American Government & Its Policy - Essay Example

1. In an essay of at least four well-developed paragraphs, trace the development of political parties in the United States. Begin with the development of the Federalist and Anti federalist parties and ending with the development of the Republican and Democratic parties. The Federalist Party (or Federal Party) was an American political party in the period 1792 to 1816, with remnants lasting into the 1820s. The Federalists controlled the federal government until 1801. The party was formed by Alexander Hamilton, who, during George Washington's first term, built a network of supporters, largely urban, to support his fiscal policies. These supporters grew into the Federalist Party, which wanted a fiscally sound and strong nationalistic government and was opposed by the Democratic-Republicans. The Democratic-Republican Party was founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison by 1792. It was created in opposition to the political, fiscal and foreign policies of the Federalists. They were opposed the creation of a stronger national government under the Constitution and sought to leave the government under the Articles of Confederation intact. The modern Democratic Party truly arose in the 1830s, with the election of Andrew Jackson. The economically activist philosophy of Franklin D. Roosevelt, which has strongly influenced American liberalism, has shaped much of the party's economic agenda since 1932. Roosevelt's New Deal coalition usually controlled the national government until the 1970s. The Whig Party was a political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. The party was formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and the Democratic Party. In particular, the Whigs supported the supremacy of Congress over the Executive Branch and favored a program of modernization and economic protectionism. The Republican Party was created in 1854 in opposition to the Kansas-Nebraska Act that would have allowed the expansion of slavery into Kansas. The Republican activists denounced the act as proof of the power of the Slave Power—the powerful class of southern slaveholders who were conspiring to control the federal government and to spread slavery nationwide. As of 2007, the republicans have 55 million and the democrats have 72 million registered members. 2. In an essay of at least three well-developed paragraphs, describe the three different types of elections and how they are conducted. Be sure to include in your essay an explanation of the voting process. There are two basic types of elections – primary and general. In addition to the primaries and general elections held in even-numbered years, which include political races for the U.S. Congress, some states and local jurisdictions also hold off-year elections (both primary and general) in odd-numbered years for their elected officials. A primary election is a nominating election in which the field of candidates who will run in the general election is chosen. Victory in a primary usually results in a candidate being nominated or endorsed by a political party for the general election. There are three main types of primaries – closed (only registered members of the party can vote), open (A registered voter may vote in any party primary regardless of his own party affiliation) and run offs (the ballot is not restricted to one party). A general election is an election held to choose among candidates nominated in a primary for federal, state or local offices. The purpose of a general election is to make a final choice among the various candidates who have been nominated by parties or who are running as independents. All registered voters can participate in a general election. . Measures such as proposed legislation (referendums), bond issues (approving the borrowing of money for public projects) and other mandates on government also can be placed on the ballot. In addition to the primaries and general elections held in even-numbered years, which include political races for the U.S. Congress, some states and local jurisdictions also hold off-year elections (both primary and general) in odd-numbered years for their elected officials. There are also the local elections that are held to elect the position of officials like the sitting judge, members of the local school committee etc. 3. In an essay of at least two well-developed paragraphs, explain the problems that local governments encounter in promoting public good and serving their constituents. Problems facing local government are complex and difficult to solve. Since we have reached the grassroots of policy making here, the obstacles are more fundamental in nature and evades even proper definition. There is no exact cause for poverty, urban sprawl, neighborhood deterioration or community violence but they are often the results of composite factors that might be themselves be complex. Local government does not have the financial resources to solve problems. Most local governments today are lucky if they have the funding simply to maintain current levels of core services. No one expects additional funding to address the social and economic problems confounding our communities. Of course, a major part of this fiscal dilemma is the shifting of costs from federal and state government to local government, giving them the legal responsibility, to address the issues, but without adequate resources. Local governments have traditionally believed that they had a monopoly on certain service areas. This is no longer true as number of private and public organizations have extensive control over the activities of their members. City and county recreation departments have long competed with boys' and girls' clubs, YMCAs and YWCAs, private health clubs, and other forms of privately provided leisure activities. But now, even in the area of public safety, localities no longer have monopoly control. Businesses and organizations now hire private security services, which have seen phenomenal growth in the last decade. Local governments can suffer from many types of internal weakness the chief among which is corruption. There are several types of political corruption that occur in local government. Local governments may be more susceptible to corruption because interactions between private individuals and officials happen at greater levels of intimacy and with more frequency at more decentralized levels. Forms of corruption pertaining to money like bribery, extortion, embezzlement, and graft are found in local government systems. Bribery need not always be in the form of money but can also be goods or services in order to gain an unfair advantage. 