According to John Locke, in your own words, what is freedom, what is liberty, how are liberty and freedom related, how are liberty and freedom different?
According to my understanding, freedom refers to the capacity of an individual to live life the way it pleases them. Freedom entails the power possessed by a person to speak, act or think the way they deem fit with no restraint. Freedom ca otherwise be equated to an interpersonal relationship where the rights of each individual are upheld. Liberty refers to the capacity of an individual to do as they will with their property and themselves without any restrictions from any other party. Liberty allows individuals to do whatever they want but with the condition that their actions do not harm others. Liberty means being within a society and not being subjected to consequences. No statutes or laws exist that one has to be held to.
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The relationship that exists between freedom and liberty is that they both have limitations. The limitations can either be based on the individuals concerned or based on societal views. The difference between freedom and liberty is that freedom provides an individual with the capacity to do whatever they choose on individual grounds. In contrast, liberty, on the other hand, safeguards the enjoyment of freedoms with no hindrances from the government.
Question 2
Based reading the U.S. Constitution, describe each of the following:
One check or balance that the federal executive branch has on the federal legislative branch.
According to Article 2, Section 2, the president is accorded the “power to fill up all vacancies that may happen during the recess of the Senate” (LII, n.d.) . The presidential appointment has a limitation where the accorded commission is temporarily based given that it ceases to function at the end of the next session.
One check or balance that the federal executive branch has on the federal judicial branch.
From Article 2, Section 2, the ability of the president to appoint federal judges is the aspect that the executive branch has on the judicial branch. “[H]e shall nominate… judges of the Supreme Court, and all other officers of the United States, whose appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by law” (LII, n.d.).
One check or balance that the federal legislative branch has on the federal executive branch.
In accordance with Article 2, Section 1, the legislative branch can assume the task of choosing the president whenever the condition where more than one has the majority or where none has the majority arises. “The five highest on the list the said House shall in like manner choose the President” (LII, n.d.). For every state, they have one vote. The Senate will choose the Vice President if two or more have equal electoral votes. The Senators, as well as the House of Representatives, can select the president and the vice president, whenever the situation presents itself.
One check or balance that the federal legislative branch has on the federal judicial branch.
Through the capability of the Senators to accept or reject federal judges, similarly as they can with the executive branch, the legislative branch checks the judicial branch. Additionally, the legislative branch checks the judicial branch given the ability of the Congress to impeach federal judges. It is according to Article 1, Section 2 and Section 3 that the power holds, which likewise states that the legislative branch possesses “…sole power of impeachment” (LII, n.d.). The branch comprises “…tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court” (LII, n.d.).
One check or balance that the federal judicial branch has on the executive branch.
Based on Article 1, Section 3, given that the president faces an impeachment trial, "the Chief Justice shall preside: And no Person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of the members present" (LII, n.d.). The Senate has the sole capability to conduct trials to all the presented impeachments, inclusive of the U.S’ presidents’ impeachment.
One check or balance that the federal judicial branch has on the federal legislative branch.
According to Article 3, Section 2, “The judicial power shall extend to all cases, in law and equity, arising under this Constitution” (LII, n.d.). The Supreme Court can term a congressional law unconstitutional and change it due to the judicial branch.
Question 3
Discuss the failures of the Article of Confederation that led to creation the U.S. Constitution?
The Articles of Confederation fail for various reasons. With the unequal distribution of the power of the government, that involved more power given to the states as compared to Congress ( Brackemyre, n.d.) . Because of state rivalry, the legislative power complicated the ability to get the majority vote. Additionally, trade relations were affected due to the fact that the Congress failed to manage the states. With limited management of the states by the Congress, the states, contributed minimal financial aid to the government.
With little financing the Congress makes it challenging for Congress to undertake activities such as paying soldiers as well as patrol areas in the country; thus, it ended engaging the government in debt. Another failure was each states having unfair systems that had one vote with Congress without taking into account the population. Every state had specific laws for each state that did not acknowledge the laws of other states given the fact that the federal judicial system was non-existent. Lastly, supervisory control with trade did not exist. Particular states implemented varying tariffs that resulted in trade standoffs that nearly had the economy frozen.
Question 4
What is federalism? Describe the balance of power between the federal government and state governments. In your response, you may want to discuss the supremacy clause, the 9th, 10th, and 14th amendments, as well as any relevant Supreme Court decisions.
Federalism refers to the process that involves two or more governments sharing powers in a given geographical region ( Longley, 2017) . The federal government was formed to assume the duties only limited to the federal government by the constitution. The State government chips in its effort whenever there are decisions that are not of national interest that is at risk. The state governments work in conjunction with each other to execute policies that touch the issues that are faced by American people on a daily basis. Article 1, Section 8 of the constitution provides the best definition as far as the balance of power is concerned. The Article and section of the constitution include a list of powers of the federal government, otherwise leaving the rest of powers to the state's authority.
Question 5
What are the three branches of government? Describe what each one does in your own words and in a few brief sentences.
The executive, judicial and legislative form the three branches of the government. The executive branch is the branch responsible for signing and voting laws. Additionally, the executive gives pardons, excluding the cases that involve impeachment. The president of the United States holds the executive. The judicial branch represents the federal court system. The branch makes laws alongside deciding whether the rulings by other judges are constitutional or non-constitutional. The total number of justices forming the legislative branch is 9 and get their appointments from the president. It is usually referred to as the Supreme Court. The last branch, the legislative, comprises of several members of the House of Representatives from every state and two senators drawn from every state. Regarding the number of members of Congress, it solely depends on the size of the population of the state to which the congressmen represent.
References
Brackemyre, T. (n.d.). America’s First Failure at Government . Retrieved from http://ushistoryscene.com/article/articles-of-confederation/
Harry S. Truman Presidential Library & Museum. (2017). Three Branches of Government . Retrieved from https://trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/teacher_lessons/3branches/1.htm
Legal Information Institute. (n.d.). Article I . Retrieved from https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/articlei
Legal Information Institute. (n.d.). Article II . Retrieved from https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/articleii
Legal Information Institute. (n.d.). Article III . Retrieved from https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/articleiii
Longley, R., (2017). What is Federalism? Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-federalism-3321880
