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THE POLITICAL SYSTEM OF THE USA (us_political_system[1].doc)

The political system of the USA

United States Constitution

        The United States Constitution is the supreme law of the United States of America. It was adopted in its original form on September 17, 1787 by the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and later ratified by state- selected delegates representing the people of the several states. When delegates in nine of the ten thirteen states ratified the document, it marked the creation of a unionsovereign states, and a federal government to administer that union. It took effect on March 4, 1789, replacing the weaker, non- centralized union that existed under the Articles of Confederation.

        The constitution of the United Statets is the oldest federal constitution currently in use. The original transcribed copy of the document is on display at the National Archives in Washington D.C.

Background

        In September 1786, commisioners from five states met in the Annapolis Convention to discuss adjustments to the articles of Confederation that would improve commerce. They invited state representatives to convene in Philadelphia to discuss improvements to the federal government. After debate, the Confederation Congress endorsed the plan to revise the Articles of Confederation on February 21, 1787. Twelve states, Rhode Island being the only exception, accepted this invitation and sent delegates to convene in May 1787. The resolution calling the Convention specified its purpose was to propose amendments to the Articles, but the Convention decided to propose a rewritten Constitution. The Philadelphia Convention voted to keep deliberations secret and decided to draft a new fundamental government design which eventually stipulated that only 9 of the 13 states would have to ratify for the new government to go into effect (for the participating states). Congress, noting dissatisfaction with the Articles of Confederation government, unanimously agreed to submit the proposal to the states despite what some perceived as the exceeded terms of reference. On September 17, 1787, the Constitution was completed in Philadelphia, followed by a speech given by Benjamin Franklin. In it he talked about how he wasn't completely satisfied with it but that perfection would never fully be achieved. He accepted the document as it was and he wanted all those against the ratification of it to do the same. The new government it prescribed came into existence on March 4, 1789, after fierce fights over ratification in many of the states.

Preamble

        The Preamble states:

„We the People of the 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 Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.“

The Preamble neither grants any powers nor inhibits any actions; it only explains the rationale behind the Constitution. The preamble is a basic state of purpose that proceeds the constitution. The Preamble, especially the first three words ("We the people"), is one of the most quoted and referenced sections of the Constitution.

Articles of the Constitution

        The remainder of the constitution consists of seven original articles and twenty-seven amendments.

1. Legislative power

It establishes the legislative branch of government, U.S. Congress, which includes the House of Representatives and the Senate. The Article establishes the manner of election and qualifications of members of each House. In addition, it provides for free debate in congress and limits self-serving behavior of congressmen, outlines legislative procedure and indicates the powers of the legislative branch. There is a debate as to whether the powers listed in Article 1 Section 8 are a list of enumerated powers. These powers may also be interpreted as a list of powers formerly either executive or judicial in nature, that have been explicitly granted to the U.S. Congress. This interpretation may be further supported by a broad definition of both the commerce clause, and the necessary and proper clause of the Constitution. The argument for enumerated powers can be traced back to 1819 McCulloch v. Maryland United States Supreme Court ruling. Finally, it establishes limits on federal and state legislative power.

2. Executive power

It describes the presidency (the executive branch): procedures for the selection of the president, qualifications for office, the oath to be affirmed and the powers and duties of the office. It also provides for the office of Vice President of the United States, and specifies that the Vice President succeeds to the presidency if the President is incapacitated, dies, or resigns.

3. Judical power

It describes the court system (the judicial branch), including the Supreme Court. The article requires that there be one court called the Supreme Court; Congress, at its discretion, can create lower courts, whose judgments and orders are reviewable by the Supreme Court. Article Three also requires trial by jury in all criminal cases, defines the crime of treason, and charges Congress with providing for a punishment for it, while imposing limits on that punishment.

4. States power and limits

This article describes the relationship between the states and the Federal government, and amongst the states. For instance, it requires states to give "full faith and credit" to the public acts, records and court proceedings of the other states. Congress is permitted to regulate the manner in which proof of such acts, records or proceedings may be admitted. The "privileges and immunities" clause prohibits state governments from discriminating against citizens of other states in favor of resident citizens (e.g., having tougher penalties for residents of Ohio convicted of crimes within Michigan). It also establishes extradition between the states, as well as laying down a legal basis for freedom of movement and travel amongst the states. Today, this provision is sometimes taken for granted, especially by citizens who live near state borders; but in the days of the Articles of Confederation, crossing state lines was often a much more arduous (and costly) process. Article Four also provides for the creation and admission of new states. The Territorial Clause gives Congress the power to make rules for disposing of Federal property and governing non-state territories of the United States. Finally, the fourth section of Article Four requires the United States to guarantee to each state a republican form of government, and to protect the states from invasion and violence.

