...The United State Congress: Does It Work? After declaring themselves free from British rule in 1776, the American people sought out a way to protect themselves from future tyrannical monarchs as the nation continued to grow and develop. This led to the creation of the three branches of government, one of which was the United States Congress, in order to decentralize power and ensure that the voice of the people is appropriately factored in legislative decisions. However, many have questioned whether this two hundred-year-old system still works today, as the number of citizens who trust the government steadily decreases. In his book How Congress Works and Why You Should Care, Lee Herbert Hamilton, a former member of the House of Representatives,...
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...The U. S. Congress is failing the American people Politics have always been a topic of debate and expression of strong personal belief. To hear the discussions of relevance lately would to be of the budgets and how Congress is failing to make decision that the American public deems right and at least acceptable for even those who opposed the outcome for whatever reason they felt justified. To have a statement of Congress failing the American people brings to life the question that is the American people failing Congress and their constitutional rights? The Atlantic.com published a reading with the heading "Congress is failing" with Major Garrett being quoted as saying "If Republicans and Democrats can't solve their latest stalemate, disaster victims will go without federal relief." The statement is referring to the Disaster Relief Fund that was projected to run out of money within a week of this article. Hurricane Irene left thousands in shambles and the victims were turning to the U.S. Government for help and more at the disaster relief fund the government controls and distributes. Mr. Garrett claims that "Everyone is to blame" in Congress and goes on to point out how each department plays upon another and without a cohesive group it is deemed to fail and very quickly. The personal opinion of Mr. Garrett is the debate is no longer about what is right for the fund but the parties involved solely. If Congress is failing then why do we have Congress? Some have...
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...Role of Congress Congress is the Bicameral Legislature of the Federal Government of the United States that includes the two chambers: the Senate and House of Representatives. People are familiar with Congress and its primary role to create and pass new laws. But, most don’t realize how important it is that we have the two chambers. This Legislature was created in 1789, but why? What caused the framers to create two different chambers and what is it that causes them to be so different? Also, and most importantly, what role does Congress and the two chambers play in our Government? The creating of Congress, requirements of Congress, and the role of Congress will all be discussed. There remain two main reasons of how and why Congress was created. Early on, the framers’ envisioned how a singular legislature body could become...
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...in the conflicted and how he created the contra to prevent the Saninistas from supplying the rebels in El Salvador. Hudson also talks about Oliver North and John Poindexter and the Iran-contra and how they, with the support of Casey, created a hidden government inside the government that used government resources to achieve their own political agenda as Hudson puts it. In the end, North and Poindexter claimed they did what they did for national security. As indicated to Hudson "national security state" from the Iran-contra. Hudson believes "national security state" is harmful to democracy. This essay will investigate the four practices and dispositions associated with "national security...
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...have specific duties and powers that are supposed to be limited to those duties, as well as their checks that maintain that balance of power. In the last hundred years, there has been a significant shift in the balance of power towards the executive branch and the judicial branch alike. For the Supreme Court, they have encroached into the legislative branch's territory with decisions like Roe v. Wade and (insert here for the equal marriage decision) that seem to now function as the law of the land, when according to the Constitution, they are supposed to be limited to interpreting the law, not creating federal laws, as that is legislative territory....
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...which are the Legislative Branch (congress), The Executive Branch (the President), and lastly the Judicial Branch (the US federal courts). Each branch is equally important for the successful operation of our nation and democracy however not each branch is equal in the power it holds. Fundamentally the Legislative Branch contains the most “power” in the federal government for Two reasons. One the system of checks and balances leans biasedly towards the legislative branch. Lastly congress is the body if government which decides what laws will be made while the Executive branch only...
