In the first half of my year in the States, I had to suffer in a class called US Government. Everybody knew what was going on in the class since they had to take this class in elementary and middle school. But I, the new kid, didn’t have a single idea what my teacher was talking about in class. I tried so hard, I put a lot of effort in just to understand the system. I believe I watched more than 20 videos on YouTube about the US Gov’t, scrolled through more than 50 websites, and tried to stuff all class files in my brain. And what you will see below is the result of my hard work. I got a 98% on the final exam for this class, hard work really pays off! I want as many people to see this, this will help a lot with the class!
This is the link to the original document. Feel free to use it whenever. https://docs.google.com/document/d/188h3-MbuPDz3XTddboZ6qgDFVy8_NNNw/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=100903840976960363375&rtpof=true&sd=true
**A Nation = Government, Sovereignty, Territory, Population
**Everything based on the Constitution
**Nobody is above the law in the U.S.
CONSTITUTION
-Preamble (6 goals)
-7 Articles
- Article 1: Legislative
- Article 2: Executive
- Article 3: Judicial
- Article 4: Relationships between the states and the national government
- Article 5: Amendments
- Article 6: Supremacy Clause – declares that the Constitution and the laws and treaties of the federal government are the highest in the land
- Article 7: Constitutional approval process
-Amendments (27 amendments)
– 1st: protects freedom of speech, religion, press, assembly, and the right to petition the government
– 2nd: protects the right to bear arms.
– 3rd: prevents the government from quartering troops in private homes without consent.
– 4th: Protects against unreasonable searches and seizures, ensuring the right to privacy
– 6th: guarantees the right to a speedy and public trial, and the right to legal counsel
– 12th: Process for electing the President and Vice President – electoral college
(modified)
– 16th: Allows the U.S. government to levy income taxes
– 19th: Women’s voting rights
– 22nd: Limits U.S. presidents to two terms in office.
– 25th: Succession amendment – addresses presidential succession and disability in case of vacancy or incapacity (next in line replaces)
– 26th: Right to vote – 18-year-old and above
LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
House of Representatives (lower house)
Purpose: The purpose of the U.S. House of Representatives is to make and pass laws
Qualifications: At least 25 years old, a U.S. citizen for at least 7 years, and a resident of the state they represent
*The Speaker of the House = leader of the HOR (Mike Johnson)
→The Speaker maintains order and manages proceedings
*Majority/Minority Leaders/Whip
*A member of the majority party chairs each committee in the House. Committee chairs have significant influence over legislation within their committee’s jurisdiction.
Each term: 2 years
Members: 435
→ The Reapportionment Act of 1929 limits the number of HOR members to 435
How they are assigned to each state: based on the population
How the bill is introduced: Representatives drop the bill into a hopper
Role of committees: They help in confirmation hearings by considering and reporting bills
Powers:
- Impeachment
- Revenue bills (money plan – deals with the government’s income [mainly tax])
- Powerful speaker
- Investigations
**Only the House of Representatives can start revenue or tax. Almost all important work on tax bills occurs in the House Ways and Means Committee.
Why is the speaker so powerful?
1. Third in line (succession clause!)
2. 100 per control of the wallet (**financial matters) of this country
3. Sole power to decide if they want to impeach the president or not
Senate (upper house)
Purpose: The purpose of the Senate is to represent states equally, provide a check on the majority, and play a role in confirming appointments and ratifying treaties.
Qualifications: At least 30 years old, a U.S. citizen for at least 9 years, and a resident of the state they represent.
*President of the Senate (Vice President of the United States) – Kamala Harris
→ The role is largely ceremonial, and they may not participate in Senate debates except to break ties (with their vote).
*President Pro Tempore (fourth in line) – Patty Murray
→ This is a position held by a senior senator of the majority party
→ The President Pro Tempore is fourth in line for the presidency after the Vice President and the Speaker of the House.
*Senators lead various committees, each focused on specific policy areas. Committee chairs have significant influence over legislation related to their committee’s jurisdiction.