5. Process of amendment

Describes the process necessary to amend the Constitution. It establishes two methods of proposing amendments: by Congress or by a national convention requested by the states. Under the first method, Congress can propose an amendment by a two-thirds vote (of a quorum, not necessarily of the entire body) of the Senate and of the House of Representatives. Under the second method, two-thirds (2/3) of the state legislatures may convene and "apply" to Congress to hold a national convention, whereupon Congress must call such a convention for the purpose of considering amendments. As of mid-2006, only the first method (proposal by Congress) has been used.

6. Federal power

It establishes the Constitution, and the laws and treaties of the United States made in accordance with it, to be the supreme law of the land, and that "the judges in every state shall be bound thereby, any thing in the laws or constitutions of any state notwithstanding." It also validates national debt created under the Articles of Confederation and requires that all legislators, federal officers, and judges take oaths or affirmations to "support" the Constitution. This means that the states' constitutions and laws should not conflict with the laws of the federal constitution-- and that in case of a conflict, state judges are legally bound to honor the federal laws and constitution over those of any state.

7. Ratification

This article sets forth the requirements for ratification of the Constitution. The Constitution would not take effect until at least nine states had ratified the Constitution in state conventions specially convened for that purpose. New Hampshire became that ninth state on June 21, 1788. Once the Congress of the Confederation received word of New Hampshire's ratification, it set a timetable for the start of operations under the Constitution, and, on March 4, 1789, the government under the Constitution began operations.

Amendments

The Constitution has a total of 27 amendments. The first ten, collectively known as the Bill of Rights, were ratified simultaneously. The following seventeen were ratified separately.

The Bill of Rights

The Bill of Rights comprises the first ten amendments to the Constitution. Those amendments were adopted between 1789 and 1791, and all relate to limiting the power of the federal government. They were added in response to criticisms of the Constitution by the state ratification conventions and by prominent individuals such as Thomas Jefferson (who was not a delegate to the Constitutional Convention). These critics argued that without further restraints, the strong central government would become tyrannical. The amendments were proposed by Congress as part of a block of twelve in September 1789. By December 1791 a sufficient number of states had ratified ten of the twelve proposals, and the Bill of Rights became part of the Constitution.

•        First Amendment: addresses the rights of freedom of speech, freedom of the press, the freedom of assembly, freedom of petition, and also freedom of religion, both in terms of prohibiting the Congressional establishment of religion and protecting the right to free exercise of religion.

1.      Second Amendment: known as the right to bear arms.

•        Third Amendment: prohibits the government from using private homes as quarters for soldiers without the consent of the owners. The only existing case law regarding this amendment is a lower court decision in the case of Engblom v. Carey.

•        Fourth Amendment: guards against searches, arrests, and seizures of property without a specific warrant or a "probable cause" to believe a crime has been committed. Some rights to privacy have been inferred from this amendment and others by the Supreme Court.

•        Fifth Amendment: forbids trial for a major crime except after indictment by a grand jury; prohibits repeated trials for the same offense after an acquittal (except in certain very limited circumstances); forbids punishment without due process of law; and provides that an accused person may not be compelled to testify against himself (this is also known as "Taking the fifth" or "Pleading the fifth"). This is regarded as the "rights of the accused" amendment. It also prohibits government from taking private property without "just compensation," the basis of eminent domain in the United States.

•        Sixth Amendment: guarantees a speedy public trial for criminal offenses. It requires trial by a jury (of peers), guarantees the right to legal counsel for the accused, and guarantees that the accused may require witnesses to attend the trial and testify in the presence of the accused. It also guarantees the accused a right to know the charges against him. The Sixth Amendment has several court cases associated with it, including Powell v. Alabama, United States v. Wong Kim Ark, Gideon v. Wainwright, and Crawford v. Washington. In 1966, the Supreme Court ruled that the fifth amendment prohibition on forced self incrimination and the sixth amendment clause on right to counsel were to be made known to all persons placed under arrest, and as a result these clauses have become known as the Miranda rights.

•        Seventh Amendment: assures trial by jury in civil cases involving anything valued at more than 20 United States dollars at the time, which is currently worth $300, when accounting for inflation.

•        Eighth Amendment: forbids excessive bail or fines, and cruel and unusual punishment.

