Repeal of The 17th Amendment: Current Context
The seventeenth amendment is the amendment to the United States’ constitution that was ratified on April 8th, 1913. It revoked the election of senators by state legislatures and gave the duty of electing senators to American citizens directly. The seventeenth amendment is not currently being proposed by congress; however, many conflicting opinions about the seventeenth amendment’s effect on federalism in the United States result in debates among political parties regarding whether it should be repealed. The Tea Party movement, a political party that stems from the Republican Party and became prominent in 2009, emphasizes negative outcomes of the seventeenth amendment and how a repeal would benefit
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The Tea Party now reveals their beliefs about the national government contradicting the idea of federalism. The Tea Party reasons that the national government overrides state governments and interferes with states’ freedoms due to the seventeenth amendment (“Our Vision”). Also, The Tea Party emphasizes the topic of the national government’s control over state-related issues without direct representation from state governments, such as healthcare and education, due to the seventeenth amendment. The Tea Party became the initial cause of the contemplation about repealing the seventeenth amendment (Healy). The national government issued the Obamacare healthcare plan and No Child Left Behind act, which states do not support, but are still mandated to follow and financially contribute to the programs’ extreme expenses (Healy). The expenses are expected to increase over the next ten years and create a burden for the state governments, causing parties such as the Tea Party to conclude that the seventeenth amendment should be repealed in order to allow direct representation for state governments in decisions involving healthcare and education …show more content…
As a result, Tea Party members and Republicans argue in favor of a repeal, claiming that states are overshadowed in the government system and the seventeenth amendment is a breach of federalism (Lesniewski; Cooke). Despite the happenings that result in opinions of repealing the seventeenth amendment for the purpose of improving federalism in the United States, most states have implemented policies that ensure the direct participation of citizens in elections, causing liberals to believe that the repeal of the 17th amendment would not benefit the government because the states would not revert back to electing senators without direct input from citizens
Taxes! After the French and Indian War, the British government needed money to pay for the cost of protecting the colonists from the French and Indians. The British government approved several taxes including the Stamp and Tea Acts to help pay for the costs of the war. The colonists were expected to pay these taxes.
The 17th Amendment granted the people the right to choose their representatives. Restrictions imposed by the states would conflict with the 17th Amendment right of the people to choose their legislators. U.S. Term Limits Inc. also argued the states had the power to regulate the times, places, and manner of holding elections under Article I, Section 4, making Amendment 73 constitutional. The Court rejected this argument, stating Section 3 of the amendment was only an attempt to create new qualifications for members of Congress and was not a direct attempt to regulate the time, place, or manner of holding
After the ratification of the Articles of Confederation in 1781, a sense of nationalism and unity swept across the young United States of America. Unfortunately, with youth, comes inexperience. It did not take long for numerous problems to be noticed under the Articles including a weak central government, no national judicial system, and little coined money. Due to the controversy and disorder arisen by the Articles of Confederation, the delegates of the United States joined for the 2nd Constitutional Convention in 1787 to make reparations. The top scholars of the nation intended to repair the existing government but instead, created a whole new one.
This past week, the Constitutional Convention met in Philadelphia. They addressed the problems of the weak central government that exists under the Articles of Confederation. Both our fellow Federalists and the Anti federalists, were present at this meeting. The Anti federalists are continuing to fight against the Constitution, claiming that they don’t want a bigger government than the States. However, they do not have a set plan like us.
The twelfth amendment is one of the amendments to the United States Constitution. The Bill of Rights is a list of the first ten changes made to the United States Constitution. The rest of the amendments were simply added to the United States Constitution. These changes are made to better and perfect the country, as no country is ever truly perfect. Utopias are a fictional trope and cannot be replicated in real life.
