The models of representative democracy in US include the economic model and the political competition model. The political competition model is a pure conceptualized representative democracy whereby the form of government is of and by the people. Political competition is found in the people who want to become policy makers. This model is strong in the sense that these people are motivated by the fact that they want to influence results and outcomes.
This model is also able to view issues in a multidimensional point of view and therefore able to come up with solutions. Lastly the model is responsible and answerable to its people about any failures or achievements. The model however is faced with the weakness of electing irresponsible people as representatives of the others. By doing this the no achievements will be made. This will also apply when egocentric and selfish people are elected to represent the others. The economic model of representative democracy is whereby advisory commissions from outside are collectively use in decision making.
In the model political leaders maximize their support towards their net political ambitions. Advisory bodies are used to free special interest groups from problems and increase their chances of being supported. Special interest group’s ability and also willingness to support the legislation is increased due to political favourism. This model is however biased against the groups that have smaller voting powers. This will ensure that the cost of running the government and the economy are spread to all the groups in the country while the benefits are narrowly focused to those groups which are viewed to have stronger voting powers.
The political competitive model is therefore considered to be the best and appropriate for the people of America. This is based on the fact that the people are at liberty to elect that leader that they feel will represent them well. In this model there is no bias towards one side since the leaders are answerable for their actions to everyone.
Then Philadelphia convection which is now known as constitution convention took place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1787. The aim of the convention was to address the problems facing the governance of US which was operating by articles of confederation after gaining independence from Great Britain. George Washington was elected to head the convention. Delegates form different parts of the country had conflicts of interest in the convention since they had different ideas.
The Virginia delegates through Madison’s work, notes and thoughts proposed a bicameral legislature in which the two houses of legislature were to be formed proportionately with the people electing the lower house which would then elect the upper house. The executive power was to remain dependent so as to ensure that the legislature’s will was carried out by the legislature. The plan also proposed the creation of a judiciary.
The Pinckney plan by the delegates of South Carolina came up with a plan which proposed for the establishment of a bicameral legislature composed of a house of delegates and a senate. Senators would be elected by the House of Delegates and they will serve in terms of four years. The president and the members of the cabinet would be elected by the congress. The plan provide for a supreme court while the congress would act as the court of appeal.
The New Jersey Plan which was a rebuttal to Virginia plan the executive branch would be elected by the congress which will have remained in place. It also proposed for a permanent judiciary and a yearly executive. This plan was however rejected. The Hamilton Plan was proposed by Alexander Hamilton due to his unsatisfaction with the other plans. He suggested a plan similar to the British governance in which the states were to be joined into a single nation. The plan also proposed a bicameral legislature, with the people electing the lower house to serve for three years and the upper house to serve for life.
Roger Sherman forged the Connecticut Compromise which finally settled the factions in the convention. He proposed that each state should only have a single vote.
The central governing body of US is the federal government which has three branches: judicial, executive and the legislative. Each branch has its powers bestowed on it which act as the system checks and balances. Each branch controls the other two branches while it is in turn regulated by the other two branches. The legislation is the congress which consists of House of Representatives and the senate.
The congress has numerous powers which include collecting taxes, provision of defense, declaring war, creation of courts other than the Supreme Court. The executive is composed of the president and the vice president. The judiciary consists of the Supreme Court which is the highest followed by the appeal courts and the district courts in that order. The Supreme Court settles disputes among the states while the other courts handle cases in the states.
The federal government of US has undergone several changes in history especially in elections. There has been alternations of the parties Republican and Democratic in the house of congress. For example in 2007 the party control in both houses changed form Republican to democratic. There have been changes in government roles due to economic pressure which has led to economic recession. The Supreme Court has also effected changes to the system of governance. Such changes include state tax shelter of companies with intangible assets, changes in education system. It also adopted the change of constitution from the old articles of confederation to a new constitution.