0003 The Three Branches of Government (SMR 4.3) Flashcards
The establishment of three branches of govt was originally proposed by who?
Baron De Montesquieu
What are the three branches of government and what is their main job?
Executive (an executor of laws)
Legislative (law makers), Judicial (judge the laws and actions of executors)
Which of the three branches of govt were included in the Articles of Confederation?
In the Articles of Confederation, only Congress existed and only the legislative branch was included.
When were ideas of three branches of govt introduced?
When the Philadelphia convention occurred, leaders brought forth the ideas of Baron de Montesquieu
What was the main difference between the New Jersey Plan and the Virginia Plan
The New Jersey Plan (William Paterson) proposed a unicameral legislature with every state having equal representation and one vote unlike the Virginia Plan which proposed a bicameral legislation elected based on population
Explain The Virginia Plan by James Madison
Bicameral legislature: Senate and the House of Representatives, both elected based on population: smaller states like CT and RI would be at a disadvantage and slave states would be at a disadvantage because much of their population was slaves, brought forth by Virginia which was a more populous state
What was the Great Compromise a reaction to?
The Virginia Plan
What did the Great Compromise / Sherman Compromise / Connecticut Compromise do?
played off of Virginia Plan but each state has two Senators (in the higher house) and proportional representation in the House based on population
upper house would be elected by legislatures and lower house by popular vote
Where the 3/5 compromise come from?
Included in the Great Compromise as a way to count slaves as ⅗ of a person when determining population since slaves neither voted or paid taxes
The importance of the Great Compromise was that by removing the population prerequisite from the senate it gave ______ great control.
States
Senators were originally appointed by _______, but were later elected by _______.
state legislatures, popular vote giving more power to the people
All roles in the government have term limits except for which branch?
The Judicial Branch with the Supreme Court, their justices serves for life, because the idea is that judicial branch should not be determined by elections in order to have the most objective rulings
How did the three branches of govt differ from Monarchial rule?
The idea behind three branches was that they would have equal power, which was different than Monarchial rule’s divine right of kings.
For example, the power to declare war traditionally would belong to the King, but in US the power to declare war belongs to Congress, the disputes between states would be decided over by King, but in the US it’s done by the Supreme Court, in America there is a separation of powers and in addition, checks and balances.
What role does Congress (Legislative branch) play? (3)
- Rights to levy taxes
- Rights to declare war (right to maintain army and navy)
- Create federal courts inferior to the Supreme Court
What role does the President (Executive branch) play? (3)
- Enact and enforce laws passed by the Congress
- Veto laws and issue executive orders
- Serve as Commander in Chief, Chief Diplomat, Head of State
What role does the Supreme Court (Judicial Branch) play? (2)
- Interpretation of the Constitution
2. Disputes among states
What does “Checks & Balances” mean?
Each section of govt has power over the other, Transfer of some of the powers of each branch to another, to control each one and induce cooperation
How does the Legislative branch (Congress) have power over the other two branches?
Congress can impeach the president (executive) and approve of the judges (legislative)
How does the Executive Branch (President) have power over the other two branches?
Executive branch can veto congresses laws (legislative) and power over judicial because you can’t be on the Supreme Court without getting appointed by Executive
How does the Judicial Branch (Supreme Court) have power over the other two branches?
Supreme Court has right to judge constitutionality of congress’ laws (legislative) and judges the constitutionality of the execution of the laws (executive) and Supreme Court sits in judgement over the impeachment of president
The Supreme Court balances power by judging the compatibility and enactment of laws. How is their power checked?
Judges can be impeached
What is an example of the power of the Supreme Court?
The Warren Court in the 50’s - ended racial segregation in US public schools, expanded constitutional rights of dependence, ensured equal representation in state legislatures, outlawed state sponsored prayer in public schools, paved the way for legalization of abortion
Congress balances power by having the sole right to declare war and to confirm both judges/ president & impeach them. How is their power checked?
Laws can be vetoed by president; declared unconstitutional by supreme court
The Executive Branch balances power by vetoing laws and electing judges. How is their power checked?
Can be impeached and orders can be declared as unconstitutional
Explain the evolution from dual federalism to cooperative federalism
Before the 1930’s there was dual federalism where the state law had more jurisdiction than the national govt
Under dual federalism, there wasn’t much gov regulation as evidenced in the Commerce Clause where Congress had the power to regulate commerce
This all changed with the New Deal which changed the role of the federal govt in a new way
Cooperative Federalism: more federal govt control over states, Evidenced in the federal govt giving grant in aid to states
Explain the requirements to be a representative in the house of representatives, how they are determined and how long they serve as well as the roles they have apart from the Senate
House of reps = dependent on population (435 members)
Requirements: 25 years old, 7 year citizen, live in state they want to represent, determined by population (Vermont, ND and SD has one while CA has 52), serves 2 years
Roles: can impeach president and federal officials, decide presidential elections if no electoral majority, power to create bills that raise taxes (“power of the purse”)
Explain the requirements to be a Senator in the Senate, how they are determined and how long they serve as well as the roles they have apart from the House of Reps
Senate = every state has two, total of 100, upper house
Requirements: 30 years old, 9 year citizen, live in state you want to represent, elected by people because of 17th amendment, serves 6 years
Roles: holds the impeachment trial, can ratify treaties with a ⅔ vote (i.e. America did not ratify treaty in Treaty of Versailles), has confirmation power to confirm cabinet members/judges/etc.
The Constitution demonstrates majority rule with minority rights through Article V of the constitution which allows for amendments to be made. What is the process for making amendments?
- Congress passing a proposal, with a two-thirds vote, to the states to ratify. The amendment is ratified when approved by three-fourths of the states.
- The other way is through a national convention. This is where two-thirds of the states’ petition Congress to propose amendments. The proposal still has to receive a three-fourths vote by the states.
This Article allows the people to make changes to the Constitution throughout time as the majority and minority positions change.
