UNIT 64

THE US INSTITUTIONS. THE

CONSTITUTION. TERRITORIAL
ORGANIZATION. THE PRESIDENT. THE
CONGRESS. POLITICAL PARTIES AND
ELECTORAL SYSTEM.

OUTLINE
Preface
An INTRODUCTION to the American Institutions
1. THE CONSTITUTION.
2. TERRITORIAL ORGANIZATION


3. THE PRESIDENT

4. THE CONGRESS
5. FEDERAL JUDICIARY
6. POLITICAL PARTIES
7. ELECTIONS
EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS
CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
 “A fool and his money are soon elected” Will Rogers

The unit to be analyzed is Unit 64 in the set of topics. The main aim of
Unit 64 is to provide a useful introduction to the United States
institutions related to North American politics not only in terms of political
basis regarding the Constitution and territorial organization, but also in
terms of political powers regarding the main political bodies, that is, the
President, the Congress and finally the main political parties and
electoral system.

INTRODUCTION: AMERICAN INSTITUTIONS

The United States of America are a representative democracy. The form of

government is based on three main principles, federalism, the separation of
powers and respect for the Constitution and the rule of law.
The United States government shares governmental power with the states
under the federal system established by the United States Constitution. Each
American is subject to two governments, that of his state and that of the Union,
and each has its own distinct function (Brogan H., 1985). The states have,
under the Constitution, the primary functions of providing law and order,
education, public health and most of the things which concern day-to-day life.
The Federal government at Washington is concerned with foreign affairs and
with matters of general concern to all the states.
Government in America operates on three different levels: national, state and
local.
At each level, in state and Union, there is a constitution which defines
and limits political power.
The three branches of the United States government, that is, executive,
legislative, and judicial, are usually represented by the President, Congress,
and the Supreme Court. In each state, power is divided between three
agencies as well.
Soon after the Union was established, political parties developed, and now two
parties, Democrats and Republicans, dominate the political scene.


 1. THE CONSTITUTION
The constitution of the United States sets forth the nation’s fundamental
laws. Adopted in 1789, it establishes a federal system of government in which
certain powers are delegated to the national government and others are
reserved to the states and defines the rights and liberties of the American
people.
The framers of the Constitution were especially concerned with limiting the
power of the government and securing the liberty of citizens. Thus the
Constitution also establishes a balanced national government by dividing
authority among three independent branches: the executive, the legislative,
and the judicial. The executive branch enforces the law, the legislative branch
makes the law, and the judicial branch explains the law. The executive branch
of the national government is usually represented by the President, the
legislative branch by Congress, and the judicial branch by the Supreme
Court.
The Constitution consists of a preamble, 7 articles and 26 amendments.
Amendments are additions to the Constitution. The first 10 amendments,
known as the Bill of Rights, were adopted because some states refused to
approve the Constitution unless a bill of rights was added.
The amendments protect individuals from various unjust acts of government
(Currie, 2000). Amendments guarantees freedom and equality for Americans.

2. TERRITORIAL ORGANISATION
• Division of Political Authority.
The United States government shares governmental powers with the states
under the federal system established by the United States Constitution. It
operates on three levels: national, state and local. The federal government can
exercise only powers that are delegated or implied by the Constitution. The
states exercise powers reserved to them or not denied them by the Constitution.
The American judicial system keeps the federal and state government within
their proper fields of power.

• The Role of the States.


The federal government has certain constitutional obligations towards the state.
It must respect their territorial unity, and cannot divide or break up a state
without its consent. It must protect the states against invasion and domestic
violence. It must guarantee each state a republican form of government.
The United States Constitution also places certain limitation on the states. They
may not interfere in foreign relations, issue paper money or discriminate against
interstate commerce.
• State Governments.
The governments of the 50 states, like the federal government, have three main
branches: executive, legislative, and judicial.
In the United States, a state government maintains law and order and enforces
criminal law. It protects property rights and regulates business. It supervises
public education. It operates public-welfare programs, builds and maintains
most highways, operates state authority over local government: counties, cities,
towns…
A state government has independent powers of its own that are authorised by
the Constitution. The national government has its powers specified in the
Constitution, and the state governments retain all the remaining powers, except
the Constitution restricts them.

• State Constitutions.
Each state has a constitution that sets forth the principles and framework of its
government. Every state constitution includes a bill of rights. Many have
provisions on finance, education and other matters. A state constitution may be
amended in several ways.

