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History of american government chapter 13 textbook american government
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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. One of the essential changes that was mentioned near the beginning of the course was that of the adoption of the Seventeenth Amendment to the Constitution. The Founders originally intended that the Senators would be “one step removed from popular voting” (Davidson, Oleszek, and Lee 2010, 5). They accomplished this by have them chosen by the state legislators instead of the actual citizens themselves (Davidson, Oleszek, and Lee 2010, 42). The purpose was that the Framers hoped that establishing the Senate differently would enable them to be able to “add stability and wisdom to the actions of the popularly elected House” (Davidson, Oleszek, and Lee 2010, 42). However, eventually in 1913, both the Congress and the states approved the Seventeenth Amendment in hopes of making America more democratic by the direct election of the senators (Davidson, Oleszek, and Lee 2010, 24; Rossum 2003, para. 3). This primarily was in response to the active pressuring of the progressive movement during this time period (Davidson, Oleszek, and Lee 2010, 24; Rossum 2003, para. 3). They had hoped to curb the control and shady deals facilitated by special interest groups (Davidson, Oleszek, and... ... middle of paper ... ... how much the current Congress has altered from the original intent of the Framers. It will be interesting to note the changes in the coming years as Congress is faced with harder challenges and difficult situations. Works Cited Cooper, Joseph. 2009. “From Congressional in Presidential Preeminence.” In Congress Reconsidered, eds. Lawrence C. Dodd and Bruce I. Oppenheimer. Washington, D.C.: CQ Press. Davidson, Roger H., Oleszek, W. J., and Lee, Francis L. 2010. Congress and Its Members. Washington, DC: CQ Press. Rossum, Ralph A. 2003. “The Seventeenth Amendment and the Death of Federalism.” Presented at the Panel on Republicanism, Federalism, and the Constitution, Williamsburg, VA. Smith, Steven S., and Gerald Gamm. “The Dynamics of Party Government in Congress.” In Congress Reconsidered, eds. Lawrence C. Dodd and Bruce I. Oppenheimer. Washington, D.C.: CQ Press.
Within the pages of One United People: The Federalist Papers and the National Idea, author Ed Millican dissects not only The Federalist piece by piece, but scrutinizes numerous works of other authors in regards to the papers written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay. As a result, a strong conclusion asserts that the motives of The Federalist was to create a sturdy nation-state but above all, that American polity is far more complex than pluralism and a free-market economy.
One’s ability to analyze the motives of the Framers necessitates some understanding of the sense of national instability instilled in the US its first form of government, the Articles of Confederation in granting little power to the central government; in particular, focusing on the economic turmoil and it’s effects on the Framers. In his analysis of America in the Articles, Beard comprehensively summarizes the failures of the Articles as compromising to the “national defense, protection of private property, and advancement of commerce,” (Beard, 36) in the US. Additionally, Beard utilizes these indisputable truths to establish a case for what he believes to be the self-interested influences that urged the Framers to craft an undemocratic Constitution. As Beard puts it, the state centered control of the US under the Articles caused the economic
Davidson, Roger H., Walter J. Oleszek, and Frances E. Lee. Congress and Its Members. Washington, D.C.: CQ, 2009. Print.
While the government of the United States owes its existence to the contents and careful thought behind the Constitution, some attention must be given to the contributions of a series of essays called the Federalist Papers towards this same institution. Espousing the virtues of equal representation, these documents also promote the ideals of competent representation for the populace and were instrumental in addressing opposition to the ratification of the Constitution during the fledgling years of the United States. With further reflection, the Federalists, as these essays are called, may in turn owe their existence, in terms of their intellectual underpinnings, to the writings of the philosopher and teacher, Aristotle.
2. Roche, John P. "The Founding Fathers: A Reform Caucus in Action". American Politics. Houghton Mifflin Company. Boston, MA. 1999. (Pages 8 -- 20).
