Aim: What are the basic Constitutional principles of American democracy?

Aim: What are the basic Constitutional principles of

American democracy?

Do Now: Study the chart & answer the questions.

Compare the terms of different offices. How do they differ from each other? How are they similar to each other? How is the term of a Supreme Court justice different?

I. Basic organization & functions of government under the Constitution

A. Article I: Legislative Branch: Congress

1. establishes the US Congress with its two houses:

the Senate & the House of Representatives

2. lists the powers delegated to Congress

3. each house of Congress has special duties that it

alone can perform

4. process of a bill becoming a federal law requires the

approval each house & the President

What special duties does the House of Representative have that the Senate doesn’t?What special duties does the Senate have that the House of Representatives? Why do you think that the Constitution mean to have it this way?

B. Article II: Executive Branch: President & VP

1. electoral college-system in which voters cast their

ballots for electors

a) electors cast the actual vote for President & VP

b) each state was granted as many presidential

electors as it had senators plus representatives

c) census-counting of the population, is required by

the Constitution every 10 years

d) census data is used today also to make decisions

about national needs

2. arguments against electoral college system:

a) a winning candidate gets all the electoral votes in a

state no matter how close the popular vote is

b) electors are not required by law to vote for the

candidate who wins in their state

3. why the electoral college system is still in use today:

a) very difficult to amend the Constitution

b) small states would oppose it b/c they would lose

advantage of being over-represented

c) changes might threaten two-party political system

4. in carrying out the duties of office, the president fills

several roles:

*chief executive,*chief diplomat, *commander in chief

* chief legislator, *chief of state, *judicial powers &

* head of the political party

5. Federal bureaucracy consists of the administrative

agencies & staff the put the decisions/policies of the

government into effect

a) includes white house staff, 14 executive depts. &

more than 200 independent agencies

C. Article III: Judicial Branch: Supreme & lower courts 1. Jurisdiction-constitution had to define authority of two court systems: Federal & State in order to clarify direction of case to which court 2. the court has the authority to hear a case based on: a) Subject Matter-federal courts hear cases involving federal laws, treaties, maritime law & interpretation of the Constitution b) Parties-cases involving representatives of foreign governments or states suing other states are tried in federal courts

3. based on the Constitution, some types of cases will

give the Supreme Court original jurisdiction

4. the Supreme Court also has appellate jurisdiction &

hears about 150 cases of the nearly 5,000 appealed

to it each year

5. judicial review-most important power of the federal

courts, enables court to hear cases involving the

application & interpretation of law

a) laws that are judged not in keeping with the

Constitution are declared unconstitutional & void

b) Supreme Court is final voice in interpreting the

Constitution

c) right of judicial review strengthened the power of

the judiciary branch against the other two

branches of government

Why is the executive branch larger than the other branches? How were the departments & agencies shown created?