Democracy: Healthy Democratic System Of The USA

America’s democracy came late compared to its independence as it wasn’t quite accepted in 1776 when the declaration of independence was created, but it was introduced at George Washington’s farewell address in 1796 as he finished his second term in the presidential office. He stated in his speech: “To the efficacy and permanency of your Union, a government for the whole is indispensable.” as this represented the value of a government and the fact that even though democracy strongly relies on the people, it also requires a stable and efficient government. 224 years later, in the 2020s there are many categories regarding whether we successfully sustained a healthy democratic system.

Firstly, An idea and the key principle directly relating to a democratic government would be majority rule and individual rights. The fifteenth amendment states: “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude” this amendment represents the individual rights to vote. According to the United States censor Bureau. From 2014-2018 Among 18- to 29-year-olds, voter turnout went from 20 percent in 2014 to 36 percent in 2018, the largest percentage point increase for any age group — a 79 percent jump. This has been a significant increase in the younger population as many began to adopt the idea and support the voting system. As politicians would say, each vote represents an idea. This improvement could be seen as a success regarding the voting system as it’s gaining more and more people’s trust in believing the power of majority rule and exercising their rights to vote.

Secondly, another principle that represents a healthy democratic system would be liberty and equality. The true visions of the founders were strongly associated with liberty and equality as in the declaration of independence it states: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” As time progressed, many civil movements have taken place as it built a base of many citizens and minorities groups liberty and equality today. A great example would be Martin Luther King Jr. and the ideas he represented. Martin Luther was a social activist as he has spoken to crowds regarding racial equality and the rights of the colored men. During his period there were several other influencers regarding racial issues including Rosa Parks and Malcolm X. Martin Luther King was known for his silence protest as he wanted to use love and kindness to change people’s hearts instead of violence and war. He was one of the greatest influencers in American history. At the last moments of his life before he was assassinated, he was still spreading love and the power of peaceful assembly regarding issues of workers’ strike in Memphis. As Martin Luther King Jr and others represented the effort many people put in racial equality, Sojourner Truth and many other ladies represented the idea of gender equality. She was most famous for her speech in 1851 named “ain’t I a woman?” she lived most of her life as a slave and working for many different masters. Eventually, she escaped to New York and regained her freedom. She also became a Christian and was a true disciple of God as she spread love and preached about equality among all. According to many sources: “She continued her crusade for the rest of her life, earning an audience with President Abraham Lincoln and becoming one of the world’s best-known human rights crusaders” Many others have put in magnificent work to try and establish an equal community. At last, August 26th was set as Women Equality Day and the 19th amendment was established as both of those events marked the great success of women’s civil rights movements and acted as a stepping stone to achieving complete equality in the future.

Authority between states and national governments is often dismissed and ignored when discussing democracy. However, there are many events that represented the conflict that states and national governments had in the past. A great example would be the Civil War between the North and South in 1861. Many people would have known that this war represented slavery, yet it symbolized a greater disagreement as it strongly related to state rights and power versus governmental power. The confederates in the South demanded more power for their state’s government and the Union and the federal government in the North have been backing up and giving more power to the states, however at a certain point and time they decided it was time to stop. This was where the conflict occurred, In the spring of 1865, the North captured the confederate president Jefferson Davis and the war was declared over, and slaves were freed from the Southern states. According to sources around 620000-750000 American soldiers died during the civil war, along with the undetermined amount of injuries of citizens. In the modern era, the national government plays a role in holding state governments accountable, however, state governments still have certain powers shared with the national government which would be taxation, education policies and criminal justice laws. The national government, on the other hand, holds far great power as it categorizes in three different types of power. First being, expressed power as it represents the power to wage war, regulate policies in the states and collect taxes. The second being implied power, it basically means that there are always some issues that aren’t stated in the constitution however it should be implied that the national government could exercise those powers. At last, Inherent powers as it means the national government could establish foreign relationships and regulate immigration within the United States as a whole.

Civil disobedience and the rule of law is other essential element to have a healthy and strong democratic government. Looking at statistics, the United States itself has been doing a decent job regarding crime rates and public safety. According to Statista a statistic recording website: “This statistic shows the reported violent crime rate in the U.S. since 1990. In 2018, the nationwide rate was 368.9 cases per 100,000 of the population. Even though the violent crime rate has been decreasing since 1990, the United States tops the ranking of countries with the most prisoners.” as the quote states, despite the fact that the crime rate has been forming a trend of decreasing from the year 1990 to 2018, the crime rate per 100000 people still maintains a lead in the world rankings. A key issue regarding civil disobedience is the fact that American citizens are able to obtain weapons because of the Second Amendment as it states: “ A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.” gun violence is a result of the amendment which is why the crime rate is high in the United States. Personally, I believe that gun violence not only interferes with other people’s individual rights, it also interferes with public rights as people possessing weapons are a risk towards public safety. Through these statistics, we could see that despite the great effort the United States has put in regarding crime rates, it should still be seen as a failure in the public system as the crime rate is still high compared to other countries.

