Transcript CIVICS a study of U.S. Government Offered by S.A.Y Yes Program Course Content What the Constitution says about how the Federal Government should be formed and how it should.

CIVICS
a study of
U.S. Government
Offered
by
S.A.Y Yes Program
Course Content
What the Constitution says about
how the Federal Government
should be formed and how it
should function
Form of US National Government
Republic:
A country ruled by law (the Constitution) in order to preserve the rights,
liberty and freedom of its citizens.
A constitutional republic is a state in which the head of state and other
officials are representatives of the people and must govern according to
existing constitutional law that limits the government's power over all of its
citizens. Because the head of the state is elected, it is a republic and not a
Monarchy.
US government is NOT a Democracy or any other form of government. A
Democracy is ruled by the majority.
(Note: More to come for background. You can use this to embellish.)
Two Most Important Documents form the
backbone of the government
A. Declaration of Independence
-
to declare unity
among colonies and to declare separation from the Britain.
Adopted on July 4, 1776
Excerpt “--
We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are
created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with
certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty,
and the Pursuit of Happiness – that to secure these
Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their
just Powers from the Consent of the Governed that whenever
any Form of Government becomes destructive of these Ends,
it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, -----”
Thomas Jefferson
Two Documents - continue
B. Constitution - Specifies the structure and the
powers of the national government so as to ensure a
Republic form of government. It also dictates the
relationship between the national and state
governments.
Ratified on September 17, 1787
(Note: more to come for background info)
The Constitution Tries to Accomplish
• Limited Government: Government has only power given to it.
• Popular Sovereignty: People are the source of government’s
authority.
• Separation of Powers: Power is separated among three branches
of government; each has it own powers
and duties and is independent of and
equal to other branches.
• Check and Balance:
Each branch is subject to restraints by the
other two branches.
• Federalism:
The division of governmental powers
between the national government and the
states.
(note: more to follow for background.)
Organization of Federal
Government
Three Branches of Government: independent of one another.
Legislative Branch –
Congress
Article 1 of the Constitution
Executive Branch –
The Office of the
President
Article 2 of the Constitution
Judicial Branch –
Federal Courts
Article 3 of the Constitution
Political Parties
• Political Party: Voluntary association of people who
seek to control the government through common
principles based upon peaceful and legal actions.
• Two Party System
Democratic Party
Republican Party
• Other Parties of Minor Nature
Libertarian, etc
(Note: more to come for background)
Quiz #1
• Is US a Republic or Democratic form of government?
• What are the two most important documents which
describe how US government should be formed?
• How many branches does the Constitution say US
should have? And what are they?
• How many major political parties do we have?
Legislative Branch - Congress
• Article 1, Section 1 of the Constitution
“All Legislative Powers (to make law) herein granted shall be
vested in a Congress of the United states, which shall consist of
the House of Senate and House of Representative.”
Powers of the Congress
•
•
Power over the people: Passes Laws
Power over Executive Branch:
1. May override president’s veto – by 2/3 vote of both houses
2. May impeach and remove president from office
3. Senate may refuse to confirm presidential appointments or ratify
treaties
4. Creates executive agencies and programs
5. Appropriate funds
•
Power over Judicial Branch:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Creates lower federal courts
Sets salaries of federal judges
May refuse to confirm judicial appointments
May propose constitutional amendments
May impeach and remove President, Vice President and all civil
officers at federal level
Organization of the Congress
• Congress: Congress consists of Senate and House of Representatives.
•
Senate:
•
House of Representatives: 435 members .
100 members – two from each State.
.
• Vote:
Each member of the Congress has one vote
• Election: Election is held every two years at even numbered year.
• Term:
Term starts on odd number of years..
• Committees:
•
Leaders:
Work is done through various committees and
subcommittees. Some of them permanent, some
temporary. See next page
Each house chooses its own leaders and
makes it own rules
(note: more to come for background)
State by State Representatives
Members of Senate
a. Qualification:
b.
1. At least 30 year old
2. Must be a US citizen for at least 9 years.
3. Must live in the state he(she) represents
Term of Office: 1. Each state has two senators. Each serve a six year
term..
2. Each member may seek re-election. There is no limit
on terms to serve as long as people vote for him(her)
c.
Election: Chosen by the people of the state through popular vote
Since 2010 election 51 Democratic Party,
47 Republican Party
2 Independent
(Vice President, though not a member of the Senate, is the
presiding officer. His job is to vote to break the tie.)
