Analysis of US Policies: Limited Government, Commerce, and Amendments

This essay provides an analysis of key United States policies, focusing on the principle of limited government and its relationship to liberty, as well as the ways in which the Constitution limits governmental power through the Supreme Court, checks and balances, and presidential veto power. It explores the connection between the Commerce Clause and federalism, examining how the Supreme Court has shaped both over the past century and discussing the interpretation of the Commerce Clause. Furthermore, the essay addresses the First Amendment, providing examples of unprotected speech and discussing the government's regulation of religious freedom, referencing relevant cases and principles. Desklib offers a platform for students to access this essay and numerous other solved assignments for academic assistance.

Running head: THE UNITED STATES AND ITS POLICIES
The United States and its policies
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1THE UNITED STATES AND ITS POLICIES
Limited Government
A. Why did Americans value limited government in our early days as a country? How is it
related to liberty?
The United States of America has always been considered to be a model country which
guarantees maximum freedom and liberty to its people. This idea has come in to being after the
careful analysis of the work done by the founding fathers of the Constitution of the United
States. It has been noticed that they harped on the idea of limited government as the Americans
believed in a capitalist framework of the market structure (Patterson, 2013). As a result, the idea
of laissez faire was floated which meant that the government would not interfere in the working
of the market or in the personal life of the individuals.
Limited government is related to liberty in the sense that it ensures the personal freedom
of the people. Since the government of the state does not interfere in the lives of its people, the
people have a larger access to freedom to conduct themselves in a way they prefer in the public
as well as personal sphere.
B. List three ways the Constitution limits government.
The power of the US government is limited by the Constitution of the country in several
important ways:
1. The presence of a Supreme Court ensures that the rights of the people are not infringed upon.
2. The Constitution has provided a system of checks and balances where each branch of the US
government keeps a check on the work and power of the other branches.

2THE UNITED STATES AND ITS POLICIES
3. The veto power of the US President ensures that no Bill of the government is passed in a
hurry.
Commerce Clause and Federalism
A. How are the Commerce Clause and Federalism related?
The distinct character of federalism is that there is a sharing of power between the
government at the center and the various governments of the constituent units. Due to this
sharing of power, the commercial issues have the potential to come in to conflict. In this manner,
there is a Commercial Clause within the country of the United States (Patterson, 2013). This
suggests that the Federal government will have the power to regulate the dealings with the
foreign nations of the world, the Indian tribes and with several states of the country.
B. Explain how the Supreme Court has shaped both in the last 100 years.
The Supreme Court of the United States has taken the initiative to gradually give more
meaning to the Constitution. In this respect, it has provided more clarity to the working of
federalism and commercial clause. In the year of 2012, NFIB v. Sebelius CASE was fought
regarding the mandatory purchasing of health insurance. The constituent units of the United
States felt that the Central government was over stepping its powers by asking the people to buy
health insurance. The Supreme Court ruled that while the Federal government has the power to
impose taxes, it cannot make the payment of penalty mandatory.
C. How do you think the Commerce Clause should be interpreted (more narrowly or more
broadly -- and then explain)?
The Commerce Clause should be interpreted in a broader manner. It is one of the most
conflicting areas in the region of the United States with regard to the two forms of government.

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In federalism there is a tendency for potential conflicts between the governments as a result of
power sharing between them (Patterson, 2013). In this manner, the issue of monetary finances is
quite sensitive. In this regard, the interpretation of the Commerce Clause should be done in a
careful manner to prevent the outbreaks of any conflicts between the governments.

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First Amendment
A. The freedom of speech is protected by the first amendment, but there are still certain
things that are illegal to say.
Give two examples and explain why that speech is not protected.
Freedom of speech does not give the leeway to the people to say anything they want. For
instance, in Schenck v. United States, 1919, it was stated that no individual has the right to say
anything which might incite hatred or violent tendencies among the pother people of the society.
As a result, such activities are limited by law and are not protected by the First Amendment.
Second, the Constitution of the United States also prevents the incitement of any suicidal
tendencies among the people of the society. Under the circumstances that a particular individual
excites another person to commit suicide, this freedom of speech is not guaranteed.
B. How and to what extent can the government regulate religious freedom?
The Government of the United States guarantees religious freedom to its citizens. In this
respect, people of the US society are allowed to preach and practice any religion of their choice
so long as it does not interfere with the religious practice of the other people (Patterson, 2013).
Moreover, the United States require such religious practices not to threaten the sovereignty or
integrity of the nation.

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References:
Patterson, Thomas. We the people. McGraw-Hill Higher Education, 2013.