5.

Political Institutions

5.1. Role of the Constitution

The US Constitution is the world's oldest written constitution. It was
drafted by the delegates to the Philadelphia Convention in 1787, and
completed by the Bill of Rights in 1791. The Constitution is brief, flexible,
and open to interpretation, just as the framers intended. The fundamental
principles of the US Constitution are popular sovereignty, separation of
powers, checks and balances, judicial review and constitutional change.

5.1.1. Popular Sovereignty

Popular sovereignty is the belief that the power of the government is
granted by the consent of its people, who are the source of all political
power. It is closely associated with the social contract philosophers,
among whom are Thomas Hobbes, John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Popular sovereignty expresses a concept well summed up by Benjamin
Franklin when he wrote, "In free governments, the rulers are the servants
and the people their superiors and sovereigns."

The first three words of the Constitution--- "We, the people"--imply popular
sovereignty Article 1 creates the legislative branch, and requires that
representatives to Congress are elected by the people that are being
represented. Article 5 of the Constitution provides for ways to amend the
Constitution. Amendments are made through elected representatives of
the people, another form of popular sovereignty. Article 7 of the
Constitution requires that nine states approve/ratify the new Constitution
before it goes into effect. Thus, the concept of popular sovereignty is a
fundamental principle in the US Constitution.

5.1.2. Separation of Powers

The Constitution of 1787 created a national government with three
branches the legislative, the executive and the judiciary, and provided
each with significant power and authority within its sphere. This
separation of powers remains a fundamental constitutional principle.
Articles I through III place each of the following basic powers of
government in a separate branch: Article

I vests legislative power in Congress, Article II vests the executive power

in the president, and Article III vests the judicial power in the Supreme
Court and other federal courts.
An important aspect of the separation of powers is that the power of one
branch should not be exercised by anyone who also holds a position in
another branch. Under Article 1, Section 6, no one elected to Congress
may simultaneously serve as a member of the executive branch. In other
words, a lawmaker may not also administer the laws.

But the three branches are not completely sealed off from each other. For
example, the president shares the lawmaking power with Congress
because the president can veto any law although Congress may then
override the veto with a two-thirds vote in each house.

Thus, each branch has distinct power, but also it can impose limits on the
primary functions of the other two branches. The Framers created an
intricate system of checks and balances because they feared the
concentration of power in a single branch,

5.1.3. The "Checks and Balances" System

Checks and Balances is the practice of dispersing political power and
creating mutual responsibility among political entities. This is to prevent
any single group or individual from dominating the political system. One
check is related to the three branches of government. For example, the
president can veto an act of Congress. A two-thirds majority in Congress
can then override the president's veto. The president appoints major
federal officials, but only if the Senate by majority votes agrees. The
president administers the affairs of the federal government, but Congress
controls the federal budget. Congress enacts laws, but the United States'
courts interpret their meaning, and may even strike down a particular law
if it violates the Constitution. However, Congress may propose
amendments to the Constitution to overturn a court's rulings, these
amendments must then be ratified by the states. Furthermore, the
president appoints the judges, subject to the Senate's approval. However,
federal judges have lifetime appointments, so the next president and
Congress cannot simply remove them from office. But if the judges (or
certain other officials including the president) commit crimes, Congress
may impeach them and then remove them from office. Other levels of
check include:

Each house of Congress provides a check against the other because both
must agree on the exact wording in a bill in order to pass it into law.

Congress can regulate many local and state activities especially when
there are conflicts between one state and another.

Lawmakers are accountable to the people through elections; their power is

not based on a birthright or social status as it is in monarchical or
aristocratic political systems. If lawmakers take actions that are
unpopular, they can be removed from office in the next election.

If the government takes improper or unpopular actions, newspapers and

other media, based on the civil liberties protected by the Constitution
(including freedom of speech, freedom of the press and the freedoms of
association and assembly), can bring the actions to public attention.
Citizens can speak out against the government, and try to effect change.

5.1.4. Judicial Review

Judicial review refers to the power of courts to review statutes and
governmental actions to determine whether they conform to rules and
principles laid down in the Constitution. Judicial review is based on the
idea that a constitution which dictates the nature, functions and limits of a
government is the supreme law. Consequently, any actions by a
government, that violate the principles of its constitution, are invalid.

In the United States, the most important exercise of judicial review is by

the Supreme Court. The Court has used its power to invalidate hundreds
of federal, state and local laws that it found to conflict with the
Constitution of the United States. The Supreme Court also has used
"judicial review" to order federal, state and local officials to refrain from
behaving unconstitutionally. However, the power of judicial review does
not belong exclusively to the Supreme Court. In appropriate cases, every
court in the United States may strike down laws that violate the
Constitution. State courts have the power to review state government
actions for compatibility with both state constitutions and the federal
Constitution.

5.1.5. Constitutional Change

The United States' Constitution is flexible and open to interpretations.
There are provisions to amend the Constitution:

First, amendments may be suggested by any branch and even by the

citizens themselves.

Second, a constitutional amendment cannot be initiated without the

approval of two-third

majorities in both houses of Congress.

Third, an amendment becomes effectively a part of the Constitution only

with the approval of three-fourths of the states (Le. 38/50).

So far, twenty-seven amendments have been added to the Constitution,

the first ten of them are referred to by the "Bill of Rights". The
Constitutional amendments are related to different subjects. For example,
the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth amendments followed the Civil
War, and related to abolishing slavery, giving cx-slaves the right to
citizenship and the right to vote respectively. The nineteenth amendment
(in 1920) enfranchised women, and the twenty- second (in 1951) limited
presidency to two terms.

