Question

In 1995 the United States House of Representatives approved a bill that would make English the official language of the United States. The vote was 259 to 169, with 223 Republicans and 36 Democrats voting in favor and 8 Republicans, 160 Democrats, and 1 independent voting against. The debate was intense . . . and partisan. . . . Arizona is one of several states that have passed “Official English” or “English Only” laws.
1) Describe how another political institution can influence the advancement of the federal legislation in the scenario.

2) Explain how the institution described in part A is affected by another governmental entity in the context of the scenario.

3) As of 2018, states have continued to pass English-only laws, but the national government has not yet passed a federal law declaring English as the official language. Currently, a total of 31 states have English-only policies. Explain how this information and the scenario illustrate Madison’s argument in The Federalist 10.

Answer 1

Answer:

Check below for the answers and explanations

Explanation:

1) There are two political parties in the United States of America, the Democrats and the Republican. It could be seen from the statistics given that an overwhelming number of Republicans voted against this bill as compared to the democrats. This large margin can be due to bias and reservations on the part of the two parties to express their partisanship for their parties. If another political institution is established, the votes can be distributed among a larger number of political institutions which could mean more credibility in the federal legislation.

2) It is stated that there was one independent voting against the bill, this could mean a great difference in the event where the margin is very narrow.

The governmental entity that participated in the voting has also influenced the decision of the House of Representatives.

3) Madison, in the Federalist 10, argued that because of the diversity in the nature of man, faction is inevitable. He said it is impracticable to create a society that is homogeneous in opinions and interests.

The fact that not all the 50 states have implemented the English-only policies corroborates Madison's argument in the Federalist 10 on the impracticability of the uniformity in the interests and opinions of a society.