American Government

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American Government
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Why study American Government?

• The USA is the most powerful and arguably the
  most successful democracy in history.
• The USA system has been the model adopted by more
  democracies than any other in the world.
• By studying other systems we might understand our
  own better

The Westminster Model Parliamentary Government
British Constitution sometimes referred to as
being Unwritten meaning unentrenched
The USA Model Written Constitution and Federal
System Government
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The American Constitution
Dates from 1788. A constitution is a set of
rules by which a country is run. Features a
written document which has been made deliberately
difficult to change . This is called an
entrenched constitution. Written by a group who
are collectively known as the Founding Fathers.
The most important of whom was Benjamin Franklin
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• The USA Constitution is based on three
  principles
• Citizens Rights Every American citizens is
  guaranteed rights . Most of these rights are to
  be found at the back of the constitution and are
  called the Bill of Rights.

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American Citizens Rights
These could be summarised as follows 1.Right to
practice religion of choice 2.Right to peaceful
protest 3. Right top free vote 4. Right to free
speech 5. Right to fair trial 6. Right to
privacy 7. Right to property 8. Right to freedom
from cruel punishment 9. Right to rights not
written down. 10. Right of States to self
government (gun laws are up to states)
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• The USA Constitution is based on three
  principles
• Citizens Rights Every American citizens is
  guaranteed rights . Most of these rights are to
  be found at the back of the constitution and are
  called the Bill of Rights.

2. State Rights Each state was originally a
country of its own. Each state is largely
self-governing except that the Federal Government
is responsible for trade and defence 3. Separation
of Powers In order to avoid creating a tyrant
the powers of the government was to be separated
between it different arms. Each arm was to have
checks and balances over the others.
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The Different Arms of USA Government
Room South Five
The Executive The Legislature The Judiciary
carries out the laws
Mr. Miller
makes laws
Mr. Miller
interprets the laws
Mr. Miller
Mr. Miller is a tyrant
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The Different Arms of USA Government
Britain
USA
The Executive The Legislature The Judiciary
carries out the laws
The Government
The President
makes laws
The Congress
Parliament
interprets the laws
The House of Lords
The Supreme Court
American politicians can only belong to one of
these arms of Government _ therefore no one can
become a tyrant
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• Checks and Balances
• President appoints major government officials,
  eg. Cabinet members, head of Government Agencies
  etc. Senate has to ratify his/her choice
• President signs treats, Senate must ratify
• President appoints Supreme Court Justices, Senate
  ratifies appointments.
• Congress makes Federal laws, President must sign
  Bills. If he refuses Congress must pass bill by
  two thirds for it to become law.
• Congress can impeach (remove) the President or
  Supreme Court Justice if they commit high crime
  or misdemeanours

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The Congress The Congress has the sole power to
pass Federal Laws.
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" I do solemnly swear(or affirm) that I will
faithfully execute the office of president of the
United States, and will to the best of my
ability, preserve, protect and defend the
constitution of the United States."

• The President
• Qualifications
• 35 years of age or more
• Native born American
• At least 14 years residence in USA

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US President since 1933 Roosevelt Democrat
1933-1945 Truman Democrat 1945-
1953 Eisenhower Republican 1953-1961 Kennedy
Democrat 1961- 1964 Johnson Democrat
1964-1969 Nixon Republican 1969-1975 Ford
Republican 1975-1977 Carter Democrat
1977-1981 Reagan Republican 1981-1989 Bush
Republican 1989-1993 Clinton Democrat
1993-2001 Bush Republican 2001-2009
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Roles of the President
Head of State As such he/she is the embodiment of
national pride. This makes him/her popular. This
makes hi/her powerful
Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces He/she is
the commanding general of the worlds most
powerful military forces
Guardian of the Constitution He/she has the duty
of ensuring that decisions of the Supreme Court
are upheld
Chief Legislator He/she is expected to present
suggestions to Congress for new laws. It is up to
his/her political abilities whether or not they
are accepted by Congress
Chief Executive He/she is responsible for the
running of the Federal Government. He/she
appoints thousands of people to the Federal
Government. This gives him/her enormous power of
patronage.
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The President as Chief Legislator
Unlike a British Prime Minister an American
President cannot be sure that his suggestions for
laws will be passed. To try and pass them he can
use the following Remember a President cannot
offer members of the Congress Government jobs in
the way that a Prime Minister can. 1. Use his/her
popularity as Head of State to appeal to the
American people. NB House of representatives
elected every two years. 2. Use his/her power as
Commander in Chief to buy favours. Eg. Defence
contracts, military bases. 3.Use his/her position
as Chief Executive to reward loyalty.
patronage 4. Use the veto to trade with the
Congress
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The Supreme Court
Supreme Court is the highest court of appeal in
the USA Its job is to interpret the meaning of
the Constitution
The Court is made up of 9 Justices led by the
Chief Justice. Cases come to it from lower
courts. The Court usually specialises in a
different aspect of the Constitution each term.
This means that any particular subject may take
years before it comes in front of the Supreme
Court. It can give majority decisions.
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The Rehniquist Court January 2005 Justice Year
Year President who of birth of
appointment appointed William Rehniquisst
1924 1986 Reagan John Stevens 1920
1975 Ford Sandra Day OConnor 1930 1981
Reagan Antonin Scalia 1936
1986 Reagan Anthony kennedy 1936 1988
Reagan David Souter 1939 1990 Bush Clarnec
e Thomas 1948 1919 Bush Ruth Ginsburg
1933 1993 Clinton Stephen Breyer 1938
1994 Clinton Rehniquist originally
appointed to Supreme Court in1979
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Independence of the Supreme Court

• Justices are appointed for life, usually 20-40
  years
• Appointments by the President must be ratified
  by the Senate.
• President is only allowed to serve for two terms.

President Roosevelt elected to four terms as US
president 1933-45
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Famous Supreme Court decisions
1. Brown Vs. Topekia 1954 ruled that the
segregation of schools was unconstitutional. Led
to President Eisenhower, as Guardian of the
Constitution forcibly desegregating Little Rock
High School.
2. Roe Vs. Wade 1972 The Supreme Court ruled
that abortion was constitutional
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