Presidents also fulfill the role of leader of their political party. Although this power is not mentioned in the Constitution, presidents represent the best interests of their party and work to make sure that members of their political party get ele Continue Reading...
Typically, applications for pardons are referred for review and non-binding recommendation by the Office of the Pardon Attorney, an official of the Department of Justice (Pardons and clemency in the United States http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pardon) Continue Reading...
It was soon after the September 11 terrorist attacks on the U.S.A. carried out by an Islamic militant outfit, Al-Qaeda that the impetus to the Bush administration to strengthen the existing Presidential powers came into being, and this has been tak Continue Reading...
Constitution gave Congress the power of legislation. In fact, its major function is to make laws. Essentially, Congress converts public will into public policy by way of law. The Constitution provides some rules to which Congress must adhere througho Continue Reading...
American Presidency How Presidents can influence the policymaking process to suit their needs constitution has created the executive branch and the executive power vested in the hands of the president. In fact, the president cannot act in isolation Continue Reading...
These words, 'necessary and proper,' in such an instrument, are probably to be considered as synonymous. Necessarily, powers must here intend such powers as are suitable and fitted to the object; such as are best and most useful in relation to the e Continue Reading...
War Powers Act of 1973 was an important piece of legislation during the Vietnam War. The intention, per the wording of the act itself, was "to fulfill the intent of the framers of the Constitution of the United States and insure that the collective j Continue Reading...
Congress Role in War Making War has become a part of the human world. When we understand the events from the past to the present, for the purpose of dealing with conflicts, human beings have been pampered with weapons. Even though war has become an Continue Reading...
Function of the American Government The American government has had a long-standing checks-and-balances efficiency within its three-branch system. Because of the separate governable powers within the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of Continue Reading...
To date, President Bush still asserts the authority to hold enemy combatants with little or no chance of having their case heard before a court. However, some strides have been made to curtail the president's assumed power. In June, the Supreme Cou Continue Reading...
" Then there are the "...5 million employees of the federal bureaucracy and the military" at his disposal. Also, the president runs the executive branch of government; Cummings writes that he is "chief of state" - the "ceremonial and symbolic head o Continue Reading...
Judiciary These two questions will be responded to simultaneously as the answer to one will always involve touching on issues concerning the other. When we speak of three (3) departments or branches of government then we must necessarily refer to t Continue Reading...
Habeas Corpus The legal term Harbeas Corpus is Latin for "you have the body." The term is an injunction that offers direction to law enforcement representatives who have custody of a detainee to appear in the court of law with the detainee to assist Continue Reading...
Democracy in America Democracy is a term whose origin can be traced to Ancient Greece where it was used to refer to power or rule from people. Actually, the two Greek words which were used to create the term democracy combine to refer to rule by th Continue Reading...
This was the first time that the Supreme Court had deemed a law unconstitutional, and in fact this power of the Court had not even really been established until it was used in this case. Its establishment, however, was to have profound effects on th Continue Reading...
United States operates as an indirect or representative democracy meaning that a select group is elected by the whole to serve as representatives while attending to public matters. This is in contrast to a direct democracy which holds that all eligi Continue Reading...
Political Science Inequality, Voting and American Democracy. The American political system has always prevented electoral participation by certain social groups, especially those with the fewest resources. The obstacles to participation have changed Continue Reading...
Government Changes post-Revolution War vs. post-Civil War Close examination of the reasons for and the results of the Revolutionary War and the Civil War forces me to disagree with McPherson's position that more radical change in government occurred Continue Reading...
It was during the same period that hostilities with the communist leadership culminated into the bombing of Libya, loggerheads with the Soviet Union and a stiff arms race with the U.S.S.R. It is also significant to note that it was during the same Continue Reading...
Federalist What is a faction? Where in modern American politics do we see factions? How does Madison propose to quell the impact of factions in government? In Federalist 10, James Madison discussed the types of factions, parties and interest groups Continue Reading...
Politics Although it is not perfect, the presidential system of government, as typified by the United States (U.S.) is the best system of government ever conceived. By creating a system where the public can remove administrations, without changing Continue Reading...
The relevant portion of the Article specified that "Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States" by adding free Persons to three fifths of "all other Persons" (meaning slaves). The immediate effect of compromise in Continue Reading...
Catholic church and public policy have remarked that the members of American clergy in general, without even excepting those who do not admit religious liberty, are all in favour of civil freedom; but they do not support any particular political syst Continue Reading...
Democratic and Republican parties have been able to maintain their strength and their membership numbers since the Civil War for both structural and ideological reasons. The ideological reasons are the most obvious to an observer and to many members Continue Reading...
The naked use of executive power completely bypassed the DOJ clemency review process referenced above (Love, 2007, 5). Has a president reached the apogee when he reaches into the judicial process itself (while it is motion no less) and run roughsho Continue Reading...
Second Reconstructions One of the most dramatic consequences of the Civil War and Reconstruction was that the South was effectively driven from national power for roughly six decades. Southerners no longer claimed the presidency, wielded much power Continue Reading...
The framers did not mention police departments or other local governmental units, which has led to some misconceptions about the right of people to arm themselves when protected by municipal government agencies. However, this is because municipal po Continue Reading...
Judicial review allows lawmakers to reflect changing morals and ideals when enacting legislation, but prevents them from allowing the hot-button topics of the moment to determine the laws of a nation. In fact, to really understand the success of jud Continue Reading...
Fresia's contention that the United States failed to live up to its revolutionary democratic promise and instead was captured by the powerful plutocratic elite has appeal, it oversimplifies the process by which the elite take and retain control over Continue Reading...
Habeas Corpus and War on Terror For many people in the United States, habeas corpus is the foundation stone of the country's legal system. The concept is the principal constitutional check on subjective government power by allowing an arrested indiv Continue Reading...
The first amendment to the Constitution in the Bill of Rights states that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." This provision has been the justification for entirely removing Continue Reading...
The 16th Amendment was the first to be passed in the 20th century. It allowed incomes to be taxed as a clear response to the Supreme Court decision in the Pollock v Farmers' Loan and Trust Company (Fonder and Shaffrey 2002). Congress previously pas Continue Reading...
Over the years, the electoral process has changed a lot. As per the original rules, each state legislature selected its electors. The electors would then assemble at a given time and vote for two people. The person with the majority of votes became Continue Reading...
Nevertheless, there have been many decisions over the years that have tended to weaken the intent of the Framers. In 2001, in Zelman v. Simmons Harris the Supreme Court ruled that school voucher programs did not violate the establishment clause of t Continue Reading...
In fact, during the 1787 Constitutional Convention, Slonim notes that the need for a bill of rights was not even a topic of discussion until Virginian delegate George Mason raised the issue just several days before the Convention was scheduled to ri Continue Reading...
The Electoral College could easily lead to the election of a President that does not have the popular support of the entire nation (Amar pp). Moreover, many believe that the clauses of the U.S. Constitution that provide for the electoral system sho Continue Reading...
Political Science Annotated Bibliography The Purpose of a Political Court In the view of Henry J. Abraham (Abraham 1998, 55), "theoretically," just about any qualified law school graduate with ambitions for an important judicial appointment would Continue Reading...
Embedded into the express rights and freedoms of the United States Constitution and Bill of Rights is the right to bear arms. The Second Amendment states explicitly the purpose for its existence: "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the secu Continue Reading...