5.2. The Three-Branch System

5.2.1. The Legislative Branch
Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. system of government, and
is divided into two chambers: the House of Representatives (the lower
house) and the Senate (the upper house). The formal powers of Congress
are set out in Article 1 of the U.S. Constitution, and include making laws,
collecting revenue, borrowing and spending money, declaring war, making
treaties with foreign nations and overseeing the executive branch.

The U.S. Congress has 535 voting members 435 Representatives and 100
Senators. The number of delegates to the House of Representatives for
each state depends on the total population of that state. In the Senate,
there are 2 members for each state. The members of the House serve a
two-year term. The senators sit for a six-year term with one third of them
elected every two years.

Elections to the U.S. Congress occur in November with Congress

assembling the following January. The U.S. has a long-standing two-party
system, which means that nearly all members of29

Congress belongs to either the Republican or Democratic parties while

independent members (if any) generally align or sit with one of the two
main parties.

5.2.2. The Executive Branch

Under the U.S. Constitution, the executive branch carries out the laws of
the United States. The president is the head of the executive branch. The
Constitution gives the president broad powers. However, the president is
not a king. The presidency is an elected position. Many of the president's
actions are overseen by Congress and the federal courts.

The Constitution lists three requirements for the presidency. The president
must be thirty-five or older, must be a natural-born citizen of the United
States, and must have lived in the United States for fourteen years or
more.

The president has many powers. For example, the president commands
the American military. He or she can send the military anywhere in the
world. The president also has the power to pardon criminals who are guilty
of federal crimes. The head of the executive is responsible for the United
States' relationships with other countries. The president chooses
ambassadors who represent the United States abroad. He or she also has
the power to create trade agreements with other countries. The president
chooses Supreme Court justices and cabinet members. These choices
must be approved by the Senate. The president has the power to approve
or deny the laws that Congress makes. If the president signs the bill, it
becomes a law. If the president turns down the bill with a veto, the bill
docs not become a law unless Congress overrides the veto. Congress can
only do this if two-thirds of its members in both houses vote for the bill.

Many people in the executive branch help the president. For example, the
vice-president is elected along with the president. He or she is expected to
take over if the president cannot continue with the presidency. The
executive branch also includes departments of people who oversee
American schools, the military and taxes among other things. The leaders
of these departments make up the president's cabinet

5.2.3. The Judicial Branch

The framers of the Constitution considered an independent federal
judiciary essential to ensure fairness and equal justice to all citizens of the
United States. As a result, the federal judiciary is a30

separate self-governing branch of the government. The US Supreme Court

is the chief authority of the judicial branch of government. It is the
ultimate authority in constitutional interpretation, and its decisions can
only be changed by a constitutional amendment. All federal courts must
abide by the Supreme Court's decisions. Nine judges sit on the Court - one
chief justice and eight associate justices. They are appointed for life by
the President of the United States, but the US Senate must approve each
appointment with a majority vote. The goal of the Supreme Court is to
decide cases that raise a question about the Constitution. The Court will
decide if a law or an action violates the Constitution. This is known as
"judicial review". With review, the Court can invalidate both federal and
state laws that conflict with the interpretation of the Constitution.
Therefore, the Court has a pivotal role in American politics as it is also the
ultimate authority for many of the most important issues in the country
(economy and business, freedom of speech, religion, etc.). The US
Supreme Court was established in 1789 with the Judiciary Act. Given
authority under the US Constitution, it is equal to the executive and
legislative branches of government.
The Constitution protects the independence and integrity of the judicial
branch in two principal ways. First, federal judges, appointed under Article
III of the Constitution, may serve for life and may only be removed from
office through impeachment and conviction by Congress for "Treason,
Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors." Second, the
Constitution provides that federal judges "shall not be diminished during
their Continuance in Office," which means that neither the president nor
Congress can reduce the salaries of most federal judges. These two
protections help an independent judiciary to decide cases free from
popular passion and political influence.

5.3. American Federalism

5.3.1. Central and state governments
The U.S. Constitution establishes a government based on federalism the
sharing of power between the national and state/ local governments. This
power-sharing form of government is the opposite of "centralized"
governments such as those in England and France, under which the
national government maintains total power. 31

While each of the 50 states has its own constitution, all provisions of state
constitutions must comply with the US Constitution. For example, a state
constitution cannot deny accused criminals the right to a trial by jury, as
assured by the U.S. Constitution's sixth Amendment

Under the US Constitution, there are listed powers that are called the
"enumerated powers" or "expressed powers", "explicit powers" or
"delegated powers" of the United States' Congress Most of these powers
are listed in Article I, Section 8 of the United States' Constitution. The
enumerated powers include both exclusive federal powers as well as
concurrent powers that are shared with the states, and all of those powers
are to be contrasted with the reserved powers that only the states
possess. By spreading the powers throughout the different states, the
Framers of the American Constitution built a stronger, more effective
national government while preserving certain rights of the existing states.

5.3.2. Local Government

Local governments generally include two tiers: counties (also known as
"boroughs" in Alaska and "parishes" in Louisiana), and municipalities (or
cities/towns/villages). They are structured33

in many ways as defined by state constitutions. Counties have no

government power, and exist only as geographic distinctions.
Municipalities generally take responsibility for parks and recreation
services, police and fire departments, housing services, emergency
medical services, municipal courts, transportation services and public
work (streets, sewers, now removal, signage and so forth). A local
government must be granted power by the State. In general, mayors, city
councils and other governing bodies are directly elected by the people

The first local government in the United States was established by the
signature of the Mayflower Compact. On November 11th, 1620,
passengers aboard the Mayflower drafted and signed a civil contract to
abide by when they reached the New World. In signing the document,
Pilgrims bound themselves into an orderly society with offices, laws and
institutions to aid the common good. These laws, they agreed, were to be
supreme and obeyed.