...Democracy in America Michelle Caddell POS/110 May 20, 2012 Cawas Mody Democracy in America On July 4, 1776 the Declaration of Independence was signed. This was a significant start to democracy in America. The fore fathers of our country had big plans for America. This essay will include my opinions of Democracy in America, as well as some of the strengths and weaknesses that exist in our government system in America. I will include a description of the roles of the President, and other members of our government structure in America. The role of the government has done some major changing since the beginning of democracy. Some of these changes that have occurred have weakened our government system. The definition of democracy is a government run by the people of the country. My personal definition of democracy is having officials that will do what is best for the citizens of the country. I also feel that this should be done with the utmost respect and morals. I feel that this is the way that our fore fathers would have wanted it. I truly believe that our country started on these values and beliefs. Is that where it has really ended up? Democracy has a different meaning to everyone. One fact that we can all agree on is that democracy is one of the most important things in our life in America. The fact that we all wake in the morning to living in a free country is something that we as Americans thrive on. Some things that we must pay close attention to is the control that...
Words: 1778 - Pages: 8
...American vs. Athenian Democracy Athens created the first democracy, which redefined the way countries could be run. The city-state of Athens was strong and had a very strong military and naval reinforcements to keep it safe. A democracy is defined as; “a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections”(Merriam Webster). The development of the Athenian democracy saved the people of Athens from the rule of emperors and military leaders. Even though Athenian Democracy was the most developed political process of running a government, it was still not as efficient and exact as the United States model which more clearly established the rights of the governed because it set up trial by jury, benefits of being a US born citizen and equality for all. Trial by jury is essential to they way of life in America. To be eligible for jury duty in the United States a person has to be at least 18 years of age and cannot have been convicted of a felony. Jurors are interviewed to make...
Words: 657 - Pages: 3
...The ‘American democracy’ is not a pure representation of democracy. Such a consideration is enhanced by the adoption of democratic-republic that is associated with the platform of liberation, equality, and commends definition of the democracy from the US Constitution. America’s federal government provides a salient feature in the political system. In such a move, the ‘American democracy’ is constitutional republic making it different compared to that of other developed nations. The mainstream US government has certain exclusive powers applicable to all citizens, like the establishment of army, printing currency. The integration of power among the President, Congress, and the judiciary enables the American political system to operate like the federal constitutional...
Words: 482 - Pages: 2
...Religions influence on American Democracy and it's effect on Globalization Abstract A person's religious beliefs greatly influence his or her ethical behaviors. According to reports, religion is one of the strongest motivators for individuals to exhibit ethical behaviors in all areas of their lives. Modern thought tends to see religion as one sphere of society, alongside politics, economics, science, family, morality and so on. There is much written about business and organizational ethics but there is little written about the behaviors that people display to demonstrate they are ethical humans. It is almost as if an organization is perceived as an entity capable of doing behaviors without the human element. Decisions within the corporate world are shaped not merely by ethical ideals but also by economic, social, political and legal constraints. Christian ethics, for most people, becomes the art of discerning the morally "more or less," the less than perfect "better or worse," in the myriad of trade-offs among competing values and interests. Modern thought tends to see religion as one sphere of society, alongside politics, economics, science, family, morality and so on. There is much written about business and organizational ethics but there is little written about the behaviors that people display to demonstrate they are ethical humans. It is almost as if an organization is perceived as an entity capable of doing behaviors without the human element. This...
Words: 7161 - Pages: 29
...William Hudson's book American Democracy in Peril, has given several challenges facing democracy in American. Hudson's seventh challenge to America's democracy is the “national security state”. Hudson starts the chapter off talking about Ronald Reagan's administration and their involvement in Central America. He talks CIA director William Casey involvement in the conflicted and how he created the contra to prevent the Saninistas from supplying the rebels in El Salvador. Hudson also talks about Oliver North and John Poindexter and the Iran-contra and how they, with the support of Casey, created a hidden government inside the government that used government resources to achieve their own political agenda as Hudson puts it. In the end, North and Poindexter claimed they did what they did for national security. As indicated to Hudson "national security state" from the Iran-contra. Hudson believes "national security state" is harmful to democracy. This essay will investigate the four practices and dispositions associated with "national security...