•        Ninth Amendment: declares that the listing of individual rights in the Constitution and Bill of Rights is not meant to be comprehensive; and that the people have other rights not specifically mentioned, but rather retained elsewhere by the people.

•        Tenth Amendment: provides that powers that the Constitution does not delegate to the United States and does not prohibit the states from exercising, are "reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."

Subsequent amendments

Amendments to the Constitution subsequent to the Bill of Rights cover many subjects. The majority of the seventeen later amendments stem from continued efforts to expand individual civil or political liberties, while a few are concerned with modifying the basic governmental structure drafted in Philadelphia in 1787.

•        Eleventh Amendment (1795): Clarifies judicial power over foreign nationals, and limits ability of citizens to sue states in federal courts and under federal law.

•        Twelfth Amendment (1804): Changes the method of presidential elections so that members of the electoral college cast separate ballots for president and vice president.

•        Thirteenth Amendment (1865): Abolishes slavery and grants Congress power to enforce abolition.  

•        Fourteenth Amendment (1868): Defines United States citizenship; prohibits state from abridging citizens' privileges or immunities and rights to due process and the equal protection of the law; repeals the Three-Fifths Compromise; prohibits repudiation of the federal debt.

•        Fifteenth Amendment (1870): Prohibits the federal government and the states from using a citizen's race, color, or previous status as a slave as a qualification for voting.

•        Sixteenth Amendment (1913): Authorizes unapportioned federal taxes on income.

•        Seventeenth Amendment (1913): Establishes direct election of senators.

•        Eighteenth Amendment (1919): Prohibited the manufacturing, importing, and exporting of beverage alcohol. (see prohibition) Repealed by the Twenty-First Amendment.

•        Nineteenth Amendment (1920): Prohibits the federal government and the states from using a citizen's gender as a qualification for voting.  

•        Twentieth Amendment (1933): Changes details of Congressional and presidential terms and of presidential succession.  

•        Twenty-first Amendment (1933): Repeals Eighteenth Amendment. Permits states to prohibit the importation of alcohol.

•        Twenty-second Amendment (1951): Limits president to two terms.

•        Twenty-third Amendment (1961): Grants presidential electors to the District of Columbia.

•        Twenty-fourth Amendment (1964): Prohibits the federal government and the states from requiring the payment of a tax as a qualification for voting for federal officials.  

•        Twenty-fifth Amendment (1967): Changes details of presidential succession, provides for temporary removal of president, and provides for replacement of the vice president.

•        Twenty-sixth Amendment (1971): Prohibits the federal government and the states from forbidding any citizen of age 18 or greater to vote simply because of their age.  

•        Twenty-seventh Amendment (1992): Limits congressional pay raises.

Federal government of the United States

        The government of the United States of America, established by the U.S. Constitution, is a federal republic of individual states. The laws of the United States are laid out in Acts of Congress (especially the United States Code and Uniform Code of Military Justice), administrative regulations, and judicial cases interpreting the statutes and regulations. The federal government has three branches: the executive, legislative, and judicial. Through a system of separation of powers, each of these branches has some authority to act on its own, some authority to regulate the other two branches, and has some of its own authority, in turn, regulated by the other branches.

1. Legislative branch

The Congress of the United States is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, comprising the House of Representatives and the Senate. The House of Representatives consists of 435 members, each of whom represents a congressional district and serves for a two-year term. House seats are apportioned among the states by population; in contrast, each state has two Senators, regardless of population. There are a total of 100 senators (as there are currently 50 states), who serve six-year terms (one third of the Senate stands for election every two years). Each House has particular exclusive powers—the Senate must give "advice and consent" to many important Presidential appointments, and the House must introduce any bills for the purpose of raising revenue. However, the consent of both Houses is required to make any law. The powers of Congress are limited to those enumerated in the Constitution; all other powers are reserved to the states and the people. The Constitution also includes the "necessary-and-proper clause", which grants Congress the power to "make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers."

        The Congress has the responsibility to monitor and influence aspects of the executive branch. Congressional oversight prevents waste and fraud, protects civil liberties and individual rights, ensures executive compliance with the law, gathers information for making laws and educating the public, and evaluates executive performance. It applies to cabinet departments, executive agencies, regulatory commissions, and the presidency. Congress's oversight function takes many forms:

•        Committee inquiries and hearings;

•        Formal consultations with and reports from the President;

•        Senate advice and consent for presidential nominations and for treaties;

•        House impeachment proceedings and subsequent Senate trials;

•        House and Senate proceedings under the 25th Amendment in the event that the President becomes disabled, or the office of the Vice President falls vacant;

•        Informal meetings between legislators and executive officials;

•        Congressional membership on governmental commissions;

•        Studies by congressional committees and support agencies such as the Congressional Budget Office, and the Government Accountability Office, both of which are arms of Congress.

