Political Development of American Government Essay

The United States is a well-known champion of democracy around the world. However, the debate regarding the very essence of this concept has never stopped within this society since its creation. That is why it would be logical to examine the way in which it was interpreted over the years.

The Anti-Federalist group insisted that the Bill of Rights will be included in the Constitution in order to prevent the newly found federal government from turning into a tyranny. It is essential to keep in mind that the Americans at the time did not want their government to bear any resemblance to the British government (Jillson, 2018). That is why the Anti-Federalists thought that it is essential to limit the potential spread of the powers of the federal government and introduces a set of amendments that would serve as markers. This was done to ensure that the new American society would not turn out to be the opposite of what it was willing to become.

The Bill of Rights introduced and secured some of the most iconic civil liberties. The first is freedom of religion which granted the Americans a right to exercise any kind of religion they wanted. That is why though the majority of the Americans are Christians, there is an official registered Church of Satan. The second civil liberty is freedom of expression. This is something that the Americans often put emphasis on while comparing their country to others. It allows a person to express one’s mind freely as long as it does not violate the rights of others (Welch, 2013). The third civil liberty to be mentioned is the right to bear arms. This is the liberty that is widely debated today in the context of mass shootings. However, originally, it was designed to ensure that the people will be able to protect themselves not only from each other, but from the government as well.

The Supreme Court has been expanding civil liberties after the Bill of Rights was adopted. For example, in Griswold v. Connecticut it concluded that laws that prohibited access to contraception violate a person’s right to marital privacy. In addition to that, a number of cases were ruled in order to support the Fourteenth Amendment which promotes equal protection of the citizens (Wilson, 2018). This amendment is often thought to be the most important one because it establishes a common framework for all the citizens and enhances the rule of law.

The changes in the balance of power between the individual and the government as interpreted by the Supreme Court are well explained in the following cases. Thus, in Gideon v. Wainwright the Court rules that the state must provide defense attorneys to those who cannot afford them this way ensuring that a person will always have a way to protect one’s interests. Miranda v. Arizona is a landmark case that protected the citizens from self-incrimination. This allows a person to protect one’s rights more effectively and ensure that the law enforces will not be able to abuse their good knowledge of the procedures against a person. Engel v. Vitale limited the use of prayer in the public schools, supporting the Establishment clause. This ruling showed the line that separates church and state has to be strict for the benefit of all the people.

As one can clearly see, the debate regarding the nature of democracy shaped the development of the American society. The latter may be seen as a compromise between those who are supporting the need for a strong government and those who favor individual liberties.

References

Jillson, C. C. (2018). American government: Political development and institutional change. New York, NY: Routledge.

Welch, S. (2013). Understanding American government: Alternate. Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth.

Wilson, J. Q. (2018). American government. Institutions and policies. Lexington, MA: D.C. Heath and Company.

The terms offer and acceptance. (2016, May 17). Retrieved from

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016.

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

freeessays.club (2016) The terms offer and acceptance [Online].
Available at:

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]
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