UNIT 11
American Culture
Unit Eleven
The American Political
System
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The American Political System
A wise and frugal government shall
restrain men from injuring one
another, shall leave them otherwise
free to regulate their own pursuits of
industry and improvement.
--Thomas Jefferson
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The American Political System
Americans are a nation born of an
idea; not the place, but the idea
created the United States
Government.
--Theodore H. White
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I. The American Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the oldest written
constitution in the world today.
One of the reasons for its longevity is that the framers used
broad enough language to allow room for interpretation.
The US Supreme Court has become the ultimate decision
maker when it comes to deciding what the seven thousand
words in the Constitution mean and how they should be
applied.
But the views of the justices of the Supreme Court have
changed over time as society has changed.
Because the principles of the Constitution are broadly
expressed, the Supreme Court has been able to apply those
principles to meet the needs of new generations.
Because of its flexibility and adaptability, the Constitution is
often referred to as a “living constitution”.
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I. The American Constitution
The historical and political context in which this country’s
government machinery was formed is essential to understanding
American government and politics today.
It is not the result of completely creative thinking. Many of its
provisions were grounded in contemporary political philosophy.
The delegates to the Constitutional Convention in 1787 brought
with them two important sets of influences: their political culture
and their political experience.
In the years between the first settlements in the New World and
the writing of the Constitution, Americans had developed a
political philosophy about how people should be governed and
had tried out numerous forms of government.
These experiences gave the founders the tools with which they
constructed the Constitution.
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I. The American Constitution
The American Constitution
•B. The Constitutional
•A. The Articles of
Convention
Confederation
•May to September 12, 1787, 55
•Confederation means a
voluntary association of
independent states, in which
the member states agree to
only limited restraints on their
freedom of action. The most
fundamental weakness
concerned probably the lack of
power to collect tax from the
states.
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men present
•Among the important problems
to be solved were the
relationship between the states
and the central government, the
powers of the national legislature,
the need for executive leadership,
and the establishment of policies
for economic stability.
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I. Philosophy of American Education
The American Constitution
•D. The Bill of Rights—to
•C. The Constitution
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protect individual liberties
against incursions by the
national government
•The Bill of Rights lay out the
basic rights that all citizens
shall enjoy. An important right
was the right to free speech.
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II. The Three Branches of the US Government
A.
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The legislative branch
1. Bicameral: House of
Representatives—lawmakers serving
two-year terms
Senate—lawmakers serving sixyear terms
2. The main duty—to make laws,
including those which levy taxes that
pay for the work of the federal
government
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II. The Three Branches of the US Government
B.
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The executive branch
1. The president and vice president
2. Powers of the president—
formidable but not without limitations
Power of the vice president—
presiding officer of the Senate, who
may vote in the Senate only in the
event of a tie
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II. The Three Branches of the US Government
C.
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The judicial branch
1. The Supreme Court—the only court specially
created by the Constitution.
Federal judges are appointed for life, and can
only be removed from office through the
process of impeachment and trial in Congress
2. The Supreme Court consists of Chief Justice
and Associate Justices. With minor exceptions,
all cases reach the Court on appeal from lower
federal or state courts. Most of these cases
involve disputes over the interpretation of laws
and legislation. The Court’s most important
function consists of determining whether
congressional legislation or executive action
violates the Constitution.
3. Marbury v. Madison case of 1803
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III. Political Parties
A. The two-party system
The general orientation of the political party is that of striving
for power. The United States has two major political parties,
which have a long tradition dating back to 1790s. The
function and character of these political parties, as well as
the emergence of the two-party system itself, have much to
do with the unique historical forces operating from this
country’s beginning as an independent nation.
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III. Political Parties
A. The two-party system
2
1
The election system
It elects only one
individual at a
time—a
representative,
senator, or president
More coalitions,
fewer parties.
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2. The effect of the presidency
To elect a president candidate
requires a vast coalition of
interests throughout the country.
A president elected with coalition
support is somewhat responsive
to the demands of each interest
within the coalition.
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III. Political Parties
A. The two-party system
3
The division of
interests
There tends to be
a polarization of
interests on any
problem in the
United States.
