Learning Outcomes for Units 1, 2 and 3:
During the course of the semester each of the concepts below will be taught. You will be responsible for
these concepts on unit tests and the District EOC. In addition, you are responsible for first semester
material and learning during the second semester.
American Government students will be taught the following concepts. At the
conclusion of the course, successful students will know:
Unit 1: Organization and Structure of Governments
1. Government is the institution through which a society makes and enforces public policies.
Public policies are all those things a government decides to do. (Public policy includes all
of the many goals that a government pursues in all of the many areas of human affairs in
which it is involved, such as taxation, defense, education, etc. There are many forms of
government.)
2. A state is a body of people living in a defined territory who have a government with the
power to make and enforce law without the consent of any higher power or authority
(sovereignty). (By this definition, the terms state, nation, and country are synonymous.
Idaho is not a state by this definition.)
3. A democracy is a form of government in which the supreme authority rests with people.
The amount of “democracy” practiced varies from state to state, country to country,
government to government. In a republican democracy the will of the majority cannot be
used to deprive the rights of the minority.
4. A republic is a form of government in which elected officials hold power and make laws.
The United States of America is a democratic republic, not a democracy.
5. A dictatorship is a form of government in which the leader has absolute power and
authority.
6. Dictatorships and democracies differ in the number of people allowed to participate in
government. Dictatorships tend to place more restrictions on the rights of their citizens.
7. The roots of democracy were established by the ancient governments of Greece and
Rome. The Greek philosopher Plato defined a republic.
8. The common law governments of England all contributed to the formation of our
government by establishing the basic notions of ordered government, limited government,
and representative government.
9. The rule of law is the concept that holds that government and its officials are always
subject to the law. It maintains that the influence and authority of law within society works
as a constraint upon behavior, including the behavior of government officials. According to
the rule of law, individuals, persons, and government shall submit to, obey and be
regulated by law, and not the arbitrary action by an individual or group of individuals.
10. The English concept of the rule of law came from other times and places, such as,
Hammurabi’s Code c. 1750 B.C., the Ten Commandments c. 16th to 13th Century B.C.,
Rome’s 12 Tables 450 B.C., Justinian’s Code 529-534.
11. In 1215, the Magna Carta was the first attempt to limit the absolute power of the English
king. The Magna Carta established that the power of the king was not absolute and
guaranteed trial by jury and due process to the nobility (not to the common people). With
the Magna Carta parliamentary government began to develop in England.
12. In a parliamentary government (the form of government used in England) voters elect the
legislature and the legislature chooses the chief executive (prime minister) from among its
members. (The term Parliament was first used in 1236.)
13. The Mayflower Compact (created by the Puritan separatists, or Pilgrims, in 1620)
contributed to the formation of our government by showing that citizens could create a
government through majority rule that served their interests.
14. In 1689, the English Bill of Rights contributed to the formation of our government by
providing several protections from the king. This established a true limited government.
Limited government, or the rule of law, is the premise that no one or thing is above the law.
15. The Declaration of Independence written by Thomas Jefferson, issued on July 4, 1776, to
explain the reasons for the American Revolution, contributed to our government by
establishing popular sovereignty, which is government ruled by the consent of the people.
Jefferson used the Natural Rights theory established by the English political philosopher
John Locke. According to Locke, man has three basic rights derived from God. These
rights are the right to life, liberty, and property. Locke had a positive view of human nature
and was also known for his support of the social contract theory.
16. For centuries, historians, philosophers, and others have pondered the question of the
origin of the state. Four theories have emerged. Force Theory, Evolutionary Theory,
Divine Right Theory, and the Social Contract Theory. Political philosophers’ John
Locke, Thomas Hobbes, and Jean Jacques Rousseau established the social contract
theory. According to the social contract theory people within a given area agreed to give up
to the state as much power as was needed to promote the safety and well-being of all. The
theory holds that the people are the sole source of political power (popular sovereignty) and
that they are free to give or to withhold that power as they chose.
17. All governments can be classified by three basic features: who can participate,
geographic distribution of power and the relationship between the legislative and executive
branches.
18. A confederate government (confederacy) is an alliance between independent states.
Under the Articles of Confederation the United States was a confederacy. (The problem
with a confederacy is that you can’t be united and independent at the same time.)
19. The three governmental powers are the legislative power (make laws), the executive
power (enforce laws) and judicial power (interpret laws).
