I am going to discuss a constitutional democracy form of government and a dictator form of government. We in America live under a constitutional democracy. First, a democracy, as most know is a government of the people, by the people, and for the people (Constitutional Democracy, n.d.). A constitutional democracy affords protections of the people from those elected to lead the government ensuring their rights are not violated (Constitutional Democracy, n.d.). These protections come from the foundation of the created society and backed up by law (Constitutional Democracy, n.d.). Unlike a dictatorship, our democracy may be overseen by those elected to power, however, the people ultimately retain that power (Constitutional Democracy, n.d.). In a way, there is a form of dictatorship in our …show more content…
Meaning, the government is dictated by the law and our constitution for how it uses its power. Neither of these can change unless the people support those changes (Constitutional Democracy, n.d.). A constitutional democracy also provides checks and balances by creating separate branches of government with the goal of not letting the any part of the government become to powerful and potentially becoming a dictatorship (Constitutional Democracy, n.d.). This form of government we enjoy allows the people freedom of expression without fear of the government retaliating. The last two critical components are due process and elections. Due process allows every person justice under the law no matter what your position in society is (Constitutional Democracy, n.d.). Elections are held at regular intervals and it is the peoples vote that puts those into power peacefully (Constitutional Democracy, n.d.). On a side note, I would be willing to bet the majority of Americans would vote to create a law mandating term limits for those in Congress. I would say one of the biggest problems with our form of government is the potential for corruption and
Since the ratification of the Constitution, more than 11,000 amendments have been proposed. The Constitution of the United States of America was Officially ratified in 1789. This makes the document over two-hundred years old. Since the time of its writing and eventual ratification, the document has been amended and interpreted in many ways. Whether it be prohibition to the abolition of slavery. The Constitution has been constantly updated over time. It has not laid stagnant with the time. The Constitution has remained the document off of which we have based our country for many years. A major question that has been posed is, why do we as a country still feel bound to this document written so many years ago? The reasons are fairly simple. The Constitution of the United States can and has been over many years amended, the laws and thoughts of a people can be expressed through the Constitution, and the constitution has functioned, with a few bumps in the road, fairly well over the last two-hundred years. The people of the United States should still stand behind this Constitution because it infact still serves us well today in many ways. A few being that it can be amended and “Fixed”, and another being that it does still protect our rights as citizens.
Democracy, as most people think of it today, did not exist during the first few decades of U.S. history.
Upon the opening words of the Constitution, "We the People do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America," one must ask, who are these people? While the American Constitution provided its citizens with individual rights, many members were excluded. Elite framers manipulated the idea of a constitution in order to protect their economic interests and the interests of their fellow white land and slave owning men' by restricting the voices of women, slaves, indentured servants and others. Therefore, the Constitution cannot truly be considered a "democratic document." However, because it is a live document, malleable and controllably changeable according to the interest of congress, it has enabled us to make
There are a great deal of different reasons behind the Founding Generations motivations to at the constitutional convention of 1787. All of the delegates came to talk with their own agenda for their state. Other historians say that they all was greedy (Roche 1967). John Roche believed that the delegates were mainly democrats (Roche 1967). He talks about how they built the framework for what democracy is today (Roche 1967). 12 states sent representatives to the constitutional convention and I choose three out of those. New Hampshire, New York, and Southern Carolina is the three I choose and they all played their part in the ratification of the constitution.
The political climate was uneasy during the constitutional convention. This was caused by Edmund Davis’ reign as governor, with reign being the perfect word. That is because under the constitution of 1869 the Texas state government was very centralized letting Davis try his best to take control of the government and not let it go. Creating some sort of corrupt government which in peoples opinion was “a corrupt, extravagant administration that eventually turned to state police and militia to maintain” (Champagne, 81) Davis’ administration influenced the new constitution so that what happened couldn’t take place again. This included provisions to limit the power of the state government by diffusing power of the executive branch, limiting governor’s
This is what you need to know about the Constitution. The Constitution established America’s National Government and fundamental laws. It guaranteed certain basic rights for the citizens. The president was George Washington during the time it was signed. It was signed on September 17, 1787 by delegates to the Constitutional Convention in Pennsylvania. There was a total of 27 constitutional amendments.
