PSCI 101: Five Concepts Final Essay
To begin, I would like to thank Dr. SASS for all of the things she taught me about the American federal government. Prior to taking this course, I didn’t care to know at all about the government; all I knew was that Obama was the president. However after taking this class, I know all that I need to know about the government and why I should care.
The five concepts I have chosen to outline for this essay are the two big powers of government, why federalism rocks, three big issues about our liberties, presidency: American expectations versus reality and the general hierarchy of power. The two big powers of government are the use of force and the power to tax. In terms of the use of force, the military is …show more content…
Federalism is beneficial because it allows for increased participation by the people in the political system, the states could be like policy laboratories (trial and error) and most importantly, it prevents tyranny. As stated before, the goal of any constitution is to protect the people without oppressing them. Due to Federalist #51, the right to vote, separation of powers (between branches), checks and balances and a bicameral legislature are all components that are necessary to keep the people from being oppressed. The three branches that exist in the American government are the legislative, executive and judicial branches. The legislative branch makes the laws, the executive branch (President) enforces the laws and the judicial branch interprets the laws. Checks and balances is where power is separate but shared and no one branch can act alone. This allows for different ideas and logic to be pieced together and created. The bicameral legislature is made up of the House and the Senate. The House is a small district complete with twenty-five year old members that hold narrow views and are elected by the people, also known as “the people’s assembly”. The Senate is the entire state complete with thirty-year old members that hold broad views and are appointed by the state legislature, also known as “the cooling body”. The roles of the Senate and the House are different in the sense that the Senate’s sole power is “the power to approve treaties. The House, however, can initiate spending bills and has exclusive authority to impeach officials and choose the President in an Electoral College deadlock” (www.boundless.com). These are reasons why federalism is
To begin, I would like to thank Dr. SASS for all of the things she taught me about the American federal government. Prior to taking this course, I didn’t care to know at all about the government; all I knew was that Obama was the president. However after taking this class, I know all that I need to know about the government and why I should care.
The five concepts I have chosen to outline for this essay are the two big powers of government, why federalism rocks, three big issues about our liberties, presidency: American expectations versus reality and the general hierarchy of power. The two big powers of government are the use of force and the power to tax. In terms of the use of force, the military is …show more content…
Federalism is beneficial because it allows for increased participation by the people in the political system, the states could be like policy laboratories (trial and error) and most importantly, it prevents tyranny. As stated before, the goal of any constitution is to protect the people without oppressing them. Due to Federalist #51, the right to vote, separation of powers (between branches), checks and balances and a bicameral legislature are all components that are necessary to keep the people from being oppressed. The three branches that exist in the American government are the legislative, executive and judicial branches. The legislative branch makes the laws, the executive branch (President) enforces the laws and the judicial branch interprets the laws. Checks and balances is where power is separate but shared and no one branch can act alone. This allows for different ideas and logic to be pieced together and created. The bicameral legislature is made up of the House and the Senate. The House is a small district complete with twenty-five year old members that hold narrow views and are elected by the people, also known as “the people’s assembly”. The Senate is the entire state complete with thirty-year old members that hold broad views and are appointed by the state legislature, also known as “the cooling body”. The roles of the Senate and the House are different in the sense that the Senate’s sole power is “the power to approve treaties. The House, however, can initiate spending bills and has exclusive authority to impeach officials and choose the President in an Electoral College deadlock” (www.boundless.com). These are reasons why federalism is