Today American government is a representative democracy; the land has three branches, which the Constitution has given equal power. This all changes with the new theory backed by Republican President George W Bush. The Theory The unitary executive theory is a belief that all executive power and authority belongs to the president. It is derived from a Constitutional interpretation of Article II of the U.S Constitution claiming that power is given to the President and only he has the right to execute law in the executive branch. As American politics has changed, so has the power of the president.
For instance, the President is not able to directly pass legislation, although he or she may recommend laws to be created; however, the congress has no obligation to follow through with the Presidential recommendation (Singh 130). Thus, the President may officially be the head of the executive branch; however, power is limited by other branches of government. This is in contrast to the Canadian Parliamentary style of government there is little to no separation of powers between the different levels of government; therefore, the executive and legislative branches are decidedly connected to each other. Therefore, the Parlamentary system in which the ministers of the executive branch are drawn directly from the legislature. Therefore, the role of Prime Minister and cabinet is one which is much more encompassing than is the role of President.
Such may include the executive, judiciary and legislature (Thomas, 2008). This paper seeks to argue that the United States Constitution limits the presidential powers, and thus governing presidents should act in the best interest of the public. The presidency is the popular symbol of governmental authority. Therefore, the president is the chief administrator or the chief executive of a given country. In most countries, the presidency is a constitutional office with a specific term and a specific procedure for electing the president.
So the tug-of-war between the president and Congress is a special part (271). The framers had never envisioned that the presidency of the United States of America would become such a democratic office. They were afraid of tyranny and the pressure of the public opinion and made the Electoral College in a way that its members would be chosen in a manner decided by the state legislatures (270). They realized that the instead of letting the people elect the members, the state legislatures would elect the members by themselves. The electors from the states would than elect the country’s president from the leading citizens.
When a presidential election occurs it is the Electoral College’s votes that truly pick the next president. Although the representative does have the same views as the popular opinion of the state representatives can vote how they choose. Hence, Bush was reelected. Source: howstuffworks.com 6. Civil Liberties: Basic rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Bill of Rights and the constitution.
Federalist #78 Analysis The Federalist #78 was written by Alexander Hamilton on May 28, 1788. In the essay, Hamilton expresses his views on the structure of the Judiciary as written in The Constitution. Although Hamilton listed many positive aspects of the Judicial Branch, he also wrote about negative features the Judicial Branch has neglected to offer as stated in The Constitution. In The Constitution, there are three branches to help balance the government, to make sure there is no way to overpower any other branches within the system. The Executive Branch, which includes the president, is in charge of enforcing laws, the Legislative Branch controls making laws, and the Judicial Branch is a system of courts that interpret the laws created and enforced by the other branches.
With the turn of a more complex century, where presidential power continues to grow with each term, it becomes crucial to analyze the actions of past presidents to prevent an imbalance within American government. Part of this growth in the presidency might be explained as the inevitable result of progression. As the United States increased in international presence, the federal government needed to simultaneously expand its diplomatic presence, a role best suited for the President himself. However, the best explanation underlying the growth of presidential power is that the constitutional text on the subject is largely unspecific. Whereas, in Article I there consists specific powers granted to Congress, Article II grants authority to the President in such verses as “executive power,” or “to take care that the laws be faithfully executed” – terms that are for the most part indefinite and inconclusive.
2. The United Kingdom has a legislative and executive branch but both are automatically headed by the same political party, since the prime minister is chosen by members of the majority party in Parliament. 3. President can make executive agreements (a formal agreement between the U.S. president and the leaders of other nations that does not
The system of the United States is a presidential democracy. We can categorise the United States as a democracy as there are competitive elections for the Presidency and the Legislature. However, the United States should be classified as a ‘flawed’ liberal democracy, as there is an entrenched two-party system which makes it nearly impossible for third parties to be elected to the legislature or the Presidency. Further, the political system of the United States lacks an even playing field for political candidates, as there are no limits on electoral campaign spending, a large amount of resources and funds is required to gain election. However, the United States’ regime does have many liberal facets including civil liberties, rule of law, accountability measures and fair
AP US History Articles of Confederation vs. Federal Constitution Throughout the United States’ history, it has had two different written constitutions. Directly after the Revolutionary War, the Articles of Confederation came to fruition. This Constitution was basically a weak, central government that allowed each state to maintain its own sovereignty and all rights to govern, whereas the Federal Constitution created a strong, central government. Americans strived to be an independent country and be free from Britain, but also wanted to avoid tyrannical governments which were all reasons for the Revolutionary War. After examining the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution, the Constitution better represents the reasons that the Revolutionary War was fought by unifying the states, avoiding a monarchy, and also simply solving any major crisis that rose.