American Government Essay, Research Paper

American Government

Government is the institution through which society

makes and enforces its public policies. It is the agency through

which the state exerts its will and works to accomplish its

goals. Government consists of the machinery and the personnel by

which the state is ruled. The type of government we have in the

United States of America is a democracy.A democracy can be

defined as a system of government in which supreme authority

rests with the people. With this system of rule, the individual

has a lot of power. The 1st,4th,and 14th Amendments attempt to

uphold the sentiments of The United States Declaration of

Independence.

The 1st and 14th Amendments? protections of free speech

and a free press serve two fundamentally important purposes. One

is to guarantee to each person a right to free expression- in a

spoken and the written word, and by all other means of

communication, as well. The other important purpose is to ensure

to all persons a full, wide-ranging discussion of public affairs.

This means that the 1st and 14th Amendments give all people the

right to have their say and to hear what others have to say.

Though the 1st and 14th Amendments guarantee freedom of

freedom and expression, no person has unbridled right of free

speech or free press. Many reasonable restrictions can be placed

on those rights. No person has the right to libel or slander

another. Libel is the false and malicious use of printed words;

slander is such use of spoken words. Similarly, the law prohibits

the use of obscene words, the printing and distributing of

obscene materials, and false advertising. These Amendments

protect the rights of an individual, though there are some slight

restrictions it states.

Another Amendment that attempts to uphold the

sentiments of The United States Declaration of Independence is

the 4th Amendment. This Amendment grew out of colonial practice.

It was designed to prevent the use of writs of assistance-blanket

search warrants with which British customs officials had invaded

private homes to search for smuggled goods.

The general rule laid down by the 4th Amendment says

that Police officers have no general right to search for evidence

or to seize either evidence or persons. Except in particular

circumstances, they must have a proper warrant obtained with

probable cause-that is, reasonable grounds.

The Supreme Court has often said that police need a

search warrant whenever the person targeted by the search has ?a

reasonable expectation of privacy?. The particular place is not

that important, for the Constitution ?protects people-and not

simply areas-against unreasonable searches and seizures?. The

court first made that important point in Katz v. United States,

1967.

There is a important problem posed upon the 4th

Amendment that is still being refined, the exclusionary rule. The

Problem is, if an unlawful search or seizure does occur, what use

can be made of the evidence that is found? If that ?tainted

evidence? can be used in court, then the 4th Amendment offers no

real protection to a person accused of a crime. The exclusionary

rule deals with this by stating the rule that evidence gained as

a result of an illegal act by police cannot be used against the

person from who it was seized. Once again, our government

protects us by giving us some individual rights.

In closing, the 1st, 4th and 14th amendments were made

to be exemplary of The United States Declaration of Independence

which states that ? all men are created equal, that they are

endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights that

among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.?

These three Amendments enable individuals living in the United

States to be able to live life to the ?fullest.?

Our democratic government enables individuals to start

from the same ?platform?. One may choose to take a different road

than another but out government guarantees equality and our

inalienable rights for each and every one of us.Though there are

some restrictions on our freedom it is all for our

advantage.These are the principles on which the United States

government was founded.The United States constitution attempts to

create a government based on those principles.And we succeed in

doing so,for the goal for each and every one of us is ?life,

liberty, and the pursuit of happiness? after all.