5 The Constitution ‘A written constitution. Having declared their “Independence” from Britain, the former colonies, which had become “the United States of America” operated at first under a loose agreement known as the Articles of Confederation (1781). It soon became clear, however, that this agreement among the states was not as effective as had been hoped. The central government was weak, and had not enough power to deal effectively with taxation, trade and defence, because the “Articles of Confederation did not envisage a federal state buta federation ‘of states. Consequently there was no president, no authority to levy taxes, no central judiciary, and no central control over foreign policy. In 1787 delegates from the states were called to a convention in Philadelphia to debate the defects of the existing system and to revise the Articles, but they did more: they drew up an entirely new document, the Constitu ‘which was adopted by the Constitutional Convention on September 17, 1787, and ratified on July 2, 1788 Basic constitutional aims. The Constitution was designed to set up a government of the people and not of the States alone. The delegates to the Constitutional Convention wanted to establish respect for the rights of individuals and states, rule by the people, separation of church and state, ‘and supremacy of the national government, They believed strongly in the rule of the majority, but they wanted minorities to be protected. They tried to achieve this by separating and balancing the powers of government. Preamble | | We the people ofthe United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the bless- ings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish | this Constitution for the United States of America, ‘The Constitution thus 2 gets up a federal system by diving powers between the national and state governments; + proclaims that al States are equal and thatthe federal government annot grant privileges to any one State; The Constitution re necessity ofa written constitution ‘a goverment of the people a federal stem+ outlines the purposes of a national government, describes how its to bbe organised and how the legislative body (ie. Congress), the Chief Executive (i.e. the President), and federal judges are to be chosen; 2 balanced national * establishes a balanced national government by dividing the authority ‘government _of the federal government among three independent branches - the ‘executive branch (enforcing the law), the legislative branch (making the law), and the judicial branch (explaining and interpreting the law). The American System of Government Constitution: provides for he branches of government Legislative Branch “Judicial Branch = makeslaws Interprets las RL OREN a Congress President Supreme Court House of Senate | ee S Justices, Representatives e appointed by President a5 too | Bective Offce forite Reorestinives, || Sete, Cabinet and Cubic Sera correc | ea Secutie oa sensat Soe epariments lecchrepreserting| | _ cece ior Independent Sopraimatey| | Sear ters, Agencies Federal| | state || 580000 people, | | a thedof em allies “ming pf Secretaries nd ep eacestor || seatonenry iment Hess oppo system || system Sparta | | “Swoyesr ae Senate oe ‘1 eectoral cotege Sas covance 538 present electors [>| “eyes tn ee regen and Vee resent) Electorate (voters) elects) Local Government5 The Constitution “Three branches of government. To make sure that there was no ISIS of power, the fathers of the Constitution established three separse and Sicinet branches of government, each exercising certain powers over ‘he others. The Constitution provided for ‘a legislative branch to make the laws; @ an executive branch to carry the laws out, > and a judicial branch to settle questions of law. ‘The Constitution also specified the overriding powers and duties of each branch of the federal government. All other powers and duties belong 19 rate alvidual sates. Neither the President (the executive branch), nor Cor frees the legisiative branch, nor the Supreme Cou (he judicial ech) Bese nate power, Nor does this power le in the grasp of any political trsup oF party, as it does in other countries, It belongs to the people in fact as well as in spirit. Federal powers lsted in the Constitution include the right to collect taxes, declare wan, and regulate trade. In addition to these delegated powers {those stated inthe Constitution, the national government has imped revere chose reasonably suggested by the Constitution), The implied overs enable the government to respond tothe changing needs o! he pon For example, Congress has no delegated power to print papel pasney. But such a power s implied in the delegated powers of borrowing and coining money. “The Supreme Court has the final authority to explain the Constiuon It Tae cetaside any law~ federal, stat, or local that conflicts with any Part cof the Constitution. Limitation of power. The government has severely limited powers: te iteannot abolish any States, or change their boundaries: y iteannot alter or interpret the Constitution, or the Amendments; + thas to remain within the rules of the Constitution, whether stated oF implied, “The separate States exercise only the powers reserved to them oF ret denied by the Constitution. There is therefore a balance between the Pov deni federal government and the powers of individual States. They are not dependent each on the other, but interdependent. Tis sa dual sister) of fgovernment, which the judicial system keeps within the Proper fields of power no ultimate power federal powers the Supreme Court ‘adual system of ‘governmentSeparation of Powers and Checks and Balances Eaecutive Branch President ~ Executive Office Cabinet and Execs tive Departments Legislative Branch | appointment of federal judges subject to [_Judical Branch Congress ‘Senate approval Supreme Court Senate and other + House of Represent. | _ may declare laws unconstitutional Federal