Our Government has evolved and is evolving for the benefit of the great people of our Nation. The U.S Congress made up of the house of representatives and the Senate, are systems that are designed to represent the feeling of Americans. The state legislature differs in the representation of the state, rather than the nation. In today’s rapidly changing society, raises questions, How democratic is our government, more specifically where does power reside in the U.S congress and the state legislature? Does the U.S congress and the state legislature reflect the “will of the people”? Congress serves as our legislative branch, separated into a bicameral body with their own set of responsibilities. Congressmen and women, are elected representatives …show more content…
Essentially, congress is balanced as it represents both the democratic and republican party, in the eyes of a republican some may argue that the legislature has no balance. For example, through the eyes of a republican it could be argued that that because legislature represents the state it is less democratic at the federal level. However, California is for the most part Liberal, so to those with opposing views it is less democratic at the state level, but those in favor of the changes made, will argue that it is democratic. Regardless of a state's population, the senate provides two representatives for each state and guarantees an equal vote, thus promoting equality or hindering it depending on if you are the smaller or bigger state. Various propositions were passed and allowed for more democracy in the state legislature. Proposition 11 allowed for the citizen commissions to draw the district lines rather than by the legislature themselves. Although this proposition has let the people draw the lines there are flaws, a tradition that lives on known as Gerrymandering, which gives an unfair advantage to a particular party or candidate. Not particularly in California, but gerrymandering allows politicians to draw their state lines and not all states have citizen commissions drawing lines. The California state legislature is more democratic as it represents more voters than US congress
The Power and Significance of Congress Firstly it is important to look at the power and significance of congress as a legislative body. This includes the creation of law, and the scrutiny of the executive. Because the US federal system is ruled by 'separation of powers', it is important that the legislative - congress - acts as a good check and restraint on the executive - the president.
Congress is the legislative branch of our national government and shares power with the president as well as the Supreme Court. It has five fundamental functions, which include lawmaking, helping constituents, performing oversight, and educating the public,
With 435 members in the House, the House of Representatives is known to be the body that symbolizes the citizens of America. It was intended that the House adhered to the beliefs of the people more than the Senate did, making the House of Representatives a bit more democratic. Senators are voted to represent the beliefs of a whole state; while on the other hand, members of House represent groups of citizens in specific districts of states. Because of this, representatives try and submit bills that appeal to the voters in their own district. This allows members to
There are 435 representatives in the House of Representatives and the number of representatives each state gets is based on its population. When it comes to senators, there are 100 and each states get two. The role of the Legislative is to make laws
There are two chambers in Congress: the Senate and the House of Representatives. They both share many powers between them as in declaring wars, raise an army and navy, borrow and coin money, regulate interstate commerce, create federal courts, establish rules for the naturalization of immigrants, and make all laws pertaining to the afore mentioned. There are also separate
The president is the foreign policy leader for the United States with an important political, military and economic role in the international arena. If there is collision between the president and congress, can congress restrain the president in foreign policy making?
After declaring themselves free from British rule in 1776, the American people sought out a way to protect themselves from future tyrannical monarchs as the nation continued to grow and develop. This led to the creation of the three branches of government, one of which is the United States Congress, in order to distribute power and ensure that the voice of the people is appropriately factored in legislative decisions. However, many have questioned whether this two hundred-year-old system still works today, as the number of citizens who trust the government steadily decreases. In his book How Congress Works and Why You Should Care, Lee Herbert Hamilton, a former member of the House of Representatives, addresses many common misconceptions that the general public has about the legislative branch. He reveals how much of an impact Congress makes in our everyday lives, acknowledging that though congressional system has a few flaws, it is one that functions well.
The main function of Congress and the legislative branch is to make laws. Although it oversees the executive branch, the president, as well as the judicial branch, Congress represents and speaks for the people under the federal government. Congress is mainly considered to be the broken branch because initially Congress would have the power to establish foreign affairs and declare war if necessary. However, the president has taken over the role while Congress observes. Not only that but also the development of the gridlock within Congress leads Congress toward no longer accomplishing and meeting the role the legislative branch is supposed to meet. Not to mention no acts of bipartisanship plus the problem of the diversity of members of Congress,
The United States Congress is the supreme lawmaking body in the United States and one of the national legislatures in the world. Congress continues to be one of the few national assemblies that research and drafts their own lawmaking rather than simply voting on bills created by the government in power. Members of Congress use their office to benefit the nation versus district/state by conveying power and influence.
When discussing the makeup of Congress, one must first look to the intent of the framers around creating a bicameral legislature. This would take me to the first section of our class regarding the debates the founding fathers had about equal representation of the states in the Congress.
Congress has many functions to keep it working and functioning. They do many things to make laws, make sure they’re fair, and much more. There are also many committees with important jobs. There are many things that influence congressional elections such as reapportionment, redistricting, much more. There are many people who make up the House and Senate and they have many important jobs to keep things running smoothly.
The power of congress had gone over several things. I thought the major ones were, the expressed powers of money and commerce, the implied powers, and the non legislative powers.The expressed powers of money and commerce is talking about the purpose of having taxes and the limits on the power of them. The implied powers tells us about the war powers and other expressed powers. The last is the Non Legislative powers tell us about the impeachment of the president . The three main points i'll talk about will be the purpose of our taxes, other expressed powers, and impeachment.
Some people see the go over helping government as a blessing in disguise. Some people say that the government has a job to do and helping the people survive is one of them. People say that the government should be around to make laws and keep justice. Some people say that by the government helping the people out more benefits everybody. The better the lower class citizens are doing the better for the country as a whole. A country is only as good as its parts, and the United states is made up of the lower, middle, and upper class. While anyone can come to this country and as long as they work hard enough they can make whatever life they want to. Even though that's the case most people that come to the U.S usually land in the lower class. The
The United States Congress is a vital part of American government. The purpose of its creation was to represent the people within the country. The legislative branch’s constitutional organization, its basic institutional components, and the powers it possess were all created with the idea of representing the general population in mind.
The United States of America was not destined by the Founding Fathers to be a country of a phenomenal government, but a country that avoids a disastrous government. Interestingly, democracy remains profoundly revered despite the evident unhappiness resulting from the actions of America’s political system. Although the government places itself on a pedestal of righteousness, social inequality, the electoral college, super PACS, and gerrymandering all mar American history and expose the reality of America being a not so democratic nation.