The Federal Government Today
Number in thousands
3.1 million
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Legislative
Executive
Judicial
Then
Now
James Madison and Federalism
• “If men were angels, no government
would be necessary. If angels were
to govern men, neither external nor
internal controls on government
would be necessary. In framing a
government which is to be
administered by men over men, the
great difficulty is this: You must
first enable the government to
control the governed; and in the
next place, oblige it to control
itself.”
» James Madison, The
Constitutional Convention,
Philadelphia, 1787
The Constitution
535
Christopher
100 Christie
435
13
•
•
•
Barack Obama
Chief Justice John Roberts
Joe Biden
Robert Menedez 16 Cabinet Members
8 Associate Judges
Frank Launtenberg
The founding fathers believed that the nation needed a stronger central
government, but they were aware of the dangers of abuse of power.
The government was a federal one; that is, it had limited powers, which
were listed in the constitutional document; all other powers were reserved
to the separate state governments.
They determined that power should be divided into three categories, or
branches, and a system of checks and balances established among them
Delegated, Reserved, and
Concurrent Powers
• Powers Delegated Fed
• Powers Reserved State
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Declare War
Raise and support armed forces
Regulate interstate and foreign trade
Admit new states
Establish post office
Set standard weights and measures
Coin Money
Establish foreign policy
Create all laws necessary and proper
(elastic) for carrying out delegated
powers
Establish and maintain schools
Establish local governments
Conduct elections
Create corporate laws
Regulate business within the state
Create marriage laws
Provide for public safety
Assume other powers not delegated to
the national government or prohibited
to the state
• Powers shared (Concurrent)
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Maintain law and order
Levy Taxes
Borrow Money
Charter Banks
Establish Courts
Provide for public welfare
What are some powers granted only to the federal government? What about
the state governments? What are some shared powers? Who has more power?
Checks and Balances
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The Balance of Powers THE
LINE ITEM VETO
FDR
In 1936, speech to the American public, President Franklin
D. Roosevelt declared , “The American form of Government
[is] a three horse team. . . . The three horses, are, of
course, the three branches of government.” Over the
years, the balance of powers between the three branches
of government has shifted-sometimes causing great
controversy among the nation’s leaders and the public.
Recently, Americans debated the constitutionality of the
line-item veto. The Line-Item Veto Act, which gave the
president the authority to veto specific items in a
spending bill without vetoing the entire bill, became law in
1996. Supporters of the line-item veto argued that it
would help curb government spending, but legal challenges
were immediately brought against it. Opponents believed it
disrupted the balance of power between the legislative and
executive branches. In 1998, the Supreme Court agreed
with the opponents and declared the line-item veto
unconstitutional because it altered the balance of power
between the legislative and executive branches of
government. (Boyer, Paul. The American Nation. New York:
Holt, Rhinehart and Winston, 2003.
Bill Clinton
The Preamble
•
•
The opening is called
the Preamble. It
states the purpose of
the Constitution.
“We, the people of the
United States,
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–
–
–
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•
in order to form a
more perfect Union,
establish justice,
insure domestic
tranquility,
provide for the
common defense,
promote the general
welfare,
and secure the
blessing of liberty to
ourselves and our
posterity,
do ordain and establish
this Constitution for
the United States of
America.
The United States Congress
•
•
President of the
Senate – Joe Biden
First Delawarean Vice
President
•Speaker of the House
– Nancy Pelosi
•President Pro Tempore
– Daniel Inouye
•Most tenure member of
the Senate
•Highest ranking Asian
American in U.S. history
•First female and First
Italian-American to
hold the post
President Barack Obama’s Healthcare Speech to Joint Session of Congress
The Legislative Branch
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U.S. Capitol Building
This section states how
Congress shall be organized
and that it will have the power
to make all federal laws.
Congress shall be divided into
two houses:
The Senate is based on state
equality.
The House of Representatives
is based on state population.
Both houses must assent to
legislation.
There are 535 members of
the United States Congress
US House Structure
ic
bl
pu
57
Re
an
•
41
De
m
oc
ra
t
ndent
2 Indepe
•
The House of Representatives
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Each state’s representatives vary according to population; larger states have more.
Total: There are 435 members in the House of Representatives and they are elected for
two-year terms.
They are elected by voters from districts within the states.
Because of the size of the house, debate is limited. Instead, work is done in committees
with a chairman being elected. All money bills must originate here.
New Jersey has 13 representatives
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The
House
of
the
Senate
Each state has two senators (100 total).
Members of the Senate serve six-year terms.
Until 1913, senators were elected by the state legislatures. The 17th amendment (1913)
permitted direct election by the voters.
The Senate is considered the more prestigious house of congress. It must ratify all
treaties by 2/3’s vote.
New Jersey Senators: Robert Menedez and Frank Lautenberg
110th US Senate Class Photo
Senators of the U.S.
