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I-1776.AMERICAN

DEMOCRACY

 

 

 

"The President isn't going to stop pressing for democracy because he believes that ultimately it's the force that will stabilize the Middle East most," Rice said. "But it does not mean that even if states ... are not yet transformed to democracy that we're not going to have relations with them and that we're not going to work together to resist extremist forces in the region."

 

1-REVOLUTION. 

 

A) Revolution.

No England but United States. That was the Revolution.

The American Revolution ended the national rule and created the State rule.

During the Seven Years War, The French fought a war against the Colonists and the British over the land in America. 1754-1763

The war ended with the British and Colonists winning. France lost Canada and all of the French territory east of the Mississippi River except New Orleans.

This war changed the way of thinking for the Colonists.

King George III thought it was time to tighten his control on the colonies through higher taxes.

In 1773 the British told the British East India Company it could send tea to America without paying the taxes. All other tea traders still had to pay a tax. The Americans refused to buy any tea and refused to unload the tea from the British ships in the American ports.

About 50 men from the Sons of Liberty dressed as Mohawk Indians, boarded a tea ship in the Boston Harbor, and threw 342 chests tea valued at $75,000 into the water.

The First Continental Congress met in September 1774. The Congress decided they must force the British to repeal the acts.

In May of 1775 the Second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia. Many thought the fighting was only a New England War. They thought it wouldn't reach the other colonies. Congress voted to ask each of the Thirteen Colonies to give war supplies and troops. They also voted to ask France to help. George Washington was voted Commander-in-Chief of the new army.

In January of 1776 an Englishman named Thomas Paine published a small book called Common Sense. The book said all kings in general, especially George III of England, were bad. The book also stated that America must be free to make its own way. This book became a best-seller. It made Americans believe that America should be a free and independent nation.

In the Second Continental Congress many leaders wanted America to become a separate and equal nation.

Richard Henry Lee of Virginia stood and put a resolution before the convention. Lee said they should break completely from England.

The Virginia resolution to break with England was brought before Congress. The declaration was approved by the Second Continental Congress.

The Americans got money from France. Officers from other countries also come to help train the American army.

On October 9, 1781 after 6 years, the Revolutionary War was over. In 1783 the Americans and the British signed a peace treaty in Paris, France.

B) State

No Nation, State.

The important changes were the end of national rule, and the separation of the religious rule.

From the national rule, to the State Rule.

National rule.

A tightly-knit group of people which share a common culture. The old.

As in Europe.

State rule

The revolutionaries proclaim the States. United States. They no longer are a nation, as is England, or France, or Spain…they are a State. The new. United States.

Meaning? In the first words of Constitution ? ‘We, the people’.

The revolution was the people’s revolution. The rule will be the people’s rule.

Theocracy, aristocracy, oligarchy, mobocracy…are no longer the power; democracy is. Peoples rule..

King and gods, bishops and imams are no longer the power; Presidents are.

A State is a self-governing political entity.

Many nationals. One state. If many states, federated. Always States.

From the religious rule to the State Rule

Religious rule

Religions like nations are a common culture. They believe in their different gods.

State rule

The State is for all. No exceptions. People’s vote.

Separation of church and state. Separation of mosque and state. Separation of synagogue and state….

Jefferson's phrase "wall of separation" makes a valuable contribution to an important area of the constitutional law, an area of great consequence to Religions.

C) Republic

America is a constitutional republic, a system where the U.S. Constitution is the supreme law and citizens elect representatives to government.

In the beginning, Democracy designates a system of government where the will of the majority rules, unrestricted by any law. The Founders of the United States of America went to great measures to ensure that U.S. was not a democracy.

The Constitution was designed to preserve individual rights and to limit the power of government to the protection of individual rights. The Founders opposed unlimited majority rule because they recognized that individual rights and liberty would be compromised by mob rule, that the will of the majority could be just as tyrannical as the will of a monarch. In short, they knew that just as monarchy did, so democracy would, lead to the infringement of individual rights.

The Founders created a system of checks and balances, such as the division of the government into three branches, to prevent government officials from acquiring too much power. If an official could acquire such power, he could become like a tyrant and violate individual rights. For a similar purpose, the Founders also created checks and balances to prevent the majority from acquiring too much power (which is one of the reasons, for example, behind the Electoral College).

Democracy means rule of the people. The two most common forms of democracy are direct democracy and representative democracy. In direct democracy everyone takes part in making a decision. The other, better known form of democracy is a representative democracy. People elect representative to make decisions or laws.