*Majority/Minority Leaders/Whip
Each term: 6 years
Reelection term: every 2 years, ⅓ of members face reelection
Members: 100
How they are assigned to each state: 2 from every state
How the bill is introduced: It is introduced by a senator on the floor
Role of committees: Committees monitor ongoing governmental operations, identify issues suitable for legislative review, gather and evaluate information, and recommend courses of action to the Senate.
Filibuster: Act in an obstructive manner in a legislature, especially by speaking at an inordinate length – basically talking as much as they want to prevent a vote (only Senate)
Powers:
- Confirmation of presidential appointments
- Impeachment trials
- Advise and consent on executive nominations
- Amend/Reject revenue Bills
- Approval of Treaties and International Agreements
2/3 majority vote vs simple majority vote
Two-Thirds (2/3) Majority Vote
Overriding a Veto:
If the President vetoes a bill, Congress can override the veto with a two-thirds majority vote in both the House and the Senate.
Impeachment and Conviction:
House of Representatives: Impeachment of a federal official, including the President, requires a simple majority vote in the House.
Senate: After impeachment, the Senate conducts a trial. Conviction and removal from office require a two-thirds majority vote in the Senate.
Treaty Ratification:
The Senate must approve international treaties negotiated by the President. This approval requires a two-thirds majority vote in the Senate.
Simple Majority Vote
Legislation:
Most decisions in Congress, including the passage of bills and resolutions, require a simple majority vote.
Confirmation of Appointments:
The Senate confirms certain presidential appointments, such as federal judges, cabinet members, and ambassadors, with a simple majority vote.
Electoral College votes
House and Senate Procedures:
In the day-to-day business of the House and Senate, decisions on various matters, including rules, procedures, and resolutions, typically require a simple majority vote.
*Passing of bills requires a simple majority vote
Other
Stop filibuster
A senator must initiate a cloture motion, which requires a 3/5 majority vote (60 senators) to limit debate and proceed to a final vote on the legislation or nomination in question
Constitutional Amendments:
Proposing amendments to the U.S. Constitution require a two-thirds majority vote in both the House and the Senate.
Ratification of proposed amendments requires approval by either:
- Three-fourths of the state legislatures.
- Conventions in three-fourths of the states.
Expressed Powers (Enumerated Powers) Article 1, Section 8
→Make laws, declare war, taxation, impeach and try federal officers, etc
Implied Powers (Elastic Clause) Article 1, Section 8, Clause 18
→powers not specifically listed but are considered necessary for the government to fulfill its stated responsibilities
Limitations on the Powers (denied) Article 1, Section 9
→No ex post facto (punishing someone for an action that was legal when they did it but later becomes illegal due to a new law)
→No Bill of Attainder law (declares a specific person/group guilty of a crime without a trial)
→No tax on export,
etc
✭Revenue Bills: deal with the government’s income [mainly tax]
✭Appropriation Bills: deal with the government’s expenses (how/where to spend)
✭Authorization bill: set up a federal program
How to amend the constitution
→ must be proposed by a two-thirds majority vote in both chambers of Congress or by a constitutional convention called for by two-thirds of state legislatures, and subsequently ratified by three-fourths of the states.
In the Constitution…
Article 1: Legislative Branch as a whole
Article 1 Section 2: HOR
Article 1 Section 3: Senate
EXECUTIVE BRANCH
President = Leader
→ The President’s main job is to enforce or carry out the laws that Congress makes and represent the country
Qualifications: At least 35 years old, a U.S. citizen for at least 14 years, and a natural-born citizen of the U.S.
Vice President = next in line
In the Constitution…
Article 2
Electoral College
Purpose: It is to decide who will be elected president and vice president of the US and to create a barrier between the population and the selection of a President.
Total votes: 538
- 435 from the HOR
- 100 from the Senate
- 3 from DC (District of Columbia)
California has – 54 votes – 2 from the Senate, 52 from the HOR
- To win the presidency, a candidate must receive a majority, which is at least 270 electoral votes
- If no candidate receives the majority of electoral votes (president), the vote goes to the House of Representatives.