2 Democrats
1 Democrat and 1 Independent
2 Republicans
1 Democrat and 1 Republican
57 Democrats
41 Republicans
2 Independents
The President of the United
States of America
The Presidential Seal
• The Official Portrait
Five Presidents in the Oval Office: (Left to Right) George H.W. Bush, Barack
Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, January 8, 2009
Presidential Pay Scale
Date
Established
1789
Salary
$25,000
Salary in
2009 Dollars
$566,000
1873
$50,000
$865,000
1909
$75,000
$1,714,000
1949
$100,000
$906,000
1969
$200,000
$1,175,000
2001
$400,000
$487,000
The Executive Branch
The White House – Mr. Schenk’s Future Home
The next president? 2012
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The President heads this
branch, which is to
execute, or carry out,
legislation passed by
Congress.
The President serves one
four-year term and can
be re-elected once. For
most of our history,
tradition, established by
Thomas Jefferson,
decreed a two-term
limit.
This was broken in 1940
and again in 1944 by
Franklin D. Roosevelt.
The 22nd amendment
(1951) limited the
president to two terms.
All states have a
executive governor –
John Corzine of New
Jersey
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The Electoral College elects the president.
Each state chooses electors in a manner it determines. The number of electors
per state depends on population –each state has the same number of electors as
it has representatives, plus two.
A majority of the electoral vote is needed to win the presidency 270 Votes out
of 538 /NJ as 15
Today, all the states permit the voters to elect the electors, and they in turn
elect the president.
Powers of the Executive
NO!!!
“Dad, May we go
sleep at our friends
house”
• He must assent to
congressional
legislation for it to
become law.
• He has the power
to veto, or refusal
to sign a bill.
However, Congress
can override the
veto by 2/3’s vote.
• The president is
the commander of
chief of the
military.
President Barack Obama
Wow!
Hey Class!
I am related to
Bradley
Blecker! What,
you don’t
believe me?
Vice President Joe Biden
He is not
lying, I am
the president
and you have
to believe me
President Barack Obama
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•
In 2008, Democrats Barack Obama and Joe Biden defeated
Republican candidates John McCain and Sarah Palin
His primary agenda is the fixing the economy and healthcare
The President’s Cabinet
There are 16 Cabinet Positions in the Executive Branch.
The first cabinet positions were Secretary of State,
Treasury, and War (Defense)
Some cabinet members are Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton and Secretary of Treasury Tim Geithner and
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates
The Early Court
• The Court lacked its own
building until 1935; from 1791 to
1801, it met in Philadelphia's
city hall.
The Constitution says only that Congress shall establish a Supreme Court.
Supreme Court judges are appointed by the president for “good behavior”
(life), with the approval of the Senate.
Su
p
Bu re
il d m e
in C o
g
ur
t
The Judicial Branch
Th
e
•
•
Samuel
Alito
•Ruth
Ginsburg
Steven
Breyer
Sonia
Sotomayor
•Anthony
Kennedy
•Clarence
Thomas
Don’t forget me!
•One Chief Justice
•– John Roberts
John Paul
Stevens (replaced by Elena Kagan)
•Anthony
Scalia
Powers of the Supreme
Court
• Judicial review is the
power given to the
Supreme Court to
declare an act null
and void because it
violates the United
States Constitution.
• Supreme Court has
original jurisdiction
(first time case is
heard) only in cases
involving foreign
ministers or those
involving the states.
The Amendments
• Amendments - a
formal change in or
an addition to a
document, or a
constitution.
• There are a total
of 27 amendments.
The Bill of Rights
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•
•
The first ten are
known as the Bill
of Rights.
Introduced by
James Madison
to the First
United Congress
The Bill of Rights
states that the
government can
not take your
rights away, it
does not
guarantee you
these rights
1
1791
Personal and Political Freedom
AMENDMENTS TO THE U.S. CONSTITUTION
2
1791
Right to Keep Weapons
3
1791
No Quartering of Troops
4
1791
Search and Seizure: Search Warrants
5
1791
Rights of Accused Persons
6
1791
Speedy Trial
7
1791
Jury Trial
8
1791
Bails, fines, punishments
9
1791
Rights of the People
10
1791
Power of the States
11
1798
Suits against the State
12
1804
Election of President and Vice President
13
1865
Abolition of Slavery
14
1868
Rights of Citizens; privileges and immunities, due process, and equal protection
15
1870
Extension of suffrage to African American men
16
1913
Income Tax
17
1913
Direct Election of Senators
18
1919
19
1920
Women’s Suffrage
20
1933
Change in dates for presidential and congressional terms in office
21
1933
Repeal of Prohibition
22
1951
Two-term limit of Presidential tenure
23
1961
Right to Vote in Presidential Elections for residents of the District of Columbia
24
1964
Poll tax banned in federal election
25
1967
Presidential disability and succession
26
1971
Lowering of voting age to 18
27
1992
Legislative Salaries
Prohibition of Liquor
•
te
vo
s th
3’ o s
2/ f buse
o
ho
’s
/4
•3
of
e
th
.
es
at
st
The State of New Jersey
•There are 15
Congressmen – 2
Senators and 13
Representatives
•Robert Menedez
•
•Frank Lautenberg•oldest member of
Senate
•New Jersey has 15
electoral college
votes
John Corzine
•Governor Chris
Christie defeated
Corzine