American History

American History

Part 1

  1. The spoils system is a where a political party rewards supporters, friends, and relatives for helping it win elections by giving them government civil service jobs (Weber, 2015). The Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act illegalized this system as it mandated that civil service positions within the government should be conferred based on merits and not political affiliation.
  2.  
  3. A formal hierarchical system where power and authority is vested on the position
  4. Specialization and Division of labor
  5. Dependence on written rules and communication
  6. Advancement from one bureaucracy to another is based on achievements
  7. Existence of Guidelines that guide competence and achievement.

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3.

  • Red tape/Complex procedures: This problem occurs in the form of complex rules and convoluted procedures that bureaucrats must follow to have a task accomplished. 
  • Wastage of resources:
  • Conflict amongst government agencies
  • Duplication or overlapping of duties among government agencies
  • Imperialism
  • A whistleblower is an individual who reveals illegal or ethical or unethical information/activity within a private or public organization (Weber, 2015). Street-level bureaucrats are sometimes thought to be whistleblowers because of their close connection to members of public. They are usually civil servants who, because of their close relationship with members of the public, can pass confidential information about their agencies to the latter.
  • The program was an interagency task force aimed at reforming and streamlining the manner in which the U.S federal government functioned. President Clinton and Vice-President Al Gore wanted a government that put the needs of the people first over other things.  All the principals of bureaucracy had to be upload to achieve the objectives of the program.

Part 2

  1.  The Lower district courts handle or preside over civil and criminal cases in the federal court system. Appeals or circuit courts handle from lower district courts in which either parties was not satisfied with the ruling. The court of appeal is the highest court and presides over appeals from lower courts as long as they deal with federal law.
  2. Judicial Activism is a theory where judgment is made based solely and strictly on the provisions of the law and the dynamic times. On the other hand, Judicial Self-Restraint depends on strict construal of the law and significance of legal model. I prefer Judicial Activism because it interprets the law and takes into account changing times hence arriving at realistic judgments.  
  3. A writ of Certiorari is an order made by a higher court to review or examine decisions made by a lower court and determine whether irregularities exist (Zinn, 2015). Amicus curiae is individual who is not party of case invited or not invited a party to offer expertise of insight on certain issues about the case in hand.
  4. In a class action lawsuit, a plaintiff that sues a defendant(s) on half of an absent party(s). A stare decisis requires courts to make decisions based on past  and similar cases (precedent)
  5. McCulloch v, Maryland was an 1819 SCOTUS decision that determined the relationship between congressional and state legislature power. The case ruled that the Congress was implicitly empowered by the constitution to create a working national government. It does drew line between the powers of the congress and those of the state legislature.
  6. Brown v. Board of Education was a SCOTUS decision that illegalized state laws used to establish separate schools for black and white children. The decision toppled Plessy v. Ferguson which permitted racial segregation in the education sector.

References

Weber, M. (2015). Bureaucracy. In Working in America (pp. 29-34). London: Routledge.

Zinn, H. (2015). A people’s history of the United States: 1492-present. London: Routledge.

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