20. The Articles of Confederation, (our first Constitution or form of government, which was in
effect from 1781 to 1789) contributed to the formation of our government by showing the
need for a strong central government. (Shays’ Rebellion brought to light the weaknesses of
the Articles of Confederation, which led to the Constitutional Convention in 1787. A
confederation is a weak form of government, sometimes referred to as a “firm league of
friendship.” Under the Articles there was only a legislative branch and it was unicameral
(one house). The government did not even have the power of taxation! The purpose of the
Constitutional Convention was to revise the Articles of Confederation. It quickly became
clear that the Articles could not be revised so the members of the convention, known as the
Founding Fathers, created the Constitution. In order to get the Constitution ratified a Bill of
Rights was required.) During the Constitutional Convention compromises where necessary
to produce a new governing document/plan (3/5 and Great Compromises).
21. James Madison’s Virginia Plan (large state plan) and William Patterson’s New Jersey
Plan (small state plan) at the convention led to the creation of Roger Sherman’s
Connecticut Plan, or Great Compromise. The compromise demonstrated the importance
of both proportional (based on population) and equal representation in the legislative
branch of government. Representation in the Senate is equal and representation in the
House of Representatives is proportional (based on population). The Senate and House of
Representatives are together (bicameral, two house legislature) known as Congress.
22. A constitution is the body of fundamental laws setting out the principles, structures, and
processes of a government (the “roots” of a government). The US Constitution was ratified
in 1789, and is the “supreme (highest) law of the land.” The Constitution dictates what the
government may, and may not, do.
23. The Constitution, including the Bill of Rights and all other amendments, is the basic
document that guides our government and is the longest surviving constitution in history.
24. In order for the Constitution to become the law of the land, 3/4 of the states (9 of the 13)
needed to ratify it. There was a lengthy ratification debate with opponents complaining that
the Constitution made the federal government too strong and that the Constitution did not
include a bill of rights. The debate was especially strong in New York. To address concerns
about the Constitution, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay wrote a series
of newspaper articles known collectively as the Federalist Papers. The debate over
ratification also helped spawn the first two-party political system in the United States, with
the Federalists (who favored the Constitution and were led by Alexander Hamilton) and the
Anti-Federalists (who opposed the Constitution and were led by Thomas Jefferson). The
Anti-Federalists went on to become the Democratic Republicans. Eventually a deal was
struck that the Constitution would be ratified if the first order of business for the new
government was to create a bill of rights.
25. The Bill of Rights, the first 10 amendments of the Constitution (ratified at the same time),
defines the basic rights and liberties guaranteed to all citizens of America.
26. The First Amendment to the Constitution protects freedom of speech, religion, press,
petition, and assembly. (These freedoms have limits, there are always exceptions.)
27. The Constitution is based on the principles of republicanism, popular sovereignty,
separation of powers, checks and balances, limited government, and federalism.
28. Republicanism is the ideology embraced by members of a republic -- a form of
government in which leaders are elected for a specific period by the preponderance of the
citizenry, and laws are passed by leaders for the benefit of the entire republic, rather than a
select aristocracy. In an ideal republic, leaders are selected from among the working
citizenry, serve the republic for a defined period, then return to their work, never to serve
again.
29. The principle of popular sovereignty asserts that the people are the source of any and all
government power, and that government can exist only with the consent of the governed.
30. Baron Charles de Montesquieu, a French philosopher, believed in promoting liberty. For
government to achieve this goal, Montesquieu called for a division of authority among
executive, legislative, and judicial branches.
31. Separation of powers prevents any one group or individual from becoming too powerful.
Each branch has its own powers. The legislative branch makes the laws, the executive
branch enforces the laws, and the judicial branch interprets the laws.
32. “Checks and Balances” is a system that allows each branch to exert some control (check)
over the other branches, so no branch becomes all-powerful (maintain balance).
33. Limited government holds that no government is all-powerful, that a government may do
only those things that the people have given it power to do. The Constitution limits the
power of the government.
34. Federalism is the division of power among a central government and smaller, more
regional, governments.
35. The basic components of the U.S. Constitution are the Preamble, the articles (7) and
the amendments (27).
36. The six purposes of the United States government, listed in the Preamble, are: provide
a more perfect union, establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide common
defense, promote general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty.
37. A presidential form of government is where the legislative and executive branches are
separate, independent, and coequal. The United States has a presidential government.