Freedom of the press and the rights to a fair trial are two significant rights that are frequently taken for granted. The first amendment could be separated into two parts, the first being freedom of the press and the other second being freedom of religion which would be stated in the next paragraph. Freedom of the press could literally be seen as the purpose of democracy. In order to further understand the importance of freedom of the press, we need to assess other countries that don’t quite have the freedom of the press. China, for example, could be seen as one of those countries. In China, a large portion of social media is being watched by the government and when a comment or discussion is created about the wrong or corrupted part of the government, people are often convicted because of it. A historical example would be Tian An Men’s incident that took place in 1989 as the government put forth many militaries and killed around 2500-6000 people and many injured. Even tanks were sent out to appease the situation. However, the problem towards this incidence was that the people that formed the civil rights movement took a route of peaceful assembly as they did not harm any police forces, nevertheless, the government killed many of the people and denied their freedom of the press and showed their communist side of governing. Comparing this incidence to the freedom of the press in the United States, we can come to the agreement that the United States has done a significantly better job of this issue. Another right that relates to the freedom of the press is the right to a fair trial. In the modern era, fair trials are very common as society has improved compared to the past where racial differences and racism were a serious issue, yet we should also take a look at previous examples that the right of a fair trial was denied in order to compare it to modern society. An example would be the case of Walter Mcmillian from Alabama. He was put in death row for being accused that he murdered a white teenager. However, the judge convicted him completely based on one person’s testimony, and that person was also a criminal with many years left in prison. At last, with much assistance, he was able to free himself from his death sentence however this incidence should help us understand the importance of a fair trial and how blessed we are to be able to obtain this right in the modern period.

At last, the final category to assess a democratic government would be religion and association between governments. This is the second part of the first amendment as stated in the previous paragraph. Despite the fact that the United States government doesn’t represent any religion like the old Roman governments did in the 16th century, it’s still a great example of diversity and religious freedom. Religion represents hope and allowing citizens to have the ability to choose which god or gospel doctrine they believe in would increase the unity of the country as a whole. Another advantage would be the power of diversity and globalization, as in the modern world. America, thanks to religious freedom has an environment full of different ethnical groups, as it allows cultures to collide and create a more comprehensive community.

Overall, as we assessed the Untied States government through majority rule and individual rights, liberty and equality, state and national authority in a federal system, civil disobedience and the rule of law, freedom of the press, and the right to a fair trial and the relationship of religion and government we can come to a conclusion that the American governmental system represents a mostly healthy democratic government with minor issues that require change and needs to be reevaluated which would be a category of civil disobedience and crime rate. The government represents a balanced political system as almost all of the categories were met and fully exercised in the modern community. However, there are always some parts that we could improve on and an essential way to do so would be to review historical examples regarding those categories and issues. As many people say: “History repeats itself”, in order for us to fully understand and improve on having a healthier democratic government we must evaluate previous examples that helped us get to where we are today, those stepping stones might not seem important at first glance but as we appreciate our success of government policies today we must not forget the efforts our previous generations have put in towards building a great community. As we choose to do so, I believe the nation would become more united and become a more enjoyable place for all.

Works cited page

1. Avalon Project – Washington’s Farewell Address 1796, avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/washing.asp.
2. “Currently Reading: Liberty and Equality Today.” Bill of Rights Institute, www.docsoffreedom.org/student/readings/liberty-and-equality-today.
3. “Declaration of Independence: A Transcription.” National Archives and Records Administration, National Archives and Records Administration, www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript.
4. History.com Editors. “Sojourner Truth.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 29 Oct. 2009,
5. www.history.com/topics/black-history/sojourner-truth.
6. Statista Research Department. “U.S.: Violent Crime Rate Graph 1990-2017.” Statista, 9 Oct.
7. Stromberg, Joseph. “The Real Birth of American Democracy.” Smithsonian.com, Smithsonian Institution, 20 Sept. 2011, www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/the-real-birth-of-american-democracy-83232825/.
8. “The Voter’s Self Defense System.” Vote Smart, votesmart.org/education/amendments#.XlHoKhMzZQI.
9. U.S. Census Bureau. “Behind the 2018 U.S. Midterm Election Turnout.” The United States Census Bureau, 16 July 2019, www.census.gov/library/stories/2019/04/behind-2018-united-states-midterm-election-turnout.html.