The words democracy and republicanism are words most commonly used, but often misunderstood. The Father of the US Constitution, James Madison, has been an eye-opener for many who are still uncertain of what the words mean. When we think of the term democracy and republicanism, we automatically make an assumption that reflects on politics, power, voting, elections and parliaments. Madison, however; focused more on liberty, freedom, and what is right for the people. Simultaneously, he felt as if the people should choose who represents them and will make decisions on the issues based on what the people saw fit for their needs. In contrary to what Madison believe, he recognized that tyranny for majorities is a major threat to freedom. Therefore, a republicanism can be interpreted as a country owned by its people rather than by a monarch. Democracy, however; is the rule of the people, according to Madison. It is understood that representatives in a democracy is supposed to be balanced rather than unsteady. It is accurate that we do not govern by pure majority rule, because people within the government system simply do not understand the issues. In some form or another, there will be protection for minorities within their rules and laws and even with the substantial powers afforded to majorities in Parliament. In Madison’s paper, Federalist #10, he states that “The two great points of difference between a democracy and a republic are: first, the delegation of the government, in
The constitution guarded against tyranny by giving us federalism, separation of powers, checks and balances, and large vs. small states. The constitution was written in Philadelphia in the year of 1787. This established America’s national government and fundamental laws
The Legal Approach: This approach is very tricky to control the president, and therefore, it is very important to block and prevent any tyrannical regime because it is all about laws and legislatures. In here, the American constitution is very important and leads the way. It shows that how the constitution plays a role in presidency. Through this, the significant advantage of this approach is that the president and his or her presidency is controlled by the constitution, laws, legal precedents and customs. The legal approach limits the power of the president, and put some boundaries of the presidential warrant, reach and powers to prevent any tyrannical kind of regimes. This approach also determines that how a president uses his or her authority with other branches of the federal government, such as judiciary, the congress and bureaucracy.
In the 1700s when the United States had detached itself from British rule it was then seen as a plutocracy. The U.S established as a democracy; a government of the people and by the people. However, this establishment was in favor of the rich, educated, and powerful and anyone who was categorized or known as elites and it has remained in favor of these people ever since. Yes we can say we have witnessed variations and seen a semi-democratic rise in the past two centuries, but we have remained a plutocracy hidden behind the word that people use to cover its true identity, democracy. Those like the framers, the public opinion role, interest groups, and money all portray our hidden plutocracy.
On June 12, 1776, the Continental Congress appointed a committee, consisting of one delegate from each of the thirteen states, for the purpose of setting up a cohesive Federal Government. Headed by John Dickinson, the committee presented a draft of the Articles of Confederation to Congress a month later. Though the Articles were not officially ratified until five years later, Congress began operating under them in 1777. The delay that occurred during the years from drafting to ratification was partially caused by the opening of a multi-faceted debate that encompassed the issues of representation for citizens, the balance of power within the country, and state sovereignty. Densely-populated states wanted a system of representation based on
If someone asked you what document most significantly affected America, what would your response be? In early 1787, Daniel Shay led a rebellion in Massachusetts in which the response time to put it down caused a meeting for the complete re-evaluation of the efficiency of the Articles of Confederation. The final result of that meeting was not an amendment of the Articles, but an entirely new draft called the Constitution of the United States. Since then, this document has not only been referred to as the “supreme law”, but as the cornerstone and foundation of the United States government. Time after time in American history, its guidelines and effectiveness have proven that the Constitution is not a document to be disregarded. Therefore,
One of the primary purposes of the Constitution of the United States is to divide powers between the Congress and the President. The President of course is the Commander in Chief of all the armed forces. Congress on the other hand is empowered by the Constitution to raise and support armies, to establish a navy, to declare war, to control war through things called letters of marque, and letter of reprisal, and to call forth a militia, the National Guard. So the Constitution envisions a balancing and a complementary relationship between the President and Congress when talking about war powers. But we have also got to recognize that historically when your dealing with times of war and great crisis affecting the United States, the
The Framers of the Constitution of the United States carefully considered every word written while composing a new document guiding the formation of the new land. While trying account for the long standing traditions of law from former homelands, they needed to take into account the practices they were familiar with paying respect to tradition of law excepting those they saw as oppressive by rule of Kings and Queens. Clearly expecting to effect change on our new soil while weighing and balancing power and authority. For the sake of debate, the framers could not have known the arguments so many years later but they did their very best to take into account the impact of the laws, restrictions, and parameters of the document. The Second
Since the year of 1787, the United States Constitution has persisted as the highest law in our land. At the Constitutional Convention in 1787, delegates were determined to set the Articles of Confederation aside and devise a fresh concept. To ensure that we would have a government with rights and freedoms, the delegates created what was called the separation of powers. The reasoning behind the division of government was to ensure that no one branch could vanquish the other. As a result, three separate branches were created in the Constitution known as: the legislative, judicial and executive branches. Since the eighteenth century, America has changed significantly; and while we still uphold the same decrees that lie
In any community, whether a community of people or community of states, guidelines are needed in order to ensure day-to-day activities run smoothly and without incident. While this is still true today, it all began on July 12, 1776. On this date, a committee nominated by the Second Continental Congress, began writing what eventually became known as the Articles of Confederation. The Articles of Confederation would………….
