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a.)What did the framers mean by a republican form of government?
Framers defined republican form of government as government established by the people and not by the state. The government sought to protect both liberty and order, based on a written constitution, which combined federalism, separation of powers and principles of popular consent (Wilson et al. 47).
b.)What offices were elective offices in the early years of the Constitution?
The elective offices were the same in today’s constitution. They were the President, members of the House of Representatives and senators. The people directly elected House of Representatives while state legislatures elected the senators. An electoral college elected by the people elected the President.
c.)Who was allowed to vote?
Only the adult white males who owned property were allowed to vote. The delegates excluded all white males without property, all women, slaves, servants, Native Americans and some African Americans from voting (Wilson et al. 43).
d.)What offices were changed to elective, directly or indirectly?
The senate was elected by the legislatures of the various states while this changed where the Senate is now elected by popular vote. An electoral college selected the President and Vice-President. This changed where electors vote by balloting for two people, and the person with the greatest number of votes becomes the President (Wilson et al. 43).
e.)How was the electorate expanded to include voters that are more eligible? What events, amendments, laws, etc. brought this enlargement of the voter base about?
Suffrage was expanded to include more people based on different age groups, sex and race. Lowering the voting age to 18 years, banning literacy tests and providing translations on all electoral material for non-English speaking citizens are amendments to include a greater number of voters.
f.)Why don’t eligible voters take advantage of this right today?
Young people constitute about 42% of the voters. They eligible to vote, but they do not vote. This is because they feel neglected during campaigns where they are not targeted during the campaigns. The older people do not vote because they have busy schedules, thus cannot find time to vote (Wilson et al. 176).
g.)What, if anything, should be done to increase voter participation?
Presidential candidates should not ignore the young people during campaigns. The government should make the voter registration easier by making it available on the internet, satellite locations and Election Day registration. It should also increase polling stations on Election Day.
Work Cited
Wilson, James, Dilulio, John, Bose, Meena. American Government: Institutions & Policies, 12th ed. Massachusetts: Cengage Learning, 2011. Print.
