THE POLITICS OF THE USA_SLIDE PowerPoint

The United States Constitution is the supreme law of the United States. It was written in 1787 during the Philadelphia convention. It’s based on the doctrine of the separation of powers between the executive, legislative and judiciary. The Constitution, originally comprising seven articles, delineates the national frame of government. + Its first three articles embody the doctrine of the separation of powers, whereby the federal government is divided into three branches: the legislative, consisting of the bicameral Congress; the executive, consisting of the President; and the judicial, consisting of the Supreme Court and other federal courts. +Articles Four, Five and Six embody concepts of federalism, describing the rights and responsibilities of state governments and of the states in relationship to the federal government. + Article Seven establishes the procedure subsequently used by the thirteen States to ratify it. It is regarded as the oldest written and codified national constitution in force in the world.This Constitution is the basic law from which the United States government gets all its power. It is the law that protects those who live in the United States from unreasonable actions by national government or any state. June 21, 1988 was the 200th anniversary of the adoption of the United States Constitution. It is the oldest written constitution still in use. Yet, since the addition of the Bill or Rights in 1791, the Constitution has been changed (amended) only 16 times, and one of those amendment simply canceled another. The Constitution defines three branches of government: the legislative branch, which enacts (makes) laws, the executive branch, which enforces them, and the judicial branch, which interprets them ( decides what they mean)

GROUP 4

1 LE THI THUY SANG

2 TRAN THI LE THAO

3 NGUYEN THI LAN

4 NGUYEN THI THUY

5 PHAM THI PHUONG DIEU

CHAPTER 5 POLITICS OF THE

U.S.A

5.2

The Institution and the Federal System

5.1.1 The Constitution 5.1.2 The Federal System 5.1.3 State government 5.1.4 Political parties

Choosing the Nation’s President 5.2.1 The Conventions

5.2.2 The Campaign 5.2.3 The election

- The United States Constitution is the supreme law of the

United States It was written in 1787 during the Philadelphia convention It’s based on the doctrine of the separation of

powers between the executive, legislative and judiciary

- The Constitution, originally comprising seven articles,

delineates the national frame of government

+ Its first three articles embody the doctrine of the separation

of powers, whereby the federal government is divided into three branches: the legislative, consisting of the bicameral Congress; the executive, consisting of the President; and the judicial,

consisting of the Supreme Court and other federal courts

+Articles Four, Five and Six embody concepts of federalism, describing the rights and responsibilities of state governments and of the states in relationship to the federal government

+ Article Seven establishes the procedure subsequently used

by the thirteen States to ratify it

- It is regarded as the oldest written and codified national

constitution in force in the world

5.1.1 THE CONSTITUTION

-This Constitution is the basic law from which the United States government gets all its power

It is the law that protects those who live in the United States from unreasonable actions by

national government or any state

- June 21, 1988 was the 200th anniversary of the adoption of the United States

Constitution It is the oldest written

constitution still in use Yet, since the

addition of the Bill or Rights in 1791, the Constitution has been changed (amended) only 16 times, and one of those amendment simply canceled another

- The Constitution defines three branches of government: the legislative branch, which enacts (makes) laws, the executive branch, which enforces them, and the judicial branch, which interprets them ( decides what they mean)

Branches of the U.S Government

The Constitution of the United States divides the federal government into

three branches to make sure no individual or group will have too much

power:

- Legislative—Makes laws (Congress—House of Representatives and Senate)

- Executive—Carries out laws (president, vice president, Cabinet, most federal

agencies)

- Judicial—Evaluates laws (Supreme Court and other courts)

Each branch of government can change acts of the other branches:

- The president can veto legislation created by Congress and nominates heads of

federal agencies

- Congress confirms or rejects the president's nominees and can remove the president from office in exceptional circumstances

- The Justices of the Supreme Court, who can overturn unconstitutional laws, are

nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate

- This ability of each branch respond to the actions of the other branches is called the system of checks and balances

5.1.1.1 Legislative Branch

The legislative branch drafts proposed laws, confirms or rejects

presidential nominations for heads of federal agencies, federal judges, and the Supreme Court, and has the authority to declare war This branch includes Congress (the Senate and House of Representatives) and special agencies and offices that provide support services to Congress American citizens have the right to vote for Senators and Representatives through free, confidential ballots.

