America, a Democracy?
America. What’s the first thought to come to your mind after hearing this? Democracy? Land of Rights? That would make sense. America, the land of the free. The land of opportunity. But is America really a democracy? A country for the people, by the people? To an extent, but not exactly. The people of this great country do not have unlimited rights and the freedom to do what they please. Many of the rights guaranteed by the Bill of Rights and the U.S. Constitution are being limited and slowly being taken away.
Since America is such a powerful country, it follows that the United States President is one of the most powerful figures in the world. Considering
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When the Electoral College was put in place as part of the voting process it seemed a good idea. “Our framers distrusted democracy and saw the Electoral College as a deliberative body able to correct bad choices made by the people.” (Anderson 519). Times have changed and today’s society is a lot different that it was when George Washington was President. It’s about time that the U.S eliminates the Electoral College and makes America more of a democracy by making the popular vote the deciding factor in electing the president.
Along the same lines, the 1st Amendment guarantees U.S. citizens freedom of speech. On June 8, 1789 this amendment was put into the constitution. Madison said at the time, ''the people shall not be deprived or abridged of their right to speak, to write, or to publish their sentiments; and the freedom of the press, as one of the great bulwarks of liberty, shall be inviolable.'' Well in 1917, this inviolable right of speech was no longer inviolable. The Supreme Court decided that you only have the freedom of speech while not endangering others or presenting a clear and present danger. That seems fair. This makes the law able to punish people who pull a fire alarm when there’s no fire, or call in a false bomb threat, but since when was handing out a pamphlet that had your beliefs on it illegal. Ask Charles Schenck and Elizabeth Baer who were charged and prosecuted for making pamphlets talking about
Many people have questioned why the founding fathers implemented the use of the electoral college process and a good assumption would be that the they were quite intentional in rejecting a direct election process mindset and we also have to take into account that as they were crafting our entire constitution. They established the Electoral College in the Constitution as a compromise between election of the President by a vote in Congress and the election of the President by a popular vote of qualified citizens. They were not trying to create a pure democracy, but had the difficult issue of having to incorporate
One of the reason why the Electoral College should not be destroyed, is that it helps the candidates who may struggle with the popular vote. In 1980, for Presidential Election, candidate Ronald Reagan barely won the popular vote (50.7%). With the help of the Electoral Vote, Reagan took 91% of it, which then made him the winner (Doc B). Also in 1992, Candidate Bill Clinton, did not even have half the country on his side (43%). With the help of the Electoral Vote, Clinton
When the Framers of the Constitution met in Philadelphia, they came together with one common purpose in mind. They needed to form a fair and solid system of government that would stand the test of time; one that was both fair for the people and would not involve a monarchy. Each of these men had their own ideas on what would constitute this system, however, so many compromises had to be made. Together, the men gathered in Philadelphia created a federal system of government and drafted a constitution outlining this government. They took care in developing three branches of federal government with a system of checks and balances so that no one branch would gain too much power, thus avoiding any
The Electoral College has been disliked by many but also liked by other brilliant people in the United States. Some People have wanted to abolish the Electoral College. Former presidents and American leaders have thought that the Electoral College is a good way to take some power away from the people. The Electoral College has also been a very good way to elect this great country's leader. The Electoral College is here to stay. The founders of the Constitution agree and didn’t want the people to vote on the president directly. Why don’t you?
But as we cleared what was one of the biggest hurdles that forced the creation of the electoral college (Lack of technology to keep up with politics and candidates effectively), there is no purpose of one. Too many times has this system that is supposed to fairly decide our president failed because presidents won despite American people voting for their opponent. This system is proven to be inherently flawed, and especially after this election it is time to consider a new system of election our next presidents. When we put our faith in mysterious electors who aren’t even obligated to respect our voting preference, we lose an integral piece of democracy. We lose the voice of the
First, The Electoral College prevents majority rule and should not be abolished. ”The Electoral College gives states with small populations a measure of protection against domination by states with large populations. It levels the political playing field a bit” (Williams, Walter E.). It is said that Hillary Clinton won popular vote majority. Therefore, if the nation were not encumbered with outdated electoral college. Clinton, instead of our present one, would be the next president of the United States. In 2000, Al Gore won the popular vote just as Clinton supposedly did. Such outcomes have led to calls to desert the Constitution's Article two provisions for the state electors to select presidents. Before the U.S. deserts the Electoral College, let's consider the purpose it performs. According to 2013 Census Data, Nine states- California, Texas, New York, Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Georgia, and Michigan have populations
A constructive national debate is something that is quite important to the functioning of the American system of democracy. A simple definition of democracy offered by the Merriam-Webster dictionary is that democracy is “a form of government in which people choose leaders by voting” (Merriam-Webster). Now, at a time of heightened awareness from many American people, the political debates in this country don’t seem to be providing them with good cogent arguments. Instead they are filled with fallacies and many falsehoods. In this essay I argue that the presidential debate system is currently not living up to its potential, and I will focus specifically on Republican primary debate that took place at the Reagan Library in Simi Valley, California. In doing so, I will argue that the main flaws in this cycle’s presidential primary debates were the amount of fallacies used, as structure used as well as provide some counter-arguments to my claims.