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III. Political Parties
6. The modern period (from
B. The historical development of American political parties 1932)
(1) Successive Democratic
1. The creation of parties (1789-1800)
administration
(1) No such a thing as a neutral political figure
(2) True era of divided
(2) Federalist and Antifederalist
government from G. Bush
(3) Continuing division of
2. The era of onepolitical and economic
party rule, or
interests
personal politics
(1800-1824)
From 1800-1824, a
majority of US
voters regularly
elected Democratic
Republicans to the
presidency and to
Congress
. to just prior
3. From Andrew
Jackson
to the Civil War (1828-1860)
(1) Intraparty rivalry
(2) Jackson’s supporters and the
Clay-Adams bloc—the Democratic
Party and the Whig Party
The Whig Party was unable to
maintain a common ideological base
and divided over the issue of slavery
in late 1840s.2016/3/23
It fell apart in 1850s.
development
5. The Progressive
period (1896-1928)
(1) Republican
dominance
(2) Schism in the
Republican Party—
formation of the
Progressive Party
(3) Collapse of the
Progressive Party in
1921
4. The Post-Civil War period (1865-1896)
(1) Disruption of the two-party system
(2) Hatred-charged schism—conflicts between
the Republicans and the Democrats
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IV. Campaigns and Elections
Political campaigns are at the heart of a democratic
political system. When voters go to the polls and
choose between candidates who have presented their
views on leadership and policy, the citizens are
exercising the fundamental right to choose the
leadership of the nation and, thus, to direct national
policy.
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IV. Campaigns and Elections
A. The Electoral College
The framers of the Constitution wanted to avoid the selection of
president and vice president by the excitable masses.
Rather they wished the choice to be made by a few supposedly
dispassionate, reasonable men.
The Electoral College was devised as a compromise between
having presidents elected by Congress or by popular votes.
It is a body that elects the president and vice-president.
Each state is represented by the same number of members as in
its congressional delegation.
The voters vote for electors who will cast their ballots in the
Electoral College.
The total number of electors is 538, allotted to each state
corresponding to the number of Representatives and Senators
that each state sends to Congress.
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IV. Campaigns and Elections
B. Voting
1. The candidates receiving 51% of the electoral vote (270 of 538)
wins the Presidency.
2. The principle of “winner takes all”—it is possible that the
candidate who wins the most popular votes nationwide could
lose the electoral vote and thus the presidency.
3. If no candidate receives a majority of the electoral votes, the
decision goes to the House.
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I. Philosophy of American Education
•C. The Constitution
•1. New form of government and plan for the
government
•(1) A federal system with a strong central government
•(2) The election of a national leader, or a president
•(3) A Congress made up of representatives
•(4) A national court system headed by the Supreme
Court
•2. Tow main fears and ways out
•(1) Creation of tyranny and formation of a threebranch government: checks and balances
•The major checks and balances among the three
branches are:
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I. Philosophy of American Education
•The president proposes laws and can veto
congressional legislations: the president makes
treaties, executive agreements, and executive
orders; the president can refuse congressional
legislation; the president can call special sessions
of Congress.
•The Congress makes legislation and can override
a presidential veto of its legislation; the Congress
can impeach and remove a president; the Senate
must confirm presidential appointments and
consent to the president’s treaties based on a twothird’s concurrence; the Congress has the power of
the purse and provides funds for the president’s
programs.
•The president nominates federal judges; the
president can refuse to enforce the Court’s
decision; the president grants pardons.
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I. Philosophy of American Education
•The Supreme Court can declare presidential
actions unconstitutional.
•The Supreme Court can declare congressional
laws unconstitutional.
•The Supreme Court can declare federal or state
acts unconstitutional.
•Congress can rewrite legislation to circumvent the
Court’s decisions; the Senate confirms federal
judges; Congress determines the number of judges.
•(2) Weakening of state governments and
establishment of fundamental principles
•Popular sovereignty, or control by the people.
•A republican government in which the people
choose representatives to make decision for them.
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I. Philosophy of American Education
•Limited government with written laws, in contrast
to the powerful monarchical English government
against which the colonists had rebelled.
•Separation of powers, with checks and balances
among branches to prevent any one branch from
gaining too much power.
•A federal system that allowed for states’ rights,
because the states feared too much centralized
control.
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