Courts * Congress has the power to make laws, but ~ the President may veto any act of Congress. — the Supreme Court can declare certain laws unconstitutional * The President can appoint important officals of his administration, and has the power to name all federal judges. He can also veto any act of Congress, but ~ Congress can override a presidential veto by a two-thirds vote in each house. Congress can also refuse to provide funds requested by the President, to ratify treaties, and to approve appointments to federal offices. = The courts can declare presidential actions unconstitutional | The Courts have the power to examine the constitutionalty of all acts of Congress and of presidential actions, and to rule out those they find unconstitu- tional, but ~ the President names federal judges, — and the Senate must approve them,Checks and balances. The machinery of the Constitution consists of a system of checks and balances: the powers given to each of the main branches of government are carefully balanced by the powers ofthe other two. Each branch serves as a check on the others. The intention is to pre- ‘vent any branch gaining too much power or misusing its powers. Each part of the Constitutional triangle exerts equal pressure on the others From a purely mathematical viewpoint, the triangle is the most stable of all constructions; itis impossible to lengthen any side or change any angle ‘xithout destroying its essential structure, No part of this Constitutional triangle can become more importantthan the others. The diagram (, 282) shows the interdependence of the three main branches of government ‘This system of checks and balances demands frequent compromise and Heaven! caschsus, Compromise is indeed vital at all levels of government in the _ compromise Gaited States, guarding against extremes. A new president, for instance, demand! cannot radically change governmental policies just as he pleases. Infact the President and his "Administration" are not as powerful as may appear to many people outside the US. In comparison with other leaders in coun tries where the majority party forms the government, the American Presi- dent is much less powerful ‘The constitutions of the individual States are like that of the Union as a whole: Bach State has powers ofeach + a Governor, whose powers and role within the state are similar to those State (of the President's powers and role in Washington. * aCongress +» a State Supreme Court Each State © can raise its own taxes © can make its own laws Gubject to not conflicting with Federal Law, ‘which takes precedence), But no State can: © make treaties with other States either in or outside the Union ‘> print its own paper money or issue its own coinage ® deprive anyone of life, liberty or property without due process of law (and to make this doubly secure, the Federal Law overrides the state law), [Atthe present time there are fifty States in the Union. The seat ofthe goverr ‘ment is in Washington DC (District of Columbia.riecessary and proper” laws the Supreme ‘Court has the fina! authority ‘The supreme law of the land, Very important parts of the US Constitution are not incorporated in the document itself, but are contained in general laws passed by Congress. The delegates to the Constitutional Convention, knowing that they could not write laws for every possible future situation, gave Congress the right to pass all laws that were “necessary and proper’. Congress has consequently passed laws to establish such national matters as the Postal Service, and regulated interstate commerce and banking, ‘controlling the national economy. Federal and State judges apply the Constitution in many court cases, but the Supreme Court has the final authority in interpreting the meaning of the Constitution in any specific case. The court also has the power of judi cial review ~ that is, it can declare a law unconstitutional. This power has been applied many times, declaring federal laws, or State laws, or parts of laws, unconstitutional ‘The Constitution remains supreme. Every fresh government, federal, state, and local, has to obey its guidelines. But the Constitution has continued to develop in response to the demands of a changing and ever-growing soci- ety, Yet the spirit and wording of the Constitution have remained immut- able (constant). Through changes, conflicts, and struggles, the American people have recognised the value of this document.Demecratic party and Republican party 2 “first past the post system” both parties cover ‘a wide spectrum of Interests Democratic party 6 Political parties and elections ‘The Party Emblems The Democratic Donkey ueydaig verjanday aut 6.1 The two-party system Today the United States has two major political parties: the Democratic party, which evolved out of Thomas Jefferson's party, formed before 1800, and the Republican party, formed in the 1850's, mostly by people in the states of the North and West who wanted to prevent the expansion of slavery into new states being admitted to the union at that period. Both parties are supported by individuals and groups in all parts of the country and their members hold almost all the offices in national, state, and local governments. There is in the US — as in Britain ~ a “first past the post sys- tem’: the candidate with the most votes wins. This favours the dominance of two major parties. Itis difficult to generalise about the two parties as they have no distinct ideological programme, there are no membership fees, and both cover a wide spectrum of interests. Both have supporters among a wide variety of Americans, and both embrace a wide range of viewpoints, There is s0 much variety that not all who belong to the same party agree with each other on everything, There are conservative Democrats who agree with many Republican ideas, and liberal Republicans who agree with some Democratic ideas. Very frequently, there are Democrats and Republicans ‘who do not vote in the way their party leaders would prefer. They vote according to their own ideas or the wishes of the people they represent, not the views of the party. ‘The Democratic party traditionally tends to be the more liberal. Demo- ccrats believe that federal and State governments should © be more active in providing social and economic programmes for the poor, the unemployed, and students who need money to go to college. ‘set up government programmes providing paid employment for people.