38. Unitary government is where all power is given to a single central agency.
39. Due process is the premise that the government can not deprive individuals of life, liberty,
or property without proper notice of impending actions as stated in the 5th (federal level)
and 14th (state level) amendments.
40. The federal government is divided into three branches: legislative (Article I), executive
(Article II), and judicial (Article III).
41. The qualifications for president, senator, and representative are stated in the Constitution.
42. Expressed powers are those powers of the national government that are spelled out,
expressly in the constitution (also called enumerated powers).
43. Implied powers are those delegated powers of the national government that are
suggested by the expressed powers set out in the constitution, or those “necessary and
proper” to carry out the expressed powers.
44. The implied power of judicial review consists of the power of a court to determine the
constitutionality of a governmental action. Judicial review was established with the
Supreme Court decision in the case Marbury v. Madison, 1803.
45. John Locke held that people are generally good, and they have natural rights, including
the rights of life, liberty, and property. (Natural Law, Social Contract Theory)
46. Thomas Hobbes believed that people are generally bad and they need the structure of
government to maintain society. (“The Leviathan,” Social Contract Theory)
47. Jean-Jacques Rousseau believed that the power to rule belonged to the people,
governments should receive their authority from the people, and that people had the right to
rise up against their government and carry out needed change. (“The Social Contract”)
48. The IX (9th) Amendment states that “The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights
shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.”
49. The X (10th) Amendment states that “The powers not delegated to the United States by
the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or
to the people.”
50. Proposal by 2/3 of both houses of Congress and ratification by 3/4 of the states is the
official amendment process used for all 27 amendments to date.
51. Article I, Section 8, Clause 18 is known as the Necessary and Proper Clause. The clause
gives Congress the power to make all laws “necessary and proper” for executing its
powers. This clause sparked an early battle over the extent of the powers granted to
Congress by the Constitution, and that debate has continued for more than two centuries.
52. Article VI, Section 2 contains what is known as the Supremacy Clause. This clause means
that the Constitution stands above all other forms of law in the United States. The
Supremacy Clause has been called the “linchpin of the Constitution” because it joins the
National Government and the States into a single governmental unit, a federal government,
with the Constitution supreme.
Unit 2: Elections and the Power of Persuasion
53. Politics is the process of government or the methods by which people get, keep, and use
power in a country or society. Politics is the art and science of government.
54. A political party (a negative term would be faction) is a group of persons who seek to
control government through the winning of elections and the holding of public offices.
55. The two main political parties today are the Democratic Party and the Republican Party.
In a two-party political system the winner takes all. (The first two-party political system
developed over the ratification debate for the Constitution. The first two parties were the
Federalists and the Democratic Republicans (Anti-Federalists). The second two-party
political system included the Democrats and the Whigs. The Democrats and the
Republicans are the third and current two-parties.)
56. Third parties, or minor parties, can develop around single issues, ideological views,
economic protest, or can be a splinter from one of the major parties. Their goal is to
influence people’s positions on those issues. They often introduce new ideas, put issues on
the national agenda, spoil the election for one of the two major parties, and help keep the
major parties honest. (Examples: the Green Party, the Tea Party, the Populist Party, the
Independent Party)
57. Political socialization is the process by which people gain their political attitudes and
opinions.
58. Party identification refers to the loyalty of people to a political party.
59. “Right wing” refers to a conservative bias, while “left wing” refers to liberal bias. The
terms conservative and liberal are very difficult to define and change over time. What was
considered liberal 50 years ago may be considered conservative today.
60. Republicans are generally considered to be conservative while Democrats are considered
to be liberal. (How the parties stand on issues have changed, and in some cases reversed,
over time.)
61. Realignment is the term used to indicate a major shift in the political divisions within a
country.
62. Crosscutting is where both major parties are split on a matter, and some
Democrats find they agree with Republicans more than other Democrats, and vice versa.
(Reagan Democrats are a good example.)
63. Split ticket voting is when someone votes for both Republicans and Democrats for
different offices in the same election.
64. Bias exists when you allow your values to affect your opinions. (Bias is natural but often
leads to prejudice in favor of or against one thing, person, or group compared with another,
usually in a way considered to be unfair.)
65. Public agenda refers to the issues on which the people’s attention (national attention) is
focused. (Examples; ISIS, Syria, Iraq, same sex marriage.)
66. Political activists are people who believe so strongly in the ideology of their
parties that they devote time and energy to working on the party platform.
