political
ladder due to the influence they have on the American economy. Therefore, it can be concluded
that the United States is highly under elitism. The revolt by the colonists occurred due to the
feeling that they needed more rights over England and that they were not to be taxed by
unelected representatives. The feeling before was that they needed to have a government that
considered limiting the power that the administrative agencies had on the citizens. In effect, this
helped them to form a government that regarded the people as supreme.
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Works Cited
Bardes, Barbara A., Mack C. Shelley, and Steffen W. Schmidt. American Government and
Politics Today: Essentials 2015-2016 Edition. Nelson Education, 2015.
Erikson, Robert S., and Kent L. Tedin. American Public Opinion: Its Origins, Content and
Impact. Routledge, 2015.
Gagnon, Alexandre Couture. "Review of Introduction to American Government." (2015): 370-
371.
Krutz, Glen and Sylvie Waskiewicz. American Government. OpenStax, 2016, pp. 7-43.