THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: POLITICAL SYSTEM

The American Constitution

It is based on the doctrine of the separation of powers (between the executive, the legislative and the judiciary).
Amendments are allowed to be made to the Constitution (once passed by a two-thirds majority in both houses of
Congress and ratified by the legislatures of three fourths of the states).

The Constitution finally ratified by the original thirteen states in 1791 already contained ten amendments, known as
the “Bill of Rights” (the freedoms of religion, speech, the press; the right to assemble, to petition the government,
etc.) to protect citizens against possible tyranny by the federal government. Twenty-seven additional amendments
were passed adopted between 1795 and 1992, abolishing slavery, providing for an income tax, providing for
universal suffrage for all people 18 or older, among other purposes.

The United States is a representative democracy: government power rests with the people, who direct policies by
voting the government representatives. The American constitution defines the power of national and states
governments, the function and framework of each branch of government and the rights of individual citizens.

Limited government

The principle of limited government is basic to the constitution. To prevent power from being concentrated in the
hands of a few features were created:

1- The federal organization of government;

Federalism

Under federalism the federal (national) government has power over areas of wide concern. The federal government
has the sole authority to print money.

The Constitution provide some very specific powers to both the states and the federal government. They are:

 Delegated Powers – powers specifically assigned to the Federal Government. The national government has
very specific enumerated powers including the regulation of interstate and international trade, coinage and
currency, war, maintenance of armed forces, enforcement copyrights and power to enter into treaties.

 Reserved Powers – all powers not specifically delegated to the Federal Government are to be reserved or
saved for the State Governments. These powers include power to establish schools, establishment of local
governments, and police powers.

 Concurrent Powers – “at the same time.” Powers the federal and state governments share simultaneously,
for example the power to tax, maintain courts and the ability to construct and maintain roads.

Separation of powers

Power is also limited by the separation of powers; this is the division of the legislative, executive,
and judicial functions of government among separate bodies. Such a separation limits the possibility of arbitrary
excesses by government, since the sanction of all three branches is required for the making, executing, and
administering of laws.
Legislative branch

Its function is to make laws. It is made up of representatives elected to Congress.

Congress is comprised of two houses: The House of representatives (the House) and the Senate. The House and the
senate are organized by the majority party in each chamber, which chooses a presiding officer, the majority leader
and the chairperson of each committee.

-Citizens from all the states are elected to serve in the House. The number of representatives each state sends
depends on the number of districts in each state. Each state district chooses one representative. The number of
districts is determined by population. Each representative is elected to a two-year term.

Functions of the House:

1- Revenue measures must originate in the House. All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of
Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills.
2- The House can initiate proceedings to impeach the president (with a majority vote).
3- If the Electoral College cannot produce a majority to elect a president, the House chooses on from the top
three contenders.
4- If both the president and the vice-president die, are incapacitated or are removed from office, the Speaker
of the House becomes president.

-The Senate is the smaller of the two houses. Each state, regardless of population, has two senators. The senatorial
term is six years. However, every two years one thirds of the Senate stands for election.

Functions of the Senate:

1- It advises and consents to presidential treaties and to nominations for major executive officials,
ambassadors, justices of the Supreme Court and federal judges.
2- It tries all impeachments, with a two-third vote necessary to convict.
3- In the event of a deadlock in the Electoral College, the Senate chooses the vice-president from the top two
contenders.
4- The president pro tempore (pro tem) of the Senate comes after the Speaker of the House in the line of
succession to the presidency.

How a bill becomes a law

Each house is engaged in making laws and each may initiate legislation. Once a bill is introduced (in either house)
it is sent to the appropriate committee.

Committee members study the bill and send it to the house where it was first introduced. After a debate, the bill
is voted on. If it passes, it is sent to the other house where it goes through a similar process.
 The Senate can reject a bill sent by the House or add amendments to it. If that happens, a “conference
committee” made up of members from both houses tries to work out a compromise. If both sides agree on the
new version, the bill is sent to the president for review.

 A bill becomes law if signed by the President or if not signed within 10 days and Congress is in session.

 If Congress adjourns before the 10 days and the President has not signed the bill then it does not become
law ("Pocket Veto").

 If the President vetoes the bill it is sent back to Congress with a note listing his reasons. The chamber that
originated the legislation can attempt to override the veto by a vote of two-thirds of those present. If the
veto of the bill is overridden in both chambers then it becomes law.

Executive branch

It is responsible for administering the laws passed by Congress. The president (any natural-born citizen over 34) is its
head. He is elected to a four-year term and can be reelected to a second term. The vice-president (who is elected
with the president) has two constitutional duties:

a) To preside over the senate; however he only votes in the event of a tie.
b) To assume the presidency if the president dies, becomes disabled, or is removed from office.

The seat of government is the District of Columbia. Washington, D.C. (District of Columbia), city and capital of
the United States of America. It is coextensive with the District of Columbia and is located on the northern shore of
the Potomac River. The state of Maryland borders the District of Columbia to the north, east, and west, and the state
of Virginia borders the District on the southern shore of the Potomac River.

In 1790 the U.S. Congress established a 100-square-mile (260-square-km) territory to serve as the permanent seat of
the federal government. (The territory was later named the District of Columbia, within which the city of Washington
was built.)

