Zinn also uses an excerpt from historian Charles Beard to explain his reasoning. Beard basically said that the rich controls the government or the laws the government operates by. Zinn points out that the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights shows that quality of interest hides behind innocence. Meaning that Congress completely ignores the freedom of speech. Professor of history Gordon S. Wood views the struggle for a new constitution in 1787-1788 as a social conflict between upper-class Federalists who desired a stronger central government and the “humbler” Anti-Federalists who controlled the state assemblies.
The democratic form of government is most familiar to the modern western citizen. However, there are many forms of communism and dictatorships which exist around the world today. The ancient philosopher Plato protests that a monarchist oligarchy, which calls upon an elite group for governance, is the best possible form of government. However, based on vagueness in terms and overgeneralizations Plato creates a flaw in his argument and weakens its validity. Through the elimination of social class systems and based on the separation between Government and economy it may be seen that the platonic ‘drone’ will not lead to tyranny.
Thoreau believes that the government takes the power out of the people’s hands. He also believes that majority rule overpowers the conscience of man and that it is handled in a very improper manner. This also plays into how he feels about the unjust laws in the government. Thoreau thinks that the unjust laws aren’t fixed because Americans believe they have to have a majority of people who agree that the law is unjust and he thinks that that shouldn’t be the case. Thoreau only has the American people’s interest at heart and want them to become a better and greater people, this is what makes him a patriot.
Tip Lynch Mr. Bohannon HIST 2111 26 October 2012 Analysis on Tocqueville’s Democracy in America Tocqueville’s book, Democracy in America, provides his own observations of American democracy in the Jacksonian era. His primary focus is gaining insight on why representative democracy in America is succeeding while it has failed in so many other places in the world. He compares the functions of democracy in America to France, where he believes democracy has failed, throughout the book. He observes the functions of American government and how it works to protect freedom in American society, while also observing the effect that a democratic society has on people in America and also the dangers that may be present that could eventually lead
The Democratic-Republicans sought to limit federal control and preferred local power as the dominant force. Chiefly, the emergence of the American two-party system arose from strongly opposed political views, but also developed out of experience and a struggle for power. As previously stated, the main reason for the development of the party system in the United States, or any political party for that matter, is a difference in beliefs on how a government should be operated. The Federalists, formed by Alexander Hamilton – Washington’s Treasury Secretary – in 1794, favored federalism with government having the power to control commerce, tax, declare war, and make treaties among other powers.
The limited nature of the revolution was one of the main factors which weakened prospects for democracy, when Ebert was trying to form a government he still had a problem that the radical communists were still looking to turn Germany into a communist state similar to the Soviet Union and thus to put down this rebellion and get support of the army he made an agreement with Groener. The agreement was that the army would support the government if the army and civil service were left unchanged. This was the main reason that democracy was irreversibly weakened, because the civil service and army generals were all right-wing conservatives providing a powerbase for the radical right. This limited democracy because the radical right thought that democracy was weak and indecisive, the radical right though was weakened because the radical left was way more powerful initially in post war Germany, but the radical right would help democracy until the radical left was no longer a threat and would act as ticking time bomb of support. This could have acted as a powerbase for the Kapp Putsch and the eventual rise of the Nazis.
Famous American novelist, William Gaddis once said, “Power doesn’t corrupt people, people corrupt power.” This quote states that it’s humanity that is corrupting the value of power and not the other way around. This quote shows what happened with the leaders in the dystopian novels “Examination Day”, The Giver, and “Harrison Bergeron” who were and are normal people, like every other person, until they got a truckload of influence and power and they realized they could do whatever they want and use it against humanity and take control. They don’t know what to do with their power so they use it to create a society that is equal but as time passes the idea becomes more extreme and this results in oppressive societies that do not value and appreciate
Which also allowed the federal government the opportunity for revenue. One of the main emphases for the Hamilton and the Federalist Party was that the federal government was too over power the states. They felt that leaving too much power in the hands of states would only create a weak type of government, with very little power to act. Citizen’s rights would be protected by the legislation, court systems, and of course the Bill Of Rights; distrusting the people with the vote. The federalist created the House of Reps which was directly voted by the people.
Some say a dictatorship is better because the people don’t know what is and isn’t good for them. Others might claim that a democracy isn’t necessarily the better option because there could be a lot hidden between the lines that people vote for without a second through. Both can be abused, and both can be
Edmund Burke believed that the French Revolution was pointless, and that the revolutionist had risen up against a relatively liberal king and that their actions would result in other kings becoming paranoid and tyrannical. Alexis de Tocqueville saw that democracy in America seemed disorganized, but he also gained a sense that it was a stable and prosperous democracy so that he can gain an insight into how it worked. Tocqueville studies show that democratic America, mostly focuses on the structure of government and the institutions that would help maintain a free America, his focus on individuals however led him to say that individuals were affected by the democratic mentality. Tocqueville’s work finds that the main problems of a democracy are a high portion of power in the legislative