...Political power is the ability to influence others, bring about meaningful change, win the support of the public, and have a lasting impact on people's lives. At the beginning of the creation of the constitution, our Founding Father's objectives were to establish a federal government, and to outline an equal distribution of powers within our government. This was implemented by creating three branches of government that had to coincide with each other in order to function. Although each branch has its own powers, duties, and responsibilities that influence how the government works, the executive branch has become more and more powerful over the years. In this essay, I will discuss the framers intended relationship between the legislative, executive, and judicial branches and I will argue how the executive branch wields the most power among the three branches of government. Our system of government was set up to have three branches of government: the executive branch which executes the laws, the legislative branch which creates the laws and finally the judicial branch which interprets the laws. The constitution states their powers and their checks on one another so that no branch would have more power than the other two, because of this, the framers of the Constitution set up a system of checks and balances. Under this system, each branch has the ability to stop the other two branches from gaining too much power. For example, one way the executive branch/president is able to check...
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...Throughout the history of the United States, the three branches of government had experienced their respective highs and lows. During creation of the United States Constitution, its authors had a preconceived notion that the legislative branch would end up being the more capable of the other two branches of government. All things considered, the legislative branch was a leading force for states amid the Revolutionary War and amid the Articles of Confederation years. The vast majority of the Bill of Rights starts with the expression "Congress shall make no law." That being said, like the sentiments during the Revolutionary Period and amid the Articles of Confederation, the squabbling and absence of solidarity in Congress counteracted it; from playing the authority part the founders felt it ought to take. When talking about the judicial branch, its role is specified once in the Constitution and all that is expressed is that Congress is looking to create a judicial structure. The authors of the Constitution felt that most laws would be upheld and translated at the state level. It was Chief Justice John Marshall who extended the force of the Supreme Court amidst the Marbury vs. Madison case. Here, Marshall yielded the court the privilege to translate the Constitutionality of laws. In this way, the Supreme Court and the judicial branch started to gain traction as an efficient force in the government. However, this was short lived. As the United States developed, there were more requirements...
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...Are Ethics Laws in the Federal Government a Violation of Constitutional Rights? Abstract The paper explores the United States Government’s efforts to put in place laws that guide the ethical behavior of its civil service employees. From the founding of the nation, ensuring ethical behavior by government employees has been a recurring theme, and legislation, laws, and executive orders have been implemented at each stage of our government’s growth to guide federal employees in the ethical administration of their duties. However, at what point do the laws become too restrictive on the very citizens who have sworn to uphold our nation’s democratic values? A history of legislation, laws and executive orders is given along with the eventual backlash of court cases and demands for reform based on constitutional rights. For purposed of brevity, this analysis will focus on federal employees. Are Ethics Laws in the Federal Government a Violation of Constitutional Rights? Over two hundred years ago, with regard to ethics in the federal government, Thomas Jefferson wrote the following words “The right of any officer to give his vote at elections as a qualified citizen is not meant to be restrained, nor, however given, shall it have any effect to his prejudice; but it is expected that he will not attempt to influence the votes of others, nor take any part in the business of electioneering, that being deemed inconsistent with the spirit of the Constitution and his duties...
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...Intelligence: Analyze Executive and Legislative Roles Mambiri Goldstein Affiliation Intelligence: Analyze Executive and Legislative Roles Compare and contrast the elements of Executive Order 12333: United States Intelligence Activities and the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004. The order and the act both serve to intensify security and intelligence extraction that intends to secure both national and homeland security (Jordan, 2009). They were both implemented under the executive designation of the sitting presidents as the leaders of the executive function. Executive order 12333 was biased towards empowering the Central Intelligence Agency in extracting information from national agencies, while Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 was biased on physical and identification screening of individuals at U.S. border points with emphasis on air travel (Jordan, 2009). The former was established with the sole aim of strengthening CIA’s covert actions that leaned on espionage, while the latter was largely triggered by the September 11th terrorist attack. How do these executive and congressional orders affect intelligence activities? Executive and congressional orders affect intelligence through extending the responsibility and powers of the United States Intelligence Agencies (Chauhan, 2004). The orders further establish grounds that direct the heads of the United States Federal agencies to fully comply and cooperate with the Central...
