AMERICAN GOVERNMENT LESSON 1 - Essay Example

According to Glidden and Hill (2008, pg. 1), “The people elect public officials to represent them in free and frequent elections. People start voting to tell the government what they need at the age of eighteen.” An example of this is the upcoming presidential election. Anyone who is eligible to vote can cast a ballot for whom they wish to be president. The principle of limited power was born out of the fear that Americans had at the time since they had just gained independence. They now had their own power and freedoms and were not about to hand it over fully and freely to the government.

Essentially, tyranny was their greatest fear because of the circumstances. According to Glidden and Hill (2008, pg. 1), “Many states pressured the framers of the constitution to add a Bill of Rights, or a list of the basic rights of citizens. The framers also made the national and state governments share power. But whatever the power, the people gave it to the government and they could take it away.” An example of this in today’s world is the rules governing equal opportunity rights.

The next principle for discussion is the sharing of power. According to Glidden and Hill (2008, pg. 1), “Americas government was based on Federalism, where power is divided between the Federal (national) and state governments. The constitution states what powers the Federal government has and leaves the rest for the states. Whenever a dispute arises the constitution is the “supreme law of the land.” An example of this is gambling. Some states allow it, and some do not. There is no federal law outright forbidding it, though.

The fourth principle to discuss is separation of powers. As it stands today, the federal government consists of the legislative, judicial, and executive branches. According to Glidden and Hill (2008, pg. 1), “The legislative branch includes the congress and House of