The U.S. System of Government

American Legal System Elective

CELOP/Boston University

Fall 2011Joseph Pettigrew

The U.S. System of Government

The ConstitutionThree Branches of Government

Checks and BalancesPolitical Parties

How a President is ElectedA Few Current Issues in American

Politics

The U.S. Constitution

• Establishes basic system of government

• Adopted in1787• Oldest constitution still in use• Can be amended • Has been 27 times

• 1st 10 amendments – “Bill of Rights”

The U.S. Constitution

Bill of Rights (1791)• 1st – Freedom of speech,

religion, the press, assembly• 2nd – Right to bear arms (guns)• 6th – Trial by juryOthers• 13th – Abolished slavery (1865)• 19th – Right to vote for women

(1920)

The U.S. ConstitutionThe Federal

Government

Executive (President)

Legislative (Congress)

Judicial (Supreme Court)

Executive Branch

President – Barack Obama

• Elected for 4-year term• May be reelected once• At least 35 years old• Born in the U.S.• Elected by majority vote of

Electoral College (not popular vote)

Executive Branch

Vice-President – Joseph Biden

• Elected with president– Vote for president is vote for VP

• Not from same state as president

• Presides over US Senate, breaks a tie vote

• 9 VPs have become president on death or resignation of president

Executive Branch

Succession on death, resignation, or impeachment of president• Vice President• Speaker of the House of Representatives• President Pro Tempore of Senate• Secretary of State• Other cabinet members

Executive Branch

Cabinet – Departments (Ministries), e.g.,

• Department of State = Foreign Affairs• Department of Defense • Department of Treasury• Department of Transportation• Department of Justice

Executive Branch

Head of Cabinet Department – Secretary• Secretary of State (Hilary Clinton)• Secretary of Defense (Leon Panetta)

Exception – Justice Department• Attorney General (Eric Holder)

Legislative Branch

Congress • Senate

– Senator– Headed by Vice President (mostly ceremonial except in close votes)– Usually President Pro Tempore (a senator)

Legislative Branch

Congress • House of Representatives

– Representative, Congressman, Congresswoman– Headed by Speaker (John Boehner) Leader of majority party (Republican)

Legislative Branch

Senators • Two from each state • Elected by entire population of the state• 6-year term• May be reelected• 1/3 elected every two years

Legislative Branch

Senators • “Upper Chamber” or “Upper

House”• Equal in power to “Lower

Chamber”• Confirm/reject president’s

choice for Supreme Court• Ratify treaties

Legislative Branch

Representatives • Number according to population of state

• Census every 10 years

• Elected by district

• 2-year term

• May be reelected

• All up for reelection every 2 years

Legislative Branch

Representatives – total 435• Vermont, Wyoming, Alaska – 1 • Massachusetts – 10 ( 9)• New York – 29 • Texas – 32• California – 53

Legislative Branch

House & Senate

• Compromise by “founders”

• Protects small states from being overwhelmed by large states

Legislative Branch

Duties of the Congress• Creates laws• Confirms president’s choices for

cabinet• Investigates possible

wrongdoing by Executive branch

• Can impeach president for “high crimes and misdemeanors”

Bill to Law

• Identical versions of a bill must pass both House & Senate

• If differences – joint conference committee agrees on single version

• Goes back to House & Senate for final passage

Bill to Law

Goes to President, who can• Sign bill for it to become law • Veto (reject)

– Goes back to Congress– 2/3 vote in both houses will “override” veto– Bill becomes law without signature

• Not sign, allow bill to become law after 10 days

Judicial Branch

Supreme Court• Nine members, called Justices• Nominated by president• Confirmed by Senate (majority

vote)• Life term• Only removed by impeachment

Judicial Branch

Duties of Supreme Court• Final court of appeal• Can decide to hear or not hear

any case• Can determine

“constitutionality” of any law – Law found to be unconstitutional is voided

Judicial Branch

Famous Supreme Court Cases

• Brown v. Board of Education (1954)– Integrated public schools

• Miranda Ruling (1966)– Suspects arrested by police must be told their rights (e.g., “the right to remain silent”)

Judicial Branch

Famous Supreme Court Cases

• Roe v. Wade (1973)– Legalized abortion

• Bush v. Gore (2000)– Ended vote counting in Florida after 2000 election– Gave presidency to G. Bush

Judicial Branch

Recent appointments (Obama)• Sonia Sotomayor• Was judge on US Court of

Appeals for Second Circuit• 1st Hispanic• 3rd woman on court

Judicial Branch

Recent appointments (Obama)

• Elena Kagan• Was dean of Harvard

Law School• Solicitor General• 4th woman on court

Checks & Balances

• Check = limit• Each branch has some control

over the other two• To prevent one from becoming

too powerful

Checks & Balances

• Congress controls legislation• President can veto a bill• Congress can override it by 2/3

vote

Checks & Balances

• President chooses Supreme Court Justices

• Must be approved by Senate• Justices have lifetime

appointments

Checks & Balances

• Supreme Court can decide a law passed by Legislative Branch or an action by the Executive Branch is “unconstitutional”

