Politics
Six Questions & Discussion on American Politics
Constitutional Convention
During the U.S. Constitutional Convention of 1787, two primary plans were forwarded that shaped the development and discussion at the convention that would forever impact the shape of American politics. The first plan, the Virginia Plan, introduced by Governor Randolph, was an effort to simply revise the existing Articles of Confederation. It was characterized by three major points: the structural exclusion of states from elections and representation at the national level, reductions of powers to individual states, and the abandonment of the some national features of republicanism like institutional separation of powers. The Virginia Plan was countered by two alternative plans, and a division at the Convention: the New Jersey Plan that believed the Virginia Plan went too far in affording power to the national government, and the Hamilton Plan that argued the Virginia Plan didn't go far enough (Lloyd).
New Jersey Plan advocates, led by Luther Martin from Maryland, continued questioning the validity of such sweeping federalism. Hamilton Plan enthusiasts, under Alexander Hamilton, countered that a strong national republican government was the most ideal form for a new country. The Convention seemed at an impasses between these two divergent philosophies of government. In late June, however, Oliver Ellsworth proposed a compromise: a mixture of national and federal elements that would move the Convention beyond dogmatic paradigms that showed no hope of resolution. This compromise would become known as the Connecticut Compromise and amounted to dividing Congress into a Senate, which created representation for the states, and a House, which represented the electorate directly. Other key compromises included the division of power between the states and the national government, the decision to not regulate or abolish slavery, and the development of the Electoral College as the means to elect the president. All of these additional compromises were also necessary and important for moving the Convention forward towards an acceptable Constitution that delegates could take back to their respective states (Lloyd).
Question #2: Federalism
Federalism is "the theory or advocacy of federal political orders, where final authority is divided between sub-units and a center" (Follesdal). In the case of American politics, this means that political sovereignty is split between the central, federal government and the geographically dispersed states governments. On a practical level, this means that individual citizens must have political obligations to two (or more, in the case of other political situations) levels of political authority. State laws must be followed, though only for the state in which one is at the time, and federal laws must also be obeyed, regardless of which state one is in. The sub-units in this kind of political organization generally also retain some manner of representation in the central government. In the case of the United States, this representation is accomplished primarily through state representation in the U.S. Senate, which affords each state two delegates in the legislative branch.
Article Four of the U.S. Constitution outlines four areas that outline and limit states' political authority in the federalist government. One, the Full Faith & Credit Section of the Article establishes that all states must honor the decisions and public acts of other states. Two, the Obligations of States Section includes clauses on privileges & immunities, extradition of criminals, and fugitive slaves. Three, Section Three explains the process by which new states can be admitted into the Union, and also reserves the final authority of the federal government over all matters within its borders. Finally, Section Four explains the obligations of the U.S. government to the states, including the guarantee of a lasting republican government and protection from invasion & domestic violence.
The obvious advantages of this system are the retention of political power close to individual citizens' lives, decentralization of political authority, obligations between the primary and sub-units of government, and the use of the national government to protect and enforce order from external and internal strife.
Question #3: Political Parties
Political parties in the United States have historically performed vital functions for American society. This is true in the past, and it remains true today as well. Political parties allow voters to form more monolithic blocks for political action than would be possible if...
Politics has never reached the importance in people's daily lives as it has any time before in history. In today's world, the globalization trend has made all of our lives interconnect whether we are aware of these connections or not. Furthermore, our world population has become so large that the competition for natural resources, especially non-renewable ones, has become an intense rivalry among many different nations and even some of
Politics of Violence in Pinter's Late Plays When Harold Pinter received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2005, he spoke quite directly about the subject of political theatre: Political theatre presents an entirely different set of problems. Sermonising has to be avoided at all cost. Objectivity is essential. The characters must be allowed to breathe their own air. The author cannot confine and constrict them to satisfy his own taste or disposition
Politics of Information Management The art of information management is widely known as the tactic of policy makers guiding the policy followers into doing so. Therein comes the practice of politics and it is known that politics portends power; consequently understanding power and its application to the art of information management is both appropriate and timely. Organizations now have been proliferated by computers to an extent that they control the entire
Why? Because, for the most part, LBJ ignored them. He would invite the leadership and even critics to the White House quite frequently and listen as they offered suggestions. Usually, however, he would end up lecturing them about the wisdom of the decisions he had already predetermined. It is interesting to note, that, throughout the war, LBJ actually received far more support from Republicans than he did his own party.
Politics of the Common Good In Justice: What's the Right Thing to Do? (2009), Michael J. Sandal argues that politics and society require a common moral purpose beyond the assertion of natural rights like life liberty and property or the utilitarian calculus of increasing pleasure and minimizing pain for the greatest number of people. He would move beyond both John Locke and Jeremy Bentham in asserting that "a just society can't
This remained true until the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, which symbolizes a shift in American political life. After Kennedy's assassination, party politics once again raised its head and, due to the cultural effect of the Vietnam War, dominated American political life. Although at first the war caused the parties to scramble to find their identity, with the election of Richard Nixon it was quickly established that the Democrats
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now