Senate —There are two elected Senators per state, totaling 100 Senators

A Senate term is six years and there is no limit to the number of terms an individual can serve.

House of Representatives — There are 435 elected Representatives , which are divided among the 50 states in proportion to their total population There are additional non-voting delegates who represent the District of Columbia and the territories A Representative serves a two-year term , and there is no limit to the number of terms an individual can serve.

5.1.1.2 Executive Branch

The executive branch carries out and enforces laws It includes the president, vice

president, the Cabinet, executive departments, independent agencies, and other

boards, commissions, and committees

American citizens have the right to vote for the president and vice president through free, confidential ballots

Key roles of the executive branch include:

President—The president leads the country He or she is the head of state, leader of the federal government, and Commander in Chief of the United States Armed Forces The president serves a four-year term and can be elected no more than two times

Vice president—The vice president supports the president If the president is unable

to serve, the vice president becomes president The vice president can be elected and serve an unlimited number of four-year terms as vice president, even under a different president

The Cabinet—Cabinet members serve as advisors to the president They include the vice president, heads of executive departments, and other high-ranking government officials Cabinet members are nominated by the president and must be approved by a simple majority of the Senate—51 votes if all 100 Senators vote

5.1.1.3 Judicial Branch

- The judicial branch interprets the meaning of laws, applies laws to individual cases, and decides if laws violate the Constitution It's comprised of the Supreme Court and other federal courts

- Supreme Court—The Supreme Court is the highest court in the United States The Justices of the Supreme Court are nominated by the president and must be approved by the Senate

- Nine members make up the Supreme Court— a Chief Justice and eight Associate

Justices There must be a minimum or quorum of six Justices to decide a case

- If there is an even number of Justices and a case results in a tie, the lower court's

decision stands

- There is no fixed term for Justices They serve until their death, retirement, or

removal in exceptional circumstances

- Federal Courts and Judicial Agencies – The Constitution gives Congress the authority

to establish other federal courts to handle cases that involve federal laws including tax and bankruptcy, lawsuits involving U.S and state governments or the Constitution, and more Other federal judicial agencies and programs support the courts and research

judicial policy

Confirmation Process for Judges and Justices

Appointments for Supreme Court Justices and other federal judgeships follow the same basic process:

- The president nominates a person to fill a vacant judgeship

- The Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing on the nominee and votes on

whether to forward the nomination to the full Senate

- If the nomination moves forward, the Senate can debate the nomination Debate must end before the Senate can vote on whether to confirm the nominee A Senator will request unanimous consent to end the debate, but any Senator can refuse

- Without unanimous consent, the Senate must pass a cloture motion to end the

debate It takes a simple majority of votes—51 if all 100 Senators vote—to pass

cloture and end debate about a federal judicial nominee

- Once the debate ends, the Senate votes on confirmation The nominee for Supreme Court or any other federal judgeship needs a simple majority of votes—51 if all 100 Senators vote—to be confirmed

- Probably the most significant portion of the Constitution is the Bill of Right, the first 10 amendments to constitution

- The first of these assures freedom of religion, speech, and the press and the right to complain to and about the government

- The fourth, fifth, sixth, and eighth Amendments protect people suspected or accused of crimes But they also protect the

ordinary person Government official and police cannot arrest people or search them, their property, or their homes without some reason to believe that they have committed a crime

- The Fourteenth Amendment is one of the most valuable

protections that people living in the United States The

Fourteenth Amendment has been interpreted by the Supreme Court to apply almost all of the provisions in the Bill of Rights

to the states

5.1.2 THE FEDERAL SYSTEM

- The United States is organized as federal system.

- The power to govern is divided between the national (federal) government, located in Washington, D.C , and the state governments Whatever laws are passes by congress( federal laws) must be authorized somewhere in the

United States Constitution That what is meant by the statement that the

United States government gets all of its powers from constitution

- The constitution divided government authority by giving the national

government certain specified powers, reserving all other powers to the state

or to the people.

