US government and politics Flashcards
what are the 4 principals of the US constitution?
- federalism
- separation of powers
- limited government
- checks and balances to be implemented
how many members of the house of representatives are there?
435 members of the house of representatatives
- the amount of delegates sent from each state/ elected in each state depends on the population level of the state as the amount of delegates sent to the house is proportional to the population size of the state eg. california has 52 delegates in the house of representatives
how is the US legislaiture,executive and judiciary made up ?
executive= the elected president and vice president, elected every 4 years due to the constitutional constraints on this no matter the state of the world eg. elections in 2020 and 1945
legislature = congress made up of the house of representatives (435 members) and the senate (100 members)
judiciary = the supreme court, there is no higher power in the US than the supreme court due to the US having a codified constitution whereas in the UK the power of the supreme court is limited due to the UK having an uncodified constitution and parliament being sovereign
why did the US create a stronger federal government after the war of independance (1775-1783)?
- rebellions and backlash against the new government since the end of the war of independence
- the war highlighted the weaknesses of the articles of the confederation
- the articles of the confederation created a weak federal system which prioritised the soveregnity of the states
what are the exceptional/ exclusive powers of the senate ?
- confirm presidential appointments
- ratify treaties
- elect the vice president in case of electoral college deadlock
- try the accused in cases of impeachment
- unlimited debate powers
what are the exclusive powers of the house of representatives?
- initiate money bills
- vote on impeachment
- elect a president in the case of electoral college deadlock
