The Influence Of Democracy In The United States

From the early 1840s to the present day, a democracy can be described as a flawed establishment which has been shaped by the power of wealth and control, complex social relations, and most importantly the people’s desire to live a fulfilling life. Throughout this time period the principles of democracy, such as equality, protection of the people’s interest, and promotion of human rights were shifting in order to increase the democracy efficiency. Therefore the continued importance of the Bill of Rights, the Declaration of Independence, and Constitution remain significant since, in American today, democracy is a system that is continuously being shaped by the people within it.

Since America’s early founding in 1776 we have been a country of wide ranging political views. Our first two political parties were the Federalist and the Anti-Federalist. These two parties changed how people think about government issues, political opinions, and the topics that drove the growth of our nation. Federalist and Anti-Federalist split the nation with beliefs, important politicians, and support from the people.

Democracy is known as a system of government when all eligible people of a state can voice their own opinions as well as elect representatives. Democracy is not once mentioned in The Declaration of Independence. Pros of a democracy are, its by the people and for the people. Democracy is meant for everybody to be eligible to vote and they are able to vote. The people are also able to participate in what they think, feel , and voice about the political, social, and economic issues that are presented to them. It's in the people's best interest not just the governments. The goal is to find solutions with decision-makers best interest. The main goal is to is find solutions that are best for the people and regulate conflicts between states and government.  A democracy imposes equality, the people's votes carry the same weight, which makes all individuals to be heard and make them feel as if their opinion is important. Other than in elections of the state a citizens

In 1789, the U.S. did not have a two-party system. The two-party system is rooted in the beginnings of the nation itself. The Framers of the Constitution were opposed to political parties. The ratification of the Constitution saw the birth of America's first two parties: the federalists, led by Alexander Hamilton, and the Anti-Federalists, who followed Thomas Jefferson. The nation had only had George Washington, who was President without a party at that time. During George Washington’s two terms, a conflict developed between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, who were both Federalists men. Jefferson challenged Adams under the umbrella of the Democratic - Republican Party. In addition, the Democratic - Republican Party was the first real party that contained the formal beginnings of the present day two-party system. The word Democratic infers to “will of the people”, the word Republican infers to “rule of law” which is defense from possible oppression of the majority. In short, the American party system began as a two-party system. In this essay I will be discussing the why America needs a two-party system, why a multi-system may work for the nation and the conflicts, and how does this political system contributes to the nation and why a two-system is worth the struggle.

The United States began as a weak, newborn nation that grew into a large, self-supporting country with a governing body unique to this time period. As the government grew and the nation prospered, the rise of leaders and political figures came about and with this, conflicting principles and ideology spawned, thus creating the first of the political parties; the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans. Although the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans ideology and stances on the power of the federal government, domestic economic policies and the group of constituents they represented differed vastly, members of both parties often compromised their own beliefs for the nation’s best interest as a whole.

Within the United States of America 's democratic system, there are paths that representatives can follow in voting when it comes to the terms of how to best influence the living state of the government and the country. There are numerous ways that Congressional members can be influenced in regards to how they cast ballots, but the most prominent ones are found in constituent opinions, interest groups, and political parties in general. The Legislative Branch of government that Congress resides in was designed to hold the strongest amount of power, even with checks and balances of other Branches enabled, because it is to represent the Framers ' major goals (Ginsberg et al 2012, 41). With how this branch of the government was designed it holds many powers in regards to voting on major government issues, and is full of individuals who we place our trust in. However, the influences mentioned above can be done in both positive or negative ways, so what we must find and address are if the influences are for the greater or worsening of our existence, and if allowing these to continued is the proper way to achieve the best outcome in regards to decisions made for the country. Is it possible that there is a grandly best path for members to follow in deciding how to vote, or are these aforementioned influences the only way to truly decide such important decisions?

America is currently divided. Politics from the recent elections have left this nation sore and torn apart by the conflicting political opinions of it's citizens. Politics nowadays are extremely polarized, so much so that we are at a 20 year high with the end nowhere near in sight. This has led to people firmly distrusting and even hating each other, seen by the fact that 27% of Democrats and 36% of Republicans believe that the opposing party is a threat to the nation’s well being. Political polarization must be put to the end, and there seems to be one major culprit, political parties.