4. In an essay of at least two well-developed paragraphs, explain how the concept of socialism developed. Begin with the political movements of the late 1700s and end with the influences of Karl Marx The origins of socialism as a political movement lie in the Industrial Revolution though its intellectual roots reach back almost as far as recorded thought. The French Revolution of 1789, Karl Marx and Frederick Engels wrote, "abolished feudal property in favor of bourgeois property”. The French Revolution was preceded and influenced by the works of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, whose Social Contract famously began, "Man is born free, and he is everywhere in chains." Marx and Engels drew from these socialist or communist ideas born in the French revolution, as well as from the German philosophy of GWF Hegel, and English political economy, particularly that of Adam Smith. The Communist Manifesto was written in 1848 and immediately thereafter Europe witnessed a number of revolutions. Since Marx's death in 1883, various groups around the world have appealed to Marxism as the theoretical basis for their politics and policies, which have often proved to be dramatically different and conflicting. One of the first major political splits occurred between the advocates of reformism, who argued that the transition to socialism could occur within existing bourgeois parliamentarian frameworks, and communists, who argued that the transition to a socialist society required a revolution and the dissolution of the capitalist state. The reformist tendency, later known as social democracy, came to be dominant in most of the parties affiliated to the Second International and these parties supported their own governments in the First World War. This issue caused the communists to break away, forming their own parties which became members of the Third International. 5. In an essay of at least two well-developed paragraphs, describe how countries have collaborated on a global scale to find solutions to increasing environmental problems. Be sure to include examples that illustrate your main points One of the first major global initiatives to tackle environmental problems was the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, also known as the Rio Summit, Earth Summit was a major United Nations conference held in Rio de Janeiro, 1992. 172 governments participated, with 108 sending their heads of state or government. Some 2,400 representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) attended, with 17,000 people at the parallel NGO "Global Forum", who had so-called Consultative Status. The issues addressed included alternative sources of energy to replace the use of fossil fuels which are linked to global climate change, the growing scarcity of water and other environment related matters. An important achievement was an agreement on the Climate Change Convention which in turn led to the Kyoto Protocol in 1997 (with the objective of reducing greenhouse gases in an effort to prevent anthropogenic climate change). Another was agreement to "not carry out any activities on the lands of indigenous peoples that would cause environmental degradation or that would be culturally inappropriate". Commission for Sustainable Development (CSD) has served as the UN high-level forum for sustainable development issues since 1992, when it was established by the UN General Assembly to ensure effective follow-up to the Rio Summit. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is a scientific body tasked to evaluate the risk of climate change caused by human activity. The panel was established in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), two organizations of the United Nations. The IPCC shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with former Vice President of the United States Al Gore. The G8+5 group of leaders consists of the heads of government from the G8 nations plus the heads of government of the 5 leading emerging economies (Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa). On February 16, 2007, at meeting of the G8+5 Climate Change Dialogue in Washington, D.C., a non-binding agreement was reached to cooperate on tackling global warming. The group accepted that the existence of man-made climate change was beyond doubt, and that there should be a global system of emission caps and carbon emissions trading applying to both industrialized nations and developing countries. 6. In an essay of at least two well-developed paragraphs, explain how the media acts to both positively and negatively influence public opinion The media is vital to the functioning of any democracy. It has the ability to generate both positive and negative impressions on an unsuspecting public. The dissemination of knowledge in all modern societies occurs through their media. Knowledge of the activities of the government, civic bodies, new legislations to even traffic reports are delivered via various arms of the media. The man of the modern age is acquainted with the world and worldly affairs only through newspapers, television channels and so on. In addition, the view points of other members of the society such as intellectuals and politicians reach the public only through the media. Based on these they formulate their opinions which affect their judgment and subsequent actions. However media is not without its share of negative effects. For many years, there has been debate surrounding the issue of widespread violence in today's media. Critics of graphic violence believe that it can lead to desensitization, especially in children, where people view violent acts in a more relaxed light. Violence becomes so common that not only are people less adherent to strict moral standards, they accept violence as an inevitable part of life. Mass media has aestheticized violence. This process has set new social standards, and continues to influence the overall opinion regarding the nature of the world for many people. Instead of seeing humans as inherently good, the saturation of violence in the media implies that human nature is more closely aligned with death, destruction, and chaos. In America, the media and advertising are some of the biggest influences on an individual's method of viewing and interpreting the world around them. The influential power of the media is reaching controversial levels and very few aspects of life in America remain outside the pressure of these outlets. 