Constitutional powers

Constitutional Powers

The formation of the U.S. government was highly influenced by the philosophers of the 1600s & 1700s who emphasized the importance of individual rights, popular sovereignty, & the rule of law over the arbitrary rule of monarchs.

The writers of the U.S. Constitution designed the structure of the federal government with these concerns in mind. There are three branches of government: executive, legislative, & judicial which are all coequal & employ a separation of powers so authority is never concentrated in one body.

• The executive branch includes the president, the vice president, & the cabinet. The powers of the executive branch include signing bills into law, vetoing bills, nominating federal judges & Supreme Court justices, issuing pardons & making treaties.

•  The legislative branch is charged with making laws & is a bicameral branch The two chambers of Congress are the Senate & the House of Representatives. Both propose, debate, & vote on bills that may or may not become laws, but the Senate has 100 members, 2 from each state elected in statewide elections to serve 6-year terms, & the House totals 435 members elected by constituents or voters in their home districts. The number of representatives per state varies by population, and they serve 2-year terms.

MAKING A LAW: THE PROCESS

An idea may originate in either chamber of Congress; it then goes to a committee to be developed; if it makes it through the committee the Senate or the House will discuss & vote on it; if it passes one chamber, it must go on to the other one for the same process; if it passes both chambers, the bill arrives at the president's desk for a signature, but the executive may decide to veto and then it would take a two-thirds majority of Congress to vote the bill into law. 

In addition to introducing laws & overriding a presidential veto, the legislative branch has the power to cain and borrow money, & impeach or remove a president declare war,

•  The judicial branch is charged with interpreting laws. It consists of U.S. district laws & the Supreme Court, which decide whether or not a law is unconstitutional, if it is, it will be struck down. Decisions in the lower federal courts can be appealed all the way up to the Supreme Court, which will first decide if they will hear the case or not. Supreme Coult I rulings are the final word on any law or action they review. There are 19 Supreme Court justices, nominated by the president, confirmed by the Senate, appointed to serve for life. The uneven number ensures that there cannot be a split decision; there will always be a majority opinion held by at least one more justice than the dissenting opinion in a case.

Some checks & balances examples:

The legislative branch can make a law & the president can take an executive action. Still, the Supreme Court can decide whether a law or action can stand or whether it is unconstitutional. The president may reject a bill passed by the legislature, but Congress may still vote to override a presidential veto. The executive branch can nominate justices to the Court but must be approved by the legislative branch. Congress can also impeach a president, who can be removed from office by a vote in the Senate. These checks & balances prevent the concentration & abuse of power through interactions between the three branches.

VOCABULARY

Individual rights- protections that ensure individuals do not suffer from the

inference of the government or other people.

popular sovereignty- the principle that the authoring of the government comes from the people agreeing to be governed.

federalism-shoring power between the national (federal) government and states.

executive- execute laws

legislative - make laws.

judicial- interpret laws

coequal- equal with one another in importance describes the 3 branches of the U.S. government

separation of powers- division of executive, legislative, & judicial powers into different bodies of government

president- elected head of state & commander-in-chief of armed forces.

vice president-executive ranking below the president

cabinet - department heads appointed by the president who advise the executive bicameral two chambers, describes the U.S. government

Congress- the legislative or law-making body of the U.S. government

 Senate-100 member body of lawmakers elected by people in their stores.

House of Representatives-435 member body of lawmakers elected by people in their Thome districts.

constituent - a voter, part of the voting population represented by an elected official! committee a group charged with a specific duty.

veto- rejection of a decision or proposal

impeachment - the process of charging a government official with wrongdoing 

Supreme Court - the highest federal court in the U.S. whose decisions become the standard

unconstitutional- contrary to the principles of the Constitution and thus not allowed 

majority opinion- the opinion that most justices agree to and thus the Supreme Court's decision

dissenting opinion - the opinion that disagrees with the majority in a Supreme Court ruling 

Checks & balances- the system that allows the interactions between branches of the U.S. government to prevent too much power in any one branch