+ State powers

- State powers are called reserved powers

- State may exercise any power not delegated to national government

reserved to the people or denied by the constitution

- As a result states regulate: public schools, local government, and licenses for certain professions

- States are divided into smaller governmental units: cities, towns, villages, and countries These units have some legislative authority, which the

receive from the state, and they are responsible for control within their

boundaries

+ National powers

Three types of powers

• Expressed powers: are powers directly stated in the constitution (ex: to declare war)

• Implied powers: are powers needed to carry out expressed powers (ex: draft men into the service)

• Inherent powers: are powers the government has because it’s the government (ex: diplomatic relation)

- The original purpose of a national central government was to

perform those task that could not be performed efficiently by each state individually Such things as dealing with foreign nations,

establishing a monetary system, and regulating commerce between the states could be done better by a single national authority

- In the federal system there are 90 District Courts presided over by

a district judge, which hear criminal cases involving breaches of federal law and civil cases on federal matters

5.1.3 State government

- State governments of the United States are institutional units in the United States exercising some of the functions of government at

a level below that of the federal government Each state's

government holds fiscal, legislative and executive authority over a defined geographic territory The United States comprises 50 states :

13 that were already part of the United States at the time the present Constitution took effect in 1789, plus 37 that have been admitted since by Congress as authorized under Article IV, Section 3 of the Constitution.

While each state government within the United States holds legal and

administrative jurisdiction within its bounds, they are not sovereign in the

Westphalia sense in international law which says that each State has sovereignty over its territory and domestic affairs, to the exclusion of all external powers, on the principle of non-interference in another State's domestic affairs, and that each State (no matter how large or small) is equal in international law Additionally, the member states of the United States do not possess international legal sovereignty, meaning that they are not recognized by other sovereign States such as, for

example, France, Germany or the United Kingdom, nor do they possess full

interdependence sovereignty (a term popularized by international relations

professor Stephen D Krasner), meaning that they cannot control movement of persons across state borders The idea of "dual sovereignty" or "separate

sovereigns" is derived from the 10th Amendment to the Constitution, which states that "the powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor

prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the

people "Structured in accordance with state law (including state constitutions and state statutes), state governments share the same structural model as the federal system, with three branches of government—executive, legislative, and judicial

The governments of the 13 states that formed the original Union under the

Constitution trace their roots back to the British royal charters which established

them Most of the states admitted to the Union after the original 13 have been formed from organized territories established and governed by Congress in accord with its plenary power under Article IV, Section 3, Clause 2 of the Constitution Six

subsequent states were never an organized territory of the federal government, or part

of one, before being admitted to the Union Three were set off from an already

existing state: Kentucky (1792, from Virginia), Maine (1820, from Massachusetts), and West Virginia (1863, from Virginia) Two were sovereign states at the time of their admission: Texas (1845, previously the Republic of Texas), and Vermont (1791, previously the Vermont Republic De facto) One was established from unorganized territory: California (1850, from land ceded to the United States by Mexico in 1848 under the terms of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo)

- The Republican Party has the most seats in the

House of Representatives as well as a majority in the senate.

- The three largest parties aside from the two main political parties are the Libertarian Party (United

States), Green Party of the United States, and the

Constitution Party in respective order.

5.1.4.1 Republican Party

- The Republican Party is one of

the two major political parties in

the United States

- Republicans: Conservative: Free

market, let wealth distribute

naturally.

- The red, white, and blue elephant is the traditional mascot of the Republican Party.

- The symbol of the Democratic Party is

the Donkey Since the election of 2000,

the color blue has become a symbol for

Democrats

Generally Democrats support:

Expanding spending on government programs

Spending on business, education, infrastructure, energy

clean-Universal healthcare

Regulating business and the economy

5.1.4.3 Minor American Parties

There are several minor parties in the United States None of them has ever had any seats in the United States Congress

• Libertarian Party - A libertarian and liberal party which has

around 411,250 registered voters as of March 2016 It is the third party (politics) and promotes a non-interventionist foreign policy and civil liberties

• Green Party - A left-wing environmentalist party that

promotes social democracy and respect for diversity, peace and non-violence

• Constitution Party - A conservative party that promotes

American nationalism, Pale conservatism, Christianity, the anti-abortion movement, and greater attention on the U.S Constitution Has around 440,000 registered voters