67. Incumbent refers to a current office holder seeking reelection.
68. Challenger refers to a person not currently serving office but seeking election.
69. Candidates for office are chosen by party affiliation through primary elections and
caucuses.
70. In Idaho, the Democratic nominee is chosen through a caucus and the Republican nominee
is chosen through a primary.
71. A caucus is an informal closed meeting held to set the party platform and choose
nominees. In Idaho it is how the Democrats choose their nominee.
72. A primary is an election held through which a party’s voters choose State party delegates
to their party’s national convention, and/or express their preference for their party’s
presidential nomination. In Idaho it is how the Republicans choose their nominee.
73. A constituent is a person who is represented politically by a designated government
official or officeholder, especially when the official is one that the person represented has
the opportunity to participate in selecting through voting or perhaps through other methods
of indicating political confidence and support. A Senator's constituency consists of the
citizenry who reside within his or her state. The constituency of a Member of the House of
Representatives consists of the people who live in his or her district. The constituency of a
mayor is all the people residing in the city limits. Although the core meaning of the term has
to do with the relationship between the voters and their elected representatives, the term is
often expanded somewhat to include other individuals or groups whose interests any
official in government (whether elected or not) feels morally obligated (or compelled by the
political realities of the situation) to protect or further in the policy-making process. In this
extended sense of the term, farmers constitute an important "constituency" for the
Secretary of Agriculture, labor unions are an important "constituency" for the Secretary of
Labor, small businessmen are an important "constituency" for the head of the Small
Business Administration, and veteran’s organizations are an important "constituency" for
the head of the Veteran's Administration. You can be a member of a constituency but not
be part of the electorate.
74. The electorate is all of the people who are entitled to vote in a given election. Not all voters
will be members of the electorate. For example, people from Meridian do not get to vote in
the election to choose the mayor of Boise.
75. All eligible voters, regardless of party affiliation, can vote in the general election.
76. National Conventions are used to select (or announce) party nominees for president and
vice president and the platform they will run on.
77. A platform explains where a political party stands on issues. A plank is a party’s position
on a particular (single) issue.
78. Federal elections are held on the Tuesday, following the first Monday, in November every
two years in even numbered years. The presidency is determined every four years.
Elections that take place in years where the president is not up for election are called “off
year” elections and voter turnout tends to be lower than in presidential election years. Midterm elections are federal elections held in even numbered years where the presidency is
not contested. 2014 and 2015 are “off years,” but 2014 was a mid-term election year.
79. The “people” do not elect the president in the United States. The Electoral College is the
mechanism used to choose the President and Vice President of the United States. Each
state has the same number of votes in the Electoral College as it has representatives in
Congress. The “electors” vote for president and vice president on behalf of the voters in
their State. If there is no clear winner in the Electoral College the members of the
House of Representatives choose the president. (The 12th Amendment established
that the Electoral College must vote for president and vice president separately.) The
Electoral College system exacerbates the winner take all system and supports the twoparty political system, making it difficult for candidates from third parties to win positions
above the State and local levels of government.
80. Divided government is when one party controls the presidency while the other controls at
least one house in Congress. We currently have a divided government. The Democrats
hold the presidency, but the Senate and House of Representatives are in the hands of the
Republicans.
81. Propaganda is the spread of information with the intention of persuading the audience.
(Also defined as a technique of persuasion aimed at influencing individual or group
behaviors to create a particular belief, regardless of its validity. Can be positive or
negative.)
82. The media is often described as the mirrors and molders of public opinion. (The mass
media are those means of communication that reach large audiences, especially television,
radio, printed publications, and the Internet.)
83. The four factors that influence public opinion (public opinion is a complex collection of
the opinions of many different people; or the sum of all their beliefs) are the media, family,
school, and opinion leaders.
84. An opinion leader is any person who, for any reason, has an unusually strong influence on
the view of others.
85. Public opinion is best measured by public opinion polls, devices that attempt to collect
information by asking people questions. A straw vote is a method of polling that seeks to
read the public’s mind simply by asking the same question of a large number of people.
However the straw-vote technique is highly unreliable because of how random it is.
Scientific polling is more reliable but still questionable. Serious efforts to take the public’s
pulse on a scientific basis date from the 1930s.There are now more than 1,000 national
and regional polling organizations in this country, with at least 200 of these polling political
preferences.
