American Politics Exposed in All the Kings Men

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Recommended: The American Civil War In the United States

Over the course of political history in the world, consequentialism, the idea that the morality of an action should be judged merely on its consequences, has always been present in the spans of empires, republics, and sovereigns. The Prince, a composition written by Niccolo Machiavelli detailing the structure and mechanisms of government, first proposed the concept of consequentialism in politics (Machiavelli). This idea is intrinsic to politicians in governments internationally- from the freest democratic republics to the extreme authoritarian regimes. Multitudes of critical and pivotal American events concerned this concept of the ends justifying the means. In the 19th century, the furnace of the Civil War was initiated and kindled by President Lincoln’s provocation of the Confederacy, ultimately leading to the gruesome and horrendous deaths of hundreds of thousands of Americans. Although the war seemed nefarious and costly, the eventual victor was the Union, and the country was reunited along with the passage and ratification of the 13th amendment. In this case, the deaths of numerous Americans are justified by the reunification of the United States and the abolition of slavery, and therefore, demonstrating the concept of consequentialism. Although this is an extreme instance of consequentialism, modern politics consistently exemplifies the theory in action. One of the most profound eras for politics was the Depression Era, where politicians engaged in all types of corruption as they take advantage of the economically depressed population to obtain power. Depression Era politician Huey Long of Louisiana was the epitome of these populist politicians. Using the common good as a justification for the rampant corruption that plagu...

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...Project, 2010. Web. 5 Dec. 2013. .
Machiavelli, Niccolo. “The Prince.” Constitution.org. Constitution.org, 4 Nov. 2013. Web. 8 Dec. 2013. .
Newport, Frank. “Congressional Approval Sinks to Record Low.” Gallup Politics. Gallup, 12 Nov. 2013. Web. 8 Dec. 2013. .
“Programs.” Huey Long. Long Legacy Project, 2010. Web. 8 Dec. 2013. .
TerBeek, Calvin. “’Swing’ voters are still partisan.” Chicago Turbine. N.p., 20 Nov. 2013. Web. 8 Dec. 2013. .
Warren, Robert Penn. All The King’s Men. New York: Harcourt Brace & Company, 1996. Print.

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