Political System of USAPolitical System of USA

OverviewOverview

A federal constitutional republic system: ◦power is divided between a

central/national government and the state governments. The national government is referred to as the Federal Government

◦Head of state and other officials are elected representatives of the people and must govern according to existing constitutional law

Federal GovernmentFederal Government

• Three branches of the Federal Government–Legislative Branch• House of Representative• Senate–Executive Branch• The President• The Cabinet• The Federal Department and Agencies– Judicial Branch• The Supreme Court• Other Federal Courts

Congress President U.S. Supreme CourtSenate Vice PresidentU.S. Courts of AppealHouse of Executive Office U.S. District

CourtsRepresentative of the President

Special CourtsFederal Executive Departments

ConstitutionConstitution• The first US constitution was drafted

in 1787, and came into effect in 1789.• It is made up of Preamble, Article I, II,

III, IV, V, VI, VII and Amendments.• The Constitution set up a federal

system with a strong central government: power is shared between a central authority and its constituent parts, with some rights reserved to each.

• Preamble:• We the people of the United States, in

order to form a more perfect Union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Legislative Branch-Legislative Branch-CongressCongress

CongressCongressPowers• Make federal laws• Levy federal taxes• Declare war• Put foreign treaties into effect

Makeup • House of Representative• Senate

Congress-House of Congress-House of RepresentativesRepresentatives435 voting members, number of

representatives each state has is based on its population.◦1to 53 representatives (California)

Each House member represents a district in his or her home state.

All members serve a two-year term, but there is no limit on the number of terms a representative may serve.

Congress-SenateCongress-SenateTwo senators from each state, 100

senators in totalEach senator serve six-year termsTerms of senators are staggered ( 任期交错 ). Approximately 1/3 of the Senate stands for election every two years. ◦ This ensures there are some

experienced senators in Congress after each election.

Different powersDifferent powersSenate gives “advice and consent” to

many important Presidential appointments (federal judges, department secretaries, military and naval officers, ambassadors to foreign countries)

All legislative bills for the purpose of raising revenue must originate in the House of Representatives.

The approval of both chambers is required to pass any legislation, which then may only become law by being signed by the President

Powers of CongressPowers of CongressImpeachment of federal officers• Congress has the power to remove the

President, federal judges, and other federal officers from office. • This power is granted by the

Constitution“the President, VP, and all civil officers of the US shall be removed from office on impeachment for , and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors”

Impeachment Procedure◦(1). A formal accusation, or

impeachment by House of Representatives (majority vote)

◦(2). A trial and conviction by the Senate (2/3 vote for conviction)

◦(3) Vice president presides over the Senate proceedings in the case of all officials except the president; Chief justice of the Supreme Court presides over those in case of president

Case of ImpeachmentCase of Impeachment• Impeachment of Bill Clinton– Charges: perjury, obstruction of justice–Origin: Monica Lewinsky scandal, Paula Jones

lawsuit, Starr’s investigation– Result: Bill Clinton was impeached by the House

of Representative, but acquitted by the Senate.– The trial proceedings were largely partisan, with

only five Democratic Representatives voting to impeach and no Democratic Senators voting for conviction (2/3 majority required for conviction in Senate’s voting).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impeachment_of_Bill_Clinton

http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/clinton/clintonhome.html

Chief Justice William Rehnquist presided the impeachment in 1999. The House managers are seated beside the quarter-circular tables on the left and the president's personal counsel on the right.

Executive BranchExecutive BranchMakeup

◦President◦Vice President◦Cabinet, Executive Departments and

Agencies

PresidentPresident• President is the head of state and

government, military commander-in-chief, and chief diplomat.

• Power and liability:–Sign legislation passed by Congress

into law or veto it –Make treaties with foreign nations

with the consent of 2/3 of the Senate–May be impeached

U.S. PresidentU.S. PresidentEligibility

◦be a natural born citizen of the United States;

◦be at least thirty-five years old;◦have been a permanent resident in

the United States for at least fourteen years.

