Changes in the Political System

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Abstract

Politics have generally been rigid in nature and have denounced change every time that has been one. The events that have take place in the social history of the world have posed challenges and questioned the human ability to develop and adapt. With the occurrence of the events such as the World War and Great Depression countries have been forced to rethink the way in which they govern their boundaries. These events have had wholesale effects on all of the involved nations. Europe and the United States have made changes to the way they run their governments in the aftermath of the incidents. This goes to show the potential of societal occurrence and how they shape our future. This paper discusses the changes that global events have had on the political system with an American perspective.Changes in the Political System

Introduction

From 1929 to 1945, the American federal government grew enormously in size, power, and cost in order to cope with the Great Depression and then to mobilize the nation for World War II. Particularly in the 1930s, state and local governments also took on new responsibilities. Although the changed contours of American government by 1945 were largely a product of the exigencies of depression and war and of the leadership of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the preexisting structure, culture, and heritage of the American political system also shaped—and limited—what government did. Structurally, the American political system was characterized by a federal state of national, state, and local governments, and by a separation of executive, legislative, and judicial power. Ideologically, the American political culture included strong antistatist concerns about a powerful national government and corresponding emphases on states' rights, individualism, and a market economy. State and local governments were limited by their own legal authority and traditions—and by Supreme Court decisions that had also restrained the power of the federal government. As American government at all levels had expanded since the late 19th century in response to the challenges of modernizing change, its growth and authority had been constrained by such factors (Harper & Leicth, 2011).

Thesis Statement

This paper will cast light upon the political system in the United States and the factors that influenced the changes that took place. We shall also look at the social events and influences that bring about changes in the system.

Structure of the American Political System

The structure and culture of the American political system nonetheless also constrained the power of the national government in its relationships with state and local governments. Because of the limited capacity of the federal government even after 1933, Roosevelt had to depend upon state and local officials—often conservative or otherwise opposed to expanding federal authority—to administer many New Deal programs. Together with congressional conservatives, state and local governments frequently continued to resist the burgeoning power of the federal government. In the South, for example, particular care was taken to prevent New Deal measures from upsetting the established social structure, especially in race relations—although ...