On October 1st of 2013, tourists traveled to the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington, DC. hoping to spend the day interacting and learning about the various animals featured there. However, upon their arrival, visitors found that the gates were still shut with a sign stating that the National Zoo was closed that day due to the government shutdown (Terkel). Imagine the disappointment the many tourists and visitors, both local and from out of state, experienced that day as, not only the National Zoo, but all Smithsonian Museums and National Parks (such as the very popular Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming) were forced to send their workers home and close down due to the government shutdown. The last shutdown occurred in 1995 under the Clinton administration. This time, almost twenty years later, the shutdown of 2013 resulted because, in the words of current President Barack Obama, “one faction, of one party, in one house of Congress, in one branch of government [...] didn’t like one law” (Bruce). This faction’s members highly opposed Obama’s Patient Protection and Affordable Care Art, also known as Obamacare, believing it to be unconstitutional. While Obamacare is now undergoing much debate by both Republicans and Democrats despite its approval back in 2010, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives held the American budget as hostage in order to delay the Act which unnecessarily furloughed thousands of federal workers, caused economic difficulties, and potentially legitimized extortion. While some would argue that it was reasonable, the sixteen day long government shutdown was an unnecessary one instigated by a small group of rich citizens and was forced upon the American public in order to defund the Affordable Care Act (which, ironically, was not even affected by the shutdown as its online marketplaces went live, with trouble, unfortunately, at