- If no candidate receives the majority of electoral votes (vice president), the vote goes to the Senate.
Q. Why does the United States still have an Electoral College? Justify your answer.
- It is written in the Constitution, which is extremely difficult to amend, and many people support the Electoral College.
In the Constitution…
12th Amendment
Impeachment
Who Can Be Impeached:
The President, Vice President, and other federal officials can be impeached.
Who Decides:
The House of Representatives decides if impeachment is needed. They investigate and vote on whether to impeach. (simple majority vote)
Trial in the Senate:
The trial happens in the Senate. They listen to evidence and decide if the person is guilty or not. (two-thirds majority vote)
Outcome:
If the Senate decides the person is guilty, they can be removed from office. If not, they stay in their job.
The House impeaches by a simple majority vote.
The Senate convicts and removes by a two-thirds majority vote.
JUDICIAL BRANCH
*Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
*Associate Justices of the Supreme Court
→The Supreme Court consists of a total of nine Justices, including the Chief Justice
*Federal Judges (U.S. District Court and U.S. Courts of Appeals)
The U.S. judiciary consists of two court systems, the state courts and the federal courts
FEDERAL COURT
Federal courts derive their power from the Constitution and federal laws
→ Federal courts consist of U.S. District Courts, Court of Appeals, and U.S. Supreme Court
Federal court jurisdiction
-Question of the Constitution including interpretation of the Constitution
-United States Laws
-Treaties with foreign nations
-Bankruptcy cases
-Admiralty(shipping, ocean, and sea legal cases) cases
-Two or more states arguing
-Citizens of different states
-State citizens and foreign citizens or country
Jurisdiction: the power and authority of a court to hear and decide a case
Concurrent Jurisdiction: when the state and federal government can have jurisdiction over the same issue
Judicial Review: the Court’s ability to invalidate (cancel) a law if it’s unconstitutional (came from the Marbury v Madison case – Greatly increased the power of the Supreme Court)
Original and appellate jurisdiction
-A court in which the case is first tried had original jurisdiction
-U.S. District courts have original jurisdiction for most federal matters
-If a person loses in a trial court they may appeal the case to an appellate court
-The Supreme Court is mostly an appeals court but does have the power to hear a case first, original jurisdiction.
**Neither the Supreme Court nor any federal court may initiate action. The courts must wait for litigants, or cases, to come before them**
**Federal courts will only determine the cases based on law. They will not answer legal questions outside of determining a particular case.**
Federal district courts
→federal trial courts
-today there are 94 district courts.
-They try both criminal and civil cases
District courts use two types of juries
Grand jury – a jury of inquiry
→ 23 members and 10 alternates serve on a grand jury
Petit jury – trial jury. Weighs evidence presented at trial
→6-12 people consist of a petit jury
There are 13 circuits – 12 in the mainland, 1 in property/globally
Federal Court of Appeal
-A person who loses a case in a district court may appeal to a federal court of appeals
-The US is divided into 12 judicial circuits or regions with 1 appellate court in each region
-The 13th Court is a special court with national jurisdiction
-Courts of appeals have only appellate jurisdiction
-C.O.A may uphold the decision, reverse the decision, or send the case back to the lower courts for a new trial
The Court of International Trade
-This court has jurisdiction over cases dealing with tariffs. Citizens who believe tariffs are too high take their complaint to this court
Legislative courts
(special federal courts to address specific issues and administer specific laws)
Legislative courts help Congress use its power
-ex) the power of Congress to tax led to the creation of the US Tax Court
Courts include…
-US Court of appeals for Armed Forces
-Territorial Courts
-Court of the District of Columbia
-The Courts of Veteran’s appeals
-Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court
Selection of Federal Judges
-The Constitution provides that the president, with the consent of the Senate, appoints/nominates all federal judges
-This is a position for life – insulates them from the temporary passions of the public and allows them to apply the law with only justice in mind, and not electoral or political concerns.
-Presidents favor judges who belong to their own political party.
