The United States National Government And California State Essay

Throughout the lifespan of the American government, there have been changes to the different branches. One cannot simply claim that they are exactly as the Founding Fathers had designed them and pictured them; they have become so much more. Among these changes are the adoption of the 17th Amendment, the general surrender of control of power to the executive branch, and the centralization of power to a couple of congressional leaders in recent years. These are some of the most important changes that have altered the Congress and the American government in general.

There are similarities and differences that arise between the government of Mexico and the government of the United States of America (U.S.A.). One main similarity of the government in both countries is that they are both varying forms of a republic. The republic form of the U.S.A. is a constitution-based federal republic with a strong democratic tradition, while the republic form of Mexico is a federal republic that is not based on a constitution (Wilson, 2008). Differences are in how cabinet members are appointed and how presidents are elected. In the U.S.A., the cabinet is appointed by the president and needs the Senate approval in order to be appointed. Leaders such as the president and vice president are elected by a college of representatives that were themselves elected from each state. Once elected, the president and vice president will serve four-year terms and are able to run for another term for a total of two presidential terms. On the other hand, Mexico’s president is elected via a popular vote and is only able to serve in a single six-year term. Both Mexico and the U.S.A. are members of the United Nations (U.N.), an international organization established to preserve international security and peace. Mexico and the U.S.A. became U.N. members in 1945 (United Nations, 2016).

In the making of the United States, there were many events that are important. This paper intends to highlight a few of those events including; Magna Carta, Mayflower Compact, Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation and the Federalist Papers. Many events in America’s history helped to establish the United States as a free and independent country. The Declaration of Independence in particular explains the rights and freedoms that Americans. Each document is like a stepping stones that leads to the next and building upon the pervious document.

The United States government system is very interesting and complexly designed. The state and federal government is a mirror of each other when it comes to the generics of the executive branch, legislative branch, and judicial branch, however, internally the state government has major differences on how the branches are conducted. Throughout this paper we will discuss the greatest difference between state and federal, which is the state cannot change or remove laws passed by the federal government but they could change how they execute the federal laws to their liking as long as it is constitutional.

The structure of our American Government was founded in the Constitution of the United States. The Constitution was written to be the “supreme law of the land,” and produces a democratic republic, where citizens govern themselves (Our American Government, n.d). The purpose of our government, is to “establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessing of liberty to ourselves and our posterity” (Our American Government, n.d.). For our country to accomplish this purpose our Founding Fathers created three principles, “inherent rights, self-government, and separation of powers” (Our American Government, n.d.). The government was developed to ensure order in society and protect its citizens, but with all systems, there is strengths and weakness, let’s examine those strengths and weakness. Let’s first look at the strength and weakness of the U.S. Constitution.

The essay States, by Edward Said, describes the trouble for Palestinians to find their identity due to the loss of their homeland. He also describes the situation of the Palestinians and the isolation that they feel through photographs that he had taken. Said has many different pictures throughout this essay and each of them play a part in supporting the main point of this essay. Said believes that, without a homeland, the Palestinians cannot have an identity and the Palestinians should not be content with being exiles forever. So the purpose of the pictures is to support and further strengthen this idea. The photographer wants the viewer to understand the struggle that the Palestinians are going through.

The influx of illegal immigrants into the United States affects every level of government in a significant way. Although the actual effects of illegal immigration are hotly debated, it remains the government's difficult duty to balance the massive amounts of data and diversity of public opinion in order to best accommodate the overall will of its people. In recent times we have witnessed a vast disconnect between what constituents want for their state versus what the nation as a whole considers Constitutionally justifiable. And therefore the necessity of a federal system, wherein the national government is playing a virtual tug-of-war with its states, comes to light. Using the issue of

The structure of our American Government, was founded in the Constitution of the United States. The Constitution was written to be the “supreme law of the land”, and creates a federal democratic republic, where citizens govern themselves (Our American Governement, n.d). The purpose of our government, is to “establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessing of liberty to ourselves and our posterity” (Our American Government, n.d.). For our country to achieve this purpose our Founding Fathers created three main principles, “inherent rights, self-government, and separation of powers” (Our American Government, n.d.). Government was developed to ensure order in society and protect its citizens, but with all systems there are strengths and weakness, let’s examine those strengths and weakness. Let’s first look at the strength and weakness of the U.S. Constitution.

The state of New Mexico defines murder in the first degree as the killing of one person by another without a lawful justification or excuse. Any action resulting in death, which can be proven to have been willful, deliberate and premeditated; committed during the commission or attempt to commit a felony; or by an act so dangerous to the lives of others that it indicates a depraved mind and disregard for human life, is a capital felony (NM Stat § 30-2-1). Currently, capital felonies are subject to a sentence of life imprisonment, or a “true life imprisonment” sentence which provides no option for release or parole (NM Stat § 31-18-14). However, from 1979 to 2009, New Mexico carried a harsher set of punishments for first-degree murder; life in prison with the possibility of parole, or the death penalty.

Within the past 50 years, there has been an increasing amount of women in the government. Whether these women hold powerful positions such as Secretary of State, or hold minor positions such as PTA President, a political revolution is brewing. The United States of America is lacking substantially with regards to females in office, in fact if one were to look statistically at the amount of women in the government, the United States is failing tremendously. Although the United States likes to claim that they are the land of opportunities, it seems as if the only ones reaping those benefits are cis white males. But, there are women who choose to break the glass ceiling and attempt to explore the opportunities that are in front of them, and one

     The United States government is known to give its citizens great advise with much care and concern. With this being known, many people come to the conclusion that United States citizens can faith in the government when it comes to making crucial decisions. Terry Tempest Williams is not one of these people. In “The Clan of the One-Breasted Women”, Williams gives her views on the government conducting nuclear tests in Utah. In contrast, in “America’s Energy Plan in Action: Bearing Witness,” an article Williams contributed to Orion magazine and OrionOnline, Williams speaks on issues containing actions of the government drilling for oil and natural

The United States has a deeply rooted and embedded tradition through the Constitution of having a federalist style of governing as its structural framework for operating and guiding the government of the country. The form of governing is best described as a balance between powers of the central government and the powers of each independent and autonomic state. “Federalism is a system in which the power to govern is shared between national and provincial (state) governments, creating what is often called a federation” (Wikipedia 1).This style of governance has not been the only structure instituted in American history in order to implement civilized law and order among the people of the land. Prior to the

The American government is known to promote democratic values throughout the world. Though the ideals America was fighting for during the Cold War, the government still managed to participate in the overthrow of democratically elected Prime Minister, Mohammed Mossadegh. Mossadegh threatened to nationalize Iran’s oil in 1951 and later gained the support of the Iranian government. The British companies had many investments in Iranian oil. It is with the approval of nationalization that the economies of both British and Iran were ultimately harmed. The British government requested the help of the US so that they could perform a coup to overthrow Mossadegh. With suspicions of Mossadegh supporting communism, and being supported by the Tudeh Party, the United States government was willing to sacrifice their democratic ideologies and credibility in the region for the insurance of an anti-communist leader. This would prove to cause problems that still resonate in today’s political and military negotiations in this region.

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.

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.