The Electoral College

The electoral college was created for many reasons.  The main reason being the huge fear of factions.  By creating the electoral college it would not allow big groups or factions to rule unfairly.  The forefathers did not want large masses of poor to have all the power and wanted to protect those with money and power.  It also allows the federalists and states to run their own elections.  This is another effort to protect the elite, rich people from the poor.  Another reason the electoral college was created was because the forefathers wanted a distinct population when selecting a President for the United States.  I think that the electoral college is fair because it allows each individual state to choose their vote based on the overall vote not just if the rich wants someone to be president or who the poor wants.  It also gives a candidate to have a major chance at winning an election.  For example, in 2000 Al Gore and George Bush were running against each other for presidency.  Even though Al Gore won more Americans vote George W. Bush won the election because he won the electoral vote.  In the end, the electoral college was made to help with the presidential election and continues to play a huge role in today's elections.

Head of State

In the movie Head of State, Chris Rock plays an average guy, Mays Gillian, blending in who then turns into a top candidate running for president.  He is chosen as a candidate because he is all about the people.  The movie starts off with him saving a cat and rescuing a woman from a house that is about to be blown up.  This act caught the eyes of a party who just lost their candidate to a plane crash.  At first Gillian thinks that these people are crazy asking him to run for president but he still agrees to run with them.  His opponent Lewis thinks that their idea is crazy because Gillian has no previous political experience and was sure that he could win the presidential election by a landslide.  

Mays Gillian evolves greatly throughout his candidacy.  Mays’ political team at first just told him all he had  to do was read the speeches they wrote and do what they say.  He began to listen and follow their lead but then realized that he needed to be himself and focus on what the people actually want and not just attire what they want. Throughout his campaign he listened to the people and was all for the people while his opponents just told them what they wanted to hear. In the end Gillian win the presidential election because the people thought he would actually help them instead of just saying what they wanted to hear.

13th Amendment Lincoln

Lincoln

In the movie Lincoln, the plot and purpose was to show the process of Lincoln trying to pass the 13th amendment. There were many setbacks throughout but the main one was racism.  Lincoln's cabinet was very racist which didn't make it easy to pass the amendment.  In this time period people couldn't picture blacks having rights such as to vote.  In the movie, when they were holding a meeting on whether the amendment should be passed or not, the room was sharply divided into two.  If one side disagreed then there would be a brief riot but shortly after the voting continued. This shows that so many people were strict to their opinions and most not willing to budge.

  In order for Lincoln to get this passed he had to do things most people don't agree with. He lied about a lot of this and made sure the things he wanted got done.  He also bribed people into agree with him. The constitution was another big issue because Lincoln wanted to get it ratified as soon as possible in order to pass the emancipation proclamation.  He knew that this decision was extremely risky and could have resulted in impeachment but he followed through anyways. He knew that the outcome of this amendment would be better for America as a while.

A main reason Lincoln wanted to get the 13th amendment passed was so he could get more votes for his upcoming election for a second term.  Another reason was so he could keep his promise to the colored people and set them free.

In the end Lincoln's goal was achieved and the 13th amendment was passed.

Petoria

Petoria Blog Entry

In this episode of Family Guy, Peter and his family annex themselves from the United States and form their own country called Petoria. In his country Peter is the only president and had complete control over his whole nation.  He can do whatever he wants whenever he wants and doesn't get told what to do.  At first Peter and his family think living in their own country is wonderful but they soon realize that they don't have the necessities that had when they lived in  the United States.  For example, education was provided by the U.S. but once they seceded none of Peter's kids could go to school.  Also Peter thinks he can fight the U.S. but soon realizes that he has no army. In the end Peter realizes that having your own country isn't all it's cracked up to be and comes with a lot of responsibility. 

Ratify the Constitution

Ratification of the Constitution

Ratifying the Constitution was extremely hard to do because congress had to get nine out of thirteen states to approve it.  There were two sides to the process.  One where the Federalists who were for the Constitution and the others were the Anti- Federalists who were against the Constitution.  The whole process of ratifying the Constitution began in the year 1787 and ended in 1789,lasting two years.

The Federalists supported the Constitution because they wanted less democracy and a strong federal government. They also said that the states were lower in value than the central government.  The Anti- Federalists opposed the Constitution because they felt it gave too much power to the federal government and not enough to the people. They also wanted to make sure that the Bill of Rights were included where the Federalists disagreed and thought they should be left out.

In conclusion, the Federalists won and ratified the Constitution to what they believed was right but the Anti Federalists were allowed to put the Bill of Rights into the Constitution. 

Why did the Articles of Confederation fail?

The main  reason the Articles of Confederation failed was that they left a lot of power to the states and not to the central government.

The states had the right to basically run themselves and the government had no real control over what they were doing.  In Article II it says that each state "retains its sovereignty, freedom, and independence, and every power" meaning that the states have their independence to make decisions on what they please.  When then starts have their own independence then there really wouldn't be a United States of America.  The only real job that the government could do was to declare war and make peace.

Because of the Articles of Confederation there was no judicial system ever formed.  In Article V it states that each state has their own judicial affairs.  This also caused there to be no executive or legislative branch along with no president.

Overall the Articles of Confederation didn't live up to what it was suppose to be.  They basically were awful and had no purpose ifs any sort.

What Might Life Be Like If There Was No Government?

If there was no government today, we would be living in chaos.  The government has a very important role in society.  Their job is to maintain organization in the United States when it comes to regulations.  They are suppose to make the United States feel secure by making decisions on what everyone agrees on and to do it as peacefully a possible.   They are the ones that make the laws and without the laws everyone would just be running around doing whatever they wanted to do. The government puts these rules in effect to help the United States as a whole.

The government does things for the good of society and not for the bad.  For example, if murder was not against the law then people could go around killing whoever they want for no apparent reason. The government keeps order and tries to have the most structured environment possible.  The government also gives things back to people such as education.  They have policies such as "No Child Left Behind" to make sure that young people have a chance to receive a proper education.  Education plays a huge role in society and is extremely important.  Without the government the U.S. would not be able to receive an education that is a necessity in the world.

I think that humans organized governing bodies because we needed to have a reliable structure.  The structure would help organize and enforce laws and mainly pose as a sense of order.  It is suppose to be about helping the good people and punishing the bad.  I also think the government was made because there needed to be order not only in the United States but also with the relations to other countries across the world.  If there was no formal government we would not have the opportunities to communicate with other countries and would basically be an isolated country.