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)
1 GROUP LE THI THUY SANG TRAN THI LE THAO NGUYEN THI LAN NGUYEN THI THUY PHAM THI PHUONG DIEU CHAPTER POLITICS OF THE U.S.A 5.1 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 5.2 Choosing the Nation’s President 5.2.1 The Conventions 5.2.2 The Campaign 5.2.3 The election 5.1.1 THE CONSTITUTION - 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) 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 specia 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, whic 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, 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 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 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 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 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 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) 5.1.4 POTITICAL PARTIES Two-party system Republican Party(1854) Democratic Party(1824) Minor American Parties 5.1.4 POTITICAL PARTIES - In the United States, there have usually been two main political parties Since the 1860s, these two main parties have been the Republican Party and the Democratic Party - 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 5.1.4.2 Democratic Party - Democrats: Liberal: Avoid having extremely rich and extremely poor Generally Democrats support: Expanding spending on government programs Spending on business, education, infrastructure, cleanenergy Universal healthcare Regulating business and the economy - There have been 15 Democratic presidents, the most recent being Barack Obama, who was President from 2009 to 2017 - The symbol of the Democratic Party is the Donkey Since the election of 2000, the color blue has become a symbol for Democrats DIFFERENCE BETTWEN REPUBLICAN AND DEMOCRAT REPUBLICAN • • • • • • Small government Lower Taxes National Security Family Values Free Market Capitalism Pro- Life DEMOCRAT • • • • • • Large Government Higher Taxes Individual Right Gay Right Environmental Issues Pro- Choice 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 5.2 Choosing the Nation’s President 5.2.1 The conventions - A United States presidential nominating convention is a political convention held every four years in the United States by most of the political parties who will be fielding nominees in the upcoming U.S presidential election The formal purpose of such a convention is to select the party's nominee for President, as well as to adopt a statement of party principles and goals known as the platform and adopt the rules for the party's activities, including the presidential nominating process for the next election cycle - In the modern U.S presidential election process, voters participating in the presidential primaries are actually helping to select many of the delegates to these conventions, who then in turn are pledged to help a specific presidential candidate get nominated Other delegates to these conventions include political party members who are seated automatically, and are called "unpledged delegates" because they can choose for themselves for which candidate they vote 5.2.2 The campaign - A political campaign is an organized effort which seeks to influence the decision making process within a specific group In democracies, political campaigns often refer to electoral campaigns, by which representatives are chosen or referendums are decided In modern politics, the most high-profile political campaigns are focused on general elections and candidates for head of state or head of government, often a president or prime minister - The message of the campaign contains the ideas that the candidate wants to share with the voters It is to get those who agree with their ideas to support them when running for a political position The message often consists of several talking points about policy issues The points summarize the main ideas of the campaign and are repeated frequently in order to create a lasting impression with the voters In many elections, the opposition party will try to get the candidate "off message" by bringing up policy or personal questions that are not related to the talking points Most campaigns prefer to keep the message broad in order to attract the most potential voters A message that is too narrow can alienate voters or slow the candidate down with explaining details 5.2.3 The election - The president is elected on the first Tuesday after Monday in November To win the election, a candidate must receive a majority of electoral votes In the event no candidate receives the majority, the House of Representatives chooses the president and the Senate chooses the vice president The president and vice-president are elected by Electoral College Electoral College votes are cast by individual states by a group of electors The idea of using electors comes from the Constitution The nation’s founders saw it as a compromise between electing the president by a popular vote among citizens and electing the president in Congress The number of electors each state gets is determined by how many members of Congress (House and Senate) the state has Each state’s political parties choose their own slate of potential electors. Who is chosen to be an elector, how, and when varies by state After you cast your ballot for president, your vote goes to a statewide tally In 48 states and Washington, D.C., the winner gets all of the electoral votes for that state This means his or her party’s electors in that state will vote in the Electoral College Maine and Nebraska assign their electors using a proportional system called the Congressional District Method A candidate needs the vote of at least 270 electors—more than half —to win the presidential election - It is possible to win the Electoral College, but lose the popular vote That means that a candidate can win a combination of states and reach the 270 electors mark without winning the majority of votes across the country This has happened five times in American elections, most recently in 2016 In the rare event that no candidate gets the needed 270 electoral votes, the decision would go to the House of Representatives, who would vote to elect the new president from among the top three candidates A similar process would take place in the Senate to elect the vice president from among the top two candidates The only time this has happened was during the 1824 election when John Quincy Adams received the most votes in the House of Representatives after no candidate won a majority of the Electoral College ... 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. .. 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. .. 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