Table of contents:
This page is entirely about the branches of the American government and other items I thought fit in nicely.
In order scrolling down:
In order scrolling down:
- Legislative Branch
- Executive Branch
- Judicial Branch
- How a Bill Becomes a Law, includes the steps that the bill takes to move on to a law.
- Federalism
Legislative branch
Powers of Congress-
Implied-
Implied-
- The "Elastic Clause" of the Constitution grants Congress power to pass unspecified laws "necessary and proper" for the exercise of its expressed powers
- The most important powers include the power to tax, to borrow money, to regulate commerce and currency, to declare war, and to raise armies and maintain the navy. These powers give Congress the authority to set policy on the most basic matters of war and peace.
Requirements for Office (As defined in each house):
Term Length-
House- 2 Years.
Senate- 6 Years.
House- 2 Years.
Senate- 6 Years.
Membership Number-
House- 435 Representatives.,
Senate- 100 Senators.
House- 435 Representatives.,
Senate- 100 Senators.
Executive branch
The Roles of the President-
- Commander in chief of all branches of the military. Which also gives him command over state militia forces when in national service. Congress is the only one who can declare war
- The President has the power to negotiate treaties with other nations with the Senate's advice and consent, but doesn't define how much advice he needs to ask the Senate for.
- A two-thirds majority vote in the Senate is required to ratify a treaty once it has been signed by the president. The Senate can also introduce amendments to the treaty that can force the president to either give up on it or renegotiate it.
- The president has the authority to grant a reprieve or pardon for any offense against the United States except for cases of impeachment. This includes any form of executive clemency, not just a full pardon.
- The president has the power to appoint ambassadors, department heads, Cabinet members, federal judges and other officers of the federal government, although the Senate has the power to confirm or deny his nominations. The president can bypass the Senate confirmation process by making appointments when the Senate is in recess, but these appointments expire automatically at the end of the next session of the Senate unless the Senate confirms them. The president also has the authority to demand the written policy opinion of any department head in the executive branch. However, the Constitution does not explicitly give him the authority to fire any of these officials. The Supreme Court has ruled that the president can fire executive officials at will, but must show cause for firing federal officials with any judicial or legislative.
- The president has the power to convene a special session of the House and Senate. The same article gives the president the authority to order Congress to adjourn if the House and Senate are unable to agree on an adjournment date. The power to convene allows the president to deal with sudden emergencies effectively.
- Although the president is in charge of carrying out the laws of the United States, he does not have the authority to create new laws; that is the duty of the legislative branch. However, if the president doesn't wish to sign a bill, he can veto it. To override the veto, both the House and Senate must pass the bill again with a two-thirds majority. Ordinarily, if the president fails to either sign or veto a bill within 10 days, it becomes law without his signature. This is known as a "pocket veto." Presidents sometimes use this tactic because the Constitution provides no way to override it. If Congress adjourns during the 10 days, though, the bill does not become law.
The president's cabinet-
Requirements for Presidency-
- Must be a natural born U.S. citizen.
- Must be a U.S. resident for at least 14 years.
- Must not have been impeached by the Senate.
- Must not have participated in a U.S. rebellion.
- Must be 35 years of age.
Succession Line for the President-
- Joe Biden, Vice President.
- John Boehner, Speaker of the House.
- Patrick Leahy, Senate Pro Tempore.
- John Kerry, Secretary of the State.
- Jack Lew, Secretary of the Treasury.
- Chuck Hagel, Secretary of Defense.
- Eric Holder, Attorney General.
- Sally Jewel, Secretary of Interior.
- Tom Vilsack, Secretary of Agriculture.
- Penny Pritzker, Secretary of Commerce.
- Thomas E. Perez, Secretary of Labor.
- Sylvia Mathews Burwell, Secretary of Health and Human Services.
- Julián Castro, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
- Anthony Foxx, Secretary of Transportation.
- Ernest Moniz, Secretary of Energy.
- Arne Duncan, Secretary of Education.
- Robert McDonald, Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
- Jeh Johnson, Secretary of Homeland Security.
The Impeachment Process-
- The president of the United states is inaugurated into office with many powers. Abuse of power or failure to uphold these responsibilities cannot be tolerated. The Constitution gives the House of Representatives the right to impeach the president. Impeachment means that a charge of misconduct is filed against the president. A majority of the members of the House must vote for these charges in order to impeach the president.
- After the charges of misconduct are filed, the Senate has the power to try impeachment cases like a court. Two-thirds of the senators must vote for conviction. The president may be removed from office and never allowed to hold a government position again if he is found guilty.
Judicial branch
Active Members of the Supreme Court Including Names, Pictures, Dates of Service, and Who They Were Appointed By-
United States Federal Court System-
Important Supreme Court Cases-
- Marbury vs. Madison-
- In 1803 the Supreme Court announced for the first time the principle that a court may declare an act of Congress void if it is inconsistent with the Constitution. William Marbury had been appointed a justice of the peace for the District of Columbia in the final hours of the Adams administration. When James Madison, Thomas Jefferson’s secretary of state, refused to deliver Marbury’s commission, Marbury, joined by three other similarly situated appointees, petitioned for a writ of mandamus compelling delivery of the commissions.
