The second article is Johnathan O’Hara’s Late 19th Century administrative reform in America: re-articulating Hamiltonian thought. In this piece he offers a different explanation for how change came to fruition in the Progressive Era. O’Hara offers a look at the Progressive Era through the ideas of America’s executive administrations. The author argues that the rise of industrialism imposed a new set of demands from the executive branch that spurred a new self-awareness on the administrative elite. These new changes included seeking out corruption in government, getting Americans to have trust in the federal government, and a need for stronger federal government or a re-articulation of Hamiltonian thought. One way of achieving these new goals…
Wilson, J. Q., DiIulio, J. J., & Bose M. (2014). American government: Brief version. (11th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage.…
When the Constitution was first written by America’s founding fathers, they intended for the executive branch to serve the nation’s citizenry by keeping their best interests at heart, but stated that in no way should this branch be more powerful than any other—it be constantly checked and balanced by the legislative and judicial branches.. In James Madison’s Federalist Number 48, he states that in a representative republic, “the executive magistracy is carefully limited; both in the extent and the duration of its power”1. The founding fathers never intended for the role of President of the United States of America to become ‘imperialistic’, meaning that the government takes too much control, and is too involved in the affairs of the nation. However, during the time of the Great Depression and after Franklin Delano Roosevelt was inaugurated, the government became progressively more involved in American society; this trend has continued through Barack Obama’s presidency in present-day politics. Each new presidential term is faced with new dilemmas, which vary and have evolved significantly from issues of the past, and after each one, the federal government becomes more and more involved and, as a result, increasingly ‘imperialistic’.…
Unwind is an action-packed sci-fi thriller with well-developed characters that you get to know as the story unfolds through alternating perspectives. Throughout the book, the kids are not only trying to survive, they're trying to figure out this crazy world and determine the meaning of life. Connor, Risa, and Lev are each coming from a very different place, but their destination is the same... at least according to the law. As they keep running and discover more and more information about their world and the unwinding system, right and wrong may not always be so clear. The book unwind in my perspective is a very interesting book but then it becomes really weird. Can you ever imagine if you could be unwind in…
As American citizens, it is significantly important to understand the modern democracy and the relations among its leaders. In 2012, writers Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy, published The President’s Club: Inside the World’s Most Exclusive Fraternity, which serves as an essential key to the extending of awareness of American citizens. The President’s Club sheds light on the presidential brotherhood, or fraternity that has climaxed over six decades beginning with Herbert Hoover and Harry Truman in 1953. The book uniquely grasps the the relationships among these men with its intertwining of background information, descriptions of personal characteristics, and the including of each president’s differing ideas and how they clashed. Primarily, the authors sought to express that although as citizens, viewing history from textbooks books and other outside sources, there is and was a much deeper bond beyond competition in politics and in the executive branch of government. Each president has had his own intentions, qualifications, stories and lives. Yet, beyond their differences, they all share one characteristic, a brotherhood that only they know from serving America as “Mr.President.”As the book has described through the…
People in today’s society probably think that the government runs our country. The sad thing about this is that they are completely wrong. What if the one and only great United States of America was in fact, ran by its massive corporations. As a whole, America has fallen from their past virtues and qualities on how to properly run a government. Nowadays giant corporations can often persuade the government into their favor.…
The United States government has been a system that has grown and evolved since its creation. From the vantage point of 1932 looking backward, the federal government has grown in size and power for various reasons. Although at certain time periods a power struggle was very much apparent, much reform pushed the federal government to be a strong central government that was able to take on its responsibilities and uphold the law. Compared to its earlier days, the federal government in 1932 is much greater in its power and has a greater presence in the lives of American citizens. However in order to see how the federal government has grown and come into the role of sustaining its power and control over the United States, it is important…
As time passes by we start to realize that everything is connected somehow. Even in history one thing leads to another, a domino effect. However, politics makes it impossible to have one answer to a simple question. Whether there is no answer, one answer, or two answers there is always opposition and consequences of those decisions. The impact of those decisions can either be seen right away or gradually build. Throughout the course of history, policies have been introduced, decisions have been taken, disagreements have been made, ideals have been questioned, concerns have risen, but the political system has lived through it all. A time period that became a critical period in shaping America’s political system was the Federalist Era while before that the Articles of Confederation displayed their significance.…
Thomas Paine: the man who helped inspire a revolution, the man who wrote controversial pamphlets and rousing songs that kept soldiers fighting, the man who was once one of the greatest supporters of human rights, held in his heart the belief that the American government system was so flawlessly formed that there were no causes for discord. While Thomas Paine’s ideal may certainly have been correct in 1791, it no longer is. The American government system, and those who make it, are compromised. They are being traded, sold, and most importantly bought, by those who have the means to do so; creating a system where the rich get richer, the poor get poorer, and where privilege is defined as being white and male. Theses issues are inarguably cause…
O’Connor, K., &Sabato, L. J., (2008) American Government.Continuity and Change. New York; Pearson Education, Inc.…
Americans continue to distrust the government, although there are signs that hostility toward government has started to dwindle. According to Cohen, Eimicke, and Heikkila’s (2013), “there is still a popular and substantive consensus that government is not capable of producing public policies we might like to see implemented” (p. 4). Disappointment with political leaders is equally important of a factor in distrust of government as is criticism of the way government performs its duties. All if not most public and private sector organizations are flawed. Cohen, Eimicke, and Heikkila’s (2013) main arguments are: that the government is seen as wasteful and corrupt, business as lean and efficient; failed public sector programs being more closely…
This climate is far different from the sugar coated vision of America. The mainstream describes this time period as a time of prosperity and the rise of the middle class. It is a time of American leadership in the free world. Ginsberg sees it differently. He sees society in a state of despair and decline with hopelessness rampant. The cluster of…
“American’s have always evinced some distrust of government, but the current situation has exacerbated this to a degree that may be unprecedented” – Eric Alterman circa 1960.…
The role of the federal government in the lives of the American people changed dramatically from the time of the country’s founding to the present. Initially, the federal government maintained a limited presence in the daily lives of most people. Often, state and local governments were far more prominent and exercised greater autonomy then exercised today. As time progressed, the role and influence of the federal government became more prominent. Examples of expansion in federal authority are evident in events surrounding the Civil War, Reconstruction, the Progressive Era, the Great Depression, and the Civil Rights Era.…
The American Presidency is a puzzling aspect to most Americans. There is a lot of debate about the system's strengths and weaknesses. I would like to offer a broad concept of the American constitutional system, which are the executive, legislative and judicial branches. To begin to grasp the constitutional system, I would like to discuss why the forefathers composed it this way. The forefathers chose a mixed government that represented three existing forms of government: a monarchy, aristocracy, and democracy. The president would represent the elected monarchy, the Senate would represent the aristocracy, and the House of Representatives would represent the democracy. The American presidency has a great deal of strength and weakness, which I will discuss in this paper.…