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...is given, the more it is abused. Examples include Hitler’s domination in Germany that lead to the Holocaust, Kim Jon II who runs the world’s most tightly controlled society in modern times to include forced labor, prison camps, trafficking of women and re-education camps. In order to combat such atrocities and disregard of human rights, the founding fathers of the United States created a systematic approach to divide power amongst each governing body that has influence of the people that they serve, in order to create structure and control. The method of control and division of power is known as checks and balances which, plays a vital role within Legislative, Judicial and Executive branches of government. The legislative branch is made up of U.S congress, composed of 100 U.S senators and 435 members of the House of Representatives. This branch makes laws, approves judges and justices, aids in passing the national budget, and lastly declares war. A significant role in the legislative branch is the introduction of new legislation. Legislations are proposed bills that can ultimately influence the people of the United States. Once a bill is approved, it is given to the president who is a part of the executive branch. The president can either approve or veto the bill. If the bill is signed it then becomes a law. However, the legislative branch can override president’s veto with two-thirds vote of the vote. The president is elected by the entire country and serves a four year term...
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...changed dramatically after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the U.S.A. With great skill and determination, Bush rallied the nation together, taking swift action against perceived terrorist threats, building an international coalition against terrorism, and taking the war to the perpetrators of the acts in Afghanistan. His job approval ratings soared to record levels, and he gained new respect from leaders and the public. The opening vignette thus illustrates how external events influence the presidential office. Especially during times of war and national crisis, the natural capacities of the institution are enhanced, as the public looks to the President during emergencies, and the person holding it has their power increased, more easily overcoming the constraints placed upon it by the Constitution and other structural and political factors. In wartime, presidents generally have their way with Congress on defense and foreign policy matters, and are tempted to govern by executive orders and agreements, with minimal...
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...Executive order 9066 (EO 9066) is the famed document which led to the incarceration of 120,000 Japanese Americans and can ultimately be perceived as an overwhelming failure in American History. Some may argue that by putting forth the order, President Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) prevented many potential acts of espionage which at the time could have been an extremely effective tool for the Japanese empire. However; by issuing such an order many citizens lost their freedom, families and much of their culture. To truly understand the reasoning for Executive Order 9066 we must first look at the parties involved. The relationship between the United States and Japan had long been strained. In 1853, 200 years of isolation by the self sustained...
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...national government. In 1777 Congress adopted The Article of Confederation. This attempt to structure an American government failed; The Article of Confederation was unsuccessfully because it restricted the national government; most power was concentrated on the states’ level. The states kept their autonomy. The national government was lack of authority, it was hard to collect taxes from each state; foreign trade was suffering because foreign counties which wanted to conduct business with the United States had to negotiate separate agreements with Congress and a state. In addition to all of these problems the Article of Confederation did not even include a president or any other executive leader because people were in their zeal to reject monarch; everybody was tried of British tyranny and they were worried if they used this model of government it would lead to the same results as they had during British colony’s time. However, in 1787 Constitutional Convention began in Philadelphia (Bianco & Canon, 2013, p.33). The framers of the Constitution understood that confederation did not work. So framers based the new American government on an entirely new theory: federalism, which divides power across the local, state and national governments, and each of these levels of government has some degree of autonomy from the other levels (Bianco & Canon, 2013, p.71). This structure includes a president and grants him a limited power. Despite to this fact that the...
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...system of government modelled after the politics of the United Kingdom. This term comes from the Palace of Westminster, the seat of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The system is a series of procedures for operating a legislature. It is used, or was once used, in the national legislatures and subnational legislatures of most Commonwealth and ex-Commonwealth nations upon being granted responsible government, beginning with the first of the Canadian provinces in 1848 and the six Australian colonies between 1855 and 1890. However some former colonies (e.g. Nigeria) have adopted the presidential system as their form of government. The Houses of Parliament are situated within the Palace of Westminster, in London. Contents 1 Characteristics 2 Operation 3 Role of the head of state 4 Cabinet government 5 Bicameral and unicameral parliaments 6 Criticisms 7 Ceremonies 8 Current countries 9 Former countries 10 See also 11 Notes 12 Bibliography 13 External links Characteristics A Westminster system of government may include some of the following features: a sovereign or head of state who functions as the nominal or legal and constitutional holder of executive power, and holds numerous reserve powers, but whose daily duties mainly consist of performing ceremonial functions. Examples include Queen Elizabeth II, the Governors-General in Commonwealth realms, or the presidents of many countries and state/provincial governors in republican federal systems. ...
