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American Democracy

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rom the point of its founding, democratic government in the United States of America has faced the challenging need to overcome certain obstacles inherent in both its organization and general structure before many of its basic assumptions could be actualized. Learned and astute observers of the founding and development of American democracy noted the threatening nature of a number of these obstacles during the early days of the new republic. The study proposed here finds its importance and justification in the concept that several of the original problems of American democracy have endured with increasing ominous consequences for the full realization of democratic government in the United States. In particular, two of the most crucial …show more content…

What is hoped for here is an examination of specific responses and events related to the aforementioned major problems that is capable of shedding an enlightening beacon of light on the nature and progression of maladies related to these problems and what is thereby portended for American society in terms of present results and future possibilities. There is, in other words, the intent to forge an analysis capable of informing and instructing those who are devoted to and must continue to grapple with these outstanding problems, problems in need of being resolved if ever democratic government in America is to achieve any degree of substance consistent with its theoretical suppositions and ideals.

The first problem in American democracy set forth here was offered the summary justification by the Founding Fathers that it was a "limited" representative or republican form of democracy that was best suited and most desirable for the new …show more content…

Such campaigns were tragically successful in too many cases for too many years before
Americans began to realize the true extent of the victimization.

It is a fundamental assertion of this study that the majority society, in its fear-provoked zeal to maintain and assure its inequitable position in American society, flirted with and came dangerously close to total abandonment of the particular freedom upon which all others are ultimately dependent, the right to disagree. Moreover, it is an ancillary claim of this study that the danger has not yet passed, for few if any of society's major problems have been solved, and a large number of Americans seem yet inclined to believe that special treatment and different rules can be applied to Americans who dare to disagree without consequence for those who are in agreement with the powers and policies that

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Catt explains the history of America’s democracy, political stand and goals through events and quotations of certain presidents. She states, “Abraham Lincoln welded those two axioms into a new one: ‘Ours is a government of the people, by the people, and for the people.’” , she states another quote, “Fifty years more passed and the president of the United States, Woodrow Wilson, in a mighty crisis of the nation,

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The American Democracy Now textbook explains about the different 9 chapters, such as The Constitution, Federalism, Civil Liberties, Public Opinion, Interest Groups, Political, and etc. Within each of the 9 chapters it describes a brief history of America and how it help mold and shaped the way we live, and the way we think from a different perspective of a person opinion. Throughout the years, technology has influenced different ways people and government communicates and organizes their political campaigns such as television, computers, cell phones, and news services. Technology has challenged people to give them opportunities to respond to make a deep impact in the future of the nation.

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Section B - Question 2 America’s Development in Government After declaring independence, the newly formed United States of America was challenged with the task of making a reliable government. The Second Continental Congress and the Articles of Confederation were the first two attempts at the new governments, but there were many flaws in the system. The founders wanted to improve the rules by making changes to the structure of government. Their views on human nature affected the making of the government. The Constitution and the Bill of Rights were the results of the founders' struggles.

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Summary of Chapter one American Government: Root, Context, and Culture chapter one, Consisted on the beginning of the United States government, How does the United States government compares to other forms of government around the world, states the meaning of democracy and the political process. Last but not least it consists of how attitudes about the functions of government have changed throughout the years. First of all, the first inhabitants of the United States were indigenous people who were around for about 30,000 years and were also not homogeneous. Although it's hard to tell how many indigenous people were around, there are estimates of about 100 million inhabitants however most indigenous people died because of diseases that European

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On the local level, people are very free to express themselves. Mr. Williams’ current firm does not handle the corrupted system in DeKalb country, but they are aware of the corruption. Mr. Williams feels like the mentality and civil culture that sustains a democracy has dissipated. He believes that we no longer have the same mindset as the founding fathers had, so he does not think that we are capable of sustaining a democracy. He is deeply suspicious of people who want to run for public office.

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The United States-- a country of economic strength, freedom, and an endless sea of opportunity promises all of its citizens the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and happiness. This promise coupled with the hope of a brighter future attracted those from all walks of life. It also appealed to those who suffered political and religious persecution ; overall its divided branches of governing gave off the illusion of a fair and just political policy. Thus, when hit with the slightest of problems, the public was quick to turn to the government for a solution. The increase in governmental power can be linked to the ratification of the Constitution – which aimed at protecting the rights of individuals and limiting governmental powers.

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The continuing struggle to achieve civil rights despite the Civil Rights Movement highlights the ways in which the Madisonian Democratic system is failing in the United States. Madisonian Democracy and a majoritarian understanding of democracy are based on similar ideas but have a distinct and important difference: protection of minorities and individual rights. A majoritarian democracy is one in which the majorities win without consideration for minority rights and is, perhaps, democracy in it’s simplest form – the people or the elected officials vote, and the majority vote wins. A Madisonian Democracy is a composite form of government. Like a majoritarian democracy, the majority opinion holds most the power, however, checks and balances are put in place to ensure a protection of minority and individual rights, as well as minimize the risk of abusive uses of power.

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Calvin Coolidge, the 30th president of the United States, one said “every American can turn for solace and consolation to the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States with the assurance and confidence that those two great charters of freedom and justice remain firm and unshaken”. That reverence for our Nation’s long standing constitution still stands strong because of the hard work of the 55 delegates that argued for their beliefs in creating a new government at the Philadelphia Convention (Wilson et al. 27). The framers of the Constitution fervently contested what form the government of our nation should take and the impact of their debates are displayed throughout the framework of the document. The main concerns

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In the year 1800, the United States was a fragile new republic with many issues yet to resolve. Perhaps one of the greatest struggles facing this new nation was conflicting views on were government power should lie. The election of 1800, between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, was a bitter contest that turned these two friends into enemies, and changed the course of America’s election process and the party system as we know it. The election was an election that brought about the eventual ending of the Federalist Party in the First Party System and the emergence of the Republican party into power. “It was a lengthy, bitter match between the pro-French and pro-decentralization Republicans under Jefferson and Burr, against incumbent Adams and Pinckney's pro-British and pro-centralization Federalists”.

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The United States currently faces a severe problem with one of their governmental processes. In the democratic system of the United States, politicians are elected by voting from the citizens, in most cases. The problem the United States is facing is that people are no longer voting in elections for officials. This problem is discussed in the article, “In praise of low voter turnout”, written by Charles Krauthammer. The main idea behind this article is that voters are no longer interested in politics, as they were in previous generations.

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Problems in America only grew worse when democracy was being added to the mixture of already complicated politics. In Woody Holton’s book, Unruly American and the Origins of the Constitution, he stated that, “many Americans. . . were growing ‘tired of an excess of democracy,’ a ‘prevailing rage of excessive democracy. . .’ [or] ‘democratical tyranny.’” Democracy was an attempt at home rule among the colonies, but not everyone was happy with this extreme excess of colonial citizens contribution to the government.

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Art Analysis: Michelangelo Michelangelo is widely considered to be one of the best, if not the best, artists of the Renaissance period. He was born in 1475, (history.com Staff, 2010) and lived to be 88 years old, so there is much to discuss about him as he had plenty of time to work on his art. Michelangelo was famous for being a master sculptor, as that was his utmost favorite art form to do. He did however paint frescoes when he was asked to, such as the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, and did a absolutely fantastic job on them.

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