Also when one political party is the majority
Indictment: formal notice that it is believed that they committed a crime
**The judicial branch has the power to interpret the meanings of law
SUPREME COURT
=Highest court in the U.S.
Congress made all the other courts except the Supreme Court
They create public policy
→ ex) gay marriage
-The main duty = is to hear and rule on cases
→This duty involved three decision-making tasks.
- Deciding cases to hear from the thousands of request
- Deciding the cases themselves
- And determining an explanation for the decision, called the court’s opinion
The Supreme Court has original jurisdiction in:
-Cases involving representatives of foreign governments
-Certain cases in which a state is a party
*Original jurisdiction within the Supreme Court is rare. About 5 cases a year
-Most cases are from appeals.
The Supreme Court can also hear cases that are appealed from the highest court of a State if there is a federal or Constitutional challenge
-In such cases, the Supreme Court can only rule on the federal question of law, not any issues of state laws
Judicial Activism: when the Supreme Court intentionally picks cases to rule on
Supreme court justices
-The US Supreme Court is composed of 9 justices
–Congress sets this number and has the power to change it
-Position is for life for the Supreme Court justices to be free from pressure resulting from unpopular decisions
-Under the constitution, congress may remove Supreme Court justices through impeachment and conviction of “treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors”
-No Supreme Court justice has ever been removed from office (one was impeached -1804)
Term
The Supreme Court meets about nine months each year
→Each term begins the first Monday in October and the term ends in June.
→A term is named after the year it begins
ex) 2011 Term = started in October of 2011 and ended in June 2012
→Special sessions may be called to deal with urgent matters that cannot wait.
During the term of the Court…
- they listen to oral arguments for two weeks each month. The opposing attorney argues the cases, and they are questioned by the Justices.
- Later the Supreme Court announces its decision.
- The other two weeks of the month the Justices use to research, write, and study petitions of cases plaintiffs hope they hear.
- Annually, 8,000 cases are petitioned, but the Court only accepts about 5% of those cases.
Selecting/Deciding Cases
→ The justices discuss and vote to hear a case.
→ There must be 4 of the 9 justices that agree to hear a case.
- On Fridays, the justices meet in a conference room to discuss the cases they have heard.
- By tradition, the nine justices all shake hands with one another before debating the case.
- Everyone leaves the room except the nine justices, they argue and debate the cases for 6 to 8 hours. No record of this is kept of this debate
- A majority is needed to reach a decision, 5 out of the 9.
- However, there must be 6 justices before a vote can occur.
- Writ of certiorari – an order from the Court to a lower court to send up records for review. In other words, the Supreme Court has taken the case.
→ like an express ticket to the highest court
- Brief – a written statement setting forth the legal argument, relevant facts, and precedents supporting one side of the case.
→ like a summary that lawyers write to explain their opinion of the case to a court
- Per Curiam opinion – a brief unsigned statement of the Court’s decision.
→ a way for a court to speak with one voice, indicating that the decision reflects the unanimous or majority view of the judges involved, without specifying who wrote the opinion
- Amicus curiae – “friend of the Court” – briefs that come from individuals, interest groups, or government agencies claiming to have information useful to the Court’s decision of the case.
→ a person or group who is not directly involved in the case but offers information, expertise, or opinions to help the court make a decision
Limits on the Supreme Court
- only rule on cases where its decision will make a difference
- will not issue an advisory opinion – a ruling on a law or action that has not been challenged
- the court accepts only cases that involve a substantial federal question
- refuse political questions that the executive/legislative branches should answer
Bloc: a group of justices that usually share common ideologies, perspectives, or legal philosophies. They often vote cohesively, emphasizing their shared values
Swing Vote: an individual who does not consistently align with a particular bloc but instead can “swing” the outcome of a decision
Presidential Influence
- The President nominates the justices, with the Senate’s consent
- Enforce Court decisions
Congress – Influence
- May propose a constitutional amendment to overturn a Court ruling
- Can set the justices’ salaries
- Can set the number of justices on the Court
Q. Can Supreme Court justices decide a social issue on their own?
- Supreme Court justices cannot decide on social issues on their own.
