How democratic is the constitution essays

How democratic is the constitution essays How democratic is the constitution? Well to get that retort you must first look at what democracy means. It is a word whose meaning has altered over the years. Then you must remember that the constitution itself has been changed since it was written. You should also take a look at the possible motives our founding fathers had when writing it. What were they looking to gain? What did they want to be in command of in the new government? If you put all of that together you should have a pretty good idea how democratic the constitution really is. Or you can just read listen to me right now. In the days of the great Roman Empire everyone was involved in the government. They would all gather and discuss what is going on in the town and what needs to change and how it could be changed. Their classification of democracy was about everyone getting their hands on the process. Gordon Woods essay Democracy and Constitution he writes It meant literally government by the people, referring in the strictest sense to political gatherings of the people in person in town meetings and the like. (7-8). Now with our new America this democracy wouldnt work that well. We as a nation had too many people spread over too much land. There was no place to hold that many people back then let alone now plus it would take months for one and all to get there. It would just not be feasible. Wood goes on to say what was needed to be done by the Founding fathers, ... Americans recognized as democratic the modern refinement of representation, which allowed elected agents to participate in government i n place of the people. (8). He goes on to say that what we installed was a mixed republic with democratic elements (8). A representative democracy is what we like to call it. This new way of democracy was what our constitution would have to be of. When it comes to motivation for the founding fathers you can break it into tw...

Ludvig Von Mises essays

Ludvig Von Mises essays Ludwig von Mises: Defender of the Free Market Ludwig von Misis thoughts on human behavior, socialism, and money and credit have had a major impact on economic thought. He championed true free markets and is seen as a defender of liberty. Former President of the United States Ronald Reagan said Ludwig von Mises was one of the greatest economic thinkers in the history of Western Civilization. Through his seminal works, he rekindled the flames of liberty. As a wise and kindly mentor, he encourages all who sought to understand the meaning of freedom. We owe him an incalculable debt(Mises Institute). The remainder of this paper will outline the life of Ludwig von Mises. This will be accomplished by describing the social, political, technical, and economic environment that influenced his ideas. A description of his major ideas in economic thought will be presented. Next, the people and ideas that influenced his approach to economics will be addressed. Finally, the paper will conclude with an assessment of Ludwig von Mises co ntributions to economic thought. Overview of the Life of Ludwig von Mises Ludwig von Misis was born on September 29, 1881 in Lemberg, Austria. He attended a private elementary school, the public Akademishe Gymnasium in Vienna from1892 to 1900. In 1900 Mises entered the University of Vienna. On February 20,1906 he received a Dr. Jur degree, a Doctor of both Canon and Roman Laws, from the University of Vienna. When Mises attended the University, it had no separate economics department; the only way to study economics was through law (Mises Institute). From 1907 to 1914 Mises was employed as an advisor to the Austrian Chamber of Commerce. His first major thesis, the Theory of Money and Credit was published in 1912. In 1913 Mises was awarded the position of Privatdozent (unsalaried lecturer) at the University of Vienna (Mises Institute). Mises academic pursuits were interrupted from ...

Societal Changes in Women Status 30s-70s Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Societal Changes in Women Status 30s-70s - Essay Example These changes as represented by the pendulum have political and economic influences being the major cause affecting these changes. However, individual women have impressively changed the concept of the woman as gender perception as seen by Maya Angelou who during the world second war aspired to be a street car conductor and ended up being the first African American street car conductor thanks to her relentless applications (Collins, 2003). In his intriguing and captivating book, Collins gives examples of heroines like Hannah Dustan who in 1697 escaped from her captors by slitting them and returned to her home to a jubilated welcome. The book gives a wide range of inspiring examples of women thus the other meaning of the pendulum swinging wide. There are quite a number of historical facts that paved way to the behavior of women in the 20th century particularly between the 1930s to the 1970s. For example, in 1637 the law had to be changed after Ann fowler was sentenced to 20 lashes when she verbally abused a county justice by the name of Adam Thorowgood in Virginia (Walsh, 2010). It was then stated that husbands were no longer liable for damages caused by their wives. In Pennsylvania, single impoverished women were forced to wear bras with the letter P which stood for pauper whenever they appeared in public. In world war two, there were over 1000 women pilots, but they could only fly planes that were grounded. This meant that they could not leave the ground, so they only towed the planes for either takeoff or landing for inexperienced male pilots. Despite this, over 80% of the reading public was female at the time. This had a positive impact on American scholarship history, for women were inevitably placed on the same class as the men. The book celebrates women like the Grimke sisters, Susan B. Anthony, Sojourner Truth, Jane Addams, and Dolores Huerta who have arguably influenced the behavior of women in the 1920s and beyond. It is reported that the American Government and cultural leaders sent mixed messages to women regarding their social status, work, education and family through domestic policies gender roles and design of their positions in society. The American government having been influenced by philosophical advocates under nongovernmental organizations on gender equality weakened the family by legitimizing divorce. It also had no policy that supports in any way, infertile women giving rise to promiscuity and rise of immorality. More so infertile women had a high probability of dying during pregnancy and feared to give birth leading to a lower birthrate during the 1920s, and the government still did not address this issue (Smith, 2005). The cultural leaders particularly the Catholics in the na me of ‘modernity’ reduced the number of grants for memorial masses for the dead. This in turn no longer inspired the young generation to give birth to a new generation. So population did not grow as intended, and marriage, which is the sole unit for conception was not as recognized as should have been. In his book ‘utopia against the family’ Bryce J. Christensen mentions organizations like the American home economics declaring that families have nothing to do with blood marriage legal ties or adoption, instead states that it is of two or more persons who share similar resources, responsibilities goals and virtues over a period of time. Politicians and the media have picked this mentality and spread it