7. In an essay of at least two well-developed paragraphs, explain how laws related to capital punishment have changed since the early 1970s. There has always been a lack of public support for capital punishment which along with various legal challenges reduced the execution rate to near zero by 1967. The U.S. Supreme Court finally banned the practice in 1972. However, In 1976, the Supreme Court authorized its resumption. Each state could then decide whether or not to have the death penalty. As of the 2002-OCT, only the District of Columbia and 12 states do not have the death penalty. The states which have abolished executions are typically northern: Alaska, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia and Wisconsin. However, seven jurisdictions have the death penalty but have not performed any executions since 1976. They are also mostly northern: Connecticut, Kansas, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, South Dakota and the U.S. military. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that whenever a sentencing jury has the ability to impose capital punishment, the jury must be informed in advance if the defendant would be eligible for parole. Almost all states have an automatic review of each conviction by their highest appellate court. Recent laws have expanded the number of crimes for which capital punishment can be applied. Other legislation has reduced some of the appeal mechanisms available to those on death row. In 1988, a new statute was enacted for murder in the course of a drug kingpin conspiracy. This was modelled on statutes which had been approved by the Supreme Court after its 1972 ruling. Between its enactment and the 1994 expansion of the federal death penalty, described below, 6 people were sentenced to death for violating this law, though none has been executed. In 1994, the federal death penalty was expanded to cover some 60 different offenses. Among the crimes for which people in any state can be sentenced to death are murders of certain government officials, kidnapping resulting in death, murder for hire, fatal drive-by shootings, sexual abuse crimes resulting in death, car-jacking resulting in death, and certain crimes not resulting in death, including the running of a large scale drug enterprise. 8. In an essay of at least two well-developed paragraphs, compare and contrast the major political viewpoints held by the Republican and Democratic parties in U.S. politics Republicans are considered on the right end of the political spectrum while Democrats are on the left. The far right generally is pro-religion, anti-bureaucracy, pro-military, pro-business and pro-personal responsibility. To the far left of the spectrum are the extreme liberals, or the most extreme democrats. They idealize that Government should solve all problems and that it should be counted on by people who can't take care of themselves. Republicans might see this is bordering on communism. Republicans, are usually considered conservative (fiscally as well as socially), pro-business and against the bureaucracy often associated with big government. They see big government as wasteful and an obstacle to practical efficiency.Republicans support giving government grants to faith-based and other private charitable organizations to supplant welfare spending as they believer that the private sector is more efficient in helping the poor than the government. They have pledged to advance homeland security by committing to renewed Biodefense strategies and by ensuring greater cooperation between the FBI and the law enforcement officials. The Democratic Party is committed to assisting the poor by favoring a higher minimum age supplemented by provisions for regular increments. Democrats generally support a more progressive tax structure to provide more services and reduce injustice. Currently they have proposed reversing those tax cuts the Bush administration gave to the wealthiest Americans while wishing to keep in place those given to the middle class. Democrats generally support more government spending on social services while spending less on the military. Following the War on Terror, they have called for a complete reformation of the intelligence community internationally and locally to improve homeland security. They have also called for the strengthening of the military by adding new soldiers and equipment as well as the improvement in their pay and benefits. Democrats believe in progressive, guaranteed social security schemes that have ensured that seniors and people with disabilities receive a benefit not subject to the whims of the market or the economy. They are thus opposed to privatization of social security and the raising of the retirement age. 9. In an essay of at least three well-developed paragraphs, explain the three principal ways that political campaigning changed during the 1900s The period between 1900 and 1948 saw mainly an acceleration of the mer­chandising style of electioneering established in the three previous decades. Modern advertising techniques were more heavily applied in this era as publicity became the key element in campaigning. Inventions like the radio were quickly put to use by those trying to sell candidates. At the same time, elaborate parades and other tactics of the old army style declined even further. While numerous mass meetings still were scheduled, crowds at such events tended to be smaller. In general, the campaigns of these years were more efficient, utilizing the latest forms of technology and expertise. The period after 1950 witnessed some of the biggest changes in the history of American electioneering. Although some forms of electronic technology and public relations techniques had infused earlier campaigning, such in­novations as television, computers, and advanced marketing methods would in many ways revolutionize the vote-getting process. Running for office was no longer a haphazard business primarily on intuition. It became a science, relying on detailed statistical information and complex analytical tools. Old styles of campaigning-through rallies and other events--did not disappear, but were modified and incorporated into a new strategic frame­ work. Such a framework involved a more precise, centralized "team" strategy than had been employed in the past. It included a formal blueprint or master plan, the wider use of specialized propaganda skills, growing emphasis on the media, and a large amount of opinion measurement and manipulation. 