Direct democracy is a system that allows citizens to make laws themselves rather than outsourcing the job to elected representatives. The advantages of having a direct democracy would allow the inhabitants to have the capability of direct authority and cast ballots that will influence how things are operated. Another advantage having this type of democracy would entail more transparency within government. Certain issues that would normally be considered classified, having a direct democracy all information related to government would be available for everyone to see. Although this may appear beneficial to citizens, a direct democracy can also cause tension within a government. With everyone free to voice their opinion, some individuals are not
When the United States was being founded, the men charged with the creation of this novel system of government drew inspiration from a number of well-known English political philosophers. One of the most overt influences, not merely on the Constitution, but even the Declaration of Independence, was John Locke’s Second Treatise of Government. His depiction of both the State of Nature and its transition into civil society served as the mirror to the American notion and understanding of the purposes of government. Another less discussed but no less intrinsic influence on the founding document came from Thomas Hobbes in his work, Leviathan. Hobbes’ depiction of the role of the sovereign presented a subtle but distinct understanding in the formation
“The accumulation of all powers… in the same hands, whether one, a few, or many… may be justly pronounced the very definition of tyranny.”-James Madison. Fifty-five delegates, from the thirteen states, met in Philadelphia in May of 1787 to discuss and revise the Articles of Confederation. The chief executive and the representatives worked to create a frame for what is now our Constitution. The Constitution guarded against tyranny in four ways; Federalism that creates a State and Federal government, Separation of Powers that gives equal power to the three branches, Checks and Balances that create balance in the three branches by checking each other and being checked and the Small States vs the Big States ensures an equal voice for all states no matter what their size.
The United States developed politically and economically in the late 1700s and early 1800s through individuals who were passionate about the future of America. Although passionate, not all men agreed on the same ideas; this led them to split into two groups. These groups, or political parties, spent much of their time advocating for certain policies, events, or other governmental issues, such as supporting or opposing the current president. Primarily because of the difference in their leaders ' beliefs, the two- party system developed with each party built on different principles; The Federalist 's ideas often clashed with the Democratic-Republican 's. These ideas were originally set in stone and rarely wavered, but under circumstances
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." The Constitution is still relevant today because it separates the power each branch of government has in the United States. The separation of powers serves several purposes. The separation prevents concentration of power, seen as the form of tyranny, and provides each branch with weapons to fight off encroachment by the other two branches. As argued by James Madison in the Federalist Papers (No. 51), "Ambition must be made to counteract ambition." James Madison created the separation of powers to maximize
The national government and state government share power in many areas, but in order to control the power given to the executive branch the Tenth amendment in the Bill of Rights, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people” allowed equal power to the federal government, the state government and the people. By distributing this power it allows higher authority and the citizens to take charge of this country and its
The United States Constitution is a document that or founding fathers made in order to replace the failing Articles of Confederation (A of C). Under the Constitution, the current government and states don’t have the problems they faced when the A of C was in action. The Constitution was created in 1788, and held an idea that the whole nation was nervous about. This idea was a strong national government, and the Federalist assured the people that this new government would work. The framers of the Constitution decided to give more power to the Federal government rather than the state governments because the A of C had many problems, there was a need for the layout of new government, rights, and laws, and there was a need for the Federal
On March 1st, 1781, the Articles of Confederation were ratified by all thirteen states and adopted as the first official set of laws of the United States of America. After a short time, the Articles’ inadequacies became apparent to the newly formed country. These flaws included, over-powerful state governments, a weak central government, a lack of an independent judiciary system, and an impractical amendment making process. While the problems of the Articles were numerous, the excessively-dominant state governments, the federal government lacking the means to enforce economical parchment powers, and the lack of defensive powers granted to the federal government, proved to be the most detrimental to American society.
Considered one of the most important documents in United States history, the Constitution was the basis of a government still functioning today. In the summer of 1787, 55 delegates from eleven of the thirteen states gathered in Philadelphia to fix the first attempt at a constitution, the Acts of Confederation. The government set up by this functioned so poorly that the entire document was scrapped thus making way for the Constitution. This provided a functioning government organized in a way that would eliminate any chance of a single party or person becoming a tyrant. The Constitution created an outline for a government with powers fairly distributed between the federal government, state governments, three branches of government and small
This is evident in document A, where it shows you a Venn diagram of which powers are given to the states and which powers are given to the federal government. For one thing, this shows how “a double security arises to the rights of the people”, which means that when the power is distributed between the states and the federal government, neither is able to gain absolute power over the country. Federalism also comes in handy by specifying what the states get to control and what the national government gets to control, which is meant to prevent conflict between the two powers. For example, the task of declaring war is meant for the national government only. If that wasn’t specified, there would likely be a lot of cases where states declared war, and the national government had to clean up the mess. By specifically saying that only the federal government can declare war, the Constitution prevents conflict between the states and the national
“The accumulation of all powers..in the same hands, whether of one or many (is) the very definition of tyranny.” (James Madison, Federalist Paper #47, 1788) ( Background Essay) This quote explains the reasoning for one of the framers, (B) Separation of Powers. The framers of the constitution were created to prevent tyranny and create a stronger government that would hold the nation together. Tyranny ultimately means harsh, absolute power in the hands of one individual-- like a king or dictator. The constitution guarded against tyranny in 4 ways: (A)Federalism, (B)Separation of Powers, (C)Checks & Balances, and (D)Small State-Large State.
to ensure that no one state would have more power than another, it was decided from the
Appointment Power- This allows the president to appoint (with the advice of the senate) ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, judges of the supreme court, and all officers of the united states.
The us constitution and the Articles of Confederation are similar but different in many ways. The articles of confederation line out the basic ideas of government and written in the US Constitution are the expanded ideas that make the United States Unique.
When you think of America you often think of independence and individual freedom, but what made early American want this freedom? The British restriction of trade and control of state governments merely angered Americans, but with proposals like Thomas Paine’s Common Sense it stirred our spirit into more than rebellious one. These things lead to American Revolution, and this revolution lead to the Treaty of Paris, the U.S Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. All these outcomes of the Revolution are incredibly important to American History and to what we are now as Americans.