(Note: more to come for background)
Members of House of Representatives
Qualification:
1. At least 25 year old.
2. US Citizens for a minimum of 7 years.
3. Must live in the district .
b. Term: Serve two year, May serve any number of terms if people vote for him(her).
a.
Since 2010 election, 242 from Republican Party
193 from Democratic Party
c.
Election: There are 435 districts in the country. Each district has certain number of
population. Every 10 year census is taken. The result will determine the number of
district each state will have. Each district elect its own Representative. California is
the most populous state and it has the largest numbers of districts, 53. The
Constitution (Article 1, Sec. 2) stipulates that a state must have at leased one
representative. States like Alaska, Delaware, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota,
Vermont and Wyoming has one each.
.
(Note: more to come for background)
Leadership of the House of Senate
US Vice-President: not a member of the senate but
presides over the senate. Has one duty – to
vote to break a tie vote.
Floor Leaders:
Majority Leader: The leader is elected from the majority party of
the term. He (She) has the power to decide which
items to be brought to the floor for vote.
Minority Leader: The leader is elected from the minor party of the term. He
(She) brings forth the opposing opinion from the minority party.
Whip: Helps floor leader of his(her) party by directing party members to
vote with the party.
(Note: More to come for background)
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Leadership of House of Representatives
Speaker of the House: 1. Presiding officer
2. Chosen by members of the House by simple
majority
3. The most powerful member of the House
4. Second to the Vice-President in line to be the
President.
Floor Leaders:
Majority Leader: The Majority Leader assists the Speaker helps plan
the party’s legislative program and directs floor
debate.
Minority Leader: The Minority leader speaks for the minority party and
organizes opposition to the majority party.
Whips:
Assistants to respective Floor Leaders to direct what their
respective party members should vote on certain issue
(Note: more to come)
Quiz - 2
• How many Houses are there in the Congress and what
are they called?
• How many members are there in each House?
• What is the length of a term each member of the House
elected to serve?
How Congress Functions
• Committees:
The Senate and the House of Representatives are made up of many
Committees. Each committee is designed to accomplish a well defined tasks. Things are done
through these committees. There are several forms of committee.
Nature of Committees
Standing Committee – permanent, deal with public policies
Select Committee – Temporary, deal with specific issues
Joint Committee – Temporary, members come from both houses
to iron out the differences of a Bill or Budget
Conference Committee
– Temporary, members come from
both houses created to resolve the variations
of the bill passed by the House and the Senate.
Committee members are appointed by respective leaders of each party. Majority party
can appoint more members. The Chairman of each Committee is elected by the
Committee members through simple majority.
The authority to establish a temporary Committees belongs to the majority leader
of each house.
(Note: more to come)
.
Lawmaking Process
•
Bills, or proposed law, may begin in either house, except revenue bills,
which must begin in the House of Representatives.
Process to make laws:
1. A bill is introduced, assigned to a Committee where it is debated. If approved,
it goes to the Rules Committee of the House of Representative. For
the Senate, it goes directly to the floor for debate.
2. The rules committee sets terms of debate for the bill before it goes to the floor
for full debate..
3. If the bill is passed, it is sent to the other House for a new round of debate. If the
other House make some changes, it is sent to the Conference Committee for
compromise. The compromised version may not contains any new material.
4. The compromised bill is returned to respective House for final approval.
5. It is then sent to the President for signature He may approve or veto it. If
vetoed, the bill is returned to the Congress where it dies or the Congress may
override the veto by 2/3 majority of both Houses.
(Note: more to come)
How Budget is Determined
• The budget process starts with the President submitting the budget
to the Congress between January 31 and Feb 31 of each year.
• Fiscal year of the US government starts on Oct 1st and ends on
Sept 31st.
• The process to approve the budget involves several Committees in
the Congress and other permanent governmental independent
organizations under the jurisdiction of the Congress as well as
President own Treasury Department.
• Once passed, it is still subject to revision as the year wears on.
•
(note: more to come)
Quiz - 3
• What is the function of each House
• How does each House function in order to complete
their tasks?
Executive Branch – the President
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Duties and Powers:
Enforce laws
May veto acts of Congress
May call special sessions of Congress
May recommend legislation
Has limited authority to use Executive Authority to effect
changes on things done
Appoints federal judges for Senate to advice and consent
Grants reprieves and pardons to federal offenders
May refuse to enforce court decisions
23
The President
• Qualification:
Natural Born Citizen
At least 35 year old.
Reside in US at least 14 years prior to election
• Term and Tenure:
A term is four years. Prior to 1951, a President can
serve unlimited number of elected terms. After 1952, 22nd
Amendment limited the president to serve two elected terms.