Not long after the Constitutional Convention of 1787 had ended and the Constitution had been introduced to the American people for the ratification, there was a debate regarding those who supported the Constitution (Federalists) and those who opposed it (Anti-Federalists). Among those debates, one of the most central debates was whether to unite the thirteen states into a great nation or under the federal government. Perhaps, this question was the reason why some of the delegates kept their mouth shut in Philadelphia. Outstanding delegates such as James Madison and James Wilson had developed a plan that would renovate the American Union from loose independent states to a central nation that under the control of federal government but still
To them, it was clear that the Articles of Confederation were not upholding America, and therefore, America could not succeed. While they did to some extent listen to the fears of the Antifederalists—as is evidenced by the passing of the Bill of Rights—they altogether tended to be more optimistic when it came to the Constitution. One of the founding principles of the Federalist Party was their support of a strong central government. A strong central government would provide needed stability, more so than the Articles of Confederation ever could. The Federalists were also generally less concerned with ensuring individual’s rights, as many of them felt it was the government’s duty to serve the people, and such rights did not need to be formally written because they should already be in place.
cannot suspend the right to trial by jury in criminal cases, that the government cannot pass any ex post facto laws or bills of attainders, among many others. While the constitution was being drafted there were many disagreements between the federalists and the anti-federalists about whether this new constitution sufficiently protected individual rights. Obviously the anti-federalists, who were not in favor of a strong central government, weren’t too excited at the prospect of scrapping the Articles of confederation for one with a stronger federal government. The Federalists wanted a
This movement arose out of conservatives protesting the federal government. Despite popular consent of a weak American government, Novak proposes a strong American state. In other words, instead of supporting a weak state government (the core belief of the Tea Party movement), Novak argues that the state government is not as weak as the widespread belief infers. In a video interview, William Novak discusses the Tea Party and strength of the state government. He describes the Tea Party as a manifestation of a long history of American’s refusal to reckon with the power of their state over the course of American history; refusal to deal with the growth of state power and reckon with the role that state has played in American lives from the very first days of the republic; and how there have been gapless
Today’s America has evolved differently from the intention of a certain group of the founder’s. This essay takes the stance that America in 2017 is moving closer to the viewpoint of the Federalists, compared to the Republicans. First, one must analyze the two parties, then draw the conclusion with supportive facts. Lastly, the comparisons will be summarized and the differences will be minimized.
his essay mainly focuses on the multiple perspectives given towards the Second Amendment. These perspectives are given from Saul Cornell and Joyce. They both analyze and examine on what the Second Amendment really means. They discuss about the rights that the amendment gives to citizens that live in United States, which is the right to own firearms. Also, They give some examples on how these deadly firearms are sometimes used for the wrong reasons.
After the American Revolutionary War, many Americans were opposed to the idea of a strong central government. They saw the idea of a strong centralized government as a gateway back into the familiar tyrannical government and abuse of power that they had just fought so hard to free themselves of. The idea of creating a new Constitution was unnecessary to some because the Articles of Confederation were already in place. The non-supporters of the newly proposed Constitution called themselves “Anti- Federalist.” Naturally, many of the supporters of the new Constitution felt that it was very much needed and they felt as if the Articles of Confederation were not strong enough to functionally run the government.
Which amendments focus on the rights of people accused of crimes? What rights do these amendments guarantee? The Fifth, Sixth, and Eighth Amendment focuses on the rights of people accused of crimes. The Fifth Amendment protects an accused citizen of self incrimination and double jeopardy.
During this period, the Anti-Federalists felt as though the aristocrats had no particular opinion about our future government, which alarmed the group. Because they saw aristocrats as overpowering the opinions of those who are not as noble. The writer states that he would rather be a free citizen of the Republic of Massachusetts than succumb to a great American Empire. The Federalist goes on to say that unless there is some security of the people 's liberties, the new Constitution will not be successful. The writer had full faith in the citizens of the United States to decide what was best for the future of the
They believed that this government could provide the stability and security against violent outrages. The foil of these people were the Antifederalist. The Antifederalists offered three objections: that the Congress had conspired under a “veil of mystery” to create a new form of government, that a strong national government would destroy states’ rights, and that the new system of government resembled and monarchy and that violated the principle of liberty that guided the American Revolution. They also pointed that the voters will not directly