U.S. President U.S. President • The president is indirectly elected by the

American people through the Electoral College 选举人团制 (electors) to a four-year term. –Since 1951, presidents have been limited

to two terms by the twenty-second Amendment.–Election day: the Tuesday after the first

Monday of November–The president's term of office begins at

noon on January 20 of the year following the election--Inauguration day

538 votes in total◦2 votes for each of 50 states, 3 votes

for Washington D. C.◦The remaining 435 votes come from

50 states. The number of votes each state have are based on its population.

2008 2008 PresidentPresidential ial ElectionElection

2012 Presidential Election2012 Presidential Election

U.S. PresidentU.S. President

• http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNjczMTUwMzI=.html (Inauguration Speech)

• http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/kXVb0uLCi9g/ (first public speech after the polling result is out)

• http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/oKKwYdMkpUs/ (Obama’s road to White House)

• http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNjc1MjAwNjA=.html

• http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/9tYeCju_7eI/ (MP3)

White HouseWhite House

Camp DavidCamp David

Blair HouseBlair House

Presidential State CarPresidential State Car

Air Force OneAir Force One

Marine OneMarine One

Cabinet, Executive Cabinet, Executive Departments and Agencies Departments and Agencies

Day-to-day enforcement and administration of federal laws is in the hands for federal executive departments.

15 departments, heads of these departments form a council of advisers (Cabinet)◦Department of State. Treasury, Defense,

Justice, Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, Labor, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, Energy, Education, Veteran Affairs, Homeland Security

Cabinet, Executive Department Cabinet, Executive Department and Agenciesand Agencies

Executive Office of the President (e.g., National Security Council, Office of Management and Budget)

Independent agencies (e.g., United States Postal Serves, NASA, CIA)

Judicial BranchJudicial BranchMakeup:

◦The Supreme Court◦Federal Courts of Appeals (13)◦Federal District Courts (94)◦Federal courts of special jurisdiction

(2)Functions:

◦Explains and applies the laws

The Supreme CourtThe Supreme CourtThe U.S. Supreme Court

adjudicates matters pertaining to the Federal Government, disputes between States.

It can declare legislation or executive action as unconstitutional, nullifying the law and creating precedent for future law and decisions.

State GovernmentState GovernmentThe state governments are structured

in roughly similar fashion; Nebraska uniquely has a unicameral legislature.

The governor (chief executive) of each state is directly elected. (vs election of president)

Some state judges and cabinet officers are appointed by the governors of the respective states, while others are elected by popular vote.

Checks and BalancesChecks and BalancesThe three-part national governmentThis system works in many ways to keep

serious mistakes from being made by one branch or another◦ President can veto a bill proposed by the

Congress◦ Congress can override the veto by 2/3 majority

vote◦ The Supreme Court has the power to declare a

law (passed by Congress) unconstitutional◦ Congress must approve all treaties and all

appointments (by the President) before they become official

◦ To be continued 

◦The President may not dissolve Congress or call special elections but does have the power to pardon, or release, criminals convicted of offenses against the federal government 

Political PartiesPolitical PartiesTwo-party system

◦Democratic Party Generally positions itself as left-of-center

and supports an American liberalism platform

Advocate more social freedoms, affirmative action, balanced budget, and a free enterprise system tempered by government intervention (mixed economy)

Political PartiesPolitical PartiesRepublican Party

◦Republican Party Generally positions itself as right-of-

center and supports an American conservatism platform

Emphasize the role of free markets, minimal government, and individual achievement as the primary factors behind economic prosperity.

Mascot of American PartiesMascot of American Parties

Republicans (Red)

Grand Old Party (GOP)

Democrats

(Blue)

Blue and Red StatesBlue and Red StatesRefer to those states of the U.S. whose

residents predominantly vote for either democratic or republican party