Identify and explain how the constitution attempts to create a separation of powers in the United States' political system.
IDENTIFY AND EXPLAIN HOW THE CONSTITUTION ATTEMPTS TO CREATE A SEPARATION OF POWERS IN THE UNITED STATES' POLITICAL SYSTEM In the 18th Century, the French philosopher Montesquieu, who had been one of the inspirations behind the French Revolution, argued that limitation would be necessary within government within government in order to avoid tyranny. He identified the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary as the four braches of government which needed to be separated. To do this, he suggested the 'Separation of Powers', a mechanism built internally into government where each branch would have powers enabling it to limit those of another so no one branch becomes too powerful. The Founding Fathers of the American Constitution agreed with Montesquieu's ideas and introduced a system of checks and balances into the Constitution to support the Separation of Powers. There are several ways in which Separation of Powers is achieved by the Constitution. If we take the Executive and Legislature first, the Executive in the US government is the Presidential Office and the Legislature is the two Houses of Congress - the House of Representatives being the Lower House and the Senate being the Upper House. The Senate has the power to confirm all major presidential appointments. The combined Houses of Congress controls the Executive budget and appropriation (expenditure),
How powerful is Congress?
Congress and its Role he US federal system is governed by a system of 'separation of powers' and therefore there are a number of checks and balances implemented in this system of government. As well as playing a key role in balancing the power of the executive congress also has a number of important functions. For one, the most significant power Congress has is to pass legislation. Most of the creation of legislation is down to congressional committees in particular standing committees whom scrutinize legislation. Although the president actually proposes the legislation, congress filters it and considers amendment to the constitution, so in theory, the legislation comes directly from the President. In addition, Congress can reject any proposals the President proposes. Furthermore, Congress also has a key role in the process of a bill becoming law. Both the House of Representatives and the Senate have to approve of a bill, and then they're three readings before the bill heads to a conference committee. There both the House of Representatives and senate agree over the difference in bills both houses have passed. If a bill passes through these stages, the President can veto any of Congress's bills if he feels that they're impractical or unconstitutional. However, the power Congress proposes means they can turn over any of the Presidential vetos. Although Bill Clinton used
Consider whether the growth of primary elections in the Presidential nomination process has reduced the role and functions of the national nominating conventions to a mere formality
Consider whether the growth of primary elections in the Presidential nomination process has reduced the role and functions of the national nominating conventions to a mere formality. (40 marks) The Democrat convention of 2008 marked the first time since 1976 (and the Republican NNC), that a party's presidential candidate had been in doubt at the opening of a National Nominating Convention. The growth in the role of primaries has often made certain the party's candidates prior to the occasion, arguably reducing the role of the NNCs to a mere formality? Primary elections occur in the first half of an election year, with the electorate voting for who they would like to run in the upcoming Presidential election. Arguably this further increases the democracy of the country, by involving the electorate at such an early stage in an election campaign. Prior to the reforms of 1976, states held a series of meetings (not too dissimilar to the caucuses held today) in "smoke-filled rooms", where the party bosses of each state, decided on who they would support for the party's nomination. The voters were blissfully unaware of this stage, usually only taking notice when the official election season began following the NNC. Clearly, the NNC was at this stage incredibly important as it effectively announced a party's candidate to the country, for the very first time. Today, the electorate
Outline how and why federalism has changed since the 1960s.
Page 1 of 2 Outline how and why federalism has changed since the 1960s. In the 1960s, the government had a creative federalist approach. The aim of Lynden Johnson's Great society programmes was to try to eliminate poverty within the US. This in turn meant large government grants were given to states, which was seen to increase the level of interference from the federal government. Johnson also provided categorical grants instead of block grants, which meant the states had much less control over their spending. He also supplied a lot of federal aid, increasing the dependence of states on the federal government. It wasn't just the executive increasing the role; the judiciary were also pushing the government this way, with cases such as Gideon vs. Wainwright and Miranda vs. Arizona. Since the 1960's the some have stated that New Federalism has been the main objective of the executive and judiciary due to the previous creative federalism. From the 1970s there was an ideological shift, with the rejection of liberal values from the 1960s. President Nixon started the development of the idea that the federal government was too powerful, and that the states needed to have more power of their local rights. He felt that the federal government should be small to promote self reliance and the American idea of 'rugged individualism'. As a reaction to creative federalism and the great
Where Power Lies in Congress
WHERE POWER LIES IN CONGRESS SAMUEL COVE Each chamber of Congress has a different focus of power. The reasons for this are partly because of the Constitution. With the Senate, it gives the power to ratify or reject treaties (such as the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty) and confirm executive (often ambassadorial) appointments. Further, Senators are appointed per state rather than per district, this contributes to giving them a more national (and international) outlook, rather than for the 'folks back home'. These factors increase the Senate's influence over foreign affairs. Although it could be argued that this 'power' in the Senate is only in theory. With Presidential Executive Agreements used in place of treaties more often, and EXOP officials having much power, thus reducing the importance of executive confirmations. These factors undermine the Senate's power. The Senate also has the power to confirm (e.g. Chief Justice Roberts, Justice Samuel Alito) or reject (e.g. Harriet Myers, forced to withdraw after conservative pressure) Supreme Court appointments; a potentially long-reaching power that far outstrips the individual term of any congressmen (6 and 2 years for the Senate and House respectively) - although it should be noted that the high rate of incumbency makes this effect slightly lessened. Individual Senators are often seen as having a higher prestige than
