The Constitution and the federalist

As our country was beginning to take shape and was creating its own identity, the thirteen first states operated more like thirteen independent countries. They were working as individual entities with the power to enforce their own laws and have their own militia, some even had their own form of currency. This made for an unorganized government which was viewed by many as a week. The government as it stood was unable to maintain order effectively, these conditions led the thirteen states to meet in 1787-88 and organize a convention which would lead them to write a document that would help them align closer to what is an organized government. This document is what we know as the constitution and is designed to identify the powers and responsibilities of the government to the governed.

Although as per this article the constitution has many flaws it has been instrumental in marking a transition in “modern” society as it has allowed the people to achieve a standard in which government and laws are not decided by a divine decree but by the people reaching a general consensus.  One quote which I really liked in this reading is that “we have rights because we agree to have rights”. This to me indicates that when we the people agree on something there is no telling what we can achieve. We agreed to have rights and we fought for freedom and unity.

By understanding the different branches of government we can more clearly understand why and how our system of checks and balances exist. We can see how this system of three different branches can prevent any one body or party from having too much power. By creating a system that promotes separation of power we have laid out a frame work that has been utilized by many other governments in the world in order maintain a system of control. This system is designed to have all three branches of government work together in order to pass and approve laws and although though this sometimes leads to ineffective government it is imperative to have a mechanism in place in order to prevent tyranny and governmental abuse by having too much power. Although this system is designed to control abuse of power it has in many cases become an obstacle for legislation as it has become an instrument of partisan muscle. The different political parties have used this system to prevent the other parties from passing laws and legislation which in turn creates an atmosphere of division.

After reading the explanation about the second article which deals with the executive branch, I was able to better understand what happened in our most recent election.

 I truly never understood that the electoral college was designed in such a way that it gave the power to the states during presidential elections and not to the people. I have tried to understand what the electoral college was for many years, especially after this most recent election. I now have a much better understanding as did not even know where to get this information. I am better able to understand why our current president despite the fact that he was not the most favored or popular candidate for the majority of the American people was able to walk away with the win. I am not sure if this is something that could be changed but I do feel this is part of the article that should be amended. If we have designed a system of checks and balances, how is it possible that this issue has gone on unchecked for so long.  I believe that all states should be justly represented but above all the will of the people should decide who the next president of our country should be not the political parties of any given state.

Government is designed to be led by the people and for the federal government to be able to lead and deal with individual states while continuing to work as a united nation. This specific form of government is designed to keep us functioning as one country versus many different countries working independently. We are not a perfect country by any means but the systems that are being implemented are there to protect the rights of the people being governed by the government elected