Sovereignty and how how it creates the federalist system we have in the United States (Essay Sample)

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Sovereignty and How It Creates the Federalist System We Have In the United States
The concept of sovereignty means that the United States is an independent nation, and the people govern themselves and control their own affairs. The people have the right to elect their own leader and make their own laws. In other words, they are governed by their rights of self-government. The idea of people sovereignty was adopted by the American people from European history. The idea was first applied in America after the American Revolution in 18th century. After Mexican American war, America acquired the land that was formerly acquired by Mexico. This lead to mixed reactions onto whether slavery should be abolished or be adopted in the newly acquired land. The effort of the Congress to come up with solution failed. As a result, the citizens were left to decide whether to expand slavery or not. This situation lead to the coining of the term sovereignty.[Raia, Prokhovnik. Sovereignties: contemporary theory and practice. New York. Palgrave Macmillan (2007, p.5).]
With sovereignty, the founders believed that the people had absolute independence to rule themselves. This was achieved by making of a Constitution, where Americans made their own rules and followed them without being dictated by the government. Today, American is a sovereign state in the sense that, they elect their own leaders to rule them. Sovereignty is superior to treaties. The American people have the final saying on the matters being enacted in the Constitution. Any matter requires ratification by nine states which means people from those states have agreed in a perfect union. In 18th century, the pioneers of sovereignty also believed that any tax being imposed to Americans should be voluntary. However, the Constitution requires all citizens to pay taxes. This has led to many pioneers accusing the government of being legitimate.[Raia (2007, p.7)] [Benton, Lauren. A search for sovereignty: law and geography of European empires, 1400-1900. Cambridge University Press (2010, p.7)]
The American people also control the affairs of the government through either direct democracy or representative. Policies such as immigration rules are endorsed by the senate before they become laws. Senate itself presents public interests, which reflects people opinions in the ground. Sovereignty is also excised direct where people can conduct a referendum to propose or oppose a certain matter. In the United States, the federal government is made up of three main branches: legislative, executive, and the judicial. Each branch has well laid stipulated roles and powers. However, legislature is most influential branch. It is comprised of House of Representatives and the Senate. For instance, the Senate has power to approve majority of the key presidential appointments. This includes federal judges, military officers, and cabinet officers, among others. On the other hand, the House of Representatives passes all legislative bills related with rising of revenues.[Benton, Lauren. A search for sovereignty: law and geography of European empires, 1400-1900. Cambridge University Press. 2010, p.9)] [Raia, Prokhovnik. Sovereignties: contemporary theory and practice. New York. Palgrave Macmillan (2007, p.5).]
Another influential power of the legislature is the capacity to impeach the federal officers. This includes the President, cabinet officers, federal judges, and other senior officers in the federal government. The process of removal is initiated by the House of Representatives, who have to vote for the impeachment of the officer first. The senate must then meet to decide whether the officer should be impeached or not. The legislature also acts as the watchdog of the other two branches of the government. For instance, the congress ensures that the executive is following the law. It also protects exploitation of citizen by the executive officers. They ensure that public fund are efficiently utilized by the executive and keep corruption on check.[Lauren (2010, p.12)] [Benton, Lauren. A search for sovereignty: law and geography of European empires, 1400-1900. Cambridge University Press. 2010, p.12)]
The legislature plays a vital role in the matters of national security. The Congress has the power to decide whether to declare war, raising the military and makes overall rules that govern the armed forces departments. However, in recent past, disagreements have emerged between the congress and the executives in the matters of declaring a war. For instance, in 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt did not receive the Congress approval to take military to Panama. Though such incidences have occurred severally, the Congress remains with the final decision on military issues according to the Constitution. The Congress also has broad powers over financial policies and budgetary control. This includes authority to collect taxes, impose exercise duties, pay national debts, and ensure that general welfares of the United State is protected. In this notion, the congress has the power to appropriate funds and check on the executive expenditure on the allocated funds. This ensures that the expenditures are following the planned budgets and enhance accountability. The legislature also controls the commercial activities in the U.S. It establishes rules and regulation that control commerce. This includes bankruptcy laws, rules on how to coin money and punish counterfeiters. In addition, the Congress has the power to initiate post offices and post roads, issuing of copyrights and patents and fixing weight standards and measures. This authority covers all the operations in both transport and communication sector. The legislature also has massive powers over the citizenship in United States.[Kenneth, Thomas. Federalism, State Sovereignty, and the Constitution: Basis and Limits of Congressional Power.2005. /au/awc/awcgate/crs/rl30315.pdf] [Kenneth (2010, p.2)] [Ibid] [Kenneth (2010, p.3)]