Madison and the Principle of Judicial Review 5. Significant Supreme Court Decisions Topic 6. Functions of State and National Government 6. United States and Massachusetts Constitutions 6.
Enumerated and Implied Powers 6. Additional Provisions of the Massachusetts Constitution 6. Responsibilities of Federal, State and Local Government 6. Leadership Structure of the Massachusetts Government 6. Tax-Supported Facilities and Services 6. Components of Local Government Topic 7. Freedom of the Press 7. Competing Information in a Free Press 7. Digital News and Social Media 7.
Evaluating Print and Online Media 7. Standard 3. Parliamentary Systems, and Powers of the U. Strongmen: Dictatorship as a Form of Government Dictatorship and authoritarianism are the political opposites of democratically-based presidential and parliamentary systems of the government.
New authoritarians to present who get elected democraticallly and then set out to dismantle democratic institutions; examples include Silvio Berlusconi Italy , Vladmir Putin Russia , and Donald Trump United States. Suggested Learning Activity Select a country from the list of United Nations countries and investigate their government by searching a database maintained by Global Edge from the International Business Center at Michigan State University.
Conduct an Internet search about the country: Does it have a presidential, parliamentary, or authoritarian system of government? How much actual democracy and democratic government is there in the country? Write a state of the union speech as if you were the leader of the country you chose.
Include in the speech a discussion about how your country's structure of government is influencing the goals of citizens, the country as a whole, and the world see the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals. Bonus points for presenting the speech on TikTok, Snapchat, or another form of media.
When should individuals receive pardons? What steps are needed to ensure that there is fairness and justice in the pardon process? When can a President act militarily without consulting Congress? This resolution requires the President to consult with Congress before committing U. Presidents from both parties have held that the resolution unconstitutionally limits the power of the executive branch.
Activity: Write an Impeachment Press Release. McGahn , U. Look for newspaper articles, news clips, magazine covers, and other artifacts about the impeachment. Try to find examples from media outlets from all sides. What perspective did the media outlet present? Did they take the side of the President? Why or why not? How did the media present information?
What text did they share? What visuals did they select? How did the way the media portrayed the impeachment infuence peoples' perspectives and understandings? In oral arguments, each side usually has 30 minutes to present its case. The Justices typically ask many questions during this time. Justices write opinions The Justices vote on the case and write their opinions.
Justices who disagree with the majority opinion write dissenting or minority opinions. The Court issues its decision Justices may change their vote after reading first drafts of the opinions.
All cases are heard and decided before summer recess. It can take up to nine months to announce a decision. The Court receives 7,, requests for review and grants for oral argument. Other requests are granted and decided without argument. Ask a real person any government-related question for free. They'll get you the answer or let you know where to find it. American Flag Branches of the U. Government Budget of the U.
Government Data and Statistics About the U. Presidents, Vice Presidents, and First Ladies. See if you can help A. Bill get from his office to the Capitol to vote on a law by trying the Capitol Maze!
During the Philadelphia Convention of , participants from large states wanted the number of representatives in Congress based on the number of citizens in the state—so the more citizens the more representatives. Participants from small states were worried they would have no power and wanted an equal number of representatives from each state.
To be sure everyone had equal representation and power it was decided that the Congress would have two houses, the Senate and the House of Representatives. The two houses work together to pass laws. The Senate has members—2 Senators from each state, regardless of its size. Senators serve 6 year terms and there is no limit to the number of terms they can serve. Constitution divided the powers and responsibilities of the new federal government among three branches: the legislative branch , the executive branch and the judicial branch.
In addition to this separation of powers, the framers built a system of checks and balances designed to guard against tyranny by ensuring that no branch would grab too much power. Checks and balances operate throughout the U. The system of checks and balances has been tested numerous times throughout the centuries since the Constitution was ratified.
In particular, the power of the executive branch has expanded greatly since the 19th Century, disrupting the initial balance intended by the framers.
Presidential vetoes—and congressional overrides of those vetoes—tend to fuel controversy, as do congressional rejections of presidential appointments and judicial rulings against legislative or executive actions. Executive orders, official directives issued to federal agencies by the president, are powers afforded to the executive branch that do not require congressional approval.
They are not directly provided for in the U. Overall, the system of checks and balances has functioned as it was intended, ensuring that the three branches operate in balance with one another. Roosevelt with six new judges likely to be FDR puppets, circa The checks and balances system withstood one of its greatest challenges in , thanks to an audacious attempt by Franklin D. Roosevelt to pack the Supreme Court with liberal justices. After winning reelection to his second term in office by a huge margin in , FDR nonetheless faced the possibility that judicial review would undo many of his major policy achievements.
From , a conservative majority on the Court struck down more significant acts of Congress than any other time in U. In February , Roosevelt asked Congress to empower him to appoint an additional justice for any member of the Court over 70 years of age who did not retire, a move that could expand the Court to as many as 15 justices.
In the end, Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes wrote an influential open letter to the Senate against the proposal; in addition, one older justice resigned, allowing FDR to replace him and shift the balance on the Court. The nation had narrowly averted a constitutional crisis, with the system of checks and balances left shaken but intact.
The act was created in the wake of the Korean War and during the Vietnam War and stipulates that the president has to consult Congress when deploying American troops.
If after 60 days the legislature does not authorize the use of U. The War Powers Act was put forth by the legislature to check the mounting war powers exercised by the White House.
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