United States Government Policy Essay

From 1776 to 2014, the United States government has remained continuity in its government structure with democracy and Federalism remaining constant. The U.S has changed with its expansion of its territory from the thirteen colonies to control over other countries. Also, the U.S has changed with industrialization from an agricultural society to an industrialized one. When the nation began in 1776 it was structured under the idea of Federalism. The reason America declared independence from Britain was because they no longer wanted to be under the rule of monarchy, leading to the creation and signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. Naturally, structuring the government radically different from a monarchy in order to control how much power the country’s leader has was a logical decision. The

Also, it put into place the federal government’s separation into three branches, executive, legislative, and judicial, in order to have the government’s power go through checks and balances to control its power. The tenth amendment of the Bill of Rights, added to the Constitution in 1791, specifically addresses the powers reserved to state governments. Having power shared between the national government and state government as well as the separation of the federal government into three branches with the series of checks and balances allows for the President’s power to be limited and controlled, keeping the position from becoming like a monarch/dictator. The concept of democracy, giving power to the people, has also resonated in America since 1776 due to Americans no longer wanting all the power being in the hands of King George III. Originally the only people who could vote were white men who owned property, but it was a considerable improvement at the time from a monarchy. The property owning requirements were removed in 1856, meaning all white men could vote. Voting rights expanded with the 14th amendment passed in 1868, the 15th amendment