86. The Polling Process consists of (1) defining the universe; the universe is a term that
means the whole population that the poll aims to measure; (2) constructing a sample; a
sample is a representative slice of the total universe. Most professional pollsters draw a
random sample, also called a probability sample. A quota sample is one that is deliberately
constructed to reflect several of the major characteristics of a given universe; (3) preparing
valid questions; the way in which questions are worded is very important. Wording can
affect the reliability of any poll; (4) interviewing; pollsters communicate with the sample
respondents using various methods including person-to-person interviews, telephone calls,
and mail surveys; and (5) reporting; pollsters use computers to store and manipulate data,
which helps them analyze and report the results of the poll. On balance, most national and
regional polls are fairly reliable. Still, they are far from perfect. Potential problems with polls
include their inability to measure the intensity, stability, and relevance of the opinions they
report. Another potential problem is that polls and pollsters are sometimes said to shape
the opinions they are supposed to measure.
87. A special interest group tries to influence policy and gain political advantage (lobby) for
their members. (A special interest group is a group of persons working on behalf of or
strongly supporting a particular cause, such as an item of legislation, an industry, or a
special segment of society.)
88. Lobbying are activities by which group pressures are brought to bear on legislators, the
legislative process, and all aspects of the public policy making process. A lobbyist is the
person interest groups hire to represent them in government and they must register with
the government. (A lobbyist is a person who receives compensation or reimbursement
from another person, group, or entity to lobby.)
89. A political action committee (PAC) is the political extension of special interest groups
which have a major stake in public policy. PAC’s try to influence elections by donating, or
making campaign contributions, to political campaigns.
90. In 1975, Congress created the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to administer and
enforce the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) - the statute that governs the financing
of federal elections. The duties of the FEC, which is an independent regulatory agency, are
to disclose campaign finance information, to enforce the provisions of the law such as the
limits and prohibitions on contributions, and to oversee the public funding of Presidential
elections. In short, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) attempts to regulate the use of
money in elections.
91. Controlling the amount of money going to political parties and their candidates has always
been a problem, and some argue that today, “the party or candidate with the most money
wins.” Hard money is campaign money that is subject to regulations by the FEC. Soft
money is campaign money that is not regulated by the FEC. In 2002, the Bipartisan
Campaign Reform Act (BCRA) attempted to clamp down on the flow of soft money going to
political parties. Unfortunately, the law does not say that other political groups cannot raise
and spend those dollars. Almost immediately a number of independent groups, groups with
no formal ties to any party, emerged to just that. Examples of such groups are America
Coming Together, MoveOn.org, and the Media Fund.
92. Generally, how people view their well being is just as important as candidates’ views on the
issues when people vote for President.
93. The Framers of the Constitution purposely left the power to set suffrage qualifications to
each State. Voters must be U.S. citizens, be at least 18 years old, and be a resident of the
state where they would like to vote.
94. A precinct is the smallest unit of election administration (also known as a voting district.)
The place where voting takes place is called a “polling place.” Each precinct has at least
one polling place.
95. Suffrage (the right to vote) has been expanded through the 15th, 19th, 24th, and 26th
Amendments as well as the Voting Right’s Acts of 1965, 1970, 1975, and 1982 to
maintain equal protection of the law. Franchise is another term used to refer to the right to
vote. (In order to vote in colonial times one had to be male, white, 21 or older, a church
member, and a land owner. Church membership was the first requirement dropped. Land
ownership was the second requirement dropped (Jacksonian Democracy). Being white was
the third (15th Amendment) requirement dropped. The 19th Amendment gave women the
right to vote, and the 26th Amendment lowered the voting age from 21 to 18. The 24th
Amendment outlawed poll taxes (taxes charged in order to vote).)
96. All states except North Dakota require citizens to register to vote. Registration is a
procedure of voter identification intended to prevent fraudulent voting. States also have
restrictions on the right to vote on certain members of the population, such as those found
to be mentally incompetent or people convicted of serious crimes.
97. Most non-voters do not vote because voting is in some way inconvenient, they do not
believe that their vote will make a difference, or they distrust politics and political
candidates.
98. Voting is studied more than any other form of political participation in the United States. We
learn about voting behavior from: the results of elections, the field of survey research, and
studies of political socialization.
99. Voter preferences can’t be predicted by just one sociological factor. Voter opinion is
impacted by the combination of factors such as, family, gender, age, education, religious
and ethnic background, geography, income, occupation and more. (Do not confuse the
factors that shape political opinion with the factors that impact voter behavior.)
