Merchants Of Doubt: The American Political System

In the United States, public policy is shaped by multiple factors, from average citizens voices in elections to interest groups and organizations. In their study, “Testing theories of American politics”, scholars Benjamin Page and Martin Gilens explore the impact of average citizens, the economic elite and interest groups have on the passage of public policy. Additionally through their, Page and Gilens(2014) have found “that economic elites and organized groups representing business interests have substantial independent impacts on U.S. government policy, while mass-based interest groups and average citizens have little or no independent influence” (Pg 535). This means that when it comes to the creation of public policies, rich people and groups

“The Logic of American Politics,” written by Samuel Kernell, Gary C. Jacobson, Thad Kousser, and Lynn Vavreck brings together the sequence of events that occur throughout our history in chapters six through nine. Chapter six, Congress, focuses on the development of Congress and how they came to hold so much power within the United States; with the creation of Congress came the Presidency. The Presidency, chapter 7, explain how the framework for President of the United States was given only enough power to control/respond to national emergencies, and under the President were bureaus that worked with him. Chapter 8, The Bureaucracy, was created by the frameworkers, but was never given a clear definition on how to organize this branch of government, just like the bureau's work alongside the President the Judiciary system works alongside Congress.

Chapter one of The American Political Tradition by Richard Hofstadter is centered on the Founding Fathers. The very beginning of the chapter says that the Constitutional Convention was trying to create a government that would pay debts and avoid currency inflation. The Democratic ideas that the Founding Fathers were so against appealed mostly to less privileged classes, and not at all to the higher classes. This chapter says that the Founding Fathers thought that if no constitutional balance were achieved, one specific class or would take over others. Three advantages of a good constitutional government were listed in this chapter as well. One: keep order against majority rule. Two: a representative government. Three: aristocracy and democracy

The separation of power is a political theory. The principle of the separation of power can be traced to the era of Aristotle. He declared that the three principles theory of political system should be divided into executive, legislative and judicial. In 1748, Montesquieu also proposed the same theory as Aristotle. His idea influenced James Madison and James put the theory into practice in American political system.

The American two-party system is the result of the way elections are structured in the United States. Representatives in the Congress and in state legislatures are elected to in single-member districts where the individual with the most votes wins. Seeing that only one party 's candidate can win in each district, there is a strong motivation for political candidates to organize themselves into two competing parties. By doing so, party members and candidates maximize their chances of winning elections. In some countries where there are multi-member districts, parties that win smaller percentages of the vote can often win legislative representation. Consequently, in such systems, there is an incentive to form smaller third parties. Other features of the American system of elections, such as campaign finance rules, the Electoral College, and rules giving party candidates ballot access further reinforce the two-party system in the United States. While third parties rarely win major elections, and never the presidency, they have been successful in changing the outcome of elections by withdrawing political support away from one of the two major party candidates. Whatever American system contains to encourage a two party system typically discourages the emergence of third parties. Ever since third parties have emerged in American political history, their successes have been short-lived. Most third parties try to build their support to become like one of the dominant parties, just

Today, there exists the rift in the American political system marked by the ongoing clash between our political parties: the Republicans and the Democrats. These parties’ dissenting ideas seem to create non-stop conflict as each party relentlessly competes for the support and votes of the American people. However, over two hundred years ago in the early days of our country’s government, political parties did not even exist. Early leaders, such as the revered George Washington, feared that political parties would split our country into warring factions that would not only subvert our delicate notion of patriotism, but also weaken public support for the new Constitution. Nonetheless, despite opposition by Washington and others, political parties began to form, and over the years have developed into the familiar political system we have today. The chief factors that led to the rise of political parties were the disagreements between influential politicians over the structure of the government, the proper interpretation of the Constitution, and foreign policy regarding European nations.

“The American Political Tradition” published in 1948 was written by a well-known historian at Colombia University. Richard Hofstadter was born on August 6, 1916, in Buffalo, New York. He attended both the University of Buffalo and Columbia University where he studied philosophy and history. Hofstadter was married twice and later in 1970 died from leukemia. Throughout his life Hofstadter had a lot of published works including Social Darwinism in American Thought, William Leggett, Spokesman of Jacksonian Democracy, The Age of Reform, The United States: the History of a Republic, and many more. Hofstadter’s purpose for writing this book was to give people a better understanding about our history. He wanted to help Americans understand who was

This conjoined perspective includes the idea that there is an elite hierarchy at play, but groups, such as civil rights activists and environmentalists, also have a strong influence on what gets decided in public policy. Afterall, there really are hardly any machines out there that run strictly from one source; the body has the heart, but also needs the brain, the car has the engine, but couldn’t go anywhere without

It is extremely important for Americans and the rest of the world that America is a democracy. Democracy has been the foundation that has allowed for such a diverse populace to coexist and thrive. America is seen as the golden standard and models the benefits that come along with being a representative democracy. While democracy has allowed America to prosper as a multicultural society, it is increasingly becoming fragile. Certain aspects of American democracy like the electoral college, gerrymandering and lower voter turnout further threaten the democratic nature of America.

Chapter 7: Government and Politics in the United States I. The Organization of the American Government Before we go any further, I’d like to sum up my understanding about the U.S government. The head of the U.S government is called the Constitution, with its purpose of keeping the government from doing bad things. It is divided into three separate branches: Legislative, Executive, and Judicial. The Legislative branch, or the Congress, is the lawmaking branch. The Executive branch, with the President as the head, responsible for carrying out laws.

Individual rights, or due process, and public order, or crime control, are such combative issues in modern day America for a variety of reasons. One of these reasons is the extreme dichotomy of the American political system. Another reason is how our criminal justice system is set up to function: there are two sides to every story, and it is only natural that there are supporters of crime control more so than due process, and vice versa, simply because these two ‘sides’ exist.

The American Democratic system limits the public and their capacity to manage everyday life. When comparing wealthier students to poorer students, it is natural to assume that wealthier students have more privilege over poor students with an education. Opportunities specific for privileged students are provided, unlike poorer counterparts. Poverty-stricken students are exposed to different things than privileged students are, and are forced to meet standards that many cannot such as, “No Child Left Behind Act.” Wealthier children have more of an entitlement than underprivileged people from various states and communities, and this affects personal development. The American Governmental system appeals to the wealthy class, even going as far as acting oblivious towards dramatic issues that primarily affect poverty-engulfed communities such as: artistic and personal expression, wealth mobility, and the educational system inequalities.

The Presidential Political system is deeply rooted in two main beliefs: the belief in a strong federal government or the belief of strong state governments. Essentially, these beliefs are the basis of the Democrats versus the Republicans, respectively. The two party system in America has been successful since its inception, it has served as a type of balance—both Democrats and Republicans have been Presidents at one point. However, it is possible that America is getting to the point where this is simply not cutting it; according to Matthew Yglesias, “American Democracy is doomed,” and it may be time to approach our government a different way. The Parliamentary system is possibly a different way of approaching it where the basis remains similar:

1.Analyze the evolution of the American political system. Be sure to include one individual or document that influenced the Constitution and one change in the federal system.

The American Political System The American political system is a federal system, which consists of