10. In an essay of at least two well-developed paragraphs, describe at least four factors that led to the collapse of communism in the Soviet Union in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Though the Soviet Union collapsed in the short span of a decade, the factors that led to it can be traced to the early and middle stages of Russian communism. The fact that communism failed to deliver the better life that it prophesized to its followers was perhaps the most important factor for this. The majority of Russians remained poor and the standard of living was nothing compared to that of the industrialized west. The central system of planning and administration necessitated that even decisions such as how many nails and shoes to produce had to be decided by Moscow and not by market forces. There was high amount of dissatisfaction among the people which proved the basis for all the subsequent events. Along with this, the soviet system of governance had placed too much power in the hands of the bureaucracy which became very corrupt and stagnant as a result. Civil liberties were literally nonexistent and the military as well as the KGB held dictatorial influence over the life of the citizens. Dissenting opinions were suppressed and the criticisms of the party mechanisms as well as policies were dealt with harshly. Press, speech and demonstration were curtailed. The reform movements of Gorbachev, though beneficial and in the right direction were poorly synchronized and the acting leadership was ill qualified to deal with the consequences of Glasnost and Perestroika. Decades of Vehemence erupted in the span of a few years, books that were previously banned were published and exiled intellectuals were invited back to Russia. This in turn led to the demand among soviet satellite states for independence and one by one they started falling away from the Soviet Union. Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and so on revolted with the helpless Russian Government unable to interfere and finally, in the place of one mighty superpower stood a cluster of fifteen independent states. 11. In an essay of at least two well-developed paragraphs, explain the First Amendment rules for the right of assembly and petition as they pertain to assembling on public and private property. Include examples to support your explanations The right to assembly has been included in the first amendment so as to allow the citizens to assemble in peace for the redress of their grievances against the state, congress or any other authority. The specifications of the act pertaining to assembling on private and public property were however made clear by the various rulings of the Supreme Court and state high courts. Citizens are allowed to assemble on public property as long as they do not resort to violent methods that result in the destruction of property or harm to other citizens. Public property is any property that is controlled by a state or by a whole community. This definition has been extended many a times to refer to places such as shopping centre premises that attract thorough fare and in the case of peaceful assembly relating to tenants of the commercial space are considered public space. The first attempt to provide a constitutional basis for the protection of free expression on private property occurred in the mid-1940s. In Marsh v. Alabama (1946), the Supreme Court held that the owners and operators of a company town could not prohibit the distribution of religious literature in the town's business district because such expression was protected by the First and 14th amendments. The majority reasoned that the town displayed many of the attributes of a municipality; therefore the state-action requirement was satisfied for constitutional purposes of sustaining the rights of free expression. As stated in Marsh, "the more an owner, for his advantage, opens up his property for use by the public in general, the more do his rights become circumscribed by the statutory and constitutional rights of those who use it." This ruling was further corroborated in a number of other rulings such as Amalgamated Food Employees Union v. Logan Valley Plaza, Lloyd Corp. v. Tanner, City of Jamestown v. Beneda etc. 12. In an essay of at least two well-developed paragraphs, explain at least five ways in which Vladimir Lenin's views of communism differed from those of Karl Marx. Include examples of how Lenin implemented these ideas when his communist party took control. Marx established the general philosophy and Lenin attempted to apply the philosophy in Russia. A chief difference between earlier Marxism and Lenin's views was that Lenin believed that socialism could be established in a country which had not passed through the full development of industrial capitalism. Marx viewed the socialist revolution as arising out of the industrial proletariat. Yet Russia at the time of the Bolshevik Revolution was not primarily an industrial country; its common populace were primarily agricultural peasants, not industrial workers and there was little sign of revolution in the advanced industrial nations. Lenin adapted Marxism to a pre-industrial society in which the peasants formed the main class of workers. Lenin attempted to reconcile Marxism with a democratic form of government. Marx's main appeal was his ability to express the frustrations of workers enslaved in mines and factories, and Marx called for the workers (proletariat) to overthrow the industrial capitalist owners. Lenin agreed with Marx's call to violent revolution, but some communists (the revisionists) claimed that communism could be achieved through peaceful means. Lenin implemented these ideas in the newly communist Russia by various pivotal measures such as abolition of the property in land and application of all rents of land to public purposes. The communist manifesto proposed a heavy progressive or graduated income tax whereas the USSR went way further than that, implementing government pay scale for all, removing any income from private activity. Nationalization of banks in Russia were completed by 1920 thereby ensuring the centralization of credit in the banks of the state, by means of a national bank with state capital and an exclusive monopoly. They also aimed for a combination of agriculture with manufacturing industries and the gradual abolition of all the distinction between town and country by a more equable distribution of the populace over the country. This was the most difficult of all the ideas, and was completed only in the 1970-s with full scale transition from collective farms (kolkhoz) where at least some relation between productivity and pay was retained, to soviet farms (sovkhoz) where agricultural workers received salaries just like their industrial counterparts. 