US Government History Essay, Research Paper

In this essay I will give a short history of the government in United States of

America (U.S.). Then I will describe each of the three branches of government in

the U.S. and the relationship between them. In principle, the U.S. is a

democratic republic, they govern themselves by choosing their leaders by secret

ballot, and these leaders in turn make the rules. Americans started

"governing themselves" as a nation on July 4th, 1776, when the

Declaration of Independence was signed in Philadelphia by representatives of the

thirteen British colonies in North America. These states joined together

formally in 1781 under a first "constitution," the Articles of

Confederation. That loose union of the states was replaced by the Constitution

of the U.S. in 1789. This document (amended 26 times) is still the political

foundation of the U.S. Being based on a written constitution, the U.S.

government is committed in principle to the rule of law. To guarantee the rights

of free speech, a free press, freedom of religion etc. the first ten amendments,

called the "Bill of Rights" were adopted in 1791. There are three

levels of government in the U.S. Local government (city/county), state

government, and federal government. Here I will pay most attention to the

federal government. Many of the concepts of the U.S. government can be traced to

progressive thinkers of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, e.g. Locke,

Spinoza, Blackstone, and Montesquiueu. Out of some of their thoughts the U.S.

government system with the three branches were made: A legislative branch

(Congress), an Executive branch (President), and a judicial branch (Supreme

Court). The Constitution is most of all a document of checks and balances: among

the three branches of the federal government; and between the levels of

government, nation and state. The legislative branch (Congress) that has the

power to make laws valid for the whole country. Powers like the regulation of

taxes, regulation of commerce between the states and with foreign countries, the

power to declare war, and the power to impeach the President are some of the

other matters the legislative branch have to deal with. Congress has two

chambers (or "houses"): the Senate and the House of Representatives

("the house"). The Senate consists of one hundred senators: Two

senators from each of the fifty states. The senators serve for six-year terms.

One third are elected every two years. The Senate’s area of responsibility

consists of to approve major presidential appointments, and approve major

foreign policy steps. The House of Representatives has their 435 members (called

"congress-men/women/people/persons") chosen from districts (the U.S.

is divided into 435 districts containing some five hundred thousand

inhabitants). The districts are reapportioned every ten years. The

representatives serve in two-year terms, and all of them are elected every two

years. All tax legislation must start in the House. Executive power is vested in

the office of the President of the U.S. The President has the dual role of being

the chief of state and the head of government. The President is also commander

in chief of the armed forces; he issues executive orders, and appoints Supreme

Court justices (with senate approval). The president is also called "the

chief legislator" because he/she indirectly proposes many bills, considers

all bills from Congress and signs them into law or vetoes them. The President is

elected by "the whole country" for four years. He/she is assisted by

the Cabinet and its departments, the White House staff, and some independent

administrative agencies. The Supreme Court: "The Judicial power of the U.S.

shall be vested in one supreme court, and in such inferior courts as the

Congress from time to time may ordain an establish."(The Constitution

states). All nine federal judges are appointed by the President and serve

"during good behaviour," usually meaning for life. The judges cannot

be removed from office except for criminal behaviour or malfeasance. This makes

them less vulnerable to political pressure than they would be if they had to

depend upon politicians or the voters for new mandates. The main feature of the

independent role for the courts lies in their power to interpret the

Constitution. They review the "constitutionality" of laws and

executive orders. The number of justices is decided by Congress, and they can be

impeached by congress. There are also Inferior Courts: One hundred District

Courts and thirteen Courts of Appeals, all of them are created by Congress, with

judges appointed by the President (with Senate approval). All federal courts

hear cases involving federal law, involving state laws whose constitutionally is

changed, involving the U.S., involving two separate states, and involving

citizens of different states. Having presented the three branches of U.S.

government in broad strokes, I will now turn in to how the separation of powers

is designed to work. The system of government is commonly referred to as

"the system of checks and balances". It is designed to work so as to

avoid placing too much power in too few hands. The most powerful tool Congress

has (most important "checks" on the power of the President) is the

power to appropriate money (set aside money for some specific purpose). After

both houses of Congress have approved the budget, it is sent over to the

President. He/she has to sign the bill into law. Another major check on the

power of the President is the Senate’s power of advice and consent. The

President is obliged to ask for the advice and consent of the Senate on all

major appointments (e.g. members of the president’s Cabinet, new justices of the

Supreme Court, other federal judges, and members of administrative or regulatory

agencies) and major foreign policy decisions he/she makes (e.g. when it concerns

treaties). To declare war, the President must turn to both houses of Congress

for their approval. The president’s major countervailing power in the

legislative process is the power of the veto. The President must sign any

proposed legislation before it becomes law; his failure or refusal to do so can

thus stop any bill. If the President returns a bill to Congress with a veto on

it, the legislature has the power to override the President’s veto by re-passing

the legislation by a two-thirds majority in both houses. Then the bill becomes

law without the President’s signature. (If the President does not wish to be

associated with a bill but does not feel that it is worthwhile to prevent it

from becoming law, he can demonstrate this by using a so-called pocket veto:

he/she simply lets it lie on his/her desk for ten days without signing it or

vetoing it, in which case it becomes law without the President’s signature.) The

Congress has the power to impeach the President. (A complex matter that involves

the House of Representatives and its Judicial Committee or a special ad hoc

committee, the Senate, the Chief Justice of the U.S. (the Supreme Court))

Turning to the relationship between Congress and the Supreme Court, we find that

Congress has the power to determine the construction of the Court (and its

inferior courts). As mentioned before, the Congress has some say in whom will

sit on the Supreme Court bench, in that nominations made by the President must

be approved by the Senate. I have already touched the "checks" between

the Supreme Court and the President. Just as the President may be impeached by

the Congress, so may justices of the Supreme Court (indeed, all civil officials,

except members of Congress) be removed from office by impeachment. The single

countervailing "arrow" of power aimed at Congress by the Supreme Court

is the comprehensive power of judicial review (As mentioned earlier on in the

paragraph about the Supreme Court). This review of laws by the courts is not an

"automatic" part of the legislative process, but the specific laws

have to be brought before the courts for a decision about their

constitutionality. If Congress finds that the Supreme Court has interpreted the

Constitution in a way which disagrees with its own fundamental views (or for any

other reason), then Congress can initiate the process of amending the

Constitution. A majority of two thirds of both houses of Congress must pass the

amendment. As soon as three quarters of the states (thirty-eight of them) have

ratified the proposed amendment it becomes a part of the Constitution. In all

these ways the Constitution checks the unrestricted exercise of power by each

branch and balances of the powers of the branches against each other.

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