The United State of America from the very beginning is a republic and still remains a republic. It has never been a democracy even though some people argue that it is a democracy. The founding fathers gave the country a republic and this was a result of their beliefs that democracy is evil and dangerous. According to Ron Paul, the republic system was instituted to protect individual and property rights from tyranny. He further claims that the individual rights of minorities are endangered by majority rule or democracy.
American democracy may claim that equality is its highest ideal, but policies passed by our government since its inception all the way up to the present directly contradict this statement. Democracy is, at its most basic level, the rule of the people. Our American governance has so many barriers between the will of the people and actual political action that it barely qualifies as a democracy at all. The president is selected by the electoral college not the popular vote, as we saw during the 2016 election of Donald Trump, and in the controversial election ruling in Bush v Gore. The intention of the electoral college, as opposed to the popular vote, is that in theory it gives both rural and highly populated areas a more equitable voice in elections,
America should export democracy because it could help a lot of developing nations and probably even other nations that are already developed. Giving people choices and options, and allowing the people to rule is part of what makes America a great place to be. Living in America, for the most part, your voice can be heard, especially when it comes to issues of gay rights, womens' rights, educational issues, etc. America can serve as a role model for other nations because it can teach them, that controlling your citizens is not the way to rule a nation. Giving the citizens a voice makes the people feel important to that country. Who doesn't want to feel important and have their opinions matter? America can teach other nations of our voting system.
Since the middle ages, corporatism has taken a leading role in countries by involving different organizations into a group of people to develop cooperative associations on the basis of shared interests. In Europe, corporatism was the main objective of people in a country. For example, Lewis Mumford note that the basic society "was based on classes and ranks" and there was no guaranteeing demand through security and no power that did not recognize the legal obligations of a corporate profile (Mumford). Once democracy began to spread and become definite in the United States, the Americans began to experiment with new ideas and values. In America, corporatism began to evolve into a new system where the knowing of freedom and justice was
When America’s founding fathers broke away from England, they weren’t the first colonial Englishmen on the American continent, there were plenty of French, Spanish, Dutch and even Russian colonial outposts established before them. What makes the English colonies along the Eastern seaboard story so important, was the fact that 13 colonies joined together to form what is now known as the United States. Furthermore, this 13 colonies New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia risk their lives, fortunes, and sacred honors to start a new nation free from Great Britain’s rule. In the mist of declaring independence from the most powerful nation on earth, America’s founding fathers created a governmental system that was unfamiliar during their era. America’s founding fathers created a government designed to protect civil liberties and encourage independence, a complex yet young and evolving system.
In the United States, voting is one of the few ways citizens can make a stand for their opinions and attempt real change. With the overwhelming importance of voting, it is very crucial that there is a large voter turnout. A huge way to increase the number of participating voters, would be to lower the age of voting from 18, to 16.
This nation's success lies in the hands of its people. America is extremely fortunate to live in a democracy, a government in which the citizens elect the leaders and representatives. The idea of it began in the Athens when an emperor wanted his people to be involved in creating rules and choosing overseers for their society. This idea became highly popular in the Middle Ages, but empires like the “Holy Roman Empire” overruled it for dictatorship, but people soon began to fight back (Karen Carr). America’s fight was to succeed from England in the revolutionary war in hopes of having the basic rights that democracy promises. The citizens demanded a voice in their government so they fought hard and though lives were lost, the United States won its independence from England. The actions, dedication, and perseverance of the citizens were the main reasons why this country gained its freedom. Citizens are the vital key to success so it is important for them to be active in electing proper officials, recognizing past mistakes and correcting current ones in today’s society.
I think democracy is a far more dominate value for Americans over capitalism. Democracy gives voice to the voiceless and powerless in a society and as a nation, this is a right we enjoy and pride ourselves on having. It is the injunction of the people and our loyalty to the constitution that represents and defines us as a nation. I believe Americans prefer a government free from tyranny and one free of too much interference and control. Limitations on person freedom and the disintegration of democratic principles are unacceptable to your average American. I believe the majority of Americans in our country value and honor the moral equality of all people and democracy because it is morally preferable as it embodies basic value of human equality,