Beginning with the Constitution's adoption, America has been a Republic. But the dominant trend over the last two centuries has been to make it into a democracy as well, a representative democracy, also known as a democratic republic.

At the national level the major steps toward democracy can be marked by amendments to the U.S. Constitution. The Bill of Rights guaranteed limits to the power of the federal government. The Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery. The Fourteenth Amendment effectively extended the vote to all adult male citizens, including ex-slaves, by penalizing states that did not allow for universal male suffrage. The Fifteenth Amendment explicitly gave the right to vote to former slaves. After the Supreme Court ruled that the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments did not extend suffrage to women, women, who received the vote through the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920, launched a vigorous campaign for the vote.

But the main Amendment that tipped the scales from the national government of the United States being a mere republic to being a true representative democracy was the often-overlooked Seventeenth Amendment, which took effect in 1913. Since 1913 the U.S. Senate has been elected directly by the voters, rather than being appointed by the state legislatures. That makes the national government democratic in form, as well as being a republic.

                       

2-CONSOLIDATING THE REVOLUTION

            FEDERAL

The United States is the longest-surviving extant constitutional republic, with the oldest wholly written constitution in the world. Its government operates as a representative democracy through a congressional system under a set of powers specified by its Constitution. There are three levels of government: federal, state, and local. Officials at all three levels are either elected by voters in a secret ballot or appointed by other elected officials. Executive and legislative offices are decided by a plurality vote of citizens in their respective districts, with judicial and cabinet-level offices nominated by the Executive and approved by the Legislature. In some states, judicial posts are filled by popular election rather than executive appointment.

The federal government comprises three branches, which are designed to check and balance one another's powers:

                    Legislative

The Congress, made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives.

The United States Congress is a bicameral legislature. The House of Representatives has 435 members, each representing a congressional district for a two-year term. House seats are apportioned among the states according to population every tenth year. Each state is guaranteed at least one Representative: currently, seven states have one each; California, the most populous state, has 53. Each state has exactly two Senators, elected at large to six-year terms; one third of the 100 Senators are elected every second year.

                    Executive

The President, who appoints, with Senate approval, the Cabinet and other officers to help administer federal law.

The order of succession should the President die, become incapacitated, or is otherwise unable to finish his term of office, is:  Vice President, Speaker of the House, President Pro Tempore of the Senate, Secretary of State, Secretary of the Treasury, Secretary of Defense, Attorney General, and Secretaries of the Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, Labor, Health, Housing, Transportation, Energy, Education, Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security. 

                    Judiciary

The Supreme Court and lower federal courts, whose judges are appointed by the President with Senate approval.

 

 

STATES

Under the country's federal system, the relationship between the state and national governments is complex; under U.S. law, states are considered sovereign entities.  America establishes that states do not have the right to secede, and, under the Constitution, they are not allowed to conduct foreign policy. Federal law overrides state law in the areas in which the federal government is empowered to act; but the powers of the federal government are subject to limits outlined in the Constitution. All powers not granted to the federal government in the Constitution are left to the states or the people themselves.

            THE CONSTITUTION

The Constitution contains a dedication to "preserve liberty" with a "Bill of Rights" and other amendments, which guarantee freedom of speech, religion, and the press; the right to a fair trial; the right to keep and bear arms; universal suffrage; and property rights. However, although the United States is committed to the Western ideology to pursue human rights, the extent to which these rights are available in practice is debated: various forms of ethnic discrimination were not legally prohibited until the 1964 Civil Rights Act. However, discrimination is fading with a more tolerant culture and the passage of numerous anti-discrimination laws, embraced by the majority of Americans.

            POLITICAL PARTIES

There are two major political parties: the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. The Republicans are generally socially conservative and economically classical-liberals with some right-leaning centrists. The Democrats are generally socially liberal and economically progressive with some left-leaning centrists. Growing numbers of Americans identify with neither party—with some claiming the title Independent and others joining emerging parties, including the Green, Libertarian, and Reform parties. Except for a Democratic plurality in the Senate in 2001–2002, the Republican Party has held the majority in both houses of Congress since the 1994 elections; since 2001, the president has been George W. Bush, a Republican.

The name "Democratic party" was adopted during the presidency of Andrew Jackson (1829-1837). So Democrats trace their origins to the Democratic-Republican Party, founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1792, making it the oldest political party in the world.  By the 1820s, the old Democratic-Republican party was nearly moribund, with few activities; its name lingered on. Martin Van Buren organized a multi-state coalition that elected Jackson in 1828.  That coalition held its first national convention in 1832.