Powers of the President
•
Executive Powers:
a. Enforces laws, treaties, and court decisions
b. Issues executive orders to carry out policies
c. Appoints and remove Department Heads,
d. Assumes emergency powers
e. Presides over the cabinet and executive
branch
•
Legislative Powers:
a. Give annual State of the Union message
b. Issue annual budget and economic reports
c. Signs or vetoes bills
d. Proposes legislation
Powers of the President -
continues
• Diplomatic Powers
a. Appoints ambassadors and other diplomats
b. Negotiates treaties and executive agreements
c. Meets with foreign leaders in international conferences
d. Accords diplomatic recognition to foreign government
e. Receives foreign dignitaries
• Military Powers:
a. Serves as commander-in-chief of the armed forces
b. Makes final decision authority in matters of national and foreign
matters
c. Provides for domestic order
• Judicial Powers:
a. Appoint members of the federal judiciary
The Office of the President
• Executive
Departments
(The hiring of all Department
heads must be confirmed by the
Senate)
• Cabinet Level Office White House
(Their appointment do not need
confirmation from the senate. Some
positions are permanent some are
temporary.)
1. Vice President - Joe Biden
(See next page for the names of
the 15 departments and their
respective heads.)
1.
2.Chief of Staff - Jacob Lew
3. many many others. Their existence
depend on the wish of the President.
List of Departments
- continue
Department
Responsibility
Current Heads
1. Dept. of State
2. Dept of Treasury
3. Dept of Defense
4. Dept of Justice
5. Dept of Interior
6. Dept of Agriculture
7. Dept of Commerce
8. Dept of Labor
9. Dept of HHS
10.Dept of HUD
11.Dept of Energy
12. Dept of Education
13. Dept of Veteran Affair
14. Dept of Homeland S.
15. Dept of Transportation
Diplomatic policy
Financial policy
National defense policy
National Legal policy
Parks and mineral policy
Agriculture policy
National Trade policy
National Labor policy
National Health policy
National Housing policy
National Energy policy
National Education policy
Veteran policy
Internal Security policy
Transportation policy
Hillary Clinton
Tim Geithner
Leon Pennetta
Eric Holder
Ken Salazar
Tom Vilsack
John Bryson
Hilda Solis
Kathleen Sebelius
Shuan Donovan
Steve Chu
Arne Duncan
Eric Shinseki
Janet Napolitano
Ray LaHood
Quiz 4
• What is the qualification of a President and what
is the length of a term a President can serve?
• What is the maximum number of terms can a
President run?
• What is the purpose of the Executive Branch?
Powers of Judicial Branch
• Interprets Laws
• May rule legislative acts unconstitutional
• Chief justice presides over the trial to
impeach the President
• May rule executive actions
unconstitutional
National Judiciary Branch
• US Federal Court System - Originally US had a one court system – court
systems of each of the 50 states. Article III of the Constitution states “--- US shall be
vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from
to time ordain and establish.----”
• Structure of the Judicial System:
1. District Courts (lowest) – Congress created the system to serve as
trial courts at the federal level. Each state has at least one District
Court
2. Court of Appeal (mid-level) – Congress created the system to lessen the
work load of the Supreme Court.
3. Supreme Court (highest) – The final authority in dealing with all questions
arising from the Constitution, federal laws and treaties. There are nine judges in
the court. They are appointed by the President and ratified by the
Senate.
Presidential Election
• Election:
1. Election occurs every four years
2. Day of election occurs on the first Tuesday of November between 2nd
and 8th
3.. Registered voters must vote within the precinct of their legal residence.
• Electoral College: In reality, voters do not directly elect a President,
instead residence of each state choose electoral college to represent
them. The number of electoral college in each state consists of two
senators and representatives. California has 55. This gives a total of
535. The map in next page shows state-by-state number of electoral colleges.
In December, the electoral college of each state casts their votes for the
candidate in accordance to the popular vote cast in November. States that
have
winner-take-all of electoral college, the winning party will receive all Electoral
college votes. Nebraska and Main are done in proportion to the vote cast. A
president is elected when one receives at least 270 electoral college vote.
(Note: more to come)
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Quiz - 5
• What is the major function of the Supreme
Court?
• What is the minimum age to vote?
• What is electoral college and what is the total
number of electoral vote?
• Election is the responsibility of each _____
• What is the minimum number of electoral
college vote to elect the President of the United
States?
• What is role popular vote plays in the general
election?
References
• “U.S Government and Politics” 2010 by Pamela Lamb
• Wikimedia