Responsibilities of Congressman

        Each individual congraéssman must assume three roles. Those roles include: legislator, committee member, and representative of their constituents. Often he or she must also juggle these responsibilities with party affilation, in assotiation with the two main parties of the United States: The Democratic Party and The Republican Party.

Powers of Congress

The Constitution grants numerous powers to Congress. These include the powers: to levy and collect taxes in order to pay debts, provide for common defense and general welfare of the U.S.; to borrow money on the credit of the U.S.; to regulate commerce with other nations and between the states; to establish a uniform rule of naturalization; to coin money and regulate its value; provide for punishment of counterfeiting; establish post offices and roads, promote progress of science, create courts inferior to the Supreme Court, define and punish piracies and felonies, declare war, raise and support armies, provide and maintain a navy, make rules for the regulation of land and naval forces, provide for the militia, arm and discipline the militia, exercise exclusive legislation in Washington D.C, and make laws necessary to execute the powers of Congress.

2. The Executive branch

The Executive branch consists of the President of the United States and his delegates. The President is both the head of state and head of government, as well as the commander-in-chief of the military, and the chief diplomat. The President, according to the Constitution, must "take care that the laws be faithfully executed." To carry out this responsibility, he or she presides over the executive branch of the federal government, a vast organization numbering about 4 million people, including 1 million active-duty military personnel. In addition, the President has important legislative and judicial powers. Within the executive branch itself, the President has broad constitutional powers to manage national affairs and the workings of the federal government, and may issue executive orders to affect internal policies.

The President may sign or veto legislation passed by Congress. He may be impeached by a majority in the House and removed from office by a two-thirds majority in the Senate for "treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors." The President may not dissolve Congress or call special elections, but does have the power to pardon criminals convicted of federal offenses (though not crimes against a state), give executive orders, and (with the consent of the Senate) appoint Supreme Court justices and federal judges.

President of the United States

The President of the United States of America is the head of state of the United States. The office of President was established upon the ratification of the United States Constitution in 1788 and the first president took office in 1789.

The United States was the first nation to create the office of President as the head of state in a modern republic, and today the presidential system of government is used in several countries throughout the world. As of 2006, there have been forty-three Presidents of the United States. The first President of the United States was George Washington, and the 43rd and current President of the United States is George W. Bush. From the early 20th Century, the United States' status as a superpower has led the American President to be one of the world's best-known public figures. "The leader of the free world" was a common phrase describing the President during the Cold War, and since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the President of the United States has often been described as "the most powerful person on Earth."

Vice President of the United Statets

The Vice President of the United States is the second-highest executive official of the government. As first in the presidential line of succession, the Vice President becomes the new President of the United States upon the death, resignation, or removal of the President, which has happened nine times. His only other constitutional duty is to serve as the President of the Senate and break any tie votes in that chamber, but over the years the office has evolved into a senior advisor to the President.

Cabinet, executive depasrtments, and agencies

The day-to-day enforcement and administration of federal laws is in the hands of the various federal executive departments, created by Congress to deal with specific areas of national and international affairs. The heads of the 15 departments, chosen by the President and approved with the "advice and consent" of the U.S. Senate, form a council of advisors generally known as the President's "Cabinet". In addition to departments, there are a number of staff organizations grouped into the Executive Office of the President. These include the White House staff, the National Security Council, the Office of Management and Budget, the Council of Economic Advisers, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the Office of National Drug Control Policy and the Office of Science and Technology Policy.

3. Judicial branch

The highest court is the Supreme Court of the United States, which currently consists of nine justices. The court deals with matters pertaining to the Federal Government, disputes between states, and interpretation of the United States Constitution, and can declare legislation or executive action made at any level of the government as unconstitutional, nullifying the law and creating precedent for future law and decisions. Below the Supreme Court are the courts of appeals, and below them in turn are the district courts, which are the general trial courts for federal law.

Separate from, but not entirely independent of, this federal court system are the individual court systems of each state, each dealing with its own laws and having its own judicial rules and procedures. The supreme court of each state is the final authority on the interpretation of that state's laws and constitution. A case may be appealed from a state court to a federal court only if there is a federal question (an issue arising under the U.S. Constitution, or laws/treaties of the United States). The relationship between federal and state laws is quite complex; together, they form the law of the United States.

