Report prize winner

Further to an earlier posting, I have details of the report I set for my post AS groups entitled “A political introduction to America”. Participation was voluntary and the quality of entries was high.

Congratulations to Rebecca Salkeld, who in 2,000 words produced an excellent piece that is as good as could be expected from a candidate who has only been studying US Politics for a couple of weeks.

Rebecca’s submission is posted below, and the Amazon vouchers will be winging their way to her email account soon.

The People of the USA

Over the past 222 years since the American constitution was drawn up in Philadelphia, Americans has seen many profound changes to their country; not only in its increased population but also the growth of different cultures subsequently making it a highly multi-cultural country. When people are asked about what makes America so special they often reply that it is the “land of freedom and opportunity.” This opportunity that America brings attracts people from around the world to participate in the “American Dream”. The Statue of Liberty symbolizes this as she encompasses the ideals of those who wish to be free from repression and discrimination.

In American society today there is an estimated population of 306 million in 50 states this is compared to the mere 3 million in 13 states 1787 (drawing up of the constitution.) There are various reasons for this increase, most of them due to population growth and immigration on a large scale. After the writing up of the constitution the population of the USA was mainly made up of Protestant-Christians immigrants and original Native Americans. However, as the population began growing there became an increased diversity within the population. People of different races and cultures began to immigrate to America in search of these promised values.

It is evident that whilst many other important world countries are aging the USA in comparison “is getting younger, thanks in part to the faster reproduction rate among immigrants than among native-born Americans.” The Latino sector of the population are a good example as in states such as Los-Angeles they account for half of all children younger than 14. It is estimated that by 2040, a mere 31 years away that the population will have increased to a huge 400 million and will continue to grow on such a rapid scale.

When regarding the changing population regarding immigration it is important to note the different groups who have immigrated, for what reasons they have immigrated and why they believe that this change of life will be beneficial. In the 2000 American consensus it stated that the bulk of the USA population is still made up of mainly Caucasian people. These people have different backgrounds with many originally coming from “Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa” . There are various reasons for why these people immigrated. In Northern Europe for example English Puritans who immigrated “so they could simply be left alone” . The Irish are another good example where millions came to America to escape the Irish Potato famine of 1845-9 (according to the 2006 American Community Survey “36,495,800 ((more than 12% of the population)) Americans reported Irish Ancestry.” )These both examples show that America is represented to many people as a country that can help them have a better life with improved opportunities for their families. Due to the constant increase in these different groups politics in government has had to be shaped in order to reflect the opinion of the increasing immigrant sector. This was evident in the Obama and McCain’s election “battle”. Due to the mentioned above Hispanic population (“44.3million as of 2006” ) both campaigners had to try to “forge a closer relationship with the country’s largest minority group, especially in the key swing states of Florida, Nevada, Colorado and New Mexico” .

However despite this change in population over the years and its constant growth and immigration there still remains many large divides within the country, not only between the people who vote democrat or republican but also due to distribution of power and wealth within the country. As many people have low salary incomes (e.g. half of Americans earn less than $30,000 a year which is 90% less than $100,000) this puts a great strain on the family (particularly as health care is completely private in America). Furthermore, when discussing how this income is distributed it is evident that on average white people have higher levels of income than black and Hispanic people. “In 2004, the average white household had 21 times as much as the average Latino household.” This clearly demonstrates that there is still inequality within the different races and groups of people in America. This was also shown in the days of segregation.

Although “de jure segregation was abolished by 1968, de facto segregation was still prevalent in most Northern and Southern cities” leading to inequality in income, education etc although this (especially the latter) has most certainly changed.

The USA’S political system

“The United States Constitution was adopted on September 17, 1787, by the Constitutional Convention” . At the Philadelphia convention the Virginia plan drafted by James Madison was unveiled and proposed various ideas. Firstly, the idea of higher populated states with more representation with lower populated states having less representation (although many smaller states were opposed.) It also came up with the idea of a “bicameral arrangement with a House and Senate” .

The later constitution contained 13 different articles (each with various amendments) designed to “block any individual or group from gaining too much control” . Article 1 the, legislative branch dictated that “all legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives” . Within this article it discussed powers and limitations of the House and Senate. The remaining articles deal with factors such as the executive and judicial power, powers and limits of the state etc.
Within the constitution there have been several amendments which evolve as the American society has evolved. The first ten amendments to the constitution were called the bill of rights proposed by James Madison in the first congress in 1789 which was never ratified. The articles were finally ratified in 1791. The bill was intended to “spell out the immunities of individual citizens” , effectively their rights.