Q. How can a President influence the Supreme Court?
- The president can influence the Supreme Court by nominating justices.
Q. Significance of Brown v. Board of Education?
- Declared state laws establishing separate public schools for Black and white students to be unconstitutional, leading to the desegregation of schools and marking a pivotal moment in the civil rights movement.
*The Supreme Court does not have the power to enforce its decision
In the Constitution…
Article 3
BILL → LAW
Private Bill – deals with individual people or places. They often involve people’s claims against the government or their immigration problems.
Public Bill – deals with general matters and applies to the entire nation. They may involve major issues such as raising or lowering taxes, national health insurance, gun control, civil rights, or abortion. Bills can be debated for months.
How a bill is introduced
The ideas for new bills can come from citizens, interest groups, the president, or officials in the executive branch.
*However* only a member of Congress can introduce a bill.
- In the House, a representative drops the bill into a hopper – a box near the clerk’s desk.
- In the Senate, a senator officially introduces a bill on the Senate floor
→ Each bill is given a title, and a number, printed and distributed to lawmakers. This process is the first reading of the bill.
Committee Action
- A new bill is sent to the committee that deals with the subject matter of the bill.
- The committee chairperson may send the bill to a subcommittee, or the committee can ignore the bill and let it die. This is called “pigeonholing“.
- The committee can also kill the bill by a majority vote.
- If the committee accepts the bill, it can recommend that the bill be adopted as introduced, make changes, or completely rewrite the bill before sending it back to the House or Senate for further action.
**Ways and Means Committee
→ Deals with tax
**Appropriations Committees
→ Oversees government spending
Committee Hearing
When a committee decides to act on a bill, the committee or subcommittee can hold hearings on the bill.
- Hearings are sessions at which a committee listens to testimony from people interested in the bill.
- Hearings are supposed to be an opportunity for Congress to gather information on the bill.
- Skilled chairpersons use them to influence public opinion for or against the bill. Hearings also help focus public attention on a problem.
Reporting a Bill
After all changes are made, the committee votes to kill the bill or report it.
- To report the bill means to send it to the House or Senate for action. Along with the revised bill, the committee sends a report
- The report explains the committee’s actions, describes the bill, lists the major changes, and gives opinions on the bill.
Floor Action
→ Floor debate
Voting
Majority wins
-Can vote on a bill one of three ways: voice vote, standing vote, or rollcall vote
Final Steps in Passing a Bill
- To become a law, a bill must pass both houses of Congress in identical form. A bill passed in the House often differs at first from a Senate’s bill on the same subject.
- Conference Committee Action
→ when the bill reaches here becoming law is almost guaranteed
If one house will not accept the version of a bill the other house has passed, a conference committee made up of senators and representatives must work out differences between the versions.
- A compromised bill is called a conference report.
✈️→ Sent to the President→ ✈️
The President may…
- Sign the bill, and it becomes law.
- Keep the bill for 10 days without signing. If Congress is in session, the bill will become law without the president’s signature.
- Veto a bill. In a veto, the president refuses to sign the bill and returns it to the House of Congress which it started.
- Kill a bill during the last 10 days of Congress by refusing to act on it. Called pocket veto – only works if Congress is not in session
Riders: a provision(extra request) on a subject other than the one covered in the bill. Lawmakers attach riders to bills that are likely to pass, although presidents have vetoed such bills because of a rider they did not like.
→It’s a way to get more things done in a single piece of legislation.
**Reporting a bill is a good thing
→if someone X agree with the bill, they can prevent the bill from becoming law by attaching unnecessary riders
CHECKS AND BALANCES
L → J
Impeach judges, approve nominations, determine the size of the court(authority to change the number of justices)
J → L
Judicial review – invalidate the laws made by the congress
J → E
Judicial review – invalidate executive actions
E → J
Nominate judges
L → E
Impeach president
E → L
Veto bills presented by Congress
Three things that made the U.S. Govt huge
Interstate commerce
War powers
Tax and spend