The Republican Party evolved during the 1850's when the issue of slavery forced divisions within the existing Whig and Democratic Republican parties. Faced with political turmoil, a new party -- dedicated to states rights and a restricted role of government in economic and social life -- began making history. In 1856, "Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Speech, Free Men, Freemont!" was the slogan of the Republican Party. The Republican Party had existed for only six years when Lincoln displaced the Democrats and gave the Republicans their first presidential victory.

            ELECTIONS

Nature of election process or accession to power.

                                    Presidency

President and vice president are elected on the same ticket by a college of representatives who are elected directly from each state; president and vice president serve four-year terms (eligible for a second term).

                    Congress

Senate, and House of Representatives.

            The Process

The process for a national election lasts nearly a year - nearly 25% of the standing president's time in power. A party must provide nominated people to stand for election.

 

 

 

 

 

Of those nominated, only one is selected by the party delegates at the national conventions. This person then goes onto represent that party in the national presidential election. The running mate for the presidential candidate is also announced at the national convention. 

The voting body at a national convention is made up of delegates and super-delegates. How each delegate gets to a national convention is a complicated business and can differ markedly from state to state. The two parties at state level can decide which system they use to send delegates to a national convention. There are two systems: the caucus system and the primary elections. However, the structure of primary elections can differ from state to state. Some delegates are elected in a straight 'first-past-the-post' system while other states use a form of proportional representation to give a greater spread of representation among the delegates sent to a national convention.

The delegates, once at a convention, vote for a candidate for the presidential election. Super-delegates have tended to muddy this system, and therefore the whole voting structure at the national conventions.

After the national conventions, the two party’s presidential hopefuls can concentrate on campaigning for the ultimate prize in American politics.

The American Electoral College was conceived as a democratic institution.

            Election Day

The Election Day in USA is a model because the People, not the Government maintain the Election Day: The Tuesday following the first Monday in November, as they have since 1845.

General Election Day is the day in the United States when elections for public officials are held. Almost all federal elections are held on this day. All states and most localities also hold their elections on this day.

When the Constitution was written in 1787, it basically left the decision to each state as to who could vote in elections. Most states did not at first give the right to vote to women or African Americans.

In 1845, an act of Congress established Election Day. The date was chosen so that it was before severe winter weather set in and after the harvest. The first Tuesday past the first Monday in November was the rule that was settled on. Though not required by the federal law, most states and localities started holding their elections on the same day as the federal ones.

Presidential elections are held on Election Day.

Americans elect their president every four years. The election date is always the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. Americans also elect all the members of the House of Representatives and one-third of the Senators at this time.

In 1870, five years after the end of the Civil War, the 15th Amendment was passed. This amendment guaranteed the right to vote to male African Americans. However, it took another 100 years for African Americans to be able to fully exercise this right.

American women were not allowed to vote at the national level until 1920. The 19th Amendment to the Constitution was passed that year, and the following November millions of American women voted in the presidential election for the first time. 

The 26th Amendment to the Constitution, adopted in 1971, says that anyone over 18 is allowed to vote.

In 1965, Congress passed the Voting Rights Act. This law guaranteed that the federal government would intervene if any state attempted to deny a citizen's voting rights because of race. As a result of this act, millions of African Americans in the South were allowed to register to vote for the first time.

On the average, about 60% of voting-age Americans vote in presidential elections. For local elections, voter turn out is usually much lower.

No political parties officially existed when the U.S. Constitution was written in the late 1780s. The founders of the country actually felt that political parties were not a good thing and that they would divide people against each other and harm the democracy. However within the 10 years after the Constitution was written, the U.S. had two major political parties--the Federalist Party that was a proponent of a strong central government--and the Democratic - Republican Party (also called the Anti-Federalist Party) that supported strong state governments. The Democratic - Republican Party eventually became known as the Democratic Party. The Whig party developed in the 1830s in opposition to President Andrew Jackson and his policies. The Whig party eventually split apart, mainly over the issue of slavery. Proslavery Whigs rejoined the Democratic Party and many antislavery Whigs formed a new party in 1854 called the Republican party. Abraham Lincoln was the first Republican president.

Today, the Democrats and Republicans remain the two leading parties in the country. However, there are other political parties such as the Independent Party, the Reform Party, the Libertarian Party, the Green Party, the Socialist Party, the Populist Party, and others.

