Historical Tides of Political Power Over the Years

     This was another essay for my Tulsa Community College government class.

     "Since the foundation of the United States, there has more or less always been two major powers, or parties, more or less dominating American politics. Before the Constitution, the main players were the Federalists and Anti-Federalists, who debated on the size of government and the ratification of the Constitution. After Washington stepped down from the Presidency, Federalists like John Adams and Thomas Jefferson’s Democratic-Republicans differed on whether to have a strong central government, as well as what groups to favor(Federalists supported merchants and commercial-level planters, Jefferson’s Republicans artisans and farmers). The Federalists basically fell apart about 1816, leading to Monroe’s Era of Good Feelings.

Around the time Monroe left the office and John Quincy Adams stepped into it, the Jeffersonian Republicans split in two, forming the Democratic and Whig groups. The Democrats were for limited government, personal liberty and opportunity for the common man, while the progressive Whigs stood for an active federal government focusing on internal improvements(for example, roads). The Democrats were the stronger of the two.

     This arrangement stayed put for about thirty years into the 1850’s, when the Whigs split due to southern concerns about a strong government forcing an ending to slavery. The northern Whigs allied with moderate antislavery Democrats and the minor radical antislavery Free Soil Party to found the modern Republican party. From the Civil War to the 1890’s, the two parties were relatively close in terms of power, but this was soon to change. Farmers were buried in hopeless debt, and this class was targeted by populists, which the Democrats began supporting in nominating William Jennings Bryan for President in 1896. This strategy backfired; as inflation caused urban working-class voters to bolt for the Republicans.

At this point, both parties raced headlong into more liberal tendencies; which was nothing new for the Republicans, but a complete change of course for the Democrats. Teddy Roosevelt was highly progressive, but the Republicans’ nomination of Taft led to a split which enabled Woodrow Wilson to be elected. The Republicans resumed power in the Roaring Twenties, which ended, of course, in the opening phases of the Great Depression. This crushed the public’s faith in Hoover’s policies, and Franklin Roosevelt was elected in a landslide.

     Under Roosevelt, the New Deal was worked out and the country survived through unprecedented government intervention in individuals’ welfare, and the Democrats held the Presidency almost uninterrupted until Nixon in 1968. Also at this time, the main principles have been reversed, as now Democrats are more progressive while Republicans tend to be more conservative in nature

     Since Nixon, and especially impacted by the Republican insurgence in 1994, power has swung back and forth between the two parties. Waves have occurred during most elections in the 21^st century, at the moment we have a divided government with Democratic control of the Senate, Republican control of the House, and Barack Obama as President."

Conventional Controversy: Sacrifices Leading to the Constitution

     This was an essay for my government class at Tulsa Community College.

     "The year was 1787. The United States of America, after all these years, was finally a reality; but the young nation still had quite a ways to go on its road to maturity. The Articles of Confederation proved too weak and inadequate to serve the public’s needs effectively, as Shay’s Rebellion eloquently depicted. This called for a large-scale meeting to revise the Articles, which came to be known as the Constitutional Convention, held in Philadelphia.

     The opening of the convention was delayed from May 14 to May 25 by late arrivals, so James Madison and the rest of the Virginia delegation hustled to set the tone once things got underway, as Governor Edmund Randolph offered fifteen proposed changes to national governmental structure. These amendments included such specifics as a powerful two-part (bicameral) legislature based on state populations with the ability to void any state laws; This legislature would be in charge of appointing a national executive and selecting the judiciary members.
    
     The smaller states felt threatened by this proposal, so they responded with one of their own. New Jersey’s William Paterson argued that because the Articles of Confederation established state equality, the convention had no right to change the status quo. Based on this premise, the New Jersey Plan would make Congress the country’s supreme law, and give Congress(composed of both the House and the Senate)  the authority to select several people to form an executive office, which would then appoint a Supreme Court. This idea was generally met with criticism, to put it mildly. But the small states threatened to leave if the Virginia Plan was adopted; so Connecticut’s Robert Sherman proposed the following compromise: a bicameral legislature with the lower chamber representation appointed by population(House) and the upper chamber with two members each(Senate). The population was figured up by including all free persons and three-fifths of all others; as well as allowing unrestricted slave trade for the next twenty years; effectively punting the issue of slavery down the field of history for future lawmakers to wrestle with. At the moment, preserving the fragile Union was a higher priority than anything else, including the slavery debate. The executive became a single person, chosen by a group called the Electoral College. This members of this group were chosen by the states, and each state had as many members as they did in Congress. This process ensured that the presidency wouldn’t be settled by direct popular control, as many political players at that time feared, and also guarded against Congress holding too much power.

     The resulting setup that the government took was composed of an elaborate system of three branches – judicial, executive and legislative – working as independent-yet-cooperative bodies. Congress makes legislation and can override presidential vetoes of that legislation; Congress also has the power of the purse. The President can veto congressional legislation, as stated; he can also make treaties, propose new laws and nominate federal judges. The Senate must confirm or deny the President’s appointments and consent to the treaties the President negotiated with a two-thirds majority.  The Supreme Court can rule presidential and/or congressional actions unconstitutional. However, Congress can circumvent the Court’s rulings by rewriting the offending legislature."