Words: 1491 - Pages: 6
...American Democracy from 1750 to 1780 As colonial settlers attempted to break away from British rule, the society that they lived in became increasingly democratic. This change was exemplified through a number of factors that have been recorded as history. From the First Great Awakening that sparked religious democracy to the poor having more participation in office and the culmination that was the American Revolutionary War, democracy became more and more prevalent in America from 1750 to 1780. The Great Awakening brought a wave of religious democracy to the colonies as colonists were brought together through their intense bible studies. Besides this, as the people began to sit down and really read the bibles for themselves their views on authority figures and reliance on religious figures changed; people were also able to choose when to go to church and what church they’d attend. Laws would also be established in the later 1700s separating state and church. As you can see, religious democracy had some radical changes over a thirty-year period time, and definitely improved for the better of America. Having more land directly related to having more power for a number of years, but in 1750, and continuing on for years to come, the voting requirements in colonies were changed to allow the less wealthy to vote and have more participation in the government. This followed the boom in religious democracy as people began to realize that, like their religious decisions,...
Words: 528 - Pages: 3
...The American Truth People had high hopes for the United States in 1791, only fifteen years after the Revolutionary war had ended; things were going pretty well on July 4, 1776. Thomas Paine was a huge supporter of the American independance from English rule, so he felt motivated to express his opinion in his book, ‘Rights of Man’. He believed that people from different nations would come together as one. Sadl, the United States of America is not what Paine had imagined it to be. Instead, we attack each other for our differences instead of embracing them, our government focuses more on pride rather than the needs of the people, and the poor is ignored while the rich is praised. America was founded on the idea that any man can be given the freedom to choose. The people were being forced to study Catholicism, and they were punished for choosing Christianity instead. They aimed for a country where there would be freedom to choose their religion, without being prosecuted. However, people have forgotten this, for they have constantly looked down on others for having different beliefs. Any differences people have, whether it be skin color, religious beliefs, sexuality, or government views, americans can not wrap their minds around the idea that it’s okay for people to be different. That is why Paine’s image of everyone embracing our differences to grow...
Words: 491 - Pages: 2
...American Capitalism and American Democracy have always gone hand in hand for the entire history of the United States since it's founding, and many say one cannot exist without the other. Many people today commonly associate Capitalism with Democracy when asked about the United States in general. But this statement is inherently flawed; capitalism is based on profits for the few while democracy is based on rights for many. Cities have been in existence for several thousand years, as much as seven thousand by some accounts (Henslin, 2006). They usually are built near transportation routes or areas rich in natural resources. They can only exist as long as there is the means for producing surplus food and other necessary supplies. Cities grow at different rates and for different reasons and there are different types of cities, or urban centers. Metropolis, megalopolis, and megacity are terms used to classify cities by size. An understanding of the beginning of common schooling in the United States requires attention to such social changes as urbanization, early industrialization, and patterns of immigration, all in the northeastern United States. Ideologically, the common school era was rooted in classical liberalism, which had practical consequences in urban New England different from those in rural Jeffersonian Virginia. These variations were due to differences in regional political economy as well as shifts in religious thought. While Jefferson had encountered difficulty gaining...
Words: 1490 - Pages: 6
...Over our country’s young existence, the democracy that America is so proud of has often had flaws, hypocrisy being one of them, that can be illustrated in many ways. The hypocrisy that can be inexplicable at times, is illustrated in some of the realities depicted in the following articles and film clips described. W.E.B. DuBois describes the phenomenon where after the Civil War, there was still a great divide. It was even physical where different demographics of the white population and the black population in the south would live based on “social grades common to all communities” (DuBois Ch. 9). Though one difference is that the “best of the whites and the best of the Negroes almost never live in anything like close proximity” (DuBois Ch. 9). In the South after the Civil War, the African-Americans were often taken advantage of. The Crop-Lien system, which was a credit system for farmers to obtain supplies and food from local store keepers, took advantage of the black farmers. DuBois describes how if they weren’t able to pay their debt, then the storekeeper would just take what they feel is owed to them without any warrant or law to back them up. This would leave many black farmers in debt and stuck at the bottom of the economic ladder. When it came to politics, many black people felt that why should they bother. If “reputable men leave politics alone”, then “politics becomes disreputable” (DuBois Ch. 9). They felt that the laws were created by people who had no...
Words: 3043 - Pages: 13
...Social media is a threat to American democracy because it has an influence on everyone’s opinions in multiple situations. People’s lives revolve around social media these days and it’s where they end up getting their news, information, and it’s also the way people contact each other. You can be thousands of miles away and be able to communicate through multiple sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, ect. One main way it influences our society is it’s how the political parties campaign. Sure they also go to travel to different states to speak in front of people, and they put it on television. But they also record it and put it on sites like Youtube, and Facebook so others can see it. Now a days people are so content with how they spend their...