++ establish social security programmes to ensure that those who are retired or disabled receive adequate payments from the government, ‘The Democrats are traditionally supported in the East Coast and Southern sates, in the cities, by the unions, by working class people, and intellectu- als. Their emblem isthe donkey. ‘The Republican party is seen as being generally more conservative, Its supporters tend to believe ® that many social programmes are too costly to the tax payers. © that government is generally too expensive, * that too many laws harm individual initiative «+ that everything should be done to encourage private enterprise. Republican candidates are traditionally supported in the Midwest states by large sections of the middle class, by WASPs (White, Anglo-Saxon Prot. ‘estants) and by business people. The party emblem is the elephant, Other parties. There have been many other, smaller parties in the United States. None of these smaller parties has ever had enough popular support to win a presidential election, but many of their proposals gained such ‘widespread support that the two major parties were forced to adopt them. ‘These proposals included the convention system of nominating presiden- tial candidates and the direct election of US senators, Some minor political parties are very strong in certain cities and states and can have their own slate or city candidates elected. 6.2 Elections ‘The voters. Every citizen aged eighteen or over is entitled to register as 1 voter, but about a quarter do not bother to register, and so lose their Tight to vote, In some States only registered Democrats may vote in Demo cratic primary elections; o too with Republicans. At the final elections in November, itis normal for registered Democrats to vote for Republicans if they wish, Other states have open primaries, so that, as both parties primaries are held simultaneously, any voter may vote for members of any party. National, State, and local elections are usually held together, and on 2 single visita voter may choose candidates for twenty or more offices and express views in referendums on State or local questions. Running for President, The Constitution establishes three qualifications for the presidency. A President © must be at least 35 years of age; ‘+ must have lived in the United States for 14 years or more; ‘© must be a natura-born citizen. Republican party ‘qualifications for the presidencyvast amounts of money required for presidential campaign professional monep-asing the partys nomination primaries It isan essential part of the American Dream that anybody, no matter how low his social position, can become President. Theoretically this is so. In reality itis no longertrue, The last really “self-made man’ to become Presi- dent was Abraham Lincoln, Today, vast amounts of money are required to run a modern presidential election. The 1988 conventions and election, resulting in the Presidency of George Bush, are estimated to have cost 400 million dollars (this includes expenditure by both the main parties, not the Republican Party alone). The whole cost of a General Election in Britain, by contrast, is estimated to be far less than 10 % of this. Formany people, the “ideal” candidate for the presidency issomeone who started out poor, but built up a fortune by sheer hard work. Being able to ‘spend some of one’s own money is a distinct advantage, but the costs of a presidential campaign are now so high that nobody can pay out of his ‘own pocket for television advertising, airplane travel, hotel accommoda- tion, hiring a professional campaign staff, and for opinion polls (trying to find out what interests the people). Candidates must rely on the skills ‘of professional money-aisers, The most important means is basically simple — candidates write letters to people and ask them to support their campaign. This method is known as direct-mail fund-raising. It is often extremely successful. Another successful method is persuading wealthy people that the candidate will actin their interest once he is elected Choosing the candidates, Any presidential candidate must first win the party's nomination. Each of the 50 States either have meetings (called caucuses) of elections (called primaries) to decide which five or six candidates to support. Most states have primary elections. ‘The frst caucuses in Iowa, in the Midwest, atract a lot of attention because they take place so early, Primaries are held between February and June of the election year, and are extensively covered by the media. Journalists and TV tend to treat the campaign asifit were a horse-race. A candidate ‘who is successful in one of the early primaries may still not win the big election in November, but his success in one state may create a “band ‘wagon’ effect ~ encouraging people to vote for him in the next primaries a ‘week oro later. People like to support a winner. Inthe summer, the Democratic and the Republican parties hold national conventions to nominate their presidential candidates, those who they think can win the election in November. The delegates declare a platform ~ a statement of their aims and principles, designed to win votes on the basis ofits broad appeal. The delegates also choose the candidate for the vice presidency. The conventions are watched by millions of Americans on TV. They always follow this pattern:Istday ‘The chairman gives the keynote address, presenting the party's policies and goals. 