Question 1
The US is a federal constitutional republic consisting of fifty states under the leadership of the president. Certain amount of power is disseminated from the national government to the lower levels of government that are in every single state. Basic documents play a domineering role in describing the political system of the US. Since the declaration of independence in 1776 that declared the US to be a politically autonomous unit and the constitution founded in 1789 that led to the adoption of a federal government, the US political model has greatly transformed and acquired a face that is totally different from the political models of other nations such as China where there is only one government that is entrusted with all the administrative activities (Ritchie, 110). “Its political system might be the reason why it has been able to grow to one of the most politically, socially and economically strong nations in the world”(Polin, Constance & Raymond, 09). Its political model is a little bit complex consisting of various factors that are closely intertwined.
“American politics have proven to be a competitive activity aimed at organization, control and use of power in accordance with the constitution for the good of the people” (Lecture Notes 1, 01). The politics are clearly defined by its constitution which also defines the federal government into 3 branches; legislature, executive and judiciary (Ritchie, 08). These branches are independent and maintain a balance of power although in reality they occasionally come into conflict when one branch exercises less or more powers than expected (Polin, Constance & Raymond, 132). A remarkable conflict arose in 2008 when the US was trying to formulate and implement policies meant to curb the economic recession.
The legislature’s power is vested in the congress that is made up of the House of Representatives and the Senate. Members of the Senate and the House of Representatives are elected by first-past-the-post voting in all states part from Washington and Louisiana which have run-offs. This congress makes laws and also controls all finances (Ritchie, 12). The president of the United States is the head of state and head of government. Additionally, the presidents proposes bills to the congress, serves as commander in chief of the armed forces, veto or sign legislations passed by congress, controls foreign policies and make treaties or appoint secretaries only with the approval of the Senate. Additionally, the president can veto a bill unless it is overruled by a two-third majority from the Senate.
The congress and the judiciary share powers reserved to the national government while federal government shares sovereignty with the state government. The judiciary is composed of several courts which decide cases involving conflicts between citizens or states or federal laws. Its main function is to interpret the constitution and enforce the laws that have been formulated by the legislature and approved by the executive. However, the powers of the judiciary cannot be vetoed. It is known that, “the constitution is the basic norm of the political system, where ‘basic norm’ designates the fundamental charter of a political community” (Lecture Notes 1, 05).
The duties and responsibilities of the federal or national government are distributed among several departments that include department of state, education, labor and defense. However, it is not uncommon for the various departments to work with each other as the functions, operations, efficiency and effectiveness of each department depends on that of the other or others. Political, the US has two major political parties, republican and democrat, and several other small parties since the state is a multiparty (Polin, Constance & Raymond, 132). The Republican Party dominates the political arena, is more conservative and gains support mostly from people belonging to the upper classes. The democrats are liberal and most of its support comes from the working class.
A president serves a fixed period of fours and can only be elected for two terms. Presidential elections are conducted every first Tuesday of November. However, before the elections, presidential primaries are held by the two chief political parties so as to determine who their candidates will be in the general elections. Any candidate must obtain 50% of the total votes cast plus one vote in order to be crowned the president. Gaining majority votes does may therefore not make one the president. They must meet the threshold. Interests, power and values have proven to be utter importance in defining the political model in America. This three concepts shape the civic culture of the states as well as that of the nation considering the fact that the Americans hold onto the belief of homogeneity of their history. “Political values designate the worth of the commitment of a political community to certain way of organizing its political power and system of government, in the end, especially in America, the commitment of the people-the nation-to democracy” (Lecture Notes 1, 03). However, the unity of the Americans has greatly been compromised by the ideological and political dimensions and the cultural differences and specialty.
The US government has taken several steps and measures to assure its subjects a decent life. However, the citizens’ trust in the government is continuously declining despite the citizens continued dependence on the government. The citizens, who are entitled to a vote on a universal suffrage basis and responsible in electing majority of political leaders, are continuously loosing conviction in the nation’s political system and perceive the leaders as people who are in position so as to fulfill their own selfish interests rather than the interests of the public (Polin, Constance & Raymond, 133). This has been due to several crises that have hit the US causing lots of suffering to the innocent citizens while the government took no measures to avert such adversities.
Despite the complexity of the US political model that is basically stipulated by the US constitution that divides powers between the legislature, judiciary and executive, it is apparent that citizens are continuously losing trust in the system and the US should consider restructuring its political system. The question of equality and effectiveness of the hierarchy needs to be given utter consideration. The various aspects of politics are closely intertwined with each branch of government working close with each other.
