Over the past several years, the federal government has faced multiple impending shutdowns, economic crisis, scandals, and legislative stagnation. One can clearly see the need of government reform and the greater involvement of the American people. As described in the “Direct Democracy via the Web”, one method in increasing the involvement of the American people is by direct democracy through the internet. Direct democracy allows the people to represent themselves in the government and have a greater influence in the legislative process. In order to establish a direct democracy, the framework of the Constitution must be amended or restructured. The article clearly proposed guidelines into how such a change would affect the balance of power and some of its advantages. In the article, power of the legislative, executive, and judicial sections of the federal government is essentially stripped away and most of the authority is given to the people. As stated in the article, the true responsibilities of such government branches is to propose laws to be voted on by the people, and provide the necessary means to enact such laws. The influence of …show more content…
Direct democracy via the internet does provide all Americans an easy method of voting and could potentially increase voter numbers. However, I do believe that the federal government should hold most of the power. Complex issues, such as international relations, military, and warfare, should be handled by the government. I do not trust the masses in such complex issues. But I do believe that for a direct democracy to be successful, there must be a set of guidelines in which the American public can vote of certain issues and also for the public to be well-informed in such matters. The American public should not be ignorant and receive unbiased information, in order to create a firm opinion on the issue or
Which means there would be a legislative branch, executive branch, and judiciary branch within the federal government. Document B claims “The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether one or few...may be justly pronounced the very definition of tyranny… Liberty requires that the three great departments of power should be separate and distinct.” Having separate and distinct branches within the government limits the power accumulated so that it doesn’t become overpowered. Each branch is made up of different powers and duties.
Before the Revolutionary war beginning in 1775, the thirteen American colonies were controlled by the British without serious issues. Each colony had its own representative for its local government in terms of making and practicing laws with being supervised by the governor dispatched by the British. Moreover, all thirteen colonies were required to comply with the laws made by the British Parliament. It is possible to say that the colonial settles were proud of being the British citizens.
The United States has a democratic government, which means our citizens get to help choose how our country works. The Constitution is setup to include citizens in the law making and voting process and preventing the US from turning into a tryannical government. Three ways we do thi s is by using Federalism, Separation of Powers and Checks and Balances. Federalism is a system our country uses to make sure power doesn’t stay in one area (Doc A). This method gives specific responsibilities to Central Government and each state.
Our establishing fathers added to the technique, the detachment of forces, to forestall misuse of power among the three branches and to ensure the opportunity of all. Every branch has its particular force- executive power belongs to the president, authoritative force exists within Congress, and the legal authority rests with the Supreme Court. The significance of the partition of powers was to make an administration that would not become domineering. Rather, it was deliberately intended to advance freedom and equitably speak to the will of the individuals. Another significant highlight of the division of forces is the guideline of giving each of the branches an extraordinarily diverse voting public.
Following the ratification of the United States’ Constitution, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison compiled a list of letters to provide more information to the American public. These letters, also known as the Federalist Papers, detail the specifics regarding branches of government, status of citizenship, and the democratic role of the people. Federalist Paper No. 67, titled the Executive Department and written by Alexander Hamilton, focuses on the powers of the executive branch and calms the fears of the doubtful citizens. In addition, it provides information on the executive branch’s responsibilities and ways to increase the overall effectiveness of running an admirable government for the newly-independent United States of America.
Moreover, the scheme of representation and the various mechanisms for selecting representatives established by the Constitution were clearly intended to produce a republic, not a democracy (This Nation). In conclusion the United States is not a democracy. It is not a democracy because of how our government is set up with rule by law. The United States are mostly a republic more than a democracy for many reasons.
This sounds fine however it can be hidden through the forms of propaganda. Media often bases the opinion of things for management American citizens. Thanks to the first amendment the media can speak about what they want whenever they want. Some people say that this amendment was the beginning of the unofficial fourth branch of government: the media.
These authorities that the national government should have, were all up to the states to decide under the Articles. With the taking away some of the states rights in the Constitution, Anti-federalists feared that this would leave the states too weak, resulting in more problems. Under the new Constitution, many powers that were now in the government 's hands are: the power to levy and collect taxes, the power to regulate interstate commerce, the government set up a national court system consisting of district, circuit, and a supreme court, the government could enforce laws, there was now a house based on population, and a senate based on equal representation (two votes per state), to amend the Constitution, a ⅔ vote of Congress was needed, and a ¾ vote of the states were needed, and a majority rule was needed to pass bills. These new powers and abilities of the national government helped to create a strong, new
Hana Kim Professor Yvonne Wollenberg Law and Politics 106 7 October 2015 Title In the United States government, there are three branches called the legislative, executive, and judicial branch. Out of these three, the judicial branch is the most powerful. The judicial branch is made up of the Supreme Court, the court with the most power in the country, and other federal courts that are lower in the system; the purpose of this branch is to look over laws and make sure they are constitutional and reasonable.
The first article of the Constitution says "ALL legislative powers...shall be vested in a Congress." The second article then reads "the executive power...in a President." The third article gives the "judicial power of the United States in one Supreme Court" and "in such inferior Courts as the Congress...may establish."
There will always be different views and opinions when it comes to government politics. One interesting view is whether or not our nation is led by an Elite or Popular Democracy. A democracy is a form of government that is run by elected officials that are voted into public office by the people for representation. There are different perspectives on how a democratic system should work.
Foundations of The Political System There are five foundations of America’s political system. These foundations are Popular Sovereignty, Separation of Powers, Checks and Balances, Federation, and Individual Rights. The first of the foundations is Popular Sovereignty, where,“the people possess the superior power over their political community, and can alter their government or amend the constitution.” (Ahmed Ehab,”Foundations of the American Political System”).
Established on September 17, 1787, the U.S. Constitution established America’s national government and fundamental laws, and guaranteed rights for its citizens. The Constitution also represents the value and principles of democracy and republicanism that the United States of American stands by. This means that the Constitution regards to the American citizen as something that is held to deserve meaning the importance, worth, or usefulness of something. It also means its citizens come first in order of importance. The Constitution represents the value and principles of democracy and republicanism by stressing liberty and inalienable rights as central values, making the people as a whole sovereign, rejecting inherited political power, expecting citizens to be independent in their performance of civic duties, and vilifies corruption.
The citizens in both democracies have the power to vote and have rights They elect their leaders through voting thus there is self empowerment of people However there are differences between the two democracies which are , in direct democracy people decide all the policies directly whereas in liberal democracy the government is based o the concept of elected individuals. Since direct democracy does not involve elected officials , it only practical with a small number of people for example in a community organisation or local unit of labour, where members can meet in a single room to discuss issues and arrive at decisions by consesors or majority
For the voter, because there are so many other voters, one vote can hardly make any difference, at the same time, if the "correct" policy wins, the voter will benefit from it no matter he voted for it or not, which suggests that the marginal benefit from correct information is zero. Therefore the rational choice of every voter is to spend no extra effort in getting correct information at all. While voters are not informed, it leaves space for politicians to cheat and lobbies to persuade. For somebody can persuade others and get the parties more votes, they are treated with higher priority