Furthermore, the constitution also has a series of checks and balances introduced by founding fathers such as Madison to prevent any group from getting too much control. Subsequently a federal system was created with three separate branches. Within the system aside from the checks and balances is a separation of powers. James Madison in the Federalist Paper 47 exclaimed that ““The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, self appointed, or elective, may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny”. Separation of powers is “a method of removing the amount of power in any group’s hands, making it more difficult to abuse” . The government in America has a part separation of powers which are distinguished between 3 groups; the legislative, the executive and the judicial. Each three branches carry out their own specific function. The legislatives function is to enact laws, the executives to see the laws passed and the judicial to make sure that they are acceptable under law (interprets them). If these powers were to be under only one person’s control, that person would have a limitless amount of power.

It has been pointed out by Richard Neustadt for instance that instead of having a separation of powers, it is more a situation of “separated institutions sharing powers.” For example, to become a member of the Supreme Court, one has to be nominated by the President and then to be confirmed by the Senate. This ensures a check and balance in the system and allows all three branches to check the activities of the other branches.

Further checks and balances within the constitution are also important in limiting the branches powers. Firstly, with regard to the executive, he has the power to veto measures introduced in the legislature. Secondly, as the President and members of Congress belong to parties, many members of Congress are likely to be of the same views or party which subsequently will mean that their “legislative goals” will be similar.

The USA has fundamentally got a 2 party system. This is due to the fact that firstly it is so hard to be successful. In order to campaign potential parties have to spend nearly a billion dollars flying across the country to make speeches etc. Furthermore, most Americans have common goals i.e. the desire for “material prosperity” and due to the parties adopting not one specific aim most Americans are satisfied. The main 2 parties within this system are the Republicans and the Democrats (led by Barack Obama). The Republican Party founded in 1854, today seems to have a more Conservative view on issues. Firstly, they believe in a free-market system to a moderate extent, one where there is limited government interference. They tend to “believe more strongly in property rights and less strongly in well-fare rights” . They also are skeptical about environmental policies (global warming) and always advocate strong national defense. The second party, the Democrats tend to be more liberal in their views. They believe in federal government with policies that help poorer people. They also believe that the government’s views have to change over time in order to keep in with society e.g. gay marriage.

Profiles of America’s leading politicians and past leaders.

In order to become a successful President of the United States you have to have the following attributes. These include money, staff and to “be at least 35 years old and a citizen born in the United States” .Obama took office as the 44th President in January 2009 and had all of these attributes. From studying at Harvard and being editor of the Harvard law review to becoming a Senate representing Illinois it has been evident that throughout his career he has been passionate about making change to help the American people (e.g. being a community organizer for 3 years.) In terms of change, he has so far limited interrogation techniques on prisoners, tightened ethics rules for administration officers etc. His Republican rival John McCain who is “the senior United States Senator from Arizona” has also had an impact over people in America. McCain has lived through and seen some powerful times in his life; from being involved in near death experiences in the Vietnam War and spending “5 and half years in various prison camps” . McCain has twice tried to become President, firstly in 2000 where he claimed that he was staging “a fight to take our government back from the power brokers and special interests, and return it to the people and the noble cause of freedom it was created to serve” where he lost to George Bush and in 2008 where he lost to Obama. The vice Presidential Repbulican nominee Sarah Palin who worked alongside McCain in the 2008 Presidential Campaign has been known due to her Conservative anti-abortion policies as she is “pro-life” and anti socialism policies. However, she has more recently been in the news due to the controversy over her young daughter’s pregnancy.

Past Presidents such as Nixon, Carter, Reagan and Clinton have also impacted and accomplished much in their periods in office. Nixon came into power between 1969- 1974. His accomplishments “while in office included revenue sharing, the end of the draft, new anticrime laws, and a broad environmental program” . However, the high profile Watergate Scandal which led to him resigning to begin “that process of healing which is so desperately needed in America.” Scandal was also apparent in Bill Clinton’s leadership (1993-2001). Due to his personal indiscretions with a young woman he stood on trial in the Senate later to be found not guilty of the charges placed upon him. However, it is important to bear in mind that he was successful in keeping peace in Bosnia, campaigning against drug trafficking world wide and bombing Iraq when “when Saddam Hussein stopped United Nations inspections for evidence of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons” . James Carter (1977-1981) too had some success abroad although he has more success in domestic affairs e.g. increased nearly 8 million jobs, decreased the budget deficit and reformed the civil service. However, his unsuccessfulness in controlling inflation as well as the constant conflict with Iran and the hostage situation led to his defeat in 1980. Ronald Reagan’s (1981- 1989) aim was to “the great, confident roar of American progress and growth and optimism” . Within his time in office he had made several achievements. Not only did he obtain legislature to help control economic growth, inflation etc he also tried to achieve “peace through strength” and had talks of peace with the Soviet Union.