Question 2
There are various existing sources of American constitution. The most commonly known source of American history is the legislation. In the early days of America formation, the originally drafted constitution was a sketch of the real proposed law which was only passed and put into action through the authorization from the Congress in collaboration with the state legislative council. The original American constitution gave the congress power to make laws that would be enforced to the public for the safety and progress of the American states (Ritchie, 60). The laws created by this body enabled it to exercise the powers assigned by the constitution. In exercise of the powers provided to this body, it has been able to establish a large defense institution to the public. In addition, the congress has been able to set up bureau and administrative boards. This body being a source of law in the constitution of America and formation of administrative boards, it ensured that the complicated nation by then enjoyed better transport facilities, enhanced banking system, and a corruption free states in the nation.
The American traditions were considered to be another great contributor in enhancing the flexibility of the American constitution. In this regard, the powers of the central government in the US were greatly given a push in order to register positive result to the people. In addition to this source of American constitution, amendments are also considered and referred as one of the earliest contributors of the American constitution (Ritchie, 36). There have been 26 total amendments in the US since 1791 to 1972. The amendments were made progressively with time since the amendment process was flawed and was corrupted by different political opinions from the opposition and ruling parties.
The interpretations by the high court are also considered to be sources of American constitution. The constitution is interpreted by the judicial Review authority. The opinions of the Jurists and the decision made by the judges are closely studied by almost all law schools in the US hence enhancing the understanding of American laws (Ritchie, 56). In another circumstance, the constitution has the executive power to even provide an indirect election of the president if need arises but it must first pass through the executive for final decision.
Local laws are described as rules developed by judiciary but intended to be impacted into the minds of the citizens. The law is carefully designed through legal process and decisions made by the court or an elected and legalized tribunals. The legislative council enacts statues that are constituted in the common law. However, the statues may contain areas of interest (judicial decisions) that are not constituted in the case law of the nation. The common laws may be included in the designing of the US constitutional laws. The law binds the expected future decisions that may be made if a constitution amendment takes place. In this regard, common laws may serve as an important tool especially when solving disputes of two parties over what the law really entails (Ritchie, 96). This is done through a rough check of past precedential decisions made by a particular law court.
The last discussion of American source of constitution is the conventions. The conventions were first established by President George Washington under the first American constitution. In his ruling, he established the first ever convention that prevented presidents from ruling more than two terms in presidency (Ritchie, 102). The other source of American constitution just in mention is the customs of the community.
The division of political department under the constitutions in the U.S is composed of the central government and the state government led by the governors. The dual federalism in the U.S was introduced in the early 1780’s to 1933 in order to limit the enumerated powers given by the constitution of the country. The dual federalism provided an extent of representation to the societies who were unable to have access to the central government. “The issue of the representation was one that threatened to wreck the entire constitutional enterprise” (U.S Constitution Article, 38)
There are various existing aspects of American constitution powers. Although some of these aspects may have minimal effects on the constitution of the US, they play a major role in shaping the future of this nation. In a quick mention of these powers, they include the enumerated powers, the declaration aspect of power, the war power, the congress power, the executive constitutional power.
The main aspect of power that can be discussed to portray the general overview of the other aspects of powers is the executive power. The U.S constitution recognizes the executive powers and it has been great concentration. The constitution of the U.S has categorized the powers of the executive and outlined the limitations that come with this critical decision making body in the U.S. In article II of the constitution, the duties of the executive branch of the government have been highlighted and explained in depth.
The article states that the maximum time for a president to serve in a term is four years. Furthermore, it explains that the Electoral College is composed of 538 electors which are equal in number of senators and representatives. The combination of this group makes up the congress. In addition, the article narrates that the president must be U.S born citizen (Ritchie, 122). However, Amendment XXII introduced a two term serving limit in order to give room for leadership circulation for the benefit of the U.S citizens. This ensured that retrogressive leaders were not given a chance to rule again. “Limited presidential term” (U.S Constitution Article, 54)
The president has an executive power to issue mercies for criminal offense (Ritchie, 80). This ensures that a chance was given to the unwanted citizens of the U.S were given a chance to change and work for themselves hence providing a living example to the others who may have wanted to commit criminal offenses(Ritchie, 142). In addition to this, the president has the power to nominate leaders of various government departments hence improving the circulation of the resources in various departments within the nation. “The executive powers of the president can recognize and grant pardons” (U.S Constitution Article, 42)
The congress being a member of the executive has the power to declare war in support of the president against their enemies for the interest of its citizens. However, when need arises, the president of the U.S may exercise full control over the ever powerful congress in favor of the citizens’ welfare.
Works cited
"Lecture Notes 1 Concepts of Politics and American Politics.doc Google Drive." N.p., Web. 13 Dec. 2013.
Polin, Constance, and Raymond Polin. Foundations of American Political Thought. New York: Peter Lang, 2006. Print.
Ritchie, Donald A. The U.S. Constitution. New York, N.Y.: Chelsea House Publishers, 1989. Print.
U. S. Constitution: Articles I, II, II, IV, VIFederalist Papers 39, 47, 48 [online at Avalon Project, Yale University,
