A Professor Reflects

A Professor Reflects

Introduction

The American governmental system has come a long way since our founding fathers proclaimed the formation of the United States of America. This great country has gone through many changes, wars and crises. Every time through the hard work and dedicated efforts of our leaders, we have always come through all troubles. The system, like the society is perpetually in a state of continuous evolution. It has to cater to the needs of the people, as well as their aspirations.

We have a fully Federal system in a place where the States are autonomous in making their laws on most subjects apart from foreign policy, defense and currency. Through the course of our history, the States gradually became a part of what is now the United States of America. That did not happen in an instant, it took a Civil War for this to happen. The war was fought between the North and South, one might say. Actually, it was a war fought between two ideologies. One seeking status quo and the other, a modern system advocating liberty, fraternity and equality. The South at the time of the war was practicing slavery whereas in the North it had been abolished. After the end of war one of our founding fathers Abraham Lincoln delivered his famous speech and said, “Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.”

We will give a general overview of the way American governmental systems operate today. Added to that, we will also see how the system has evolved over time. The unique part of this paper would be the future part. We would place the current system in a time capsule for a period of 100 years. In the light of the current trends, predictions would be made as to where it would stand after 100 years. With that said, our study would be incomplete without taking into consideration the current state of affairs. Let us take a look at our present government and how it functions. The topic would be of immense interest since the US presidential election is just around the corner.

Discussion

The Present

The United States is technically categorized as a constitutional federal republic. There are three parts in this categorization. The first part is federal, which basically means that the major powers and decision making authority in most areas of government are devolved on to the States. The second part is constitutional and that basically means that all functions of the government are defined by the constitution. The constitution is a collection of laws along with amendments that provide a guideline to the State as well as the Federal governments. It also limits the powers of each institution and government office. The third and final part is republic'. A republic basically translates into a government of the people in general who after regular intervals elect their chosen representatives to various offices, like ...