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...History Essays American Congress The American Congress is one of the three arms of the American Government. The other arms of the Government include the Executive headed by the American President who is elected on a four-year term that is eligible for the re-election. The third arm is the Judiciary that adjudicates the policy process as well as interprets the US Constitution. The US Congress that is the core of the legislative arm of the American Government has a long history tracing back to over 200 years since the establishment of the USA. The revolution of the 1776 gave the American s an opportunity to provide the legal framework that would steer them to their management of their public affairs. It traces to the 13 North American States that were colonies of the British who after intense effort had managed to declare their independence in the famous Declaration of Independence that followed the birth of the USA in 1776. The USA constitution was a document that was written basing on the colonial experience that they had under the British since the discovery of America and the establishment of the plantation agriculture in the 16th century. After frantic efforts, the 13 colonies went ahead to have a unilateral declaration of their independence from Britain. Today, the USA is the model of an ideal democratic outlook of the modern times. The USA Constitution for which legalizes the presence of the Congress has become the model of the modern democracy. It has withstood the test...
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...Krista Van Wie Introduction Who should solemnly have the power to declare war? Should it really be the presidents decision and only his decision to declare war or should he have multiple decisions on the matter? In Rachel Maddows book Drift, we see how this big decision changes threw the decades and how it affects Congress, the president, and even the American people. In the end, who’s for it and who’s against it? America’s Founding to Vietnam When the war against Vietnam started, Lyndon B. Johnson did not call up the Guard of Reserves to fight. That was not a normal for the Reserves due to the fact that they had been called right away in every war in the past. Because of this, the Guard and Reserves were “the thing” to sign up for to avoid service. Americans were not prepared for this war with Vietnam since LBJ continually sent out troops to Vietnam to avoid sending out the Guard and Reserve. In the past, according to Maddow, “when the United States went to war, the entire United States went to war.” That wasn’t the case for Vietnam. LBJ kept the war as secretive as possible because he did not want to believe the United States was at war. He didn’t send out the Guard and Reserves to avoid Congress and the United States people freaking out. So he instead increased the draft size. Johnson, according to George A. Carver, “tried to fight the war on the cheap.” This is why this war was a few decades long tragedy. Post-Vietnam Change Post-war changes came the Total Force Policy...
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...I believe that the small decisions we make can determine an even larger outcome. I believe that power is in the hands of the people. I believe that the United States has been shaped solely by the actions people take. From 1790 to 1877 there have been many Supreme Court cases, but there are three that really stick out to me to have shaped the United States economy, social, and political aspects. The first court case that was very influential during this time period was Marbury v. Madison where the concept of Judicial Review and judging how much power congress has were established. This case mainly influenced the political aspect of the United States because it focused on power. McCulloch v. Madison is another case that influenced the US, especially in the area of economics. The case was about whether or not the National Bank should have overall control over other banks and how much control they had. The third and final case that I think is equally as...
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...towards independence would quicken. Viceroy Wavell was worried that Labour was too eager to hand over power to congress, which would further raise the anxieties of the Muslim League. In January 1946, the British MPs made a small visit to India without announcing there conclusions, but in private some stated that Pakistan must be conceded to avoid Muslim unrest. Viceroy Wavell was keenly interested in making practical preparations for the eventual unpleasantness of announcing the actual boundary lines. This shows that some of the British leaders did foreshadow the horrific consequences of the partition but they went ahead with it anyway, perhaps believing that it was a better solution than keeping India united. This contrasts with popular writings which claimed that 'the country’s division was a colossal tragedy, a man-made catastrophe brought about by hot-headed and cynical politicians who failed to grasp the implications of division along religious line's '[14]. The writings criticise the politicians for not being perceptive and aware of what the outcome of the partition could be. It places the partition solely in the hands of the clueless politicians, so the partition was not inevitable and the leaders should be blamed for making such a disastrous decision and not thinking about the consequences of separating the country based on religious differences. Neither the congress nor the Muslim League anticipated the human tragedy that accompanied partition. With hindsight, this seems...