3-NEW POWER: The PRESIDENCY of REPUBLIC/DEMOCRACY

The United States is a Constitution-based federal republic. In the Federal Republic, the powers of the central government are restricted and the component parts (states, or provinces) retain a degree of self-government; ultimate sovereign power rests with the voters who chose their governmental representatives.

            The American President

The U.S. Constitution gives the President remarkably limited power.

His (constitutional) job is really to carry out the orders of Congress.

The President has been called the most powerful man in the world. 

            Constitutional Powers of the President

1.  "Veto" power

Every adopted bill shall "be presented to the President of the United States; If he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his Objections to that House in which it shall have originated, who shall ... proceed to reconsider it." (Art.I, Sec.7)

2.  Executive power

"The executive Power shall be vested in" the President.  (Art.II, Sec.1)

3.  Commander in Chief

"The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States".  (Art.II, Sec.2).

            Presidential system.

The executive branch presides separate from the legislature,  to which it is not accountable.

In mediaeval monarchies the executive authority was vested in the Crown.

The concept of separate spheres of influence of the executive and legislature was copied in the Constitution of the U.S. with the creation of the office of President.

The executive, Presidency, maintains the concept of separation. The Presidency have moved to a position where the executive is answerable to Parliament. Separate institutions.

The term is associated with republican systems. The president is both head of state and head of government.

            Separation of powers

The doctrine of separation of powers, each power will operate as a check on the others.

Checks and Balances, the constitutional controls whereby separate branches of government have limiting powers over each other so that no branch will become supreme. Perhaps the best-known system of checks and balances operates in the U.S. government under provisions of the federal Constitution.

The federal system adds to the checking because power is divided constitutionally between the central government and the states.

The operation of checks and balances in the federal government is spelled out in the Constitution. The two houses of Congress legislate separately, and this legislation is subject to presidential veto; however, Congress, by a two-thirds vote of each house, can override a presidential veto.

HISTORICALLY.

Supreme power was sometimes reclaimed by people creating gods. Theocracies. Imperia…

 

 

            Theocracies

Divine Power. A Deity is recognized as the supreme civil ruler, but the Deity's laws are interpreted by humane authorities. In many theocracies, government leaders are members of the clergy. Contemporary examples of theocracies include Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the Vatican.

Judeo-Christian-Muslim…

Moses

Moses' encounter with God at the burning bush. God made an "eternal" covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and He renews the deal at several intervals. We learn that God has a master plan for humanity and the Jews have an absolutely essential part in that plan. Divine Book: the Torah.

Jesus

Son of God. Resurrection from the dead. Divine Book: the Bible.

Muhammad

Messenger of God. Divine Book: the Koran.

…

            Imperia

The Pharaoh

Was more than just a sovereign. He was Head of State, but also a god, a priest-king and a victorious warrior, a man and father who continued to be venerated long after his death.

Amen-Ra - Egyptian sun god; supreme god of the universe in whom Amen and Ra were combined; principal deity during Theban supremacy

Amen-Ra, Egyptian sun god; supreme god of the universe in whom Amen and Ra were combined; principal deity during Theban supremacy.

Emperors

While the myths are not considered historically accurate, it is a commonly accepted fact that emperors have reigned over Japan for more than 1500 years.

Chinese emperors of Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasty

Incas, and Aztecs.

Roman Emperors: Caesar Augustus was the first Roman emperor. Byzantine emperors ruled at Constantinople until 1453. Charlemagne became the first of the Western emperors (later Holy Roman emperors) in 800. After Otto I became emperor in 962, only German kings held the title. In other parts of Europe, monarchs who ruled multiple kingdoms (e.g., Alfonso VI, who ruled Léon and Castille) sometimes took the title emperor. Napoleon's assumption of the title, as a putative successor of Charlemagne, was a direct threat to the Habsburg dynasty. Queen Victoria of Britain took the title empress of India.

The imperial cult was an important unifying factor.

Kingdoms

Kings. A monarch. A type of ruler or head of state

... ... ...

 

IN MODERN TIMES

            Democracy.  The ‘Demos’ has the POWER.

The supreme power is retained by the people, but it is usually exercised indirectly through a system of representation and delegated authority renewed periodically.

            American Democracy

‘We the people’ was the revolution against the sovereigns. No sovereigns. Reigns. States.

            The American Revolution created the Democracy.

Americans and others people continue creating the democracy.

American Democracy, inside was growing, creating the Presidency, the Congress, Constitution…

Outside:

American democracy will continue the new democratic regimes, France, Japan,..