Powers of the president

1- As chief executive, the president appoints secretaries of the major departments that make up his cabinet,
such as:
 Department of State: plays the lead role in developing and implementing the President's foreign
policy. Major responsibilities: US representation abroad, foreign military training programs,
countering international crime.
 Department of Treasury: responsible for promoting economic prosperity and ensuring the
soundness and security of the U.S. and international financial systems.
 Department of Defense: provides the military forces needed to deter war and to protect the security
of the country.
 Department of Justice (DOJ): enforces the law and defends the interests of the United States
according to the law; it ensures public safety against threats foreign and domestic; it provides
federal leadership in preventing and controlling crime; and it ensures fair and impartial
administration of justice.
 Department of Interior (DOI): nation's principal conservation agency. It protects America's natural
resources, offer recreation opportunities, conduct scientific research, conserve and protect wildlife.
 Department of Agriculture (USDA): develops and executes policy on farming, agriculture, and food.
Its aims: meeting the needs of farmers and ranchers, promoting agricultural trade and production,
assuring food safety, protecting natural resources, fostering rural communities, and ending hunger
in America and abroad.
  Department of Commerce: government agency tasked with improving living standards for all
Americans by promoting economic development and technological innovation.
 Department of Labor: oversees federal programs for ensuring a strong American workforce. The
programs: job training, safe working conditions, minimum hourly wage and overtime pay,
employment discrimination, and unemployment insurance.
 Department of Education: administers federal financial aid for education, collects data on America's
schools to guide improvements in education quality, and works to complement the efforts of state
and local governments, parents, and students.
 Department of Health and Human Services (HHS): the government's principal agency for protecting
the health of all Americans and providing essential human services. Agencies of HHS conduct health
and social science research, work to prevent disease outbreaks, assure food and drug safety, and
provide health insurance.
 Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD): federal agency responsible for national
policies and programs that address America's housing needs, that improve and develop the nation's
communities, and that enforce fair housing laws.
 Department of Transportation (DOT): ensures a fast, safe, efficient, accessible and convenient
transportation system that meets vital national interests and enhances the quality of life of the
American people.
 Department of Energy (DOE): advances the national, economic, and energy security of the US.
 Department of Homeland Security: missions: prevent and disrupt terrorist attacks; protect the
American people, US critical infrastructure, and key resources; and respond to and recover from
incidents that do occur.
 Department of Veterans Affairs: responsible for administering benefit programs for veterans, their
families, and their survivors.

The Cabinet is an advisory body made up of the heads of the 15 executive departments. Appointed
by the President and confirmed by the Senate, its members are often the President's closest
confidants. They run major federal agencies and play an important role in the Presidential line of
succession (Vice President, Speaker of the House, Senate President pro tempore, Cabinet offices in
the order in which the departments were created). All the members of the Cabinet take the title
Secretary, excepting the head of the Justice Department, who is styled Attorney General.

2- As head of state, the president represents the country abroad, entertains foreign leaders and addresses the
public.
3- As director of foreign policy, the president appoints foreign ambassadors and makes treaties with other
nations (with the consent of the Senate).
4- The president is the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces.
5- The president is the head of his political party.

Judicial branch

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

The Supreme Court of Justice

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.

o The court is comprised of nine members — a Chief Justice and eight Associate Justices. A minimum
or quorum of six justices is required to decide a case.
 o If there is an even number of Justices and a case results in a tie, the lower court's decision stands.

o There is no fixed term for Justices. They serve until their death, retirement, or removal in exceptional
circumstances.

Checks and Balances

Separation of Powers and Checks and Balances are closely related BUT they are not the same.

1. Separation of Powers is the division of political power into the separate branches of government, legislative,
executive and judicial, so that each is independent of each of the other branches.

2. Checks and Balances is the giving of each of those branches some power to act as a check on the actions of
each of the others, constraining the independence of each to some degree.

The Framers of the Constitution separated the powers of government into the different branches to prevent any
person or small group of people from holding all power in their own hands. But they worried that one branch might
manage to invade the area of another branch and effectively take over its power, so they also created the checks
that allow the branches to push back against other branches’ efforts to consolidate power.

Election System

The president is elected the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November of a leap year and takes office at noon
on January 20th. He is not elected directly but by an Electoral College. The candidate who wins the most votes within
a state receives all its Electoral College votes (equal to the number of senators and representatives from that state),
no matter how small the majority.

Presidential candidates are selected by their respective party´s national. They are chosen either at state conventions
of party members (the caucus system) or state primary elections (either open or closed) held in the preceding
months. In closed primary elections, only registered members can vote; in open primary elections any voter can
participate.

The main difference between a caucus and a primary is that in a primary the ballots are private but in a caucus
people are gathered in a local setting and openly decide on a candidate. What people really vote is only indirectly the
candidate. What the vote really goes toward are the state delegates to the national party convention. Each state has
a specific number of delegates for each party (based on state population) that attend their party´s convention. So,
whoever one of the nominees wins primaries/caucuses in the most states will have the most delegates to vote for
them at the convention and therefore will win the nomination.

On the same day as the electors vote for the president, they also vote for senators, members of the House and state
governors.
US presidential election: The Electoral College explained

On each presidential Election Day, the American people cast their votes for the next leaders of their country. But in
reality, the popular vote held every four years is not directly selecting the president and vice president. Voters are
actually choosing electors from their state that will go the Electoral College to ultimately determine who wins the
election.

The Electoral College was established under Article Two of the United States Constitution, which says each state shall
appoint a certain number of electors to vote after the general election. Today the number of electors a state
receives is equal to the number of Congressmen from that state.

Since the most populous states have the most seats in Congress they also have the most electors in the College.
Smaller states usually have no more than 3-5 electors. The size of the Electoral College has been set at 538.

When the Electoral College meets 41 days after the general election, each candidate needs a majority vote of 270 to
win.

This is when the real outcome of each election is determined. Of course, the popular vote is determined the night of
the election, and the number of electoral votes for each blue and red state is predicted from that vote.