- McCulloch vs. Maryland-
- This case, decided by the Supreme Court in 1819, asserted national supremacy vis-Ã-vis state action in areas of constitutionally granted authority. Maryland had placed a prohibitive tax on the bank notes of the Second Bank of the United States. When the Maryland courts upheld this law, the Bank, in the name of its Baltimore branch cashier James W. McCulloch, appealed to the Supreme Court. Daniel Webster, with William Pinkney, argued the case on behalf of the Bank.
- Miranda vs. Arizona-
- Miranda was arrested at his home and taken in custody to a police station where he was identified by the complaining witness. He was then interrogated by two police officers for two hours, which resulted in a signed, written confession. At trial, the oral and written confessions were presented to the jury. Miranda was found guilty of kidnapping and rape and was sentenced to 20-30 years imprisonment on each count. On appeal, the Supreme Court of Arizona held that Miranda’s constitutional rights were not violated in obtaining the confession.
- Plessy vs. Ferguson-
- Although the Declaration of Independence stated that "All men are created equal," due to the institution of slavery, this statement was not to be grounded in law in the United States until after the Civil War (and, arguably, not completely fulfilled for many years thereafter). In 1865, the Thirteenth Amendment was ratified and finally put an end to slavery. Moreover, the Fourteenth Amendment (1868) strengthened the legal rights of newly freed slaves by stating, among other things, that no state shall deprive anyone of either "due process of law" or of the "equal protection of the law." Finally, the Fifteenth Amendment (1870) further strengthened the legal rights of newly freed slaves by prohibiting states from denying anyone the right to vote due to race.
- Brown vs. Topeka Board of Education-
- The case that came to be known as Brown v. Board of Education was actually the name given to five separate cases that were heard by the U.S. Supreme Court concerning the issue of segregation in public schools. These cases were Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Briggs v. Elliot, Davis v. Board of Education of Prince Edward County (VA.), Boiling v. Sharpe, and Gebhart v. Ethel. While the facts of each case are different, the main issue in each was the constitutionality of state-sponsored segregation in public schools. Once again, Thurgood Marshall and the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund handled these cases.
How a bill becomes a law
The are many steps taken to actually turn one bill into a law. Technically speaking there are 23 steps to the law making process.
1- First step bill introduction.
2- Second step is referral to committees.
3-5- Steps three through five talk about the committee hearings, mark-ups, and report over the bill.
6- Step six is to schedule legislation.
7- Step seven talks about the House, the house has special rules, suspension of the rules, or privileged matter.
8- Step eight talks about the Senate, the Senate has unanimous consent agreements or motions to proceed.
9- Step nine consists of the floor debate between the houses.
10- Step ten is the floor amendment.
11- Step eleven begins the vote on the final passage of the bill.
12- Step twelve is figuring out the differences between the house and senate on the bill.
13- Step thirteen begins the amendment delegation on the bill between the houses.
14-16- Steps fourteen through sixteen talk about the negotiations of the conference committee, the floor debate on the conference report, and the final floor vote on the report.
17- Step seventeen begins the important steps, seventeen talks about the conference version being presented to the president.
18- Step eightteen is the deciding factor on whether the bill becomes a law, the president either signs the bill into law, or can veto the bill and deny the law.
19- Step nineteen is only a step if the president decides against the bill, therefore vetoing it.
20-21- Steps twenty and twenty-one consist of the house votes trying to override the president's veto, if it so happens.
22- Step twenty-two states that the bill becomes a law overriding the veto is 2/3 vote is achieved in both houses.
23- Step twenty-three, if the bill has been vetoed by the president, and then one house fails to override, then the bill fails.
1- First step bill introduction.
2- Second step is referral to committees.
3-5- Steps three through five talk about the committee hearings, mark-ups, and report over the bill.
6- Step six is to schedule legislation.
7- Step seven talks about the House, the house has special rules, suspension of the rules, or privileged matter.
8- Step eight talks about the Senate, the Senate has unanimous consent agreements or motions to proceed.
9- Step nine consists of the floor debate between the houses.
10- Step ten is the floor amendment.
11- Step eleven begins the vote on the final passage of the bill.
12- Step twelve is figuring out the differences between the house and senate on the bill.
13- Step thirteen begins the amendment delegation on the bill between the houses.
14-16- Steps fourteen through sixteen talk about the negotiations of the conference committee, the floor debate on the conference report, and the final floor vote on the report.
17- Step seventeen begins the important steps, seventeen talks about the conference version being presented to the president.
18- Step eightteen is the deciding factor on whether the bill becomes a law, the president either signs the bill into law, or can veto the bill and deny the law.
19- Step nineteen is only a step if the president decides against the bill, therefore vetoing it.
20-21- Steps twenty and twenty-one consist of the house votes trying to override the president's veto, if it so happens.
22- Step twenty-two states that the bill becomes a law overriding the veto is 2/3 vote is achieved in both houses.
23- Step twenty-three, if the bill has been vetoed by the president, and then one house fails to override, then the bill fails.
Federalism
Power is divided between the national govt and the state govt. Expressed Powers- Powers specifically granted to the national govt. Sometimes called enumerated powers.