250th semiquincentennial celebration of the American Independence

US President Donald Trump

 The story of America has never been static but an evolving story by the minute

America at crossroads

Today, 4 July is the 250th anniversary of American Independence. This is a decisive milestone in American history and it is so unique that America was at war until a couple of weeks ago. A peace deal has now been struck between the warring parties. The ripples of that has felt across the globe especially in the financial capitals of the world and at places where energy prices are determined. The effect of the War took a heavy toll on weaker countries that depended on energy supplies.

The constitution of the US stood the test of time. The US Supreme Court had to interpret the powers of the President at a very crucial time. The global news is replete with the issues concerning American foreign policy and the information on the War that was being waged in the Persian Gulf.  

The US domestic policy too had come under global microscope on the legality of the executive actions. The Americans are deeply divided over the true ambit of the executive power and whether it was what had been intended by the founding fathers. The Federalist papers are a must read for students who are interested in political science, law and social policy. This book provides ample descriptions on the way how America should be governed. The American power is now diffused and all the nations of the world cannot remain aloof from the ever powerful American economy. There have been plenty of efforts by the foreign governments to lobby the US Government. Even the former President of Venezuela Nicholos Maduro (currently indicted in the US) had retained a Lobbyist in Washington DC to influence the US. Congress on matters that have a direct bearing on the US policy towards Venezuela.

250th anniversary 

The American Government had invited the Federal, State, non-profit organisation, private institutions and every citizen across the country to join in this historic celebration. The TaskForce 250 had invited citizens to “have a renewed love of American history, experience the beauty of our country, and ignite a spirit of adventure and innovation that will raise our nation to new heights over the next 250 years”. The American story is a series of volumes. It cannot be concluded in an article and it is a continuum. With the advent of communication technologies the American story is evolving at a hypersonic speed and it would be difficult to keep pace with the American news media. The way how the US is governed is a continuous story. A global citizen cannot afford to neglect a second as events unfold so dramatically and it can affect the global markets.

History of American independence

By the spring of 1776, the battle fields had been demarcated, the British and American troops had killed each other for a full year or so. While the skirmishes at Lexington and Concord had been mere reflection of the ferocity of the battle however, the battle at Bunker Hill had been a bloodbath, especially for the British. Britishers had lost around 1,000 men – a significant number in terms of military assessments - nearly half their attack force. The Britishers were alarmed by the loss of so many of their comrades. This was unpleasant news to the British Colonial Government. The succeeding nine months the American were able to muster and mobilise militia units totaling 20,000 troops under the command of General George Washington encircled a British garrison of 7,000 troops under General William Howe in a marathon match that lead to Boston Siege. The standoff ended in a stalemate. The Britishers retreated in March 1776 which enabled Washington to gain tactical supremacy over Britishers and George Washington became a War Hero.

The Declaration of Independence was adopted on 4 July 1776 by the Continental Congress thereafter 13 American colonies broke their allegiance to Great Britain. There was unity among Americans over one political theme, ‘no taxes without representation’. This was the motivational factor in the whole gamut of American Revolution. The British imperial Government was imposing taxes on American colonies but without representation at the British parliament. The representation in London was required to debate the policy which is even now all Parliaments which upholds democratic values so cherish. It is called the ‘representative democracy’. It is the imperial Government that pushed Americans to see a ‘representative democracy’. The American colonists were able to forge a political and military alliance with the Government of France which enabled them to seek assistance from France as Britain and France had been at war with each other for several centuries. Britain and France were trying to seek naval supremacy over the Atlantic and access colonial territories for trade. There were also elements trying to seek reconciliation with Great Britain but it was a distant hope. 

While military defeats of Britain were now a foregone conclusion the Americans were making a frantic effort to seek independence and were drafting the constitution. The Britishers simply dismissed the reports. The Americans now need recognition by foreign governments. France of course was only one country. 

The Declaration of Independence was now being mooted through diplomatic channels. The Sultan of Morocco expressly recognised American independence through shipping documents. France recognised America through a formal treaty. By 1782 the Netherlands recognised American independence and thereafter the Kingdom of Spain. By 1783 Great Britain officially recognised the United States as a sovereign and independent nation. The story ended with the Imperial British acceptance of the United States. 