The federal judiciary consists of the Supreme Court of the United States, whose justices are appointed for life by the President and confirmed by the Senate, and various "lower" or "inferior courts," among which are the United States Courts of Appeals and the United States District Courts.

The first Congress divided the nation into judicial districts and created federal courts for each district. From that beginning has evolved the present structure: the Supreme Court, 13 courts of appeals, 94 district courts, and two courts of special jurisdiction. Congress today retains the power to create and abolish federal courts, as well as to determine the number of judges in the federal judiciary system.

The judicial power extends to cases arising under the Constitution, an act of Congress, or a treaty of the United States; cases affecting ambassadors, ministers, and consuls of foreign countries in the United States; controversies in which the U.S. government is a party; controversies between states (or their citizens) and foreign nations (or their citizens or subjects); and bankruptcy cases. The Eleventh Amendment removed from federal jurisdiction cases in which citizens of one state were the plaintiffs and the government of another state was the defendant. It did not disturb federal jurisdiction in cases in which a state government is a plaintiff and a citizen of another state the defendant.

Political parties

1. The Democratic Party

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States; the other being the Republican Party. Currently, during the 109th Congress, the Democratic Party is the minority party in the United States Senate and the House of Representatives. Democrats control 22 governorships and 19 state legislatures. Ten state legislatures are split between the two parties. In the 2006 midterm elections, the Democratic Party gained outright majority control in the House of Representatives and effective majority status in the United States Senate, and appears to be set to assume the role of the majority party when the 110th Congress convenes in 2007; the Democrats will control 28 governorships and a plurality of state legislatures.

Although the name "Democratic party" was adopted during the presidency of Andrew Jackson (1829-1837), Democrats trace their origins to the Democratic-Republican Party, founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1792, making it the oldest political party in the world. Since William Jennings Bryan's takeover of the party in 1896, it has positioned itself to the left of the Republican Party in economic matters. The pro-working class, activist philosophy of Franklin D. Roosevelt, called "liberalism" in the U.S., has shaped much of the party's agenda since 1932. During the Fifth Party System Roosevelt's New Deal coalition usually controlled the national government through 1964. The Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, championed by the party despite opposition at the time from its conservative Southern wing, has continued to inspire the party's liberal principles. The Vietnam War in the 1960s opened a split on foreign military intervention that persists into the 21st century.

2. The Republican Party

The Republican Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States; the other being the Democratic Party. The current President of the United States, George W. Bush, is a Republican. During the 109th Congress, the Republican Party was the majority party in the United States Senate and the House of Representatives. However, in the 2006 midterm elections, Republican incumbents were defeated and open seats were won by Democrats, as the Republicans lost control of both the House and the Senate. In the 110th Congress, the Republican Party will hold minority status in both the House of Representatives and the United States Senate. The two independents in the Senate have announced they will caucus with the Democrats giving them a 51-49 majority. Majority status in the House or Senate means the majority controls all the committees and controls the agenda, but does not guarantee success on any specific roll-call vote. The GOP will control 22 governorships (down from 28) and a minority of state legislatures in 2007.

Since 1856, Republicans have won 23 of the 38 presidential elections which they've contested, including 7 of the last 10; eighteen of the twenty-eight U.S. Presidents since then have been Republicans. In addition to controlling the Executive Branch since 2001, the Republican Party had held majorities in the United States Senate almost continuously since the 1994 elections. They won the United States House of Representatives from the 1994 elections through the 2004 elections

The Republican Party is the more socially conservative and economically libertarian[citation needed] of the two major parties, and has closer ties to both Wall Street (large corporations) and Main Street (locally owned businesses) but has little support among labor unions. The party supports lower taxes, limited government on economic issues, and favors business; it supports government intervention in some social issues such as abortion.[1] In his 1981 inaugural address, Republican President Ronald Reagan summed up his belief in limited government when he said, "In the present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.“ Since 1980, the GOP has contained what George Will calls "unresolved tensions between, two flavors of conservatism -- Western and Southern." The Western brand, says Will, "is largely libertarian, holding that pruning big government will allow civil society -- and virtues nourished by it and by the responsibilities of freedom -- to flourish." The Southern variety, however, reflects a religiosity based in evangelical and fundamentalist churches that is less concerned with economics and more with moralistic issues, such as opposition to abortion and homosexuality. There is of course a strong Christian evangelical Republican movement in the Western United States; and in no way should these two movements—economic libertarianism and social conservatism—be considered mutually exclusive, since, especially within the Republican Party, they often overlap.