The Politics Of The United States

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

It is 2014 and since the beginning of the millennium there has been a major shift in America’s political ideology and demographics, more so than in any set period of time. America which has historically been very conservative, has started to become more liberally made evident by the results of the last two elections. Although America’s government is based on a less centralized system and free market, Americans have seemed to start embracing things like big government and a stricter market. Americans are also starting to think different on social issues such as homosexuality and drug usage. America has also experienced a change in its demographics as minorities like Asians and Hispanics continue to grow while whites are, percentage wise, starting to make up a smaller part of Americas population. Along with a shift in ideology and change in demographics, technology and communication has advanced greatly making the world a much more connected place. Because of this connectivity people are also beginning to be influenced by foreign ideas that are not familiar to most Americans such as universal healthcare. Overall, because of factors such as foreign influences due to technology and changing demographics, America has become less conservative and more liberal.

One of the issues I am most passionate about is that of money in American politics. Increasing campaign costs, coupled with a decrease in the number of donors contributing to those campaigns, is a disturbing trend which has caused many to feel the need to question the state of our democracy—myself included. The problem of mainstream political corruption and legalized bribery is one that I was made aware of three years ago, and has since become one of the things keeping me up at night most often.

-A reminder---The Summer Assignment is due by 10:00pm on Wednesday, August 26. Late assignments will accepted up to 4pm on August 28 with a serious grade reduction (20% per day). After that, late assignments will absolutely not be accepted and will result in your transfer to the on-level section.

Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission was a 2010 Supreme Court case concerning the regulation of campaign contributions by corporations, unions, and non-profit organizations. The case is known for its holding that campaign spending by such groups is protected under the First Amendment as a form of free speech.

The Citizen united was the decision that fundamentally changed how election campaigns can now be financed in the U.S. The heart of the decision is that unlimited amount of money can be used in favor of the candidates but the money can only go to the interest groups that are independent.

When ruling in Citizens United, Anthony Kennedy stated that, “independent expenditures do not lead to, or create the appearance of, quid pro quo corruption.” this has since been debunked (Appearance of Corruption). The appearance of corruption is everywhere within our current system. When politicians privately visit the home of billionaire industrialists in order to secure campaign funding it becomes obvious that corruption exists (Parker). In the state of Kansas, 76% of influential legislative positions are held by members of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) (Mainstream Coalition). This group largely funded by major corporations allows corporations to exert considerable influence over the American legislative process. ALEC’s practice of providing lawmakers with talking points, and creating model bills for its members to later vote on, transforms our lawmakers from the representatives of the

The Supreme Court’s ruling allows money to speak. Instead of protecting free speech, it undermines democracy. First, it is necessary to understand who Citizens United is and the roles of political action committees.

The political issues that dominated U.S politics in the 1850’s was the Compromise of 1850, The Fugitive Slave Act, and popular sovereignty, dominated U.S politics. Conflicts between southern states and northern states affected U.S society because of equality, race, class, and unity between the states. In the 1850’s political issues occurred during the civil war to avoid the conflicts between slavery and the north. For instance, in the textbook, “The Americans” by Holt Dougal, states that, “To satisfy the North, the compromise provided that California be admitted to the union as a free state. To satisfy the South, the compromise proposed a new and more effective fugitive slave law (307)”. The quote demonstrates how the compromise of 1850 showed ways to keep the nation together between the north and the south for stronger, central government ideas, and states rights. In addition there were 5 parts that came with the compromise of 1850. The first being California. California as a free state from the Mexico session, which mean California would gain advantage from the senate because they outnumbered the slave state by one. Second is the slave trade. The slave trade was abolished in DC because northerners though it was revolting for human beings to be sold into slavery in DC, although slavery was still going on. Third is popular sovereignty, meaning those living in Utah and New Mexico, land gained from Mexican cession could decide the status of slavery. Fourth is, more strict

The ruling does not encourage the majority of citizens, the middle and lower class, to become involved in politics. Once corporations can donate to their heart’s desires, regular citizens will not be the main focus of politicians. Such can be seen in the way congressional members call donors for hours in the Congressional Call Centers. Congressmen and women are not calling the average citizen, but rather they are calling people who can give them a large lump sum of money. During a talk, Senator Chris Murphy addresses money in politics, and he explains how awful the process of gathering re-election campaign finances is: “For a senate race I’m not calling anybody who doesn 't have the chance of giving me at least one thousand dollars… so you got to imagine that the people I 'm calling are the folk that are making a half million to a million dollars and they have fundamentally different problems than everyone else” (“Opening Address”). The Senator openly talks about how awful the fundraising processes in and how many members of congress walk away because of this. The Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission case only increased the amount of time congressmen and women spend away from their duties as legislators and increases the time they are sitting in cubicles calling their donors.

Studying American Government subject is not boring as I had thought before taking this class. Whereas, I have had a great experience in this course in which I have been able to explore the workings of American Government system.

The bribery of political machines had a larger effect than just swaying the decision-making of our government. It completely undermined our nation’s democracy, by allowing a small select few to have more of a say than the rest of the citizens. This uneven distribution of power is a violation of our nation's founding

The government in the United States supposedly revolves around American ideals such as equality and diversity; however, this is simply not the case as perpetuated by class inequalities. The meaning of democracy has been skewed in the United States to represent something entirely different than it did in 1776. Today, American democracy behaves more like an aristocracy, where the upper class exercises power within the government and state, influencing discourse and therefore the laws and resources in our country, which are purportedly “for the people”. Democracy is presumed to provide everyone with equal political power, but the government in today’s America, although seemingly following this ideal model, does not. Instead, the elite upper class has a monopoly over the political influence and are the sole benefactors from public policies due to their influence over the policy making process. The upper class has an overall benefit from class inequality, as it greatly impacts American ‘democracy’ through the significant power gained through money and status, leadership roles that impact government, and the influence in the policymaking process that creates upper class advantages.

The new political situation also contributes to this factor. Performing music in one’s home was a privilege that only aristocracy could practice, but after the Revolution, the working class was able to perform the music of their choice in their own salons. Not only did it give them a chance to imitate the aristocracy, but it was also a chance to imitate professional singers, whom they probably admired, when the average citizen became the performer at the gatherings in their own houses.

Throughout the quarter we have seen how different institutions in our society work and how those institutions affect our everyday life. I was lucky enough to grow up near the Mexico-USA border. I would regularly cross it to go and visit my family and now have the privilege to call Tijuana my hometown (my parents live there). Because of this I was able to experience and thus be affected by institutions in two different countries. In this essay I will talk about the political institution in both countries. I will start by explaining politics in the United States and lead into how politics in Mexico function. Afterwards, I will compare both political institutions and draw from my own experiences to explain any differences between the two.