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...The foundation and establishment of the executive branch in government is one of the most prolonged debates in the Constitutional Convention. Throughout "Chapter Nine: The Convention" of "The American Presidency: An Intellectual History", Forrest McDonald explains the debate between delegates. The diversity of ideas among the delegates attending the Constitutional Convention is complex in agreeing on the power of the executive branch. These ideas are what paved the way for great impact on the creation of the American Presidency. The American President's role and duties toward the country are significant factors in which the delegates discuss. Selective limitations set for the executive branch by the delegates have a huge impact on drafting the Constitution, in which the government utilizes to this day. The various opinions of the delegates are what triggered the debate considering the duties, functions, and even existence of the American president. In fact, McDonald explains, "during the first week of the convention that they had not been sufficiently affected to convince them that a vigorous chief executives was needed." One of the...
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...displacement of U.S. state law by U.S. Federal law. "Preemption" is also sometimes used in the United States to refer to the displacing effect state laws might have on ordinances enacted by municipalities, especially in the context of alcoholic beverage laws, gun laws, and in the area of FDA approved pharmaceuticals. A technique of Congress to establish federal regulations. Total preemption rests on the national governments power under the supremacy and commerce clauses to preempt conflicting state and local activity. Building on this constitutional authority, federal law in certain areas entirely preempts state and local governments from the field. Sometimes federal law provides for partial preemption in establishing basic policies but requires states to administer them. Some programs give states an option not to participate, but if a state chooses not to do so, the national government steps in and runs the program. Even worse from the state’s point of view is mandatory partial preemption, in which the national government requires states to act on peril of losing other funds but provides no funds to support state action. An unfunded mandate is a statute or regulation that requires a state or local government, or private individuals or organizations, to perform certain actions, yet provides no money for fulfilling the requirements. When a federal government imposes a law or regulation without necessary funding, for example, it becomes the responsibility of the state or local government...
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...the perception of Japan being a military threat was used as a justification for the government’s surveillance of Japanese American communities, which began in 1935 (Hay 23). This illicit monitoring suggests that the government’s anti-Japanese sentiment had an influence even when there was little threat to national security. Lieutenant Commander and Naval Intelligence Officer Kenneth D. Ringle was trained in Japanese language and assigned to Southern California to monitor Japanese communities (Daniels 25). He officially reported in 1941 that “better than 90% of the Nisei and 5% of the original immigrants were completely loyal to the United States” (ibid). Once Pearl...
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...The roles of the three branches Team A His301 3/11/13 Janice Harder The Constitution of the United States is the permanent document upon which this nation’s government was formed and continues to rely upon in order to maintain the democratic republic. In its conception and many evolutions throughout the past 237 years, the rights of the country’s citizens and the roles that all federal and state governmental bodies play were established. Articles I, II and III contain the multifaceted powers as well as the checks and balances for and between the legislative, executive and judicial branches. This paper examines the reasons and benefits of the three divisions in the government, the obstacles to creating legislation due to the division of power among the branches, and the conflict and issues between supporters of federal versus states rights were characterized at the nation’s birth and at present. When the American forefather divided the government they did it with our futures in mind, a government for the people. In order to make sure things are done correctly and fairly they decided to make three branches, the legislative branch is the House of Representatives which is the congress and also includes the senate which is used for law making decisions. Our forefathers made it this way so that each state had proper representation. The legislative branch receives thousands of bills ever two years and it is the legislative branches duties to make sure only necessary bills...
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...Pushing the Limits of Power The president of the United States is often referred to as the most powerful man in the world – and with good reason. As a global hegemon, the decisions made by the U.S. executive are under a constant spotlight, and are often scrutinized. With so much power entrusted in one man, things are bound to go wrong. The president is simply too powerful, and the American people would be better suited with a less-dominant office. Since not all powers of the president are created equal, it is imperative to first distinguish between certain functions, in order to get a better sense of the broad, main areas a president is actually dealing with on a day-to-day basis. A more practical approach to identifying presidential powers is by breaking them up into five key duties: (1) head of state, (2) chief diplomat, (3) chief legislator, (4) chief executive, and (5) commander in chief. Although the five functions mentioned above do not cover everything a president is required to do, it is relatively easy to place both expressed and inherent powers within each subcategory, which allows for greater in-depth analysis. To begin, we’ll dive into one of the president’s more ceremonial powers – as the head of state. Head of State The president is required to act in a formal role as head of state. This role is often referred to as being ceremonial,...
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...knowledge. One can find that such a growth in technology and great changes in the country is the reasoning behind such growth and overall change to keep up with modern times. There are also multiple reasons that there has been such an increase in presidential powers. One is that the people of the United States have always expected their chief executives and leaders to address the nation’s problems and to act when needed. The people want their president to take charge in important situations, but they do not want them to receive too much power, so in turn the people look to the other branches of government to...
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