• Executive Branch.
The Governor elected by the people heads the executive branch in each state.
The governor has the power to appoint, direct, and remove from office a large
number of state officials. The governor commands the state militia, grants
pardons, and may call the state legislature into special session. He or she
directs the preparation of the state budget. The governor is also the state leader
of his or her political party.
Most state governors serve four-year terms.

• Legislative Branch.
The legislature of a state passes laws, levies taxes, and appropriates money to
be spent by the state government. It takes part in amending the state
constitution.
The organisation is as follows: every state has a bicameral (two-house)
legislature. Every upper house is known as the senate. Most states call the
lower house the house of representatives. A speaker presides over the lower
house. The lieutenant governor presides over the senate in most states.
The legislatures do much of their work through standing, or permanent,
committees. Many
 states set up temporary committees to study particular
problems while the legislature is not in session.


• Judicial Branch.
State courts settle disputes. They handle about nine-tenths of the criminal and
civil cases in the United States.
A supreme court heads the judicial system of each state. The membership of
state supreme courts ranges from three to nine judges. In more than half of the
states, the voters elect supreme court judges. In several states, the governor or
legislature appoints them. Judges hold office for specified terms (from 6 to 15
years).

3. THE PRESIDENT.
The President of the United States has more power than any other
president in the democratic world, except the French President. He is
leader of the nation and Commander in Chief of the Army. He represents the
USA and, since the USA is a superpower, the eyes of the whole world are on
him.
The President of the United States is the nation’s chief executive and chief of
state. The President lives in the White House in Washington, D.C., and has
offices there. As chief executive, the President has the responsibilities of
enforcing federal laws and appointing and removing high federal officials. The
President commands the armed forces, conducts foreign affairs, and
recommends laws to Congress.

 The president is the commander in chief of the nation's armed forces, in times
of peace as well as war. He has at all times unlimited authority to direct the
movements of land, sea, and air forces, as well as of nuclear forces. The
president has the power to make treaties with foreign governments, though the
Senate must approve such treaties. Finally, the president has the power to
approve or reject the laws passed by Congress.
Executive Departments conduct the administration of the national government,
although the Department heads are appointed by the President, with the
approval of the Senate. They form the Cabinet.
• Donald Trump.
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is the 45th and current President
of the United States. Before entering politics, he was a businessman and
television personality.
Trump was born and raised in Queens, New York City, and earned an
Economics degree. He then took charge of The Trump Organization, the real
estate and construction firm founded by his paternal grandmother, which he ran
for 45 years until 2016. Besides real estate, he started several side ventures.
Trump first publicly expressed interest in running for political office in 1987.
In June 2015, he launched his campaign for the 2016 presidential election and
quickly emerged as the front-runner in the Republican primaries. His remaining
opponents suspended their campaigns in May 2016, and in July he was
formally nominated at the Republican National Convention. Many of his
campaign statements were controversial or false, generating much free media
coverage.
Trump won the general election on November 8, 2016, in a surprise victory
against Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton, and commenced his presidency
on January 20, 2017. He became the oldest and wealthiest person ever to
assume the presidency.
Since then, he has been such a controversial figure inside an outside the
borders of the USA.
In foreign policy, Trump has pursued an America First foreign policy,
withdrawing the U.S. from the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade negotiations, the
Paris Agreement on climate change, and the Iran nuclear deal. He recognized
Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, imposed import tariffs triggering a trade war
with China and recently with the European Union, and repeatedly praised
authoritarian presidents all over the world.
In terms of domestic policy he has also carried out unpopular measures: he
has tried to repeal the ‘Obamacare’, a program for the protection of the patient
and for affordable care, he has rejected the scientific consensus on climate
change, he has promised to build a more susbtantial wall to keep out illegal
inmigrants, he rejects gun control, etc.
 4. THE CONGRESS.
It is the lawmaking branch of the federal government. Congress makes,
revokes, and amends federal laws; it also levies federal taxes and appropriate
funds for the government. Congress also conducts investigations and reviews
the work of the executive and judicial branches of the federal government.
A great deal of the President’s power is controlled by Congress. The United
States is the only democracy, apart from France, where a president can rule
with a parliament, the majority of whose members do not belong to his own
political party. Congress is a bicameral (two-house) legislature, which consists
of the Senate and the House of Representatives. They meet in separate
chambers in the Capitol in Washington, D.C.