During and after the turmoil of the American Revolution, the people of America, both the rich and the poor, the powerful and the meek, strove to create a new system of government that would guide them during their unsure beginning. This first structure was called the Articles of Confederation, but it was ineffective, restricted, and weak. It was decided to create a new structure to guide the country. However, before a new constitution could be agreed upon, many aspects of life in America would have to be considered. The foremost apprehensions many Americans had concerning this new federal system included fear of the government limiting or endangering their inalienable rights, concern that the government’s power would be unbalanced, both within
This statement only says that the power has been designated to Congress. It does not stipulate how to use this power nor does it give instructions for the budgeting process. Even as the role of government continued to expand, there was still no procedure for drafting and implementing a budget. It became clear that this lack of protocol hindered Congress’s ability to govern the budget. As a result, Congress forged its own budget process. Congress has passed many acts and amendments, but to no avail because the process still lacks a stable and lasting way of budgeting. Government budgeting has changed, in that, there is a formal process in place now, but it is no more effective than when there was none because the changes made by law were aimed more at gaining and/or reclaiming power and not real budgeting.
Norman Ornstein is regarded as one of our nation's foremost experts on Congress. Mr. Ornstein received a Ph.D.. from the University of Michigan, he writes for the NewYork Times, USA Today, Washington Post, and he has a regular column in Roll Call newspaper called 'Congress Inside Out';. Mr. Ornstein is also an election analyst for CBS and appears frequently on television shows including the Today Show, Nightline and the Mac Neil/Lehre News Hour where he has been a consultant and contributor for
Following the failure of the Articles of Confederation, a debate arose discussing how a centralized government ought to be organized. The prevailing opinion ultimately belonged to the Federalists, whose philosophy was famously outlined in The Federalist Papers. Recognizing that in a free nation, man would naturally divide himself into factions, they chose not to remedy this problem by stopping it at its source; instead, they would limit its effects by placing strict structural safeguards within the government's framework. The Federalists defined a facti...
Making in the Pre-Cloture Senate.” American Journal of Political Science 48 (2004): 758-74. JSTOR. Web. 17 Mar. 2014.
During the early formative years of the United States, James Madison contributed to the creation of many short essays describing what a functioning, well-established government should contain. In the 10th of his Federalist papers, Madison discusses the detrimental, yet necessary existence of factions in political life. Madison states that, “the latent causes of faction are sown in the nature of man” (Madison), the effects of these factions has to be effectively controlled by implementing the republican principle. By evaluating four separate policy events it is remarkable to see the relevance of the ideas that James Madison presents
American politics is often defined by a continuing power conflict between the executive and the legislative branches of the government. This struggle for political power between the two stronger branches of the three is inherent in the Constitution, itself. The concepts of separation of powers and checks and balances ensure that the branches of government will remain in conflict and provide a balance that keeps the entire government under control. As it was first established, the executive branch was much smaller and weaker than as we know it today. Consequently, the legislative branch was unquestionably dominant. Over the course of history, the executive branch grew in both size and power to the point where it occasionally overtook the legislative and today rivals the legislative in a much closer political battle. Today both branches have major factors that contribute to their power, but on the whole the legislative remains the lastingly dominant branch.
In spite of the prominence of the states in everyday life, the most demanding public policy questions former to the American Civil War involved discussions over the possibility of national power with most Americans believing it should remain partial. Yet federalism was still the center of political arguments. The Constitution did not report if states did nor did not reserve any remaining sovereignty in the powers given to the national government. The fact that the states were much more capable in accomplishing governmental purposes adequately t...
Light, Paul C., and Christine L. Nemacheck. "Chapter 7 Congress." Government by the People, Brief 2012 Election Edition, Books a La Carte New Mypoliscilab With Etext Access Card Package. By David B. Magleby. 2012 Election Edition ed. N.p.: Pearson College Div, 2013. N. pag. Print.
Van, B. S. D., & University of Pittsburgh. (1995). Post-passage politics: Bicameral resolution in Congress. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press. 6th edition http://digital.library.pitt.edu/cgi-bin/t/text/text idx?idno=31735057897302;view=toc;c=pittpress