U.S. Government

The Three Branches: Legislative, Executive, Judicial

  • Checks and Balances: provides each branch powers to check other branches, keeping them balanced, and to prevent one from overpowering 

The Executive Branch (President, VP, advisors)

  • Role: enforce the laws of the land

  • Powers: negotiate/sign treaties, issue executive orders (President) veto/sign bills

  • The Cabinet: A body of officials that have a high rank. Are to advise the President.

    • There are many cabinet positions like the agriculture department, commerce department, homeland security department, labor department, etc

The Legislative Branch (Congress = Senate + House of Reps.) 

  • Role: write and make laws

  • Powers: draft bills, declare war, impeachments, and oversight

  • Structure of Congress: a bicameral legislature

    • Divided into the Senate and the House of Representatives

  • Leadership of the Senate: Each party is led by a floor leader

The Judicial Branch (Supreme Court)

  • Role: interprets the laws

  • Powers: settle legal disputes and apply the law in individual cases where it is threatened 

  • What cases does the Supreme Court hear?

    • Arising controversies, relating to law or treaties, if the U.S. is a party

  • Habeus corpus: An order that says a person under arrest must be brought to court, and shown to a judge and jury. This protects people from being charged with unlawful imprisonment.

  • Ex post facto: A law charging you with a crime that wasn’t one when you committed it

Term Lengths Of:

  • President - 4 years

  • Supreme Court Justice - for life, unless they retire or are tried for bad behavior

  • Senator - 6 years

  • Representative - 2 years

  • The Electoral College is a set of electors that are chosen to elect new candidates for office

Number of Members:

  • Supreme Court: 9 justices

  • Senate: 100

  • House of Representatives: 435

Federalism: a political philosophy/ federal principle

  • A system of government that splits powers into central and regional governments

The Topics of the Articles of the Constitution

  1. Speaks about the separation of powers, requirements for each type of gov’t official, and their powers. Congress duties, powers, and limitations.

  2. Qualifications and powers for the president. Addresses the use of the State of Union and impeachments.

  3. The powers Supreme Court justices have and the crime of treason.

  4. State powers, faith, and credit given under the Union.

  5. # of votes needed for amendments to be made, repealed, etc.

  6. Government debts, Supremacy Clause, and free religion under the gov’t.

  7. 9 states ratified the Constitution.

Important Amendments

  • 1st Amendment: (RAPPS) Freedom of religion, assembly, press, petition, and speech

  • 5th Amendment: Grand jury, self-incrimination, due process, takings

    • Double jeopardy: prosecuting an individual for the same crime twice

    • Eminent Domain: a power of the gov’t to be able to take away private land for public use

  • 6th Amendment: Right to speedy and public trial (must have a jury, witnesses, counsel)

    • Equal Protection Clause (a clause in the 14th Amendment): This clause forbids a state from denying equal protection of the laws to an individual

Gerrymandering 

  • To manipulate an electoral body of voters to favor a particular party/class