The Senate has 100 members. Each state, regardless of size or population,
has two senators, who serve six-year terms. The Vice-President of the United
States presides over the Senate. The Senate has certain exclusive powers.
House of Representatives consists of 435 members. A state’s
representation is based on population. The number of representatives from a
state changes as its population changes.
A new Congress comes into existence every two years upon the election of a
new House of Representatives.

The Senate and the House usually meet separately. They occasionally meet
together in a joint session in the chamber of the House of Representatives. This
happens after a presidential election and when the President addresses
Congress in person.
The Constitution gives Congress all the lawmaking powers of the federal
government. The expressed powers are listed in Article I of the Constitution.
These powers are the most important ones.
Committees of Congress do most of the work preparing legislation. Congress
can enact a bill even if the President vetoes it.
Other duties of Congress include the following: amending the Constitution,
conducting investigations, reviewing government actions, canvassing electoral
votes, determining Presidential disability, and impeaching and trying federal
officials.

5. FEDERAL JUDICIARY
• The Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the land. It has a
chief justice and eight associate justices. The President appoints all justices
with the approval of the Senate. The justices hold office for life.
The Supreme Court has the authority to cancel a law which it considers violates
the Constitution. It must protect the individual against the government.
The Supreme Court gives judgement in disputes between states, or between a
state and the federal government, and without invitation can declare a law made
by the Congress to be unconstitutional.

• Other Federal Courts.


About 90 federal district courts are located in various cities. Federal courts
decide cases that involve the Constitution and federal laws. Judges of the
courts hold office for life. The President appoints them with the approval of the
Senate.

6. POLITICAL PARTIES
The American people have a strong voice in their government. They can
exercise their democratic rights by voting in national, state, and local elections,
and by working in political parties and campaigns.

The US has two main political parties, the Democratic Party and the
Republican Party. There are other, smaller parties but they rarely win
elections, and then usually only at the local level.
For over a hundred years, America’s two party system has been dominated by
the Democratic and Republican Parties. Both parties receive support from
individuals and groups in all parts of the country. Members of these two parties
hold almost all the offices in the national, state, and local government.
There are no other political parties that can compete with the two big parties,
though there are occasionally independents who stand for the presidency and
manage to collect quite a few votes.

• The role of parties

Party organizations are less important in the US than in European countries
which have a parliament. This is partly because, due to the separation of
powers between the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government,
a political party is not so closely identified with government.
The national organization for each of the main parties is called the National
Committee. The head of a US political party is not, as in Britain, the head of the
administration.

An important job of the national party is to organize the party convention, which
is held every four years in the summer before the elections for President. The
convention decides who will be the party’s candidates for President and Vice-
president, as well as the ideas and opinions of the party and the policies it will
introduce if it wins the election.

Americans hope that politicians will devote themselves more to their country
than to their own careers. They do not want politicians to appear strongly
attached to their party, but to show a cooperative spirit and work together for the
good of the country.

• What are the parties like?

There is less difference between the two main US parties than there is between
parties in some other countries. Both parties are moderate and close to the
political centre, but the Republicans are to the right and the Democrats are to
the left of centre. Typically, the Democrats support government spending on
social welfare programmes, while the Republicans are against this. The
Republicans are usually in favour of spending money on the armed forces and
believe there should be few laws restricting business and trade.

Traditionally, the Democratic Party has drawn its support from poor people,
workers with low-paid jobs, African Americans, and many people in the
southern states. People with more money and jobs in the professions, and
those who live in the central parts of the US, have tended to vote for the
Republicans.

• Party membership
If somebody becomes a member of a political party it does not mean that they
remain committed to it. Americans believe that the personal qualities of a
candidate for office are more important than the party he or she belongs to, and
they do not stay loyal to one party.

7. ELECTIONS
 Elections for President of the US, for both houses of Congress and for
state and local government offices are held every four years in November. All
members of the House of Representatives and about one-third of the members
of the Senate are elected at this same stage.
Candidates usually run for office with the support of one of the two main political
parties, the Republicans or the Democrats. During an election campaign
candidates try to achieve name recognition by advertising on television, in
newspapers, and on posters in public places. They take part in debates and
hold rallies where they give speeches and go round ‘pressing the flesh’, shaking
hands with as many voters as possible. Election campaigning is very expensive,
and the candidate with most money has a big advantage.

