Презентація на тему «The American Political System»

The American Political System
Background
The Declaration of Independence 1776The War of Independence 1776-1783The American Constitution 1789Federal government and state govmts.Division of powerChecks and balances
State and Federal System
Historically state and local government came first.The states have their own legislative, executive and judicial institutionsState and local government control important  areas like: HighwaysState income taxPublic schools and universitiesPolice and fire departmentsRegulate business and supervise commercial affairsThe Federal system of government controls: Foreign policy, defense and monetary policyAreas that cannot be regulated locally and statewise: interstate commerce, interstate crime, interstate environmental problems etc.		 
The Legislative Branch: Congress Passes legislation and appropriates money
The Senate100 members -two from each state6-year term
The Executive Branch: The Presidency
4-year term - max two 4-year termsProtects the ConstitutionProposes legislationEnforces the laws made by CongressCommander in Chief of the armed forcesAppoints judges to Supreme Court (with the consent of the Senate)
The Executive Branch: The Cabinet
No mention of it in the ConstitutionSubordinate to the PresidentCabinet members  recruited broadly, not necessarily party insiders
The Supreme Court
9 membersLife term appointmentInterprets and guards the ConstitutionInterprets the lawDecisions of the Supreme Court are finalIn general it plays a conservative role, maintaining legal tradition
Elections and Political Parties
Winner-take-all-election systemThe Electoral CollegeTwo party system- both appealing to the middle of the political spectrumBalancing the ticket (President and Vice president)Voting patterns: splitting the ticketVoting for individuals rather than party slate
The Electoral College
Representatives of the people in presidential elections534 electors, corresponding to the numbers of Representatives and Senators270 electoral votes guarantee the PresidencyEach state votes as a single block (minus Nebraska and Maine) winner takes allImportance of Swing States and the big states
Democrats and RepublicansAnd Their Voters
Democrats supported by majority of black voters (Clinton 83%) Urban ethnicsBlue collar workersCatholicsMore women votersNortheast, upper midwest, northwest, Hawaii
Protestant votersBusiness communityWhite collar workersReligious fundamentalists
Democrats and Republicans and Their Policies
RebublicansLimiting federal regulation of businessReduction in welfare spendingAnti-abortion
Klik for at redigere titeltypografi i masteren
Klik for at redigere teksttypografierne i masterenAndet niveauTredje niveauFjerde niveauFemte niveau
Klik for at redigere titeltypografi i masteren
Klik for at redigere undertiteltypografien i masteren
Klik for at redigere teksttypografierne i masterenAndet niveauTredje niveauFjerde niveauFemte niveau
Checks and Balances
Supreme Court:Power to declare laws and presidential actionsunconstitutional
The President:Power to vetoIssues executive ordersCommander-in-chiefAppoints Federal JudgesGrants Pardons for offenses against the US
It used to be that the American South was solidly Democratic. This changed, however, in the course of the 1960s where the Democratic party supported civil rights legislation. This also helps explain why blacks today vote for Democrats.For Democrats it is a problem though that the percentage of blacks that actually vote is not very high.
In the election of 2000 Al Gore received 500,000 votes more than Bush, who won the election in the Electoral College. In Florida the vote was so close (a little over 5oo) and there were so many irregularities that a recount could easily have changed the outcome. After one month of legal hassling The Supreme Court determined by a 5 to 4 vote that the recounting the court in Florida had ordered should be halted and Bush won the Forida vote (27 electoral votes) and consequently became president. The system assures that small states will not be overlooked because they have slightly more influence this way than the size of their population warrants. For instance  the state of South Dakota has a population of 750.000. The state has 3 electoral votes, which means that each vote costs 250.000 votes. In populous New York each electoral vote represents 500.000 votes.
The Founding Fathers were not about to create a strong executive power like the British king whom they had just fought and whom they considered as a dangerous despot. They looked for ways to reduce the power of the executive as much as would be consistent with good government.
Cabinet Departments: State, Treasury, Defense, Interior, Agriculture, Justice, Commerce, Labor, Transportation, Heallth and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Education, Energy, Veterans