2. FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

3. THE THREE BRANCHES OF GOVERNMENT * Legislative – Established in Article I * Executive – Established in Article II * Judicial – Established in Article III

4. THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH House of Representatives and Senate

5. LEGISLATIVE BRANCH Also called Congress. Meet in the Capitol Building in Washington, DC.

6. LEGISLATIVE BRANCH Bicameral - 2 Houses House of Representatives Senate Responsibility is to make (create) laws. Dual Role - constituents needs & wants and considering what is good for nation as a whole.

7. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 435 Seats Number of seats determined by state population. 19 Committees - 84 sub-committees Referred to as the “ lower ” house. Leader is called Speaker of the House.

8. HOUSE OF REPRESENATIVES Has sole power to Impeach President. All bills to raise money must come from the House of Representatives. All bills (laws) must pass in the House before going to the President.

9. SENATE 100 seats -2 seats per state - separate vote 16 Committees and 69 sub- committees Referred to as the “ upper ” house Vice President is President of Senate but NO vote unless a tie. Leader = President pro tempore Nicknamed “ Millionaires Club ”

10. SENATE Power to try impeachment - 2/3rd vote Senate approval needed on bills to raise money. All laws must pass in the Senate before going to the President.

11. LEGISLATIVE BRACH Powers of Congress Oversee elections Set rules within the legislative branch To tax, to borrow money, to coin money Set rules of naturalization regulate commerce Establish Post Offices

12. LEGISLATIVE BRANCH Powers continued…. To declare war To raise and support armies To make all laws that are necessary and proper

13. LEGISLATIVE BRANCH Powers that Congress DOES NOT have.. Can not suspend Habeas Corpus Can not tax inter-state commerce Can not take money from treasury unless a law is passed to do so Can not give a title of nobility

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15. Do Members Represent Their Voters? Representational view–members vote to please their constituents Organizational View–members vote to please fellow members of Congress Attitudinal View–members vote on the basis of their own beliefs Copyright © 2011 Cengage

16. 2014 Presidential Election by County

17. THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH

18. EXECUTIVE BRANCH Responsible for enforcing the laws. President is the head of the Executive Branch. President provides leadership by setting goals and developing policy.

19. EXECUTIVE BRANCH Must be a natural born citizen Must be at least 35 years old Must be 14 years a resident within the United States Term is for 4 years - only 2 in a row Must give state of the union to Congress

20. EXECUTIVE BRANCH Must take an oath as follows, “ I do solemnly swear 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 ”

21. EXECUTIVE BRANCH Powers of the President…. Commander and Chief of the Army and Navy Can grant pardons and Can veto laws. Can call Congress into session. Make treaties, appoint Supreme Court Justices and Ambassadors - Senate approval

22. EXECUTIVE BRANCH Can be impeached for the following reasons: Treason Bribery Other high Crimes and Misdemeanors

23. EXECUTIVE BRANCH President creates cabinet - advisors Department of State, Treasury, Interior, Agriculture, Justice, Labor, Commerce, Veterans ’ Affairs, Defense, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, Energy, Education and NOW Homeland Security

24. Electoral College

25. Why? Because we do not pick our President by direct ballot. Technically, we only select electors. These electors form what is called the Electoral College and are the people who officially elect the President.

26. Why was it Created? People (then) were not knowledgeable enough to select a President.(poor communications) This was a check that gave the states a voice in choosing the President To maintain regional balance

28. What are the drawbacks to the Electoral College? Encourages low voter turnout Diminishes third party influence Person with most popular votes may not win Leads to tactical, insincere voting If there is no majority winner in the Electoral College, the election goes to the H.o. R and there is a loss of separation of powers

29. Why low voter turnout? The Electoral College is a winner take all system of deciding who receives a states electoral votes. Consequently, if a person gets 50.1% of the popular vote (in a two man race), he get 100% of the electoral votes. Therefore, many people feel that their vote does not matter and choose to not vote.

30. Third Parties The Electoral College discourages 3 rd parties because a candidate must have a broad based, national platform to have a chance to gain the highest office. Rarely are 3 rd parties financially and politically able to do this.

31. Tactical Voting Voters often resort to tactical voting in Presidential elections because the person they truly support cannot win the all of the electoral votes. For instance, many people would have preferred Ralph Nader in the 2000 Presidential election but knew that he was not going to win. Instead, they often voted for Al Gore because he was the major candidate with the platform closest to Nader.

32. Obama & Romney

33. THE JUDICIAL BRANCH

34. JUDICIAL BRANCH Responsible for interpreting the law in regards to the Constitution Final court of appeals for state and federal cases. Supreme Court justices are appointed by the President, approved by the Senate, and they hold their office for life or retirement.

35. JUDICIAL BRANCH Currently - 9 Justices - only can be changed by Constitutional Amendment Justices hear 150 cases per year - over 5000 requests 4 Justices need to agree to hear a case Session is October through June Removed by impeachment or conviction

36. JUDICIAL BRANCH Qualifications - nothing listed in the Constitution Unofficial qualifications are: Politically active Lawyer or Lower Court Judge Same political party as the President

37. JUDICIAL BRANCH Article III is where we define treason. Treason = committing an overt action - it must be seen Talking about treason is not a crime Can not punish family

38. JUDICIAL BRANCH Judicial Act of 1789 Created three part court system Established the Office of Attorney General Job of Attorney General is to represent the USA in the Supreme Court and to be a legal advisor to the Executive Branch

39. JUDICIAL BRANCH

40. Civil Cases - sue, divorce, contracts, any case that does not involve a crime Criminal Cases - commit a crime Defendant - the person on trial Plaintiff - person who brought case to court Prosecutor - represents city, state, people in a criminal case

41. JUDICIAL BRANCH Influences on the Court Precedents - past decisions Personal legal views - strict interpretation means to look at intent of founding fathers - broad interpretation means you need to take into account changes in society Justices interaction

42. JUDICIAL BRANCH Influences continued…… Public Opinion, Congress, and the President

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45. Overview Judicial Review – the power of courts to declare laws unconstitutional Judicial Restraint Approach – judges should decide cases strictly on the basis of the language of the Constitution Activist Approach – judges should discern the general principles underlying the Constitution and apply them to modern circumstances Copyright © 2011 Cengage

46. Map 16.1 U.S. District and Appellate Courts Copyright © 2011 Cengage Note: Washington, D.C., is in a separate court. Puerto Rico is in the first circuit; the Virgin Islands are in the third; Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands are in the ninth. Source: Administrative Office of the United States Courts (January 1983).

47. Activist v. Originalist http://www.youtube.c om/watch?v=VXeUfVh DVUM&feature=relate d http://www.youtube.c om/watch?v=VXeUfVh DVUM&feature=relate d http://fora.tv/2009/02 /23/Uncommon_Know ledge_Antonin_Scalia #fullprogram http://fora.tv/2009/02 /23/Uncommon_Know ledge_Antonin_Scalia #fullprogram

48. Divided Government Divided government – One party controls the White House and another party controls one or both houses of Congress Unified government – The same party controls the White House and both houses of Congress Does gridlock matter? Is policy gridlock bad? Copyright © 2011 Cengage

50. Points to Clarify Impeachment – to accuse an official of commiting a crime the President’s cabinet advises the President Ex post facto – can’t be charged for a crime if it wasn’t a crime when you did it Habeas Corpus – trial by jury Bill or Rights and Amendments