In an era when two different worlds collided, there were constraints filled with complaints. During this time, Great Britain had colonized the Americas, but Great Britain’s lack of conciliation with the thirteen colonies resulted in a fight for their liberty. After their victory, the thirteen colonies built their own nation, and eventually created two constitutions - one ultimately standing today. In an effort to prevent corruption within the majority – which would always defeat the minority – the Framers of the Constitution ensured that power remained within the people. Their efforts were propelled with the intent to prevent a monarchy, while simultaneously preserving the rights of the people. The Framers envisioned that keeping power within the people would help democratic participation, where voting embodied equality for all. In an effort to increase the practice of democratic participation, the Framers instituted a Constitution with open interpretation, which has allowed political parties to dominate the process.
While composing the Constitution of the United States; our forefathers had many agreements, and disagreements on the ways that are government would operate. They held a very important meeting to ratify a failing constitution; that consisted of many debates, and compromises. The heated discussions were so great on certain issues that some problems were left out altogether to delay an internal southern conflict that would affect our young nation in the years to come.
If the United States was a house, the Constitution would act as its framework. It was built by the trusting Founding Fathers who were given the task of ensuring that the structure was sturdy enough to withstand anything from attacks to overpopulation. Little did they know, America would grow expediently in size, population and diversity impacting the house they created. But as that home has changed, the framework has remained a building block for prosperity welcoming amendments and expanding in interpretation. The Founding Fathers were afforded with the luxury of planting the seeds of a system which would develop overtime into superior governmental authority greatly contrasting the feudal order which they fought against. The Constitution
Ari Adler once said, ¨It is important we have a checks and balances system. A bicameral Legislature provides a diversity of membership, leadership and an outlook that can 't be achieved in an unicameral legislature.¨ The constitution, signed on September 17, 1787, created a bicameral national legislature, containing two separate chambers, The Senate and The House of Representatives. While Colonists had rebelled against British rule during the Revolutionary War, they drew out ideas about a new government centered around and pertaining to their experiences as British subjects. During this time it was obvious to why the delegates needed and formed an entirely different government. The constitution 's preamble clearly states why; “We the
In any society, the first thing that must be determined is from where the power to govern comes. No matter what form government takes, one thing remains constant; no person or group can govern without the will and consent of the people. This goes for despotic mad men and duly elected officers of a free electorate. If those who rule must command the will of those they lead, it must then follow that all executive power flows not from nobility, birthright, or wealth, but from the people themselves. It is this very principle, that any government was given authority and legitimacy from its subjects, that the United States government is based on, namely the Constitution. Taking their cue from the federal government, the states Nevada
In our society today, we have many rights that are guaranteed to us by the Constitution. In the setting of the book 1984 written by George Orwell most if not all of an individual’s rights have been taken away by the government. Without the rights that we are guaranteed by the Constitution, the people cannot have individual freedom or any freedom at all. The lack of freedom also makes a functional democracy impossible.