The two-party system was born after the American revolution, when our representatives for each colony chose sides between federalists and antifederalists. This later became what we know today as the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. The Antifederalists believed a weaker national government and Federalists believed a strong national government. During this time we were warned by one of our founding fathers, James Madison, of dividing into factions “an interested and overbearing majority[s]” (“Political Systems and Parties Overview” 1) that would control our way of thinking through running the country. Our modern political system took shape during the 1828 election between Andrew Jackson and John Quincy Adams. This election was the first time in 28 years that the Republican party actually faced opposition (Riley 2). Andrew Jackson won by an electoral vote of 62% to Adams’ 38% which made Jackson the first Democrat elected since 1796. This was the precursor to the two-party system and set the nation on track for how it is currently (Riley 3).

Since 1856, the two major political parties in the United States have been the Republicans and Democrats. They have immersed themselves into US politics since the 19th century and have always dominated all secondary parties in America, resulting in formation of the America’s two-party political system. The Democrats and Republicans may have different ideologies on a plethora of issues but their core beliefs are forever intertwined. The Republicans’ core belief is that they “believe that each person is responsible for his or her own place in society. Government should enable each person the ability to secure the benefits of society for themselves, their families and for those who are unable to care for themselves.” The Democrats’ core belief

Beginning in its infant stage, the United States has consistently maintained two dominant political parties that initially included the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists who debated the ratification of the Constitution. Although the Federalists and the Ant-Federalists eventually gave way to the Republicans and Democrats, they set a precedent for the continued dominance of the two-party system that remains in effect. There are several reasons supporting why the United States has a two-party system which include the election laws, institutional barriers, and political socialization.

American Democracy is an important thing in our society. Everybody knows how powerful it can be. It is the most important thing in our Constitution that our Founding Fathers introduced. As citizens in today's society, we all should know about it. We should know the history of it and how it works to understand what our government is doing to us that affects our daily lives.

We live in this country for the land, and the for the free as Americans we rely on many attributes in this world in order for us to live our lives. Our government has supplied us with many great things for us to be proud of. Our government is “the institutions and processes though which public policies are made for society.” (Edwards, Wattenberg, and Lineberry, p. 7). With all these institutions which includes the President, Congress, the courts and all the federal administrative agencies. These are the institutions that make up public policies for us, and to shape the way we live as Americans. The way this system has been operating through all the years has been

Source one depicts a critical view on American-style of Democracy. The newspaper that the elderly woman holds in the illustration shows the Iraqi people flooded to their polling stations to vote for their next great leader while no people have appeared at the American precinct to vote. The lady questions "So has Iraq achieved American-style Democracy?" which clearly isn't working as effectively as the Iraqi system, making her assumption that they eventually will convert silly. The elderly man replies "Not yet, but give 'em time..." having a comedic effect due to the cobweb strung from the man's head implying he's been doing just that for an extended period time with no success. Tall buildings seen through the window of the precinct show the local area to be well populated and full of potential voters. The artist of this source conveys them American-style democratic system as flawed and probably what most countries should use as their political guideline.

In the world there is many different types of governments ranging from dictatorship all the way down to what the United States has which is democracy. One of the issues that people have with democracy is whether it will develop and improve alongside our society or will it just crash and burn. Social media is developing at a rapid speed and people don’t know if democracy will prosper as a result or will it change they way we look at our government. In my mind, the manner in which social media has developed and how democracy has developed coincide with each other allowing for a mutually supportive relationship.

Democracy is a particular form of government the means, “ruled by the people”. The Greeks are widely credited for the concept of democracy, around six B.C. Many political science experts consider the early Greek government, to be a perfect for of democracy. People had the ability to decide various government issues, and the right to suffrage. Through out time, the concept of democracy was established by many nations. The United States, is widely credited on making democracy widely used around the world. The democracy we know here in the United States, was not fully defined until the Age of Enlightenment in the 17th and 18th centuries, particularly during the time the United States Declaration of Independence was implemented, followed by the U.S Constitution. The term democracy, evolved to mean a structured government. The separation of powers, religious freedom, provide basic civil rights, and the separation of church and state. Modern American democracy consist of elected officials, that represents the people. Rather than, the people represents themselves. Members of the U.S Congress (House of Representatives and Senators) represent the people, by tackling various national issues. Since the 1950’s, America has successfully propagated the democratic form of government the states of the world.