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...Faster Ticking Clock Congress 1973 passed the War of Powers (50 U.S.C.S § 1541-1548)-“ we think it beyond question that the President has the plenary constitutional power to take such military actions as he deems necessary and appropriate to respond to the terrorist attacks upon the United States on September 11, 2001. Force can be used both to retaliate for those attacks, and to prevent and deter future assaults on the Nation. Military actions need not be limited to those individuals, groups, or states that participated in the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon: the Constitution vests the President with the power to strike terrorist groups or organizations that cannot be demonstrably linked to the September 11 incidents, but that, nonetheless, pose a similar threat to the security of the United States and the lives of its people, whether at home or overseas. In both the War Powers Resolution and the Joint Resolution, Congress has recognized the President's authority to use force in circumstances such as those created by the September 11 incidents. Neither statute, however, can place any limits on the President's determinations as to any terrorist threat, the amount of military force to be used in response, or the method, timing, and nature of the response. These decisions, under our Constitution, are for the President alone to make. Our President, leader, Commander in Chief, is the person that is designated to make these decisions, directions, plans, and...
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...The Marbury v. Madison case is a Supreme Court case from 1803 that challenged judicial review by the courts regarding acts of congress, specifically, the appointment of federal judges by John Adams after losing the election in 1800 to Thomas Jefferson and congressional approval of the appointments before the newly elected president and the judges could be sworn into office. Another largely known case from the 1800’s is the McCulloch v. Maryland case of 1819. Which was a supreme court case that challenged a states right to tax a congressionally established bank and if the congress has the authority to establish a bank of the United States. In the 1803 Supreme Court case of Marbury v. Madison, the principle of Judicial Review was first introduced and the Supreme...
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...The Relationship of Civic Engagement, Democratic Decision-Making, and Public Speaking Tiffaney Piper Honors Public Speaking/COM 2243 Tiffaney Piper Dr. Hal Fulmar Honors Public Speaking 6 December 2011 The Relationship of Civic Engagement, Democratic Decision-Making, and Public Speaking The relationship of civic engagement, democratic decision-making, and public speaking is something that indirectly and directly affects the lives of citizens and law makers alike. These terms go hand in hand with each other in their role in a democratic society. They create a sort of continuous triangle that keeps repeating as the cycle repeats itself. This semester we have grazed the surface, at the least, of each of these topics with our discussions from the textbook, Starship Troopers, and The New York Times. All these different mediums help us to begin to understand the deeply intertwined relationship of these three terms, each tied to the one before it to create the cycle we strive to live by. A final paper deciphering what we have learned and applying it to our roles in citizenship is my goal. I want to use this paper to break down each terms meaning, the relation of this term to citizens, and at the end explain the relationship of these terms as a whole and how their relationship affects citizens. “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country (John F. Kennedy).” One of the most remembered lines of a Presidential Inaugural in history...
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... I am embarrassed that I either do not understand what they are saying, or cannot add to the conversation because I don’t know what to say. I guess you could say that I have always been a little cynical when it came to politics. Part of this reason is because I have always felt that the political game played in American politics was just a bunch of people talking baloney, making empty promises, trash talking their opponents, and trying to persuade people to think their way. And whoever does this the best wins, end of story. I’ve always known that there was more to American politics that this, but never really tried to find out more. So, when I signed up for this class, I wanted to shed my ignorance and learn more about my government and how it operated. I am proud to say that my knowledge of our government has been expanded to the point where I am fully capable of understanding the full context of our government its political system and understand why our government operates the way it does. I now feel that when speaking on American politics, I can now understand what is being said and now I can add something to the conversation. In PLSC 112 this summer, we learned about the policy making process within...
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...the establishment. Each branch of government has its power expounded to them in detail. When it came to the court the description of power became vague. Some scholars believe that the founding fathers didn’t give the Supreme Court as many restrictions because they wanted a court of judge that would rule and intrepid the constitution as they would. The constitution was never meant to govern the people of America it was meant to rule and control them. The founding fathers picked people for the court that had the same backgrounds as them. According to the how the constitution is worded the framers gave the court the right to make law based on thing un for seen by them. This means that they have the right to make laws on thing that are being invented and used by Americans today The responsibilities and limitations of each branch of government are set forth in the constitution. For example specific powers are granted to the congress concerning their jurisdiction and job details. For the legislative branches of government there are three very long paragraphs...
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