100.A single-member district is an electoral district from which one person is chosen by
voters for each elected office. The single member plurality election is the most common
and best-known electoral system currently in use in America. It is used to elect members of
Congress, as well as many state and local legislatures. Under single member plurality
systems, an area is divided into a number of geographically defined voting districts, each
represented by a single elected official. Voters can only vote for their district’s
representative, with the highest vote-getter winning election, even if he or she has received
less than half of the vote.
Unit 3: Congress and Decision Making
Qualifications for office under the Constitution.
Office
President
Senator
Representative
Supreme Court Justice
Total Number
1
100
435
9
Age
35
30
25
None
Citizenship
Naturalized
9 years
7 years
None
Term Length
4 years
6 years
2 years
Life
Term Limit
2 terms
No limit
No limit
Life
101.The role of the legislative branch is to make the laws. Congress is made up of two unique
bodies, the Senate and the House of Representatives (bicameral = 2 house legislature).
Congress convenes every two years—on January 3 of every odd-numbered year.
102.The requirement for a census was established in Article 1, Section 2 of the Constitution.
“An enumeration shall be made within three years after the first meeting of the Congress of the
United States, and within every subsequent term of ten years, in such manner as they shall by law
direct.”
103.Reapportionment is the process of establishing the number of representatives for a state
and is done every ten years following the census.
104.Redistricting is the process of redrawing district boundaries within a state according to
reapportionment. Boundaries are drawn by each State’s legislature. Districts are supposed
to be of equal population, compact, and contiguous.
105.Gerrymandering is redrawing congressional district lines to the advantage of a group
(party) or individual and is supposed to be prohibited. Districting is not mentioned in the
Constitution but has developed over time. Because of this, when questions of districting,
especially gerrymandering, arise it is usually handled by the courts.
106.The Senate is made up of two members from each state (100 total, equal
representation/New Jersey Plan) and a senator serves a six-year term with no limit on how
many terms may be served. The Senate is a continuous body, no more then 1/3 of the
Senate seats are up for election/reelection at one time.
107.The House of Representatives contains 435 members.
108.The House of Representatives consists of members from each state, proportional to
their population (proportional representation/Virginia Plan). Members of the House serve 2
year terms with no limit to how many terms they can serve. All seats in the House of
Representatives are up for election/reelection every 2 years. This means the entire house
could be replaced at the same time.
109.Congress has 3 powers: expressed (lawmaking, expressly listed or enumerated in the
Constitution), implied (those “necessary and proper” to carry out the expressed powers),
and inherent (oversight) while representing their constituents. Congress also has some
non-legislative powers, some executive powers and impeachment powers.
110.Congressional power is authorized, and limited, by the Constitution. When it comes to
implied power, discussions of how to interpret the Constitution arise and two approaches
have developed; strict and loose construction of the Constitution. Strict constructionists
(The Jeffersonians) believe(d) Congress should be able to exercise only (1) its expressed
powers and (2) those implied powers absolutely necessary to carry out those expressed
powers. The Jeffersonians favor(ed) State’s rights and believe(d) that “that government is
best which governs least.” Loose constructionists (The Hamiltonians), argue(d) for a broad
interpretation of the provisions of the Constitution, particularly those powers granted to the
Federal Government. There is a general consensus that a broader rather than a narrow
reading of the Constitution is best. (The Constitutional principles of limited government and
federalism help shape and limit the powers of Congress.)
111.Members of Congress play five major roles. 1. Legislators. (law makers) 2.
Representatives of their constituents. 3. Committee members. 4. Servants of their
constituents. 5. Politicians.
112.The leadership of the Senate consists of president of the Senate (The job of president of
the Senate is assigned by the Constitution to the Vice President. The president of the
Senate has many of the same duties as the Speaker of the House, but cannot cast votes
on legislation.), president pro tempore (The president pro tempore, the leader of the
majority party, is elected from the Senate and serves in the Vice President’s absence.),
floor leaders (floor leaders are party officers picked for their posts by their party
colleagues.), majority leaders, minority leaders, party whips (party whips assist the floor
leaders and serve as a liaison between the party’s leadership and its rank-and-file
members. Whips keep track of how many votes can be counted on.), and committee chairs.
113.Congress divides its work load between committees: standing committees, select
committees, joint committees, and conference committees.
114.The House leadership consists of the Speaker of the House, the majority leader, the
minority leader, party whips, and committee chairs.
