When the founding fathers of the Constitution tried to think of a way to elect a president, many different ideas were considered. One of the ideas was to have Congress choose the president. That idea was later shot down because it was thought possible corruption and political bargaining to help benefit a few people trying to advance their political careers and not caring about the well being of the country. Another idea that was thought of was a direct popular vote, where the candidate with the most votes wins. Because of the vast size of the country at the time and the severe lack of technology, trying to count votes and have news of what each candidate stood for in all parts of the country,
“From 1781 to 1789 the Articles of Confederation provided the United States with an effective government” Using the documents and your knowledge of the period, evaluate this statement. From 1781 to 1789 the Articles of Confederation failed to provide the United States with an effective government. Proper governments should have the ability to have a certain amount of power over its people, under the Articles; the government could not regulate trade, tax or enforce most laws on its people. The states were given the task that the national government should have been given. Among its many weaknesses were the single branch of government, unicameral, and the inability of congress to tax or declare war.
They knew the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation; as a governing body, it lacked legislative power that was necessary to support a functional democracy. The important factor in the Constitutional Convention of the seventeenth century was powerless America. The United States was incapable of competing in the global economic because of lack of power to enforce laws and decrees in the states. They understood that a national government would definitely limit the power of total democracy. Without a strong central government, democracy was impossible thus America was propelling towards the gallows of failure.
When he proposed the creation of the national debt the anti-federalist protested against this idea because in the Constitution it never stated anything about a bank. Hamilton believed that the Constitution should be interpreted loosely and do anything that was necessary and proper. Lastly he believed that the government should be run by the educated and wealthy not the common people. Thomas Jefferson is known as the author of the Declaration of Independence and leader of the Anti-Federalists. His political views were opposite of Hamilton’s.
The two main political parties in the United States, the Democratic and Republican parties, have opposing social, economic, and political views. Because of the opposition, it is possible for different views to be enacted into governmental matters. It is impossible for all people to agree in a democratic nation, and because of this the institutionalization of political parties allows for different views to be heard and for change to occur in order to satisfy the people. If one party’s views were the only opinions heard in the government, the government would in turn only have one source of power and therefore be despotic. The institutionalization of political parties avoids despotism.
The system arose gradually as states began to feel that the previous method of allowing party officials to decide was undemocratic in a modern society. That the current system is democratic and encourages public participation in politics is a particular strength of primaries. Adjoined to this is that it places no restrictions on who can stand, however, despite its benefits many people have criticised the system and are pressing for its reform. Emphasising the huge costs, frontloading and regionalisation of primaries, critics state that for all its claims to be democratic it prohibits the candidates from competing on an equal level. Equally the low levels of turnout in primaries suggest that many people are not interested in the primaries and raises questions over the legitimacy of any winner.
He openly objected to the democracy that ran Athens during his adult life. It was not only Athenian democracy: Socrates objected to any form of government that did not conform to his ideal of a perfect republic led by philosophers. So in other words he will only accept a government that he approves of, and is made up of philosophers like him. If I was able to hand pick everyone in government let me just say that there would be a lot of politicians that would be out of a job. But I can not and neither could he because he lived in a democratic society just like me, and the masses get to choose the government, and not just one
Socially, the American Revolution only slightly changed America. The Enlightenment led to the questioning of British monarchial rule and the belief that the power of the government should come from the people The British government completely imposed on these ideals so Americans decided to rid themselves of British rule and establish their own rule based on democratic ideals by issuing the Declaration of Independence. It stated that “all” men are created equal. However, these beliefs were slow to be initiated and changes were not seen for several decades. Women were traditionally seen as the caretakers of the house and the family.
Democracy Gone Wrong Democracy can be defined as a system of government by a whole population or all eligible members of a state typically through elected representatives, where as republic can be defined as a state in which supreme power is held by people and their elected representatives and which has an elected or nominated president. Although the founding fathers did not work within a democratic framework the only way the Constitution would pass was because it had to be democratic. The Constitution was made to form a stronger central government, but they didn’t want to represent the common peoples, and did not constitute individual rights. In forming a strong central government, the people wanted to revise the Articles of Confederation
Many people believe that the Electoral College is outdated and we should not use it anymore. One will argument that the Electoral College can make sure people are making the right choice in choosing our president. Another reason why we are still using this voting system is because in order to get rid of it, it would require a constitutional amendment, which is extremely hard to pass. In order to pass/ratify an amendment, three fourths of the states have to agree upon changing the Constitution. This is very unlikely to happen because the Electoral College benefits the smaller states.