U.S.A Branches of Government | U.S GOV (2024-2025) Flashcards
Become more familiar with the U.S Governmental Tripartite and study for the Mid-Term Exam
What makes up the Executive Branch?
President (4 yr, 2 terms)
What Branch of government is the Supreme Court?
Judicial
What makes up the Legislative Branch?
House of Representatives and the Senate
Why does each branch have separate rolls?
Prevents too much power in any one person or branch (Response to Monarchy)
Who/what has the final authority to the decision making of launch nuclear missiles?
The president is the only person with the power to launch nuclear weapons.
What does the word “pardon” mean?
Pardon means to forgive someone or something of a federal crime.
What role does the President play as Chief Executive?
The Chief Executive has the role of the following:
- Enforcing Laws
- Appointing the National Guard (in response to riots or national disasters)
- Appoints heads of the Federal Departments (Cabinet) as long as the Senate agrees.
What role does the President play as Chief of Legislature?
The Chief of Legislature has the role of the following:
-Signs bills into law (Congress writes the law)
-Veto Power -refuse to sign a bill into law (Presidential check on Congress)
(⅔ of Congress must agree to overrule the veto)
-Use influence to suggest laws
-Submits budget (Congress can ignore it -only Congress has the right to pass a budget)
State of Union Speech- (Update Congress on new information every 12 calendar months)
Executive Order Get something done-EPA (The next president can undo it)
What is Executive Order?
Executive Order is to get something done during that President’s presidency (the EPA is an example of something President Richard Nixon put into place.)
What role does the President play as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces?
The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces has the role of the following:
Total authority to move troops around the world
President cannot declare war (Only Congress)
(President can only send troops out of the Country for up to 90 days) (Came from Vietnam war, but was never used)
Sole person with authority to launch nuclear weapons
What role does the President play as the Chief Diplomat?
The Chief Diplomat has the role of the following:
Meet foreign leader abroad-Reps the US
Legitimize new governments-
Sign treaties- (Senate ⅔ approval)
Creates Executive Agreements which goes around Congress (not the same permanence as a treaty)
What is an Executive Agreement?
An Executive Agreement is an international agreement that does not have the same binding agreement as a treaty.
What role does the President play as the Chief of State?
The Chief of State has the role of the following:
The President represents the Federal government in the U.S
Ceremonial duties (Honoring Heroes-pardon Thanksgiving turkey, Easter Egg hunt ect.)
Host foreign leaders in the U.S
Leader of his political party
What does the word “filibuster” mean?
The word filibuster means to speak on the Senate floor to disrupt or prevent a vote
What is a Bill?
A Bill is a Legislation (but not law) that is put up for vote in each house. If it passes each house it goes to the President to sign.
What does it mean to Veto?
Veto is an act done by the President when the President chooses not to sign the bill into law and/or overturned by ⅔ of Congress
What does the word “Bicameral” mean?
Bicameral is the word for Two Houses, representing the House of Representatives and Senate
What does Tripartite mean?
Tripartite means Three Branches, representing The Executive, Legislative, and Judicial Branches.
What does the word “Impeach” mean?
Impeach means to charge a federal official with a wrong doing
What is Proportional Representation?
Proportional Representation is the House in relation to the states population
What is Equal Representation?
Equal Representation is the word that designates the Senators from every state
What are the requirements and benefits of being apart of The House of Representatives
- At least 25 year old
- U.S Citizen for at least 7 years
- Must live in the state you represent (But not the district)
- 2 Year term -no limit
What are the rules for passing legislation in The House of Representatives?
To pass legislation they need 51% (Also known as simple majority)
Leader of the House-Leader of the majority party-Power to set priorities (issues and votes)
What are the four powers of The House?
- Set taxes, create budgets
- Regulate tariffs (Commerce) - Tax on Imports
- Choose to impeach a Federal Official with a crime
- Pick the president in case of a tie
What are the requirements to be apart of The Senate?
- 6 Year Term
- No term limit
- Minimum age of 30 years old
- U.S citizen for 9 years
- Must live in the state you represent
What are the rules for passing legislation in The Senate?
Both Head of the Senate-Majority Leader and Minority Leader discuss agenda and schedule discussions (cooperation b/w parties)
- 60% majority to pass bills.
What are the three powers of The Senate?
- Approve presidential nominees (Judges, Justices,
Department heads) - Ratify treaties
-Conduct impeachment trials
What is a trial court?
A trial court is a type of court that discusses the facts of a case.
What is an appellate court?
An appellate court is a type of court, including the SCOTUS, that confirms that everything that happened in trial court went smoothly. The judge of the appellate court looks over the transcript of the original trial court or previous appellate court.
What is the Judicial Branch?
The Judicial Branch is the third and final branch of government that controls all of the courts in the United States.
What is the SCOTUS?
SCOTUS is the acronym for Supreme Court of the United States. The Supreme Court is the highest Federal appellate court and makes the final and official decision of a trial. Mostly only large and important trails make it to the SCOTUS.
What is Majority Opinion?
Majority Opinion is the decision that 5 of 9 Justices agree on.
What is a Dissenting Opinion?
A Dissenting Opinion is when the majority of justices do not agree with each other.
What is a Precedent?
A Precedent is a Supreme Court decision that guides how future decisions will be made.
How is the SCOTUS ran?
- 9 Justices
- Appointed by the president
- Must be confirmed (approved) by the Senate
- Appointed for Life
There must be an opening on the court for the president to nominate
What are the powers of the Supreme Court?
- Highest Court (No further legal action)
- Appellate review-can include state railings (based on whether the ruling is constitutional)
What are six possible Federal Crimes that, if you were to commit, would cause you to end up in Federal Court?
- Treason
- Piracy
- Counterfeiting
- Drug trafficking
- Human trafficking
- Tax evasion
What is the image for the SCOTUS?
