American Politics and the Constitution
Question One
The debate on the scope and size of the United States government and governance has lingered since the completion of the civil war to date. Over the years, the US government has been composed of reactive institutions such as the federal judiciary and the Supreme Court, and proactive institution comprising the presidency and the congress. During the initial century after gaining independence between 1789 and 1910, many have argued that the US government was majorly dictated by the U.S. Congress, only to be terminated by the speakers’ revolt in 1910. In particular, during the congressional U.S. government era, the presidential system was weak, and the Congress controlled political movements, policymaking, elections, and pressure groups. Besides, under the powerful congressional government, the judicial government was largely subdued and facilitated nationalism rather than challenging socio-economic misgivings.
Also, it is argued that after 1910, the US government had been largely controlled by the presidency to which the congress is insubordinate and answerable. In particular, the second presidential era of the US has witnessed the presidency transforming into an instrument of sovereignty and power. Furthermore, the presidency has gained its power through the strengthening of the federal government, the uprising of the U.S. economy, public support, and the emergence of two potent political parties.
Also, it has been largely argued that by strengthening the presidency, the size of the US government and its global socio-economic influence and power has increased. Furthermore, contrary to the era of the U.S. powerful congressional government, the presidential government has a strong judiciary that actively pursues social justice. Hover, the powerful presidential system has been largely criticized due to significant mistakes made in modern presidential history, for instance, Watergate, and Vietnam. Due to the great stakes of the modern U.S presidency, as well as the expansion of the U.S. government to become a global superpower, congress has increasingly questioned and criticized numerous presidential decisions.
Question Two
Political activism and organization have endured a dynamic relationship in U.S. history. Essentially, political activism mainly encompasses political activities and movements that intervene, direct, prevent, or facilitate the environmental, economic, political, and social reforms to result in better and quality lives of the citizens. Predominantly, the American Political organizations majorly strive to pursue the distinct ideals, rights, and desires of the citizens to gain public approval. In particular, the American political parties encompassing the republicans and the democrats mainly intend to comply with the American creed and popular culture comprising of populism, individualism, egalitarianism, and liberty (Jillson 94).
Besides, political activism concepts such as rule of law, equality, individualism, equality, and liberty are often reflected by the American political organizations that seek to win the approval of the electorate. Furthermore, both the republicans and democrats have alternately strived to develop political socialization and promote activism through avenues such as education and media. For instance, during the 1950s and 1960s, Fred Greenstein facilitated the learning of political aspects and activism in New Haven School (Jillson 97). Due to the current development of technology, the U.S. political class majorly utilizes social and mass media to champion political activism on contentious issues such as racism, employment, economy, justice, and education.
Stemming from the fact that the modern history of the U.S. has experienced powerful presidency over congress, the political organizations seek to in popular opinion from both the congress, judicial organizations, human rights activism groups, and political activism groups to win elections. To achieve this, the US presidential elections since early 1910 has been characterized by political mantra and in the recent past presidential debates which strive to address the socio-economic and political desires of the general public. In particular, the republicans and the democrats, as well as the liberals and the conservatives both have a thin line between them as pertains positive relations to political activism, and most strive to initiate, prevent, or sustain ideologies depending on their impacts on the citizens. Most American politicians belonging to either the republican and democratic political organizations strive to pursue transformative ideologies, mantra, and actions that are meant for the greater good.
Question 3
The Georgian constitution develops strict rules which infringe on the rights of the American citizen compared to the American constitution. For instance, contrary to the U.S. constitution’s second amendment which provides that the citizens have a paramount right to possession of firearms, the Georgian law restricts the manner of gun possession to the desires of the General Assembly and licensing procedures which can involve bias and interference from third parties such as courts (Jillson 405). In particular, the perceived provision of the individual right to own and utilize guns in the Georgian amendment can be interpreted to mean the right of state since it establishes collective rights rather than individual rights. On the other hand, the second amendment of the American constitution fights more for the individuals’ rights to possess firearms more than the Georgian government. This is because it provides that individuals have the absolute right to possess firearms and gain a license as long as they abide by upholding individual and collective responsibility, hence need not to be dictated how to handle and keep their firearms.
Additionally, the American constitution necessitates respect for the bill of rights, freedom of expression, speech, religion, and press, as well as the upscaling of the liberty of rights. On the other hand, the Georgian constitution is more stringent and has gone on to broaden the U.S. Patriot act of 2001 which facilitates racial profiling in counterterrorism activities (Jillson, 425). Also, the profiling of black people in Georgia is a sign that the state’s constitution is hell-bent in discriminating against the basic rights of the minority particularly on unjust court judgments, extrajudicial killings, physical abuse, and mass incarceration. In my opinion, even though the American Constitution strives to address the human rights concerns, its successful implementation is largely dependent on the relevance and application of the constitution in upholding civil rights.
Works Cited
Jillson, Cal. American government: Political development and institutional change. Routledge, 2013, pp. 1-136.
Lecture Notes. The American National Political Institutions.