American Constitution – unique system of governance

The American constitution and its philosophical foundations have set standards all over the world. There have been many features of the US constitution that have been borrowed and transplanted in the constitutions of many nations. The US. Supreme Court was established in 1789. The US judiciary and the judicial decisions have been referred to by the Superior courts of many nations. There are a number of academic books written by prominent jurists and these are fundamental to any intellectual incursion into US judiciary. The judicial reasoning and jurisprudence by the judges of the US judiciary are unparalleled. 

US federal system

A student of politics cannot ignore the way how the US is governed. The system has thus far demonstrated no serious clash of ideals among people on the federal system of governance. No government is perfect but by and large the US federal system has held people together. It could perhaps be owing to a vibrant judiciary. Most of the political battles between Republicans and Democrats have been resolved by the intervention of the US Supreme Court. The US is a nation of immigrants. The drawing of electoral boundaries is a very sensitive political matter for Americans where electoral boundaries are re-demarcated in such a way to favour a particular political party. This is called ‘redistricting’ in the US and ‘delimitation’ in Sri Lanka. In Sri Lanka however there have been very few legal challenges brought before the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka unlike in the US political spectrum. The American Civil Liberties Union advocates that the US citizens “need to be involved in the process. We should stay informed of plans to redraw federal, state, and local district lines; attend meetings where plans are presented and evaluated; contact organisations willing to evaluate proposed plans and offer alternatives; write letters of support or opposition to elected officials and the Department of Justice; and seek needed legal advice. The goal of redistricting is to provide fair and effective representation for all. We can help achieve that goal by actively participating in the redistricting process”.

US economy

The United States has the most powerful economy. It has a highly developed, regulated, supervised and diversified market-oriented economy. The US claims to be the world’s largest economy by nominal GDP, generating approximately 26% of global economic output. The US dollar still commands the world’s foremost reserve currency even though there have been efforts by some emerging countries of making subtle efforts at doing away with the US  dollar dominance. The American economy is fuelled by the spirit of entrepreneurship among Americans, high productivity, acclaimed Universities dedicated to research and development, technological innovations, well-developed transportation infrastructure, successful farming, and extensive natural resources. 

The US does not depend on oil from the Middle East it has its own sources of supply. It has a strategic petroleum reserve of around 700 million barrels of oil, second only to China. These reserves are stored underground and drawdown could be made only when there are global shocks, exactly envisioning the current war in the Persian Gulf. 

Challenges facing US 

The US manufacturing industry particularly the shipbuilding industry has been on the downside owing to global competition from China and South Korea. Shipbuilding is a labour intensive business. There has recently been a public discourse on the revival of the shipbuilding industry as the US is far lagging behind its competitor China. President Donald Trump has issued an Executive Order reviving the shipbuilding industry. It advocates “The commercial shipbuilding capacity and maritime workforce of the United States has been weakened by decades of Government neglect, leading to the decline of a once strong industrial base while simultaneously empowering our adversaries and eroding United States national security. Both our allies and our strategic competitors produce ships for a fraction of the cost needed in the United States. Recent data shows that the United States constructs less than one percent of commercial ships globally, while the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is responsible for producing approximately half. Rectifying these issues requires a comprehensive approach that includes securing consistent, predictable, and durable Federal funding, making United States-flagged and built vessels commercially competitive in international commerce, rebuilding America’s maritime manufacturing capabilities (the Maritime Industrial Base), and expanding and strengthening the recruitment, training, and retention of the relevant workforce.” 

The US economy is also hampered by cyber-crimes - that is disrupting business operations, severe workforce and talent gap, inflation and fluctuating energy cost and global competition. The US civil aviation is a huge industry and aviation operations span over 20,000 airports across the US, whereas China has a marginal number of civil airports around 500. This reflects the vibrancy of the US economy. During President Donald Trump’s visit to China he secured an order for 200 Boeing aircrafts. During his visit to Saudi Arabia he secured $ 600 billion worth of orders. A record number compared to previous Administrations. The story of America has never been static but an evolving story by the minute.

(The writer holds an LLM in Commercial Law from the UK and LLM in Constitutional Law from the Law Faculty, University of Colombo. He is a freelance journalist and the author of ‘Diplomatic Law’.)