The Religious Right
The Religious Right Huw Owen and Sam Cove Overview "I can sum it all up in three words: Evolution is a lie." - christianforums.com The Religious Right began, significantly, in the 1960s from a coalition of religious conservatives in the U.S which wanted to exert political power as a group who had largely stayed out of politics until then. It is a group of interest groups, who collectively fall under the banner of new social movements (NSMs), but they each could be considered a single issue group. One of the most prominent groups of The Religious Right is the Christian Coalition, made prominent by Ralph E. Reed Jr. The Christian Coalition and Ralph Reed The Christian Coalition is a group mainly fundamentalist and evangelical Americans, which reports itself as having two and a half million members. Although started in 1988 by Pat Robertson and Timothy LaHaye, the group came into prominence when Ralph Reed took control of day-to-day operations from 1989, distributing voters' guides to conservative Christian churches, methods later used to support Bob Dole. At the height of his Coalition career, Reed was named "the Right Hand of God" in 1995 by TIME magazine. But by 1996 the influence was in decline when Reed supported unsuccessful Republican nominee Bob Dole. Reed resigned in 1997, the year that the Coalition lost its tax-exempt status and divided into two parts: the
Why Has It proved So Difficult To Reform Campaign Finance
Why has it proved so difficult to reform campaign finance? As the old saying goes, 'Money like water, will always find an outlet', can be applied to the process of Presidential campaign financing. Many efforts have been made to reform the campaign financing system since 1860, and before the Federal Election Campaign Act was introduced, concerns for the system were increasing, over the amount of money being spent by candidates in the run up to an election, and in presidential elections themselves, whilst also concerns over how the money was being spent. However, because of loopholes found in the law, some of the efforts to reform the campaign financing system have been rendered useless, or have been chipped away, for example with the Buckley v. Valeo case. A real eye opener came for the need to reform the campaign financing system from the Watergate Scandal. It was through President Nixon's Committee for the Re-election of the President (CRP), that President Nixon was able to raise large amounts of money, far exceeding the amount of his competitor, George McGovern. The CRP essentially allowed the Watergate Scandal to take place, and the Watergate affair led to the resignation of President Nixon's resignation after only 2 years of presidency. The first real success in reforming campaign finance was in 1972, when the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA). This act limited
What problems faced the framers of the Constitution in 1787?
What problems faced the framers of the Constitution in 1787? The American constitution of 1787 was drawn up to replace the gap left behind following the end of British rule and allow the declaration of independence to be translated into a workable government. It sought to replace the articles of the confederation and perpetual union by creating a greater separation of powers and expressing the principles of democracy. The constitution attempted to balance the need for greater federal control and unity amongst the states whilst protecting individual state liberty and ensuring that no group would gain ascendancy. It provided the framework for a government strong enough to protect commerce and weak enough to prevent it from abusing its powers. However the problems that faced the framers of the constitution meant that the constitution would not be complete and further amendments would be needed. The framers of the constitution faced a wide variety of problems in 1787 mainly concentrated on the diversity between the states. Historically, the American culture was split following years of settlement from the British the French and the Spanish. There was religious diversity between the states. During the seventeenth century, discontented English people on religious grounds moved to the 'New World,' and created colonies that were more independent of Britain, and in which they
"The conflicting interests of the Great Powers made its failure inevitable." Discuss this verdict on the Congress System.
"The conflicting interests of the Great Powers made its failure inevitable." Discuss this verdict on the Congress System. There were several reasons for why the Congress System failed to succeed, among these the conflicting interests of the Great Powers. In order for us to judge whether or not the conflicting interests of the Great Powers made its failure inevitable, it is necessary to identify what were the other reasons and assess their importance, thus drawing a fair conclusion. Most historians use the term 'Congress System' or 'Concert of Europe' to describe the period after 1815 when the Great Powers attempted to co-operate in order to maintain peace after the collapse of Napoleonic France. This 'Congress' can be resumed to four periodic meetings: at Aix-la-Chapelle in 1818; Troppau in 1820; Laibach in 1821; and Verona in 1822; and from these conferences, the birth of the term 'Congress system', perhaps a bit too ambitious. Along with the conflicting aims of the Great Powers; the extinction of common purpose, no organizational system, influence of individuals, and internal disagreements were essential for the Congress' failure. The Congress System was established with the initial purpose of making reforms to the Vienna Settlement, as a great period of peace had resulted from this settlement, and improving the life of the people. Thus two alliances, the Holly Alliance
Sexual Abuse in U.S. Military
Failure of the Department of Defense: Sexual Abuse Still Rampant Within Military Ranks Tara Conklin Military History Professor Mustafa November 6, 2006 The United States Armed Forces have recognized sexual assault as an issue, and created the Department of Defense Sexual Assault Policy. There are numerous reports still being made by female officers. Sexual Abuse is also often not reported, but none the less still an issue, especially amongst male service members. The programs created by the Department of Defense have not provided service members with adequate results, leading to AWOL status, death, attempted suicide and discharge. Have the programs implemented for the prevention of sexual assault in the Military been successful? Events such as the 1991 Tailhook scandal, and the 2003 Air Force Academy scandal, brought this issue into the limelight. At the Tailhook Convention in Las Vegas,1991, more than one hundred officers sexually assaulted and harassed several dozen female soldiers. There were no convictions. 1 In 2003, at the Air Force Academy, reports of sexual assault were made by one hundred forty-two cadets. There were no convictions.2 In January 2004, the Department of Defense created the Sexual Assault Policy. The policy provided a clear cut definition of what was to be considered sexual assault. The policy also provided a prevention and
