For any bill to become a law, both houses of Congress must have a majority vote of approval for it to move on to the next step of legislation. Also, just like the Framers envisioned in 1787, representative government serves as a check on the rest of government, therefore preventing tyranny. Finally, Congress has the power to impeach the president, which is one of the defining powers that sets the United States apart from other countries. We citizens can also help preserve this culture of liberty in our own ways. It can be as small as just exercising our birth rights as U.S. citizens.
He refers to the “majority” and its “absolute sovereignty as the essence of democratic government: in a democracy, nothing outside of the majority is capable of mounting resistance to it.” He goes on to explain that legislatures will always “respond most readily to the will of the majority.” That is important, as the legislative branch is elected directly by the people and “thus constituted, the legislatures have acquired almost all powers of government.” Perhaps Tocqueville’s most important revelation is that of “tyranny of the majority,” that is, the idea that the majority in a government can do whatever it pleases, is a real danger to the sustainability of American democracy. He likens the majority to that of an “all powerful individual with the capability to abuse his power to harm his opponent,” and goes on to say that the majority can do the same. He blames the protections of tyranny by the American government as the thing he detests about democracy in the United States, but is quick to fault the irresistible power available, not the weakness of government as perceived in Europe. Legislative instability and the fact that almost every American constitution has been amended in the last 30 years and that there is no state that hasn’t modified its legal principles are seen as weaknesses that could prevail into a tyranny of the majority. It’s safe to say that an
The pathway essay The United States is built around freedom, equality and individual right. These basic rights include the right to vote, express religion, due process and many more. The United States is a democracy, meaning that all citizens have the right to participate in government actions. Although the United States is considered a democracy, it is not a pure democracy, but actually a republic. Within a republic there are still government positions, each possessing specific powers and even rank.
While the US Constitution has many conservative ideas it also has several revolutionary notions that were the center of the Articles of Confederation. The House of Representatives was established to allow the common man's voice to be heard; now all citizens could give their consent in government. There were also guarantees that certain rights would never be taken away from the citizens. The Bill of Rights was written to assure the citizens that there were things that the government couldn't do and that the citizen was always protected. There were other provisions in the constitution to defend against abusing power, the system of checks and balances and having three branches in the government.
Although the people had a right to be involved in the government, the author of Caesar No. 2 thought that it should be left up to people of greater intelligence to choose the government and its actions. The argument against this was that the people had the ability to choose the people that would have authority in the government. This idea helped place a foothold in the government for the people to always play a role. The last concern was that of the
Class Conflict between the Nobles and the People (Topic #3) This paper wishes to explore Machiavelli’s belief that class conflicts can and have to be managed within a republic in order to foster a stable republic that offers an even distribution of power among the ‘Nobles’ and the ‘People’, and enforces an impartial set of laws that have to be followed by each class respectively, which, ultimately, gives a tangible feeling of liberty to all. It is Machiavelli’s belief that every city is formed of two classes, the ‘Nobles’ and the ‘People’. This separation of classes leads to conflicts among themselves, which for Machiavelli, is because “the populace do not want to be ordered about or oppressed by the elite and the elite want to order about and to oppress the populace” (31). This difference of their ambitions and values offers an excellent means to regulate governmental affairs. Since if the ‘Nobles’ wish to have power, they must ensure sure when they exercise it, they do in a way that satisfies the ‘People’s’ wishes.
Hence a double security arises to the rights of the people. The different governments will control each other, at the same time that each will be controlled by itself. Second. It is of great importance in a republic not only to guard the society against the oppression of its rulers, but to guard one part of the society against the injustice of the other part. Different interests necessarily exist in different classes of citizens.
It is their job to declare void acts by other branches violating the Constitution. Second, as Alexander Hamilton has said in the Federalist Paper, the judiciary review should act as barrier between the people and the Congress. The main goal of the government is to protect the people. The Declaration of Independence also states the government is for the people. The general liberty of the people must not be in danger especially of the government power.
The constitution does this with the first amendment allowing for free speech whether it’s popular or not. American society is seen (at least in theory) as a place where you can immigrate to poor and through hard work and determination make yourself into whatever you want to become. This social mobility also has to do with comparing equality of opportunity with that of equality of results. Opportunity is where you believe that everyone deserves an equal opportunity to achieve prosperity and results is where you believe that equal effort demands equal results. With opportunity you have the challenge of reaching the very poor and the destitute with the same opportunities as the rich.
This power went directly to the people, not only that of the upper class. In America, citizens are accustomed to their government having the responsibility of serving their needs rather than people serving their rulers. Originally, the king could take rights away without question. In contrast, the American Constitution limited power of the government over the individual, The Bill of Rights even protects the individual from the tyranny of the majority. The three branches of government make America immune from too much power to one individual.