• Electing the President

Only a person over 35 who was born in the US can run for President. These are
the only restrictions but, in practice, presidents have always come from a
narrower group of people. They have all been white, except for Barack Obama,
and no woman has ever been President. Candidates are usually well-known
political figures. Americans believe that a president should be not only a good
leader, but also a kind and honest person.

Presidential elections are held every four years. Early in election year, the
political parties choose their candidates through a series of primary elections
held in every state. In November the people go to vote. Although the President
is said to be directly elected, the official vote is made by an electoral college.

• Voting procedure
Americans over the age of 18 have the right to vote, but only about half of them
take part in presidential elections, even fewer in other elections. One
explanation for the low voter question is the need to register to vote.

A few weeks before the Election Day registered voters receive a card telling
them the address of the polling station where they should go to vote. People
who will be away on the Election Day, or who are ill, may use an absentee
ballot and post it to election officials.

TEACHING IMPLICATIONS
 Teaching a foreign language should incorporate, some cultural
elements, which are intertwined with language itself (Richards, J. & Rodgers,
2001). Communication is more than a matter of language proficiency and
that, apart from enhancing and enriching communicative competence, cultural
competence can also lead to empathy and respect toward different cultures.
Culture and communication are inseparable because culture is the foundation
of communication (Council of Europe, 2001).

We can approach culture making use of today’s new technologies and the
media (TV, radio, cinema) as they set more appropriate context for students to
get key information. This way, motivation and involvement enhance and this
helps developing the communicative competence.

At classroom level, this unit connects with the Sociocultural Aspects

and Intercultural Awareness. Spanish students are expected to know about the
international panorama and the influence of the
U.S. political system in Europe,
regarding its main policy or the main political figures.
On the other hand, we have the semantic field referred to politics: policy,
political parties, types of government, common, lord, MPs, PM, crown,
monarchy…

In terms of Education in Values: Education for Peace, Equal Rights, Sex
Equality. 

We can, through this theoretical content, awake in our pupils their critical point
of view towards politics and politicians. 




According to LOMCE 8/2013, where the Spanish Education System is

regulated at all levels and Decree 220/2015, where the curriculum for GCSE is
established in this Autonomous Community the content of this unit connects
especially with the legislation in force, LOMCE 8/2013, the organic law on the
improvement of education, RD 1105/2014 the national decree that regulates the
curricula in the Spanish territory for Secondary Education and Decrees
220/2015 and 221/2015 which regulate the curricula for Secondary and
Bachillerato stages in the Autonomous Community of Murcia. It is stated in
Content Blocks No.1, 2, 3 & 4, Understanding Written and Oral Texts and
Producing Oral and Written Texts, that students have to be familiar with
sociocultural values of the foreign language.
 The content of this unit deals with Competence in Linguistic
Communication which appears in Order ECD 65/2015 of January 21st, where
the relations among contents, assessment criteria and key competences are
established. It also touches on the Cultural Awareness and Expression because
learning a language is also learning a culture.

The nature of the content of this unit allows us to establish connections with
other areas in the curriculum such as Spanish History and World History
because the historical events taking place in this period had an influence in
Europe and Spain as well. We could also connect it with Geography and
Economy and Ethics.

CONCLUSION
Since the Second Continental Congress declared America's independence
from Great Britain on July 4, 1776, the United States government has sought to
realize the fundamental principle on which the nation was founded: that all
people have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
This principle was formalized in 1788 with the ratification of the Constitution.
That document — still the supreme law of the United States — became the
foundation of a federal government that allowed the several states to act
together as one, while protecting the sovereignty of each individual state.
To ensure that no person or group would amass too much power, the founders
established through the Constitution a government in which the powers are
separated. The Constitution divides the powers of the United States
government among the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. Each
branch is generally independent of the other two, and has the authority to check
or balance the others.
The United States of America is nation composed of 50 states joined in a
federal republic. A written Constitution provides the basis of government,
dividing powers and duties between the federal and state government.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Life in Modern America. Bromhead P. Longmont. London, 1988
The History of the United States of America. Brogan,H., Penguin Books, New
York, 1985.
Approaches and methods in language Teaching. Richards, J., & Rodgers.
Cambridge University Press, 2001
Common European Framework of Reference for Languages:
Learning,Teaching and Assessment. Council of Europe. CUP