George Washington: Indispensable Indispensable a word meaning absolutely necessary1, is significant when analyzing the Presidency of George Washington a man whom James T. Flexner described as "the indispensable man." Being described indispensable can have lofty very expectations. Peop...

SEARCH & SEIZURE Should warrantless searches be allowed? Is it fair for a person to be pulled over for running a stop sign and have their automobile searched? The answer to these proposed questions are being decided by the Supreme Court. Under the ...

The federal courts and state courts differ in the structure, jurisdiction, and types of cases brought into the court. The basis of the Constitutional Law from an official document delineates powers for the federal law and state law that define the Federal Judicial System which derived from the U.S. ...

THE LEAST DANGEROUS BRANCH In Federalist Paper 78, Alexander Hamilton believed that the Supreme Court (or the judiciary) was the least dangerous branch. The United States Government contains three branches: the executive branch, or the President, the Legislative branch consisting of t...

Marijuana In America Marijuana. The word itself can strike fear into the hearts of parents across the nation. For some reason marijuana has found itself on the most wanted list of law enforcement officials throughout the country. How is this possible when alcohol is responsible for over 100, 000...

The statue of liberty The Statue of Liberty holds great significance to the United States of America, because it is the birth symbol of our country. This spectacular figure is the center for all citizens of the United States patriotism, and it is a symbol that unites all citizens as one. Most imp...

The Constitution gives the President three discrete functions following bicameral adoption of a bill in Congress. First, he may elect to sign it. Second, he may veto the bill and return it with a statement of his objections to the house of Congress in which the bill originated. Finally, he may do no...

In the year 1922, a young woman, Ellen Welles Page wrote in an article in Outlook Magazine, "We are the Younger Generation. The war tore away our spiritual foundations and challenged our faith. We are struggling to regain our equilibrium. Help us to put our knowledge to the best adv...

Gun Control: The Help That Harms Everyone is fast asleep in the Smith home on a midsummer night. Jamie and Katie, the parents of five-year-old Lisa and seven-year-old Nick, are resting assured that the next day will be bright and cheery. Around three in the morning, James and Katie are awakened b...

The first administration of the United States was led by the first president of the United States, George Washington. The administration had to set a precedent for the next administrations of the United States. The administration faced many problems internally and externally. The administration d...

The U.S. - a Legitimate Democracy? In any system which claims to be democratic, a question of its legitimacy remains. A truly democratic political system has certain characteristics which prove its legitimacy with their existence. One essential characteristic of a legitimate democrac...

"A symbol is something that stands for or suggests something else because of relationship, association, convention, or accidental resemblance." (Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary 1194). These emblematic masterpieces have been both created and destroyed by war. These wars have...

By the late 1780's many Americans had grown dissatisfied with the Confederation. It was unable to deal effectively with economic problems and weak in the face of Shay's Rebellion. A decade earlier, Americans had deliberately avoided creating a strong national government. Now they recons...

In struggling to determine whether or not the American political system is pluralistic, elitist, or a representative democracy one must first understand what these systems are. A pluralistic system of government focuses upon interest groups to convey the interests and views of public opinion. A...

In his state of the union speech in December 1813, James Madison declared that "[T]he destiny of the United States [is] to be a great, a flourishing, and a powerful nation." Originally the Framers had mindfully believed federalism, allowing both the state and national governments to form...

The Power is in the People Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. ...

Blood, guts, cuts, bruises, scars, decapitations, shootings, guns, knives, nudity, sex, expletives, bad role models and freedom of speech. Is that what you think of when you think about the content of the mass media? Has the media gone too far? Is this violence in mass media affecting our children? ...

Flag Desecration For many Americans the flag of the United States has been a symbol of freedom. However political turmoil and involvement in foreign wars has led to a new form of protest, protected under the first amendment of the Constitution-flag burning. Citizenship in America is not easy. A...

The line item veto came into effect January 1st, 1997 after being passed in an overwhelmingly Republican House, and the Senate, (with many objections by Senator Robert Byrd). However, the republican bill did not live for long, although it took a very long time to pass it, it was struck down in 1998 ...

The politics of privacy in America are imprudent and sentimental, fired by heart-tugging anecdotes that capture public imagination. Not too long ago TV actress Rebecca Schaeffer was murdered by an obsessive fan that obtained her address through the department of motor vehicles. This later led Con...

When evaluating the balance between Federalist and Anti-Federalist influence in the United States, one must also have a firm understanding on the basis of their views as they apply to the Constitution itself. The first mention of Federalism was in the 17th century, though strictly in religious te...

Is the Unites States Political System a Legitimate Democracy In any system which claims to be democratic, a question of its legitimacy remains. A truly democratic political system has certain characteristics which prove its legitimacy with their existence. One essential characteristic of a legit...

The Whiskey RebellionThe Whiskey Rebellion of 1794 helped bring about the demise of the aristocratic Federalist Government in favor of the democratic Republican Government, concerned with the needs of all of its citizens.The new country of the United States of America suffered many growing pains in ...

Friends and fellow citizens: I stand before you tonight, under indictment for the alleged crime of having voted at the last Presidential election, without having a lawful right to vote. It shall be my work this evening to prove to you that I thus voting, I not only committed no crime, but, instead, ...

"Freedom of speech, freedom of expression, both oral and written, from governmental prior restraint, except as such expression constitutes libel, slander, obscenity, sedition, or criminal conduct such as bribery, perjury, or incitement to riot." In the U.S., this freedom is protected by...