Two Forms Of Government In The United States

Leslie Vitosh
Mr. Kurpgeweit
Civics 8th Hour
19 December 2017
(#1)
Only two forms of government have been used in the United States since its birth in 1776. Unlike the U.S. many different countries around the world have used several forms of government throughout their existence. Our first government was created when the settlers realized that they needed a way to regulate their actions. (Magruder’s American Government, 5) In 1781 the first government’s goal was to create a more perfect union where all thirteen states could join in friendship. However, friendship did not turn out and instead the thirteen states started to gain jealousy of each other and create rivalries. The current U.S. government, or the constitution, was written
Democracy is a government where the people have the supreme political authority and is also the United States’ current form of government. There are two forms of democracy however, and the form that is on the national level is called indirect democracy. This form of democracy seems to be running very smoothly in the U.S. due to the way its elections take place. The elections are cast by the American people who are allowed to express their approval or disapproval of the representative at hand by voting in a ballot. (Magruder’s American Government, 13) More factors that contribute to the smooth running of the American government are as follows: democracy values each individual in America, equality is a big rule when it comes to democracy, democracy also believes that the majority is right most of the time, comprising is an essential part of democracy, and each individual has their rights to certain freedoms. America would not function properly if it’s democracy did not contain the previously stated factors. The biggest influence on the U.S. government’s survival is the value of equality. It
(Magruder’s American Government, 94) The federal government holds right to the three types of delegated powers: expressed, implied, and inherent. This means that the federal government’s powers are given by what is expressed, implied, or inherited from the U.S. Constitution. The states’ on the other hand have what it called reserved powers, which means the states are left with all the powers the federal government was not given rights to in the Constitution, unless the Constitution denies them a certain power. State and local governments actually control more of what takes place in government due to their reserved powers. (Magruder’s American Government, 99) According to The New York Times, 95% of all criminal court cases are handled in state courts, meaning the states should hold the maximum amount of power when it comes to issues and laws dealing with the legalization of marijuana or the right to own a gun. If the states are already handling the court cases that deal with gun violence, drugs, and other crimes, they should also be allowed the power to decide what laws are made pertaining to such things. A popular Supreme Court case pertaining to gun violence is the United States v. Hayes. Hayes argued that his previous domestic violence charge had no say in whether he could