• Invalidates the law

Political Parties

• Not specifically mentioned in Constitution

• Republicans• Democrats• Greens, Socialists, Communists,

…

Republican Party (GOP)Republican Party (GOP)

George Bush Sr/Jr,John McCain,Ronald Reagan• Limited

government• Low taxes• Pro-business• Strong military• Traditional on

social issues

Traditional support

• Business community

• Conservative protestants

• Voters in suburbs & rural areas

Democratic PartyDemocratic Party

Barack Obama, Bill & Hilary Clinton,Al Gore, Ted

Kennedy• Government is a

force for good• Economic fairness• Social justice for

minorities• Progressive on

social issues

Traditional support

• Labor unions• Minorities• Liberal

Christians• Jews• Voters in cities

Presidential Election

• Every 4 years (next 2012)• The 1st Tuesday after the 1st Monday in

November• System of primaries within the two

major parties• Winner of primaries is party’s

candidate • The winner is determined by the

Electoral College – not the popular vote

Presidential Election

Primaries• Republicans vs.

Republicans• Democrats vs.

Democrats• Winners face

each other in general election

Presidential Election

2008 Democratic PrimaryObama vs. Clinton

Electoral College

• Each state has a number of electoral votes

• Equal to number of representatives it sends to US Congress – (# of House seats + 2 Senate seats)– Minimum: 3

Electoral Votes in 2008

2 senators + # of representatives:

• Vermont = 3

• Massachusetts = 12

• Florida = 27

• Texas = 34

• California = 55

Electoral Votes in 2012

Electoral College

• “Winner Take All” system

• The candidate who wins the most votes in a state wins all of that state’s electoral votes

• Total votes = 538 (3 votes for DC)

• Number needed to win = 270

Red & Blue States

• Comes from maps used on television on election night

• Red = state won by Republican (Bush 2000 & 2004, McCain 2008)

• Blue = state won by Democrat (Gore 2000, Kerry 2004, Obama 2008)

Red & Blue States

Usually Red (Republican):

• The South (Texas, Georgia, Mississippi, etc.)

• The West, except for the west coast (Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Idaho)

Red & Blue States

Usually Blue (Democratic):

• The Northeast (Massachusetts, Vermont, New York, Rhode Island)

• The Upper Midwest (Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois)

• The West Coast (California, Oregon, Washington State)

Swing States

Can go Republican one election and Democratic the next, e.g.:

• Pennsylvania• Ohio • Florida • Missouri

Result: time, money, & advertising concentrated in swing states

Results of 2000 ElectionBush: 50,456,002

47.87%271 electoral votes

Gore:50,999,89748.38%266 electoral votes

Nader: 2,882,955 2.74%0 electoral votes

Results of 2004 Election

Bush: 62,028,285 total votes50.7% 286 electoral votes

Kerry: 59,028,109 total votes48.3%251 electoral votes

2004 Election

Other Maps 2004

By county: Republican / Democrat

Other Maps 2004

% Republican / Democrat

Other Maps 2004

Size = number of electoral votes

Other Maps 2004

2008 Election

Barack Obama & John McCain

Barack ObamaBarack Obama• Born 1961 in Hawaii

• Mother from Kansas

• Father born in Kenya

• Parents met at Univ. of Hawaii

• Divorced; father eventually returned to Kenya; died 1982

• Mother died 1995

Barack ObamaBarack Obama• Spent time in Indonesia as a child• Raised mostly by grandparents• Community organizer in Chicago

• Graduated Harvard Law School

• Senator from Illinois 2004 - 2008

John McCainJohn McCain

• Born 1936 in US Canal Zone (now Panama)

• Father US navy officer• Graduated from US

Naval Academy• US Navy pilot during

Vietnam War• Shot down, taken

prisoner

JohnJohn McCainMcCain

• Spent 5½ years in prisoner of war camp

• US senator from Arizona since 1986

• Ran against Bush in 2000 for nomination

• Considered a “maverick” by some Republicans

2008 ElectionMcCain: 58,3434,671 total votes

46% 173 electoral votes

Obama: 66,882,230 total votes53%365 electoral votes

2008 Election

2004 & 2008 Elections BlueBlue = Democrat RedRed

=Republican

2004 2008

2010 Congressional Election

• Republicans gained control of House; Democrats barely held on to Senate

  193 Democrats  242 Republicans (+ 63)

  51 Democrats + 2 Independents

  47 Republicans (+ 6)

2012 Presidential RaceBattleground States

Political & Social Trends• By 2050 “majority minority”

population• Younger voters more liberal on

social issues

Current “Hot” Issues• Same-sex

marriage– Several states

have allowed it; several others have banned it

– Republican “base” strongly against

– Less divisive for younger voters

Current “Hot” Issues

• Health care– 2010 Democratic-

controlled Congress passed new health care law

– Requires all to purchase health insurance

– Republicans opposed to “socialized medicine”

Current “Hot” Issues

• The Economy– How to deal

with recession

– How much to regulate business

– Growing deficit

– Raising the debt limit

Current “Hot” Issues

• Immigration– Over 33 million

legal & illegal immigrants in US

– How many more to allow in

– How to deal with illegal immigrants

Thank You