Lecture 17: The United States Constitution and the Structure of U.S. Government Jason Downs British and American Culture

The Drafting of the Constitution  The Constitutional Convention met in Philadelphia in 1787  Each state sent representatives to the convention  The writers of the constitution were heavily influenced by political philosophers such as John Locke, Baron de Montesquieu, and Edward Coke  The Constitution had to compromise between the different interests of the various states (esp. between North and South) Senate Three-fifths compromise Protection of states’ rights against those of the federal government  Ratified (approved) by most states in 1788; the first U.S. Congress took office, along with President George Washington, in 1789

The Preamble to the Constitution “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, 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.”

Structure of the Constitution  Preamble – “We the People…”  Article 1 – Congress  Article 2 – The President  Article 3 – The Judicial System (courts)  Article 4 – Relationship between states, and between states and federal gov’t  Article 5 – Process for amending the Constitution  Article 6 – Establishes the Constitution as the “supreme law of the land” – judges in every state must follow it  Article 7 – Describes the process for ratifying the Constitutuion and setting up the new government  Amendments: Amendments 1-10 – Bill of Rights (ratified in 1791) Amendments – other amendments (most recent amendment (27 th ) was ratified in 1992

Three Branches of Government Congress (Legislative Branch) The President (Executive Branch) The Court System (Judicial Branch)

The Legislative Branch  Two Houses of Congress:  Senate (Upper House) 2 Senators from each state (so, 50 states = 100 Senators) 6-year terms; arranged so that every 2 years 1/3 of them run for re-election  House of Representatives (Lower House) Each state has a variable number of Representatives, based on population (ex: California has 53, Alaska has 1); total number of Representatives is 435 Elected from geographical districts (similar to House of Commons in U.K.) 2-year terms; every member must run for re- election every two years

The Legislative Branch

The Executive Branch  The President of the United States  Do you want to be the president? You must meet these 3 requirements: “Natural-born citizen” of the U.S. At least 35 years old Resident of the U.S. for at least 14 years  The president serves terms of four years  The 22 nd Amendment sets a limit of two terms

The Executive Branch  The President selects a Cabinet, whose members lead various government departments Ex: The Secretary of State leads the Department of State, the Secretary of Education leads the Department of Education, etc.  The President and his/her Cabinet lead a large federal bureaucracy which runs the country and administers the laws

The Executive Branch

Voting  The President, Senators, and members of the House of Representatives are all elected through popular elections  Every U.S. citizen who is at least 18 years old can vote  These elections are held in November, and the winners take office in January

The Judicial Branch  Nation-wide system of courts, to hear legal cases  The highest and final court is the Supreme Court Nine justices (judges) on the Supreme Court, appointed by the President and approved by the Senate  Underneath the Supreme Court, there is a system of district courts, and there are also courts that are run by the individual states  The judicial system decides how to interpret the laws and decides whether laws are “constitutional”

The Judicial Branch  The Supreme Court

State/Local Government  In addition to the national (“federal”) government, every state has its own government, with a governor and legislature elected by the people  They can make state laws (but they must be constitutional and not break the federal laws)  In certain areas of U.S. government, states have traditionally had more influence than the national government – such as in education policy

Separation of Powers / System of Checks and Balances  Each of the three branches of government has certain powers over the others  Each branch has ways to limit (“check”) the powers of the other two branches  This ensures that no one branch will become “too powerful”  But, it also can lead to “divided government”

How Can You Make a Law in the U.S.?  First, someone comes up with an idea for a new law. The idea can come from the President, a member of Congress, or even an ordinary citizen.  Next, the proposed law is written as a “bill”. The bill is written, edited, and voted on in a committee in Congress.  If it passes through the committee, then it must receive a majority vote in both the House and the Senate. If it fails either vote, it dies.

How Can You Make a Law in the U.S.?  If it passes through Congress, then it goes to the President. The President can: Sign the bill – then it becomes a law! Veto the bill – then it returns to Congress.  If the President vetoes the bill, it can still become a law if more than 2/3 of the House and Senate vote for it.  After the law is passed, if people believe the law is unconstitutional, they can challenge it in the court system. The Supreme Court can decide that a law is unconstitutional, which cancels the law.

How Can You Make a Law in the U.S.?  How a bill becomes a law:

The Bill of Rights (first 10 amendments)  1) Freedom of religion, speech, press, and assembly  2) Right to keep and bear arms in order to maintain a well regulated militia  3) No quartering of soldiers  4) Freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures

The Bill of Rights (first 10 amendments)  5) Right to due process of law, freedom from self-incrimination, double jeopardy  6) Rights of accused persons, e.g., right to a speedy and public trial  7) Right of trial by jury  8) Freedom from excessive bail; freedom from cruel and unusual punishments

The Bill of Rights (first 10 amendments)  9) Other rights of the people (even if we didn’t mention it in the Constitution, you may have other rights as well)  10) Powers reserved to the states (if we don’t specifically mention something in the Constitution, then that power is reserved to the individual states, rather than the federal government)