The United States of America utilizes constitutional democracy as its form of government. This type of government allows to people of its country to directly or indirectly make decisions and is based on the principle of equality and freedom and majority rule (Difference Between Monarchy and Democracy, 2011). In the Unites States, democracy is shaped by a constitution, which allows a clearly defined respect for an individuals and minorities basic individual rights and liberties, including freedom of speech, the press, and religion, to be protected (ushistory.org, 2017). Although this form of government does not allow absolute freedom, it leaves room for different types of citizens to compete for leadership positions, express personal opinions, and to be governed by laws that apply equally to leaders and citizens (Quigley, n.d.). Constitutional democracy is the antitheses of the arbitrary rule and is character sized by popular sovereignty, majority rule and minority rights, limited governmental powers including punishment and social control, and institutional and procedural limitations of powers (Quigley, n.d.).
The Constitution of the United States of America was signed on the September 17, 1787. It is considered to be the first document of that kind created in the post Enlightenment world. As we know, that era (1715 - 1789) had a major impact on Europe and all US colonies. The roots of the Constitution can be found as far as in Ancient Greece and medieval England (The Magna Carta). The main idea of the Constitution was based on the ideas of the Enlightenment's best authors and philosophers. Among them, probably the most important was John Locke. I'm sure we are all familiar his "tabula rasa" philosophy. This English doctor created the foundation for the modern idea of the government. He states that:
In 1780 one person proposed an idea to reconstruct our government; Alexander Hamilton proposed a general convention to frame a new constitution (Beard 3). The Article of Confederation was failing and the several men wanted a change to form a stronger national government. Some states excelled under the Article of Confederation while others struggled, there was no whole as a nation only sovereignty for the states. In 1787 the “Framers” changed the future of the United States of America and formed the constitution; which we still currently use.
Children across the country can be heard pledging allegiance “to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands;” however, research shows we no longer have a democratic republic in the United States. When the desires of the majority are systematically subverted to the desires a small and powerful minority, as is often in the case in the US, that system is an oligarchy. The democratic republic envisioned by the founding fathers has been replaced by an oligarchy to which they would have objected. With no express discussion of corporations in the constitution, the responsibility of defining the role and privileges of corporations in the US has been left largely to the United States Supreme Court.
There always has been a misconception about how the origin of America begun. Usually, the constitution would be regarded as the first form of government, however it was truly the Articles of Confederation which was in a way horrendous. In 1786 and 1787, the problem became crucial when in Massachusetts farmers rose up and close the courts for enforcement of tax collections and judgments for debt; thus, Shay’s rebellion. The Philadelphia constitution transpired in September 17, 1787 where delegates from each state came to revise the “Articles of Confederation. To a prodigious extent, the US constitution was a radical departure from Articles of Confederation for reason such as, it could collect taxes, the three branches of government, and representation of states.
I don’t believe the United States could function without a federal constitution. The federal constitution is critical to the way our nation is run. Our Constitution has a supremacy clause, which establishes that, the Constitution, federal laws made pursuant to it, and treaties made under its authority, constitute the supreme law of the land. This disallows a state from enacting a law that is counter to the federal law. The federal constitution also keeps from states that may have more economic power as well as population from ruling over smaller states. The federal constitution allows the nation to have harmony throughout the legal system. For example, if states didn’t have to follow a federal constitution Florida could adopt slavery while
issue, if a person has a right to life and self-determination, do they have a
A dictatorship is a form of government where a dictator is ruling usually with full authority and force. A dictatorship, in my opinion, is one of the harshest types of government because most of the time there is barely any freedom and the dictator rules by force. A dictator is usually elected when the government is in its democracy form and at that point, they are referred to as a president. However, they start prohibiting opposing organizations and canceling free elections. A dictator is basically the government where he or she acts as a whole for the entire political
A government is essential for keeping the nation from descending into anarchy. There are different types of government. However, currently, the two most popular forms of government are democracy and dictatorship. The differences between the two forms of government are almost countless. Just as each as their own unique feature, each also provides different advantages aand disadvantages. Even so, the majority of people believe that democracy is the far better form of government.