A country without a government is like a seed without water, the seed or the country does not grow to show its full potential. A government protects citizens from enemies that deprive them of their rights. Thomas Jefferson said, “among there are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, government are instituted among men.” There comes a time where the government makes decisions that have a negative outcome on citizens. For example the start of claiming humans as property, a time in history known as slavery. In times like these, people started to question the government and even hold it accountable when mistakes are made. Till this day, people still question the government and the film American Blackout shows an example how a group of minorities question the government on the right to vote. The film, American Blackout it discuss the issue of disenfranchisement African Americans faced in Florida, 2001. Disenfranchisement is denying someone the right to vote. In the film …show more content…
In the film, Attorney, Cliff Arnebeck, mentions that, voting lines were longer than in the suburbs. He believes someone intended this to happen because African Americans are more likely to vote for democrats rather than for Republicans. If the residence of Ohio are handling their citizen responsibilities and their “laborious task” (American Blackout), then they deserve something in return. This is Ohio’s way of questioning their government and holding them accountable. In January 2005, The House of Representatives, “object to the electoral votes, of the state of Ohio” (American Blackout). US Senator Barbara Boxer, stood up and held the government accountable for what happened in Ohio. She mentions, “Under our great constitution of the United States of America… that guarantees our right to vote, that we must ask certain questions” (American
To make voting more difficult for black people, many were required to take a test called a “literacy test.” The literacy tests were given to people who couldn’t prove they had a fifth grade education or higher. If they got one question wrong, they would fail the entire test, and would not be allowed to vote. (Document 6: Louisiana Literacy Test from the 1960s) The questions on the test had complicated instructions written with the intent of making people fail.
The American government is proposed by the constitution, principles that we as Americans live by. To live by this constitution was a well thought out idea. Without it, we run a greater risk of
A land of opportunity and freedom of choices is what attracted foreigners and immigrants to this country, and still does to this day. In order to maintain a peaceful and prospering society, A "-government of the people, by the people, for the people..." (Gettysburg Address, Lincoln 586) is what a successful country need. Many government powers around the world hold their citizens responsible for many things, such as paying taxes to help support the economy, serving the military for defensive purposes , or at least cooperating with the law. As a natural instinct, most people expect something in return, and the law itself assigns duties for the government to its
We see multiple successes of voting equality attempted through amendments, however, the Supreme Court’s decision on Shelby County v. Holder has pushed back years and years of effort for voting rights. Supreme Court’s 5-4 ruling was in Shelby County’s favor, stating that the Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act was unconstitutional along with Section 5. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr, who wrote the majority’s opinion, said that the power to regulate election was reserved to the states, not the federal government. As a result to the court’s decision, the federal government can no longer determine which voting law discriminates and can be passed. After the case, many states had freely passed new voting laws; the most common voting law states passed
Without this people will not do what they are told and nobody could tell another person what to do without a sovereign. Humans are born with responsibilities, in order to accomplish these tasks people need a higher authority to threaten them. In the allegorical novel Lord of the Flies, an ärtificial government takes place in order to control the boys. The government in Lord of the flies not a fully set up and run government, but one needs to be in place because without it Ralph understands with no rules and
Retrieved from http://www.fairus.org/facts/us_laws Justwan, F. (2015). Disenfranchised minorities: Trust, definitions of citizenship, and noncitizen voting rights in developed democracies. International Political Science Review, 36(4), 373-392. doi:10.1177/0192512113513200 Logan, J.R., Darrah, J., & Oh, S. (2012). The impact of race and ethnicity, immigration and political context on participation in American electoral politics.
Well, based off of what Thomas Jefferson said in 1801, a government is meant to protect its citizens from one another, protect their rights, and pursuit of happiness. Jefferson 's clearly outlines the purpose of the U.S. government because throughout his explanation, he states that the governments "shall restrain men from injuring one another" and if the
The Declaration of Independence states, “--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed…”. In the article Why Government, it states, “But Locke also believed that governments should protect people’s natural rights.” Both of these quotes show that the purpose for creating government, is so that the protection of the natural rights of the people is ensured. Also, the idea that these fair powers are just what Men (human beings) are receiving and what they should receive from the creation of governments. Both of these quotes combine with each other, because of the pinpointed idea of how the government was created in order to benefit to the natural rights of the people, and to protect these
“Government is necessary to ensure the proper use of force... The purpose of government is to protect the individual rights of its citizens” (importanceofphilosophy.com). And, just exactly what are our individual rights? “The freedom to act, work, think and behave without retribution bestowed upon members of an organization through legal, regulatory and societal standards” (businessdictionary.com). In other words, the government was only created as a means to protect our individual rights and ensure that we aren’t judged and are free to do as we choose as long as we do not interfere with the individual rights of others.
When talking about the government, Paine says that it is “a necessary evil”, he later states that governments sole purpose lies in “restraining our vices” (Paine p1). He believes that if everyone acted morally and were honest with one another, then there would be no need for a central government. However, Paine knows that not everyone is honest nor perfect in their actions, he also knows that with no government America would surely fall into
Without the concern of defense or sell protection,individuals are able to live in security. Jefferson offers the purpose of government. It exists to acid in the well-being of both the nations and it citizen. Government exists to control the lives of citizens. A government must establish
“That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed” (Jefferson, 1776/2014, para. 2). Authority should not reside over individuals, but with them. A heart cannot run a body alone. Likewise, a government does not operate a nation by itself. Individuals help maintain the justice of authority.
In the United States, people always talk about freedom and equality. Especially they want elections could be more democratic. In American Democracy in Peril, Hudson’s main argument regarding chapter five “Election Without the People’s Voice,” is if elections want to be democratic, they must meet three essential criteria, which are to provide equal representation of all citizens, to be mechanisms for deliberation about public policy issues, and to control what government does. Unfortunately, those points that Hudson mentions are what American elections do not have. American elections do not provide equal representation to everyone in the country.
In order to compare and contrast varying types of government within two or more countries, one must have a clear definition of Government and know the purposes it serves. Therefore, I did some research and I have established that Government is a group that exercises dominant power over a nation, state, society or other body of people. Governments are commonly responsible for constructing and implementing laws, handling money, and defending the general population from external threats, and may have other obligations or privileges. All over the world, there are many different types of government within countries. Each kind has its advantages as well as disadvantages regarding the general well-being of its peoples and economy.
But, imagine your government falling apart. You then realize that the people and country are affected. Some people do not know that having a good government is mainly for a person living in that country. Good governed countries keep people from doing criminal acts in their towns.