13. In an essay of at least three well-developed paragraphs, analyze and discuss at least four guidelines that have been created to keep the media and other individuals from abusing the right of free speech. Make sure your discussion identifies the amendment that guarantees these rights. The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the United States Bill of Rights that expressly prohibits the United States Congress from making laws biased towards any particular religious institution, that prohibit the free exercise of religion, laws that infringe the freedom of speech, infringe the freedom of the press, limit the right to peaceably assemble, or limit the right to petition the government for a redress of grievances. In America, the freedom of speech is also protected by other state and federal laws. There are exceptions to the general protection of speech, however, including the Miller test for obscenity, child pornography laws, and regulation of commercial speech such as advertising. Other limitations on free speech often balance rights to free speech and other rights, such as property rights for authors and inventors (copyright), interests in fair political campaigns (Campaign finance laws), protection from imminent or potential violence against particular persons (restrictions on Hate speech or fighting words), or the use of untruths to harm others (slander). Distinctions are also often made between speech and other acts, such as flag desecration, which may have symbolic significance. Over the years, the courts have decided that a few other public interests — for example, national security, justice or personal safety — override freedom of speech. Obscene materials do not come under the protection of the first amendment. The rules for establishing the obscenity of any particular material was laid down by the supreme court in Miller v. California (1973). If free speech were to conflict with other compelling interests, then media and individual censorship is allowed. For example, in times of war, distributing pamphlets that discourage people from joining the armed forces is a punishable offence. Similarly contempt of court is also unprotected by the free speech doctrines. There exists guidelines that suggest time, manner and place for speeches and demonstrations. It should not be found to obstruct a legitimate government activity, impede the flow of traffic or create excessive noise levels. 14. In an essay of at least three well-developed paragraphs, explain how the Constitution protects individuals from unreasonable government intrusion in their homes, personal possessions, and private communications. It has been stated that while electing a representative government like that of the United States, the citizens voluntarily give up some of their rights. Invasion of privacy whether personal or relating to information security is covered by many modern tort laws. Intrusion upon seclusion occurs when a perpetrator intentionally intrudes, physically, electronically, or otherwise, upon the private space, solitude, or seclusion of a person, or the private affairs or concerns of a person, by use of the perpetrator's physical senses or by electronic device or devices to oversee or overhear the person's private affairs, or by some other form of investigation, examination, or observation intrude upon a person's private matters if the intrusion would be highly offensive to a reasonable person. Hacking a computer is an example of intrusion upon privacy. The Fourth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States ensures that "the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. It specifies that any warrant must be judicially sanctioned for a search or an arrest, in order for such a warrant to be considered reasonable. Warrants must be supported by probable cause and be limited in scope according to specific information supplied by a person (usually a peace officer) who has sworn by it and is therefore accountable to the issuing court. In the last decade courts have had to determine whether law enforcement officials can access evidence of illegal activity stored on digital technology without encroaching on a person's Fourth Amendment rights. In 2008, the New Jersey Supreme Court held that computer users can expect that the personal information they give their internet service providers is considered private. The government similarly cannot tap into a citizens telecommunication networks and other communication channels without the consent of an acting judge. 15. In an essay of at least two well-developed paragraphs, describe the two guidelines that the government uses to decide if a distinction between classes of people created by the government is fair and reasonable. The class distinctions that exist between people are many and numerous. There can be distinctions based on age, sex, race, skill, literacy or other ethno-religious factors. However, none of these are democratic class distinctions in the sense that they are supported by the constitution. The democratic institution of the United States is fundamentally opposed to the deliberate creation of social classes as it is a violation of the principle of equality existing in the constitution. A major classification of people in the government circles is with respect to their income level. On the basis of this, they are grouped as lower class, middle class and upper class. The classes are the direct results of a capitalist system of economy and the formulation of the government policies, legislative decisions and the profiling of political campaigns directly rely on these classifications. For example, political parties try to be more appealing for the middle class without alienating any of the other classes. In the formation of these classes, the government is legally bound not to discriminate between any of them. The progressive income tax system might seem contradictory to this but the crux of even this system is to bring out equality. While making its decisions, in distributing benefits, making selections, appointments etc, and the government is bound to practice a strict moral and legal code of equality. The US government is also committed to bring equality among all classes. The classifications that exists on the basis of religious beliefs, racial origins, sexual orientations etc are not valid in any legal context, though they have a strong political presence. Read More