2nd day Current issues are discussed and speeches are delivered, praising the candidates in high fashion, building up toa elimax that triggers a lively demonstration: cheering, flag waving, sing- ing and dancing by the candidate's supporters. 3rd day The voting takes place; when a candidate has gained a major iy, all differences are forgotten and the party members rally behind the chosen candidate, Ath day The candidate gives his acceptance speech, which is broadcast at prime TV time throughout America, and he announces the name of his vice-presicential “running-mate” ‘The presidential election. After they have been selected, the presiden- tial nominees campaign across the nation, to gain publicity and build a positive image of themselves, especially on TY. The campaign continues {until Election Day, the Tuesday after the first Monday in November. On Election Day, voters in each state ballot for President and Vice President ‘This popular vote determines which delegates will represent each State in the Electoral College, which officially elects the President and Vice Presi dent. It consists of 538 delegates, with one electoral vote each. To become President, a candidate must win a majority of the electoral votes. Each State has electoral votes equal to the total of its representatives and sena- tors in Congress (plus three delegates from Washington, D.C). ‘The Electoral College takes place in the December following the presiden- tial election, The results are announced in January, but it is usually clear tho the President will be a few hours after the polls close on Election Day, because the candidate with the most popular votes in a State will receive all the State's electoral votes. Thus, the media can calculate the results and forecast the winner. ‘The inauguration is the ceremony installing the new or re-elected Presi- dent It is held at noon on January 20. The highlight is when the President takes the oath of office to the Chie lustice of the United States. With right hand raised, and left hand on an open Bible, the President declares: *[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 is elected to serve a fouryear term. The Twenty-Second ‘Amendment to the Constitution (1951) rules that no one may be elected President more than twice. the conventions flection Day Electoral College ‘offical elects the President and Vice President Jnauguration a fouryear termThe road to the White House [ cot 1 Far Conenton (nso Sat) Pinar Ecos (aioe Sale) “= decide which of the presidential = voters show a preference for one of | Sette agpon Soc canta «Sree ces ote ato = eGo dango Pay carn ‘icin coments impeachment Tato Par) Conerions | = delegates choose the presidential Candidates of each major party Election Day “= votes in choosing between candi dates in effect elect presidental lector forthe Electoral College Electoral College = 538 presidential electors officially lect the President and the Vice President Inauguration Day “= new President is sworn in an takes office If the President dies, resigns, is disabled, or is removed from office, the Vice President becomes President. Next in line to the presidency after the ‘Vice President are the Speaker of the House, the President pro tempore of the Senate, the Secretary of State, and various other Secretaries according to the order of presidential succession. Removing a President from office. The Constitution allows Congress to dismiss a President for misconduct. The President must fist be impeached by a majority vole of the House of Representatives. The Senate, with the Chief Justice presiding, then tries the President on the charges. Removal from office requires a two-thirds majority vote. Only two Presidents, ‘Andrew Johnson (1868) and Bill Clinton (1999), have been impeached, put both remained in office; the Senate failed to convict them. Richard Nixon resigned before he could be impeachedElections for Congress. Congress is reorganised every two yeats, after congressional elections in November of even-numbered years. All the Representatives have to be elected or re-elected, resulting in a new House cf Representatives. As about a third of the Senators come up for election every two years, the Senate is a continuing body: it is never completely new. The Senate has 100 members, elected to sixyear terms. The House of Representatives has 435. A candidate for the Senate * must be at least 30 years old, must have been a US citizen for atleast 9 years, must be a resident of the state in which he seeks election, ‘must be elected by voters from all parts of the state. > candidate for the House of Representatives must be at least 25 years old, must have been a US citizen for at least 7 years, must be a resident ofthe state in which he seeks election may be elected by the voters of one congressional district ofthe state, or be elected by voters throughout the state, ‘The influence of special interest groups. Americans, wanting their senators and representatives to concern themselves with local and state interests as well as national matters, form pressure groups, lobbies, public action committees, or special interest groups, seeking to influence their representatives on almost any imaginable subject to promote legislation, Some interest groups employ professional lobbyists, who are people with special knowledge of political affairs and the machinery of government. ‘Though lobbying is sometimes criticised on the grounds that the politi- cians should make up their own minds without outside pressure, the lobbyists are an important part of the democratic process. They bring the attention of politicians to matters which might otherwise go unobserved. ‘And each individual politician is inclined to pay close attention to the special concer and causes of his voters~ or he will be voted out of office atthe next opportunity. reorganised every ‘0 years Senate House of Representatives professional lobbyists