American Government (Essay Sample)

American Government
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In 1776, the articles of the confederation were put in place to establish a framework through which the collaboration of the 13 American colonies that were fighting to secure their independence from Britain would be achieved. However, the articles were not implemented until 1781 (Lenz and Holman, 2013). Reason being, a unified government, was perceived as being limited in particular respects.
The articles outlined the powers accrued to the national governments of the States. However, when it came to providing revenue and controlling conflicting authority of the various separate states, the document was too weak. The reason for this was the experience that the Americans had gone through during British rule (Lenz and Holman, 2013).
The American revolution was ignited by a myriad of factors: political, economic, and religious. Samuel Adams, Thomas Paine, and Patrick Henry played a great role in convincing Americans about the ills of British rule. Although Thomas Jefferson and John Adams joined the revolution later, the effort of these men are very significant to the shaping of the declaration of independence in 1776, the American revolution, and eventually the articles of Confederation, which marked America’s first attempt to become a nation (Lenz and Holman, 2013). The tension that was brewing between American and British territories inspired the coming into being of a series of meetings, which led to the approval of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, an event that marked the birth of America (US History, 2014).
The British ignored the Declaration of Independence and continued sending troops in America to contain the rebellion (the American Revolution). As a result, a new American government had to be instituted in a wartime environment. Thus leading to the development of the Articles of Confederation in 1776 and ratification by the various states in 1781 (US History, 2014).
A short while after the Articles of Confederation were implemented, Daniel Shays led a large group of war veterans and farmers against the injustices of the political and the wealthy elite in America. The reason for this was an increase in taxes by the newly formed governments and a decrease in demand for farmers’ products; thus, leading to a decline in status and power to participate in policy decisions such as voting (Cashon, 2013).
Shays’ rebellion led to the approval of a new constitution in 1787, which heightened central powers. To ensure all states were on board, the Bill of Rights was incorporated into the constitution on September 25th, 1789 (Cashon, 2013).
The large, authoritarian central government did not receive a warm reception from all the states. Therefore, the Bill of Rights was suggested to pave was for ratification. James Madison led the new Congress to address specific individual freedoms and to obtain approval from both the Senate and the House.
The issues that were addressed in the Bill of Rights included freedom of assembly, press, speech, and religion. Issues such as the right to bear firearms, trial by jury, the right to refuse admission of soldiers on private property, unreasonable searches, and protection from cruel forms of punishment were also discussed. The Senate adopted twelve of Madison’s amendments while the House adopted seventeen. Essentially, Madison sought to return power to the people and the states. As a result, liberty and freedom were assured to all free white men in the Bill of Rights that was affected on December 15th, 1791 (AEI Citizenship, 2013).
Perceived from a generalist perspective, the American system of government is democratic. However, if one delves further into the workings of the system, he or she will realise that the American system is a constitutional republic. This means the Constitution of the United States provides the framework through which the federal and state governments are structured (Stern and Arnold, 2004).
In essence, "Federal" means that government operates at both the national and state level. A republic. On the other hand, means that power is vested in the people, but they elect leaders to exercise the power on their behalf: policy formulation, law making, and daily government operations (Stern and Arnold, 2004).
According to the U.S. Constitution, the president is the most powerful person in the government. His roles include appointing supreme court justices and lower federal court justices; a cabinet of department secretaries and agency heads; acting as commander in chief of the armed forces; acting as the head of state; negotiating international treaties; vetoing legislation passed by Congress; and granting reprieves and pardons (Stern and Arnold, 2004).
Additionally, the president also has other powers: informal. The President may institute Executive Orders, which bear the force of the law. Lastly, the President also acts as the leader of his political party, and he may use the stature of his party to articulate political issues and objectives with the members of his party in Congress or the public (Stern and Arnold, 2004).
Congress is the legislative branch of the federal government. It is comprised of two chambers: the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. Legislation passes through both houses before being presented to the president to be signed into law(Stern and Arnold, 2004). Simply put, Congress legislates, repr...