By 1777 the Articles of Confederation began to create a unified government, but it wasn’t until 1787 until Madison’s Virginia plan replaced the Confederation with a more perfect Federal Union via the Constitution.

Social democracy: The mildest form of socialism, advocating for the retention of private property in a society but calling for a large welfare state and some state-owned industries. The free market remains in place. Populism: A movement that challenges the established values and rules of the political establishment. The Declaration of Independence” works as the third statement of intentions, but it doesn’t describe how the country should be run like the other documents. The Declaration of Independence is the one that says, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men people are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” [10] The reason party politics can get so messy is, in-part, because “left” and “right” aren’t two points on a single line, rather, the political spectrum is a combination of many complex paradigms. This concept is an essay in itself, but for simplicity, in modern America, the political parties are the Liberal, Socialist, Conservative, and Libertarian parties.

The parties should not be confused with the overarching political spectrum, specific leaders, an ideology of a given party member, or even a specific bit of legislation. Today’s parties each represent a mix of view points from across the political spectrum, and are only loosely “left” or “right.” This is not widely understood and leads to a lot of arguing over viewpoints. The death penalty is an appropriate punishment for perpetrators of heinous crimes. The alternative — life in prison — would only mean spending taxpayer dollars to keep them confined, fed and provide healthcare services to them. America, since it’s inception, has gone through periods where oligarchs had too much power like the Industrial Revolution. There have also been periods when the collective may have been exerting too much force on individual liberty like when Lincoln, FDR, or Kennedy/LBJ pushed for the expansion of Civil Rights against those claiming states’ rights.

But in addition to that vote, many states are also holding elections for positions in the United States Senate, House of Representatives and state-wide political roles. Representative democracy: A type of democracy where the people elect representatives to make policy on their behalf. The judicial branch is made up of American courts, the most powerful being the Supreme Court. For court cases that aren’t quite solved through lower courts, eventually they can make their way up to the Supreme Court where the judges, which are called justices, rule on the dispute. Many cases that make their way to the Supreme Court aren’t answered easily by a simple glance at the Constitution, so justices must read between the lines and make educated guesses on how the situation should be handled. Justices are nominated by the president and confirmed by Congress, and if they’re confirmed to the Supreme Court, they serve lifelong terms. The justices use the Constitution as their Bible for interpreting whether or not laws and actions are allowable. In 2016, about 245 million people were eligible to vote, but fewer than 140 million people actually did. According to the US Census Bureau, the majority of people who didn’t register to vote said they just weren’t interested in politics. Those who registered but didn’t actually vote said they didn’t like the candidates. End of eligible to vote

The major parties: Australian political history has been dominated by the Labor and Liberal parties since the end of World War II. Find out these parties’ origins and how their organizations work and affect Australian politics. In the United Kingdom, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and some local authorities in England (such as Greater Manchester) have been given devolved powers - meaning they have responsibility for some key decision making in their area, while central government in Westminster takes control of other matters. Separation of powers: A form of government where powers are divided between the legislative, executive, and the judiciary. Red, blue, blue, blue . . . since 1945, the Conservatives have been the dominant political force in Britain. The biggest political animal of them all was undoubtedly Margaret Thatcher, who managed to win three consecutive elections. Here’s a list of British governments since 1945: Years in Office

The basic government types have been known since Ancient times and were noted by Plato and Aristotle. They include, roughly speaking, a monarchy (ruled by one), an oligarchy (ruled by a few), a republic (ruled by elected officials and ruled by law), and a democracy (ruled by the many). [6]. There are different ways to express the classical government types, but generally our mixed-republic and different branches of government reflect this. St. Augustine, 354–430 CE: St. Augustine was a Catholic philosopher who fused the thoughts of Plato with Catholic teachings. Benjamin Disraeli said in 1852, “England does not love coalitions” . The reason for this, in his view, is that a great deal of compromise is needed to form a coalition. Both men are in their 70s - Mr Trump would be 74 years old at the start of his second term, while at 78, Mr Biden would be the oldest first-term president in history. How is the winner decided?Against voter ID laws citing (a) undue burden on lower income groups causing them to be disenfranchised, and (b) virtually no evidence of voter fraud actually occurring.

While some on the right are moving from strongly and wholly supporting the Second Amendment to accepting a ban on assault weapons, many still stand firmly in support of the right to bear arms. Their argument is that guns don't kill people; people kill people, and every citizen should retain the right to defend himself. The right to bear arms is enshrined in the U.S. constitution, and any attempt to regulate gun sales infringes on this right. In Nebraska, a 1936 referendum saw residents vote to get rid of the two chamber system in favour of one house – the Nebraska Legislature, made up of state senators. Victims and their families deserve justice; often they can only get closure when the perpetrator is put to death.

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Adam Smith, 1723–1790: Smith created the concept of laissez faire capitalism, advocating for a small, limited role of government in the economy. His The Wealth of Nations was published in 1776. Democrats already have control of the House so they will be looking to keep hold of that while also gaining control of the Senate. Like fire is to air, liberty is to factions”– Madison Federalist #10 (playing off of Hamilton’s rant against factions in #9, factions are one of the major themes of the papers). [17] It’s Liberty and Justice for all, not just for those in our in-group. It’s a matter of morality and ethics, not guerrilla tactics. A Timeline of Democracy Most on the right believe marriage is strictly an institution based on the union of a man and a woman, and see gay unions as an aberration from the norm. People on the right also advocate for the right of employers (especially religious institutions, including Catholic hospitals) to choose not to employ gay individuals. Generally more permissive, considering economic impact of environmental regulation. Believe the free market will find its own solution to environmental problems.