Words: 671 - Pages: 3
...Democracy in America Today Pos/110 October 16, 2011 Final Project: Democracy in America Since the beginning of American Democracy it has been morphed from the founder’s format. With all its changes, it still functions as a well-constructed form of democracy that supports our nation. American democracy has both strengths and weaknesses. Government spending or over-spending is a core issue facing our nation in these economically troubled times. There are many points to be addressed regarding American government today. Adjustments within American democracy have caused us to land in our current situation of economic uncertainty. Some of these developments have actually had a negative impact on democracy and the people of America. Some have enabled us to have vast achievements within our government. Our ability to take care of ourselves and continue to achieve greatness has been diminished by some of these changes. We will always face challenges and issues in our country, but we need to be able to see these problems and move forward in a positive way. The commonality between all American’s with regard to their views on democracy is that the very status of that democracy impacts every citizen of America. There are distinct views of democracy and the issues facing American government. “Democracy is the means to select any policy maker and government, in which the policy would then represent the citizens’ preferences” (Edwards, Wattenberg, & Lineberry...
Words: 1737 - Pages: 7
...Electoral participation is important because it is necessary to ensure that the interests of the common people are accurately represented and that the future of American democracy is not threatened. The current state of electoral participation in the United States is highly troubling; over time, “both registration and the act of casting a ballot have been made easier . . . nonetheless voting and many forms of civic engagement have declined or stagnated” (Macedo, p52). This is counterintuitive; as one would expect that with an increase in accessibility to various forms of civic engagement electoral participation would rise. This decline in civic engagement is evident when looking at voter turnout over time, “in 1960, 63 percent of eligible Americans went to the polls. In 2000, that percentage had dropped to barely half of eligible Americans: 51 percent” (Macedo, p22). The main source of this rapid decline in voter turnout is from citizens of the age group 18-24, in which voter turnout in presidential elections dropped from “55 percent in 1972 to 43 percent in 2000” (Macedo,...
Words: 412 - Pages: 2
...development of president Roosevelt’s New deal, once profoundly declared, “The American economic, political, and social organization has given to its citizens the benefit of material prosperity, political liberty, and a wholesome of natural equality, and this achievement is a gain, not only to Americans, but to the world and to civilization.” The political organization Croly speaks of is democracy, which influences both the economic and social structures of regions that utilize. Because of Herbert’s quote, it is evident that democracy is a worthwhile venture—one that must be spread. It is because I agree with the legendary Herbert that I affirm today’s resolution: Resolved: The United States ought to promote democracy in the Middle East. We value a democracy” in the resolution contextualizing it as a question with the ideals of democracy presupposed. The Oxford Dictionary defines democracy as “A system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives” Prefer the Oxford dictionary because They come from the most reliable sources The most commonly used and most useful definition of a word comes first and we have used the first definitions of democracy in these dictionaries They match the definition of democracy that normal citizens would associate with the word Our value criterion will be fulfilling the obligations of the government Americans have an obligation to assist others due to the innate value of all people...
Words: 2536 - Pages: 11
...Introduction- definition of democracy 3. Democracy in western states * United states of America-government and politics * Germany - government and politics Democracy in African countries * South Africa- government and politics 4. Comparison and contrast between African and western democracy 5. Conclusion 6. Referees INTRODUCTION Often do we come across the word democracy people are constantly trying to define it but most do not understand it. It has many definitions but what I term best fit is a government for the people and by the people. It is a form of government in which all eligible citizens are meant to participate equally either directly or indirectly through elected representatives or by establishment of laws in which the society is run. There are three main types which include direct democracy, presidential democracy and parliament democracy. Any form of democracy tries in its own way to ascertain the will of the people and to bring public affairs into line with it. This can be achieved by direct democracy or by a body of elected representatives. Within the group of representative democracies the focus may be on a strong president which is the presidential democracy or on a strong parliament which is the parliament democracy. As earlier mentioned the question is never on whether there exist some forms of direct participation or of representation but rather on how much importance they are given in a certain system. Democracy in western states UNITED STATES...
Words: 2491 - Pages: 10
...Richard Hofstadter analyzes Andrew Jackson’s career as well as his concept of “Jacksonian Democracy.” After reading this chapter I was able to find the similarities and differences between the two principles of “Jacksonian Democracy” and “Jeffersonian Democracy.” Jacksonian Democracy and Jeffersonian Democracy are very similar in most aspects. As the Presidents of the United States they both had the same goals and views. They both were in favor for the common people in the society and believed that it was those who should have the most influence in government, and not the rich. They both believed in the “common men” which did not include minorities like Blacks and Native Americans. Each created their own democracy that helped influence the...
Words: 558 - Pages: 3
