Presidential Power Dbq Essay

America, land of the free and home of the brave. The center of democracy and freedom. At least that is what America thinks. However, with this being the first of its kind, it is relatively weak and can be infiltrated. While better than the Articles of Confederation, the United States first government, this government can still let cruel and oppressive leaders to tyrannize this nation. While our government is fairly safe, we still can be oppressed by unfair elections, the excess legislative power, and the lack of laws protecting minorities.
One of the government’s biggest issues is the electoral college. First off every ten years, the districts are drawn by the legislative branch of each state. These are the districts the Representatives

are elected for. The districts have to have fairly the same population, but that doesn’t mean it cannot be corrupted. District can be drawn so that either Democrats or Republicans can have the majority of votes in the states, despite what the majority party is in the state. This is called gerrymandering, named after Governor Gerry drawing a district in the shape of a salamander (www.loc.gov). Another issue with the electoral college is that it creates swing states. These are states that sometimes go Democrat and sometimes go Republican. Unlike California or Texas, these are the states that choose who is president. The states that are loyal a party don’t even matter to the nomination. Pennsylvania, Ohio, Florida, Wisconsin, Virginia, and Colorado are the states that decide the president. This is totally unfair to the rest of the country who the candidates can ignore the rest of the country and focus on these states when running. This could also cause a sort of bribery with candidates for these states. Another problem that make the electoral college is how distorted the electoral college. Contrary to popular belief, Wyoming residents have more power than Californians. It takes three Californian votes to outweigh a citizen of Wyoming’s vote. These facts outweigh democracy and distort the votes (www.fairvote.org).

Another thing that tears apart our democracy is the power that the Legislative Branch has.

Their checks and balances are totally unfair for the other branches, specifically the Executive Branch. For example, while the president can veto laws, the Congress can override this veto (Document A). This basically takes away the president’s check of the Legislative Branch, making it unfair for the President. It would have been much more fair if the Judicial Branch could override a veto. This is so because then the check for the Legislative would be intact, but the President would also be in check. Another potentially dangerous part of this is the ability the President and Congress have together. If the President managed to fill Congress with his cronies, then they could completely change the Constitution entirely (Article V, Constitution). This would make the Judicial Branch ineffective and lead to an oligarchy, or a government controlled by a specific group of people entirely with no power limitations. And while oligarchies can be effective and good for the economy, this can easily lead to oppression of the rich and then lead to tyranny. Finally, unlike the president, a congressman or woman does not have a limit to the amount of terms that they can serve. This gives them a long time to influence the House of Representatives or the Senate and can lead to tyranny from the few, or the

Congress.

The final and perhaps most interesting of the arguments is the existence of tyranny in this country all ready.

While slavery was abolished many years ago, the white population, specifically in the South, still tyrannize other races. Not only African Americans, oh no. Mexicans, Asians, Muslims, and even women are still tyrannize by white, Protestant, males. A great example of this is the infamous Donald Trump. This highly racist businessman who is running for President has many great quotes, but here is a few. “I will build a great wall - and no one builds walls better than me...”, “Our great African American President hasn't exactly had a positive impact on the thugs who are so happily and openly destroying Baltimore!”, and "If I were running 'The View,' I'd fire Rosie O'Donnell. I mean, I'd look her right in that fat, ugly face of hers, I'd say, 'Rosie, you're fired.'" These all show that certain politicians are extremely racist and, most alarmingly, Trump looks like he will the Republican presidency. But don’t worry, there are twelve Smiths running for president (www.fec.gov). Literally anyone can run for president, and they can win if they were born in the USA, are a citizen, and are 35. While racial integration has improved, it still is far from perfect, so other races will still be tyrannize by, well, who knows. If only there were more laws protecting other races and if people treated everyone equally. But until then, tyranny will still exist for certain

people in the USA.

In conclusion, not only does the Constitution not protect against tyranny, it allows it to exist for minorities all across the US. The government is not bad, it just is unfair for the voters of certain states, the Executive Branch, and minorities. Tyranny is here already so who is to say it will not spread.