            American democracy will continue the battle against counterrevolutions as

Mobocracy

Government by mob or a mass of people, or the intimidation of constitutional authorities

The Olds

                                Kings and queens, tzars and emperors, nobles…

                    The Christians revolution

                                Liberté-egalité-fraternité. The 30s, the 48s…

                                    The workers revolution

                                Of the soviets, or Maoists

                                    The ethnic revolutions

                                                Of nazism/fascism

                                    The Islamic revolution

                                Of jihad or Hezbollah

 

TODAY: Presidency is the supreme power.

There are many claims for the supremacy.

But only one power has the power to perform or act effectively in the entire World.

Not the ONU

The United Nations need adopt some measures in order to fix the global security framework: expanding the Security Council.

The United Nations is part of governance system.

Can the U.N. be the Government of the World? No. No Votes. No elections. No-proportions. U.N. inside, it is not a democracy. Inside the U.N. the mobocracies are common powers: the Africans, the Islamics, the Capitalists, the …

            Not emerging…

Europe

The European Union has economic power about the same as the United States but lacks a comparable unified military. But many Europe’s.

                        China and India…

Appear to have the greatest potential amongst all the other nations of achieving superpower or near-superpower status within the 21st century and are often termed as emerging superpowers.

            U.S.

Only this power  perform or act effectively in the entire World.

The United States is changing into the United States of the World.

1945. U.S. did promote a United Nations to promote world peace.

1991. U.S.  waged until the collapse of the Soviet Union.

2000. Democratization of the Balkans. Regional democratization.

2004-5  United States courageously moved into the democratization of Iraq, and the middle East.

New world order.  U.S. prefers a world where its unchallenged democratic and military power can be used at will to guarantee democratization.

Bush has made spreading democracy a centerpiece of his second-term agenda, arguing that establishing prosperous democracies in areas like the Middle East will create peaceable neighbors.

SUPERPOWER

The United States is the world’s undisputed military and economic superpower. It has a more formidable global presence than ever, maintaining military installations abroad and spending much on defense.

The U.S. share of total world product is approximately 30% today, up from 20% in the 1980s. The American stock markets account for approximately 36% of global market value. Seventy-five percent of all Nobel laureates in the sciences, economics, and medicine do research and live in the United States.

While the United States is alone among nations in the magnitude of its power, its destiny is more deeply intertwined with that of other nations than ever before. Globalization is speeding the flow of information, people, ideas, and good around the globe, creating enormous opportunities and also new challenges. Among these challenges have been the September 11 attacks and their aftermath, the war in Iraq, the failure of the Cancun WTO meetings, and international criticism and perception of U.S. foreign policies as unilateral and misguided. This, in turn, has lead to an emerging debate in the United States and internationally over the U.S. role in the world and how best to achieve global security and prosperity.

The key questions are the role of unprecedented American power. In an era defined by the urgent challenges of globalization, terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, and weakened international institutions, this debate will continue and grow long into the future.

            The President

Decision-making. The President negotiates treaties with foreign nations. The President is also Commander in Chief of the military, and as such has broad authority over the armed forces once they are deployed. The Secretary of State is the foreign minister of the United States and is the primary conductor of state-to-state diplomacy.

            The Congress

The Congress has the power to declare war, but the President has the ability to commit military troops to an area for 60 days without Congressional approval, though in all cases it has been granted afterwards. The Senate also holds the exclusive right to approve treaties made by the President. Congress is likewise responsible for passing bills that determine the general character and policies of United States foreign policy.

During the American Revolution, the United States established relations with several European powers.

After the Spanish colonies in Latin America declared independence, the U.S. established the Monroe Doctrine, a policy of keeping European powers out of the Americas.

            Growing power abroad

As U.S. power grew, it began to look at interests farther abroad, particularly in the pursuit of trade.

The United States entered World War I and II.

During the Cold War, U.S. foreign policy sought to limit the influence of the Soviet Union around the world.

By the time of the collapse of the Soviet Union, the U.S. had military and economic interests in every region of the globe.

After September 11, 2001 attack, the U.S. declared a second "War on Terror," under which it has led invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq.

            The UN.

The United States is a founding member of the United Nations. U.S. is a permanent member of Security Council.

            NATO.

NATO is an anchor of security for both Europe and for the United States. NATO is a values-based organization that is working with the United States on three continents to overcome radicals and extremists. The real challenge of the future is to help people of moderation and young democracies succeed in the face of threats and attacks by radicals and extremists.

            WTO

The WTO is the only international body dealing with the rules of trade between nations. The United States of America has been a WTO member since 1 January 1995.

                       

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