Putting Constitutional Protections in the Backseat for Non-Conformist American Experiences

The United states of America has successfully staked its claim as a leader among the nations of the world in the fields of government and justice. When America gained its independence, there was a system of governing put into place that included well thought out rules which were deemed best for all involved. The textbook American Government and Politics Today, lets the reader know of the dire necessity for the men, women, and children who had gained their freedom from Great Britain, to have a guideline they could follow and base their decisions on (Schmidt, 2017). Throughout

Torture is known as the intentional infliction of either physical or psychological harm for the purpose of gaining something – typically information – from the subject for the benefit of the inflictor. Normal human morality would typically argue that this is a wrongful and horrendous act. On the contrary, to deal with the “war on terrorism” torture has begun to work its way towards being an accepted plan of action against terrorism targeting the United States. Terroristic acts perpetrate anger in individuals throughout the United States, so torture has migrated to being considered as a viable form of action through a blind eye. Suspect terrorists arguably have basic human rights and should not be put through such psychologically and physically damaging circumstances.

Over the course of the first century and a quarter of the history of the United States of America, what it means to be an American has been defined by a number of different documents. The authors of those documents have come from varied backgrounds all searching to find their place in the growth and development of this country. At the beginning of the nation, those authors came from the English tradition of what government should look like and what those who were looking to change that government should do. When the country experienced some early growing pains, many of those same people came together again to try and develop a new system of laws for the country. As the nation grew up, it also grew apart and faced arguably the most

The subsequent case study, prepared by James P. Pfiffner, Torture and Public Policy, (2010) analyzes the torture and abuse of war prisoners by United States military personnel in Abu Ghraib, Iraq, and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, following photographs of the abuse spread around the world in the fall of 2003. Pfiffner points out that the United States Military, Secretary of State Donald Rumsfield, and President George W. Bush assumed a role in the events leading up to the exploitation, even though it has never been corroborated that President Bush or Secretary of State Rumsfield directly condoned the abuse.

Throughout the course of history, Americans have changed the ways in which they derived the powers of the government from the consent of the governed, have changed their understanding of social and political practices concerning “rights”, changed “forms” of government, which have all led to a change in Americans’ “safety and happiness”.

America is an improbable idea, a mongrel nation built of ever-changing disparate parts, itis held together by a notion, the notion that all men are created equal, though everyone knows that most men consider themselves better than someone. "Of all the nations in the world, the United States was built in nobody's image," the historian Daniel Boorst in wrote. That's because it was built of bits and pieces that seem discordant, like the crazy quilts that have been one of its great folk-art forms, velvet and calico and checks and brocades. Out of many, one. That is the ideal.The reality is often quite different, a great national striving consisting frequently of failure. Many of the oft-told stories of the most pluralistic nation on earth are stories

The United States is considered one of the most powerful countries in the world. They have a well organized and trained armed forces. But, they were built with principles and moral standards. According to those rules, people could not do what they pleased all the time. The paper signed by the founding Fathers is, the Constitution of the United States, which prohibits the enforcers of the law to torture. Yet, it is still done. There is no straight statement that prohibits torture. An arguement of whether it can be legal or not is made, for the use of, retriving important information, the use of the 8th amendment and how 9/ 11 change some perspectives.

The United States citizens have been wrestling with the question of, whether their government intelligence agencies should be prohibited from using torture to gather information. According to Michael Ignatieff, this is the hardest case of what he describes as ‘lesser evil ethics’—a political ethics predicated on the idea that in emergencies leaders must choose between different evils Before the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, torture was viewed by most American’s as only actions that brutal dictators would employ on their citizens, to keep order within their country. However, this all changed when in May 2004, The New Yorker released photographs from the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. The disturbing pictures were released on the internet showing bodies of naked Iraqis piled onto each other, others showed Iraqis being tortured and humiliated. There was a huge up roar, which caused the President at the time George W. Bush to publicly apologize, and threaten the job of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Soon after, the CIA Conformed the use of waterboarding on three Al-Qaida suspects in 2002 and 2003, which further annihilated the topic. Since these reports, torture has been in the forefront of national politics, and the public opinion has been struggling to commit on whether torture is right or wrong.

Torture has long been used by law enforcement agencies and governments to questions criminals and terrorists. It is used to coax confessions or to find out any sort of information that may lead to the arrest or capture of other criminals. Although the torturing of prisoners in the United States is strictly prohibited by the constitution, the government started using the tactic waterboarding against terrorists. Although the government says waterboarding has led to prevention on mass terrorist attacks on U.S soil, it is not accepted by all of this country’s citizens. It is believed by certain people that waterboarding is torture and others do not believe it is. It is my goal to explore why the United States deemed this

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” This sentence from the Deceleration of Independence is one of the most well known of American documents. However, consequently we have all become comfortably numb to this statement and don’t take into consideration the struggles, fights, and deaths from our history that made this statement true. Due to the unceasing fight of men and women of three different groups, America was altered for the better. The late 1800 to early 1900 was an essential time for three key groups women, African Americans, and Indians to fight for their constitutional rights.

Throughout the history of our country there are a handful of documents that have stood the test of time, however the documents that have remained relevant are ever more important today then when they were originally drafted. The U.S. Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, and Thomas Jefferson’s Letter to the Danbury Baptist Church are three documents that are still hold relevance in today’s societal discussions. These three documents hold truths, principals and ideologies that were and are crucial to the continuation and the development of the United States. The very ideas and tribulations that led to the development of the United States are expressed loudly in these three documents. While these documents are vastly different in content, they do all hold the same basic principals that create the framework of the United States.

Through course readings, lectures, class examples and so forth, we have identified multiple flaws in some of our oldest documents, which have served as the foundation of the United States of America. Throughout history we’ve witnessed events, presidential terms, and cultural and demographical evidence that show how the Pillars of Citizenship have not successfully worked toward executing the achievement of important milestones amongst nationalization, globalization and equality up to this very day.

The United States’ unusual origin has impacted the state as the self-conscious design has had to hold solid through many tribulations in the United States’ history—including events such as the Civil War, the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Act of 1964, and the increasing amount of incoming illegal immigrants in present day. Similarly, the state’s sovereignty is exceedingly decentralized compared to similar countries, to the point that some critics say it is fragmented. This has allowed states within the United States’ to rebel and construct their own forms of sovereignty in rebuttal. Furthermore, the creation of the United States’ Declaration of Independence was in the hands of individuals who were, sadly, not the most diverse group. This has

The United States of America is a relatively young nation and its conception was the beginning of something new, an experiment that continues on to the present day and will likely continue on for quite some time. In the last two hundred plus years the demographics of the nation evolved with it to become even more and more into what it is considered to be today, a nation of immigrants founded by immigrants. Regardless of the changing faces of the United States, one factor of American democracy that has not changed too much is the “political culture”, as argued by George C. Edwards. The American Creed, as identified by Seymour Martin Lipsett, is what holds this political culture together; the Creed is made up of the shared values of the

Many would agree that America has come a long way from where it was in 1791. America is still known as the land of the free, but in recent society we have been bombarded with hate and violence. Some may argue that the country is becoming increasingly more dangerous. The U.S. is home to many immigrants and is characterized by its diversity. Unfortunately, not everyone is receiving the same treatment that they thought was ensured by chasing the ‘American Dream.’ While Thomas Paine’s glorified view of America, portrayed in his Rights of Man, is still partially true, America has strayed from its state during early sovereignty.