Guatemala And United States ' Government Systems Essay

It has been two hundred and twenty years since the Constitution was written. In that short amount of time, we have fought several wars and made new discoveries that brought us one step closer to the future. During all of this, society’s political views have slowly shifted over the past two hundred years. From women’s suffrage to civil rights, to same gender marriage, we have adopted beliefs that would have been considered unthinkable during the era that the Founding Fathers lived in. Each of these political accomplishments would not have been possible without the process of Amendments that was put in place by the Founding Fathers. However, each of these accomplishments took several years, and even decades, to accomplish because we continue

One of the biggest steps in building the democracy that America has to this day began with the Declaration of Independence. Democracy is the idea that consent comes from the governed and this is blatantly seen through text within the Declaration. “…That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” (Declaration of Independence.) This idea was borrowed from the Ancient Romans who had a republic form of government. Republic directly means that political authority comes from the people! In roman history the citizens were largely the source of the law. Roman law was

The United States does not have a direct democracy, it is a Republic. Our form of government was created by the founding fathers of America. The founding fathers were educated and scholarly men they were the political leaders of the colonies. These men developed their own ideas about what government should be which influenced the writing of the US constitution. They used their knowledge of past governments and political philosophy to shape the history and government in the United States. Some founders were Thomas Jefferson, author of The Declaration of Independence. George Washington who led the army against the British in the Revolutionary War and who eventually became the first president. James Madison was known for being the father of the constitution because he contributed the most in it, he included the Virginia Plan and The Bill of Rights. Direct Democracy was used by the Greeks in Athens influenced the founders to write the US Constitution in 1788.

There is a common misconception that the United States is a “Democracy”, but the technical term for the type of government that the U.S. is ruled under is a “Constitutional Republic”. A Republic is simply a government where people whom were elected by a larger body of citizens make the laws, while a Democracy is simply a government where the citizens make laws directly. A constitution is simply a set of laws that are above all, and everything after cannot contradict those laws. Thus, a Constitutional Republic is simply a government who rules under a set of laws and the government is elected by a larger body of citizens to make future laws. However, it is not that simple.

“We the people” were the first three words of the constitution which prevents one person from having most of the power or all of it. The power is split into three branches which are the Judicial, Executive, and two Legislative branches. That prevents one of the groups or people to have all the power. These branches are still used to this day which is called The constitution. The Constitution splits up the power between people, which stops tyranny and makes it the people, Theirs checks and balances between the branches, and their is a bicameral 2 house congress.

In 1787, the founding fathers of our country wrote the Constitution of the United States of America, which set forth the nation’s fundamental laws and established the form of national government that defines the rights and liberties of the American people. Men such as James Madison, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson were founding fathers of America who were reasonable politicians rather than combative revolutionaries, and were responsible for the successful Declaration of Independence from Great Britain, which celebrated the democratic form of government established in the U.S. Constitution. Unfortunately, this document was flawed and later James Madison proposed the Bill of Rights on December 15, 1791, which ratified the Constitution

The passing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776 marks the beginning of of the United States of America, but the ideas that influenced the development of American government have roots extending to the dawn of civilization. As long as humans have lived in community, the desire to keep order has spawned many experiments in finding an effective system of government. Examination of the development of American government reveals the influence of several civilizations, including ancient Greek and Roman civilizations, British and other European civilizations, and Native American civilizations—particularly the Iroquois Nation. The political theory and government system used by each of these civilizations impacted the thoughts and actions of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America, resulting in the government system seen in America today.

As stated in The Struggle for Democracy, the U.S. is a representative democracy, also known as a republic (). In this system of government, unlike a direct democracy in which all citizens vote on all public matters, elected representatives govern the people. The U.S. system consists of three separate governing branches, executive, judicial, and legislative, which all hold checks and balances on one another. These checks and balances were meant to ensure the U.S. would be as democratic as possible and prohibit one branch from gaining too much power. Throughout America’s history, the system has predominantly been a success.

The Federalist papers are essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay with the main purpose to show the pros of officially confirming the constitution. The essays show an overall pessimistic view to mankind, emphasizing the reliance men need on government, and the importance of having the best fit government. They give a great base for understanding the intentions of the constitution that we, as a nation, still attempt to follow today. Although these papers were written in 1787, you can find many similarities in today 's government, and the vision we strive for as a nation. Obviously, times have changed, but the ideas behind our country, and the goal for the United States to be the most successful it can be, remains very similar.

The Constitution, America’s four father’s greatest establishments in US history, was created to coalesce and unite the people as one, and to grant prerogatives and incontrovertible freedom for individuals. Indeed, the Constitution not only guarantee 's civil rights for all men and women, but ensures them with opportunities of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. However, several chains of events-the attack on the World Trade Center, the movement for gender equality, and conflicts between the majority and minority- have become the catalyst of a whole new meaning for the Constitution. In other words, with all the changes that are/has happened in the 21st century the politicians, government officials, the media, and elite authorities have/are acting upon creating regulations, laws, policies, and social norms that interfere and conflict with our constitutional rights. For this reason, the significance of the Constitution slowly evanescent through ignorance, and have led individuals to believe the Constitution is a mere quixotic theory. Although many people believe the Constitution still holds the same value it did when it first was established, some people feel their privilege of the 1st, 4th, and 14th amendments have been limited and violated as a result of external conflicts.

The United States does not follow a direct democracy—rather than voting on laws directly, the people vote their representative, including the president, the senate, and the house of representatives, into power and allow them to create and vote on laws. The people of the United States are not limited by this voting, however. Rather, this is only the beginning of their process.

The “social apartheid” that exist in Guatemala separates Guatemala into two places and does not allow the country to be united, both democratically socially. The indigenous population is separated from opportunities. Without the minimal conditions, necessary for citizens to exercise their rights in practice there is not citizenship and therefore no “true” democracy. New democratic institutions must both address the anxiety existing among Ladinos and prove to be responsive to a sizeable segment of the national community that has previously been excluded based on language and ethnicity.

Can you think of a country of the top of your head that has ruins from their ancient civilizations and temples tracing back to 2000 years ago? The fart count comes to mind is Guatemala. Guatemala has many Tikal, a Mayan temple, and you can see the abandoned city. Guatemala is filled with a mountain, a strange war, and a different way of government.

Unlike Britain but like most nation states, the American political system is clearly defined by basic documents. The Declaration of Independence of 1776 and the Constitution of 1789 form the foundations of the United States federal government. The Declaration of Independence establishes the United States as an independent political entity, while the Constitution creates the basic structure of the federal government. Both documents are on display in the

On July 4th, 1776, an official document, written mainly by Thomas Jefferson, was released which stated the independence of the 13 colonies. This document, “The Declaration of Independence,” stated that the colonies would no longer be ruled under Great Britain, all men are created equal, and the government will have no right to take away the rights to “liberty, property, and the pursuit of happiness.” The declaration of independence marked a turning point for the colonies by splitting up from Great Britain, this was the first time the colonies were ever called “the United States”. However, this independence didn’t automatically ratify a well functioning america. There was a long and painful build up to the declaration, starting after the Seven Years War in 1763, when Great Britain ended salutary neglect and put harsh rules and acts onto the colonies, both to pay for reparations and to keep them loyal to Britain. This harsh treatment from Britain ultimately led to the American Revolution, which divided the colonies between two groups; patriots and loyalists, this shows that the conflict of independence was not just between the colonies and Britain, it caused conflict inside the colonies as well. The united states was not really “united” until the constitution was written, however. The declaration of independence allowed the US to govern itself, but the government wasn’t set up or organized enough to rule the United States in a strong manor.