Strengths And Weaknesses Of American National Government

For over 50 years the NRA has been the most controversial and well noted example of an adamant, unwavering, organized, voice as it has arguably inflicted more influence in lobbying efforts than any other special interest group represented in the nation’s capital. Originally founded in 1871, the NRA originated just 6 years after the civil war and just 3 years after the 14th amendment. After just enduring the bloodiest battle in our nation’s history The 14th amendment (1868) granted states the right to further extend the protections available for individual possession of arms. A law of this measure did hold rightful ground, given the climate in reconstruction era America. As an individual right to bear arms would naturally be in higher demand following such a conflict. The NRA was founded to protect the granted rights and to represent a portion of individuals who held these rights dearest. As the essay states “The NRA, as always, speaks for all gun-owners, with respect to the Second Amendment” (Alstyne 5). While it is within our constitutional boundaries to have special interests represented, the NRA has long outgrown its original somewhat transparent roots. Like most

It is generally understood that the United States is built upon the principles of democracy, in which the majority consensus of the citizens helps to define the shape of issues or elections. However, in assuming that the Constitution - the document upon which such practices are founded – is inherently democratic is only partially accurate. Indeed, it has been frequently argued that the U. S. Constitution is representative of the rule of law from a federation as opposed to a pure democracy; in a federation, elections occur among the majority of the citizenry but this process results in elected officials who then determine the direction of the country. In short, a federation

With the U.S. Constitution one of the strengths is how it divides federal powers between three main branches, legislative, executive, and judicial. Which is defined by the separation of powers doctrine, and provides a system of checks and balances to prevent one branch from overpowering the other. This is why separation of powers is important because if one person had unlimited power, then others would be suppressed. The separation of powers divides certain tasks among the three branches so that they can check each

The Framers of the United States Constitution ultimately decided to give more power to the Federal government rather than the state governments for many reasons. There were many problems with the articles that caused instability in the government, and even a rebellion. Then there’s the Federal government who lacked powers to do anything much because the people were too scared to make the Federal government strong. Lastly, there was the State government who had either too much power or they had power that the Federal government should have. There were a lot of problems with the Articles that needed to be addressed , most of which were addressed.

Despite the many crises that the United States has faced historically, democracy has persisted. However, this is not to say that the system is secure or deeply rooted. In fact, based on the events of recent decades, it has been weakening. In How Democracies Die, Levitsky and Ziblatt provide examples of how American democracy has exemplified the positive and negative aspects of other global democracies of the past and present. Although the US is exceptional in some ways, with its longstanding democratic institutions and diverse population, it is more similar to others than different. Thus, the idea that few parallels can be drawn to other nations is disproven. The process of comparing each state is analogous to that of differentiating between

The National Rifle Association (NRA) has been at the forefront championing this right to the detriment of most people in society. The NRA has managed to conduct lobbying in the US Congress that has led to passing of legislation that strengthens gun owners’ rights, but this goes contrary to the gun violence statistics; 21 thousand people commit suicide annually, most gun crimes are carried out using the legal weapons bought by licensed owners (Graham,

The Constitution did have quite a lot of strengths; most people don't talk about the strengths due to how unpopular the document was. However, it did have a lot; these

Federalism, separation of powers, checks and balances and the bill of rights are the four main elements that the constitution is made up of. All four of these elements are what made the constitution strong, lasting over two hundred years. Three separate branches were created that had their own specific powers. The government was then given the power to tax and enforce its laws. The structure of how this one document has governed is what makes the constitution unique. The U.S. constitution established Americas national government and fundamental laws. The constitution guaranteed certain basic rights for the citizens that were unheard of at the time. The constitution established the structure of the federal system and distribution of power between state governments. Citizens that live within the borders of the united states had their own protection of rights. Although the constitution can be flawed in some ways, the document is what had created a great nation; however, the constitution created Americas national government and laws, guaranteed rights for the citizens and continues to represent those living today which makes the constitution unique.

The primary weakness of the Articles was that congress didn’t have much authority, This meant that congress couldn’t solve even the simplest problems. For example, if there was a dispute over whether someone was being scammed or not. Congress would not be able to get in between and settle the problem. Furthermore, another weakness of the articles was that Congress couldn’t impose taxes on the citizens. This led America’s currency to depreciate and no longer be as widely used. Additionally, the Articles were weak because it was difficult to pass laws. To pass a law, 9 out of the 13 states had to agree! Also, not only laws were hard to pass, but accepting a new state was difficult. To add a new state, all of the current states must agree to the proposal! There were severe flaws in the Articles of Confederation which led Edmund Randolph to propose the creation of a new

Another weakness involved only having one branch of federal government. The Articles provided no executive branch, meaning no one to enforce the laws, and no judiciary branch, meaning no one to interpret the laws. This provided the states with the opportunity to basically do as they pleased. Even though there was a congress, they had a hard time getting anything done because in order to amend the Articles all 13 states had to unanimously agree, which is very difficult for anyone to do, let alone 13 completely independent states not wanting to change, and providing that each state only received one vote, no matter how big or small the population. The Articles also stated that the federal government could not raise an army. There were many weaknesses in the Articles of Confederation and that is what lead to the “revision” or complete throwing away and instead having the

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On the other side of the gun control debate, one of its major opponents is the National Rifle Association (NRA). The NRA along with 50 percent of Americans are not in favor of the government’s intervention in gun control. The NRA opposes the President’s plan to reduce gun violence for two main reasons. Firstly, the NRA says President Obama wants to dilute the political influence of the NRA. Secondly, he has a hidden agenda to expunge the Second Amendment from our Bill of Rights. The NRA believes the President’s plan to undermine their political influence by neutralizing voting gun

The Constitution has one main pillar that has supported it for the last 2 centuries. This is its precise balance of the power held by the government. To accomplish this, the Constitution specifically states what powers Congress and the president have. The government may not exceed these

Throughout the history of this nation, the Constitution, from the formation to the execution thereof, has set forth the precedent for the demonstration of excessive federal power that is clearly illustrated by history and modern America. Sufficient documentation to back up this premise includes primary documents such as James Madison’s Federalist No. 10, the Constitution of the United States, and other historical pieces. Ample consideration should be given to the paramount decisions of America’s elected officials in critical moments as well in the very construction of the American system of government that favors federalism.

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