115.The Speaker of House is the most powerful position in Congress because he/she chairs
the House Rules Committee. (The Speaker of the House is the presiding officer of the
House of Representatives and the acknowledged leader of the majority party (most
powerful position in Congress). The Speaker’s main duties revolve around presiding over
and keeping order in the House. The Speaker names the members of all select and
conference committees, and signs all bills and resolutions passed by the House.)
116.The committee chairmen are the members who head the standing committees in each
chamber of Congress. The chairman of each of these permanent committees is chosen
from the majority party by the majority party caucus. The head of each committee is often
the longest-serving member of the committee from the majority party.
117.Standing committees are permanent panels in Congress to which bills of similar nature
could be sent. Most of the standing committees handle bills dealing with particular policy
matters, such as veterans’ affairs or foreign relations. The majority party always holds a
majority of the seats on each committee (the lone exception being the House Committee on
Standards of Official Conduct). Committees help to divide the work load.
118.The House Rules Committee decides whether and under what conditions the full House
will consider a measure. This places a great deal of power in the Rules Committee, as it
can speed, delay, or even prevent House action on a measure. (works like a “traffic cop”
keeping order)
119.Select committees are panels established to handle a specific matter and usually exist
for a limited time. Most select committees are formed to investigate a current matter.
120.A joint committee is one composed of members of both houses.
121.A conference committee—a temporary, joint body—is created to iron out differences
between bills passed by the House and Senate before they are sent to the President.
122.Parliamentary procedure rules were established in order to make meetings fair and
equitable while controlling time and relevance.
123.A legislative caucus occurs when like-minded people meet to make legislative proposals.
124.Seniority rule is an unwritten rule in both houses of Congress reserving the top posts in
each chamber, particularly committee chairmanships, for members with the longest records
of service.
125.A quorum is the least number of members who must be present for a legislative body to
conduct business. For both the Senate and the House it is 50% plus 1.
126.When a member of Congress votes he or she can vote as a trustee, as a delegate, as a
partisan, or as a politico.
127.Trustees believe each question must be decided on its merits. Conscience and
independent judgment are their guides. Trustees call issues as they see them, regardless
of the views of their constituents or by any of the other groups that seek to influence their
decisions.
128.Delegates see themselves as the agents of those who elected them. They vote how the
“folks back home” would vote. Delegates are willing to suppress their own views, ignore
those of their party’s leaders, and turn a deaf ear to the arguments of colleagues and of
special interest groups from outside their constituencies.
129.Partisans owe their first allegiance to their political party. They feel duty bound to vote in
line with the party platform and the wishes of their party’s leaders. Partisanship is the
leading factor influencing votes on most important measures.
130.Politicos attempt to combine the basic elements of the trustee, delegate, and partisan
roles which creates conflicting factors. Politicos have to balance their own views v.
constituents’ views v. political facts of life v. pressures of the moment.
131.Patronage is the practice of giving jobs to supporters and friends.
132.A filibuster is an attempt to talk a bill to death in the Senate by not giving up the floor.
133.Cloture is when the Senate votes to stop debate on a bill.
134. For a bill to become a law a set procedure must be followed and in almost all cases the
President, Senate, and House of Representatives must all agree on the identical bill.
135.How a bill becomes a law (an example of the system of checks and balances): First,
all bills must be introduced by a member of the House and/or a member of the Senate and
receives a number (HR or S). Second, the bill is assigned to, debated on, and amended by
standing committees and sub committees. Third, the bill is debated on, and possibly
amended on, the floor of either house. If the bill passes the house it was introduced into, it
then goes to the other house and the process is repeated. Next, if the bill has been
changed/amended by the second house it is sent to, a conference committee is created
where a compromise bill is produced. The bill is then voted on again in both houses. If the
bill passes both houses it is sent to the President of the United States. When the president
receives a bill he/she can (1) sign the bill into law, (2) veto (kill) the bill, or (3) pocket the
bill. If the president pockets the bill and there are less than 10 days left in the congressional
session, the bill automatically dies (called a pocket veto), if there are more than 10 days left
in the congressional session and the president takes no action on the bill, it becomes law
without his signature. Congress can override a presidential veto with a 2/3 vote in both
houses of Congress. Once a bill has become a law it can only be changed by another law
or its constitutionality can be challenged in court, where the Supreme Court has the power
of judicial review. If the Supreme Court finds the law unconstitutional it is void. The
Supreme Court has the final say on the constitutionality of laws.
END OF 1ST SEMESTER!!!