Legislative Branch
What are the two parts of Congress?
The Senate and the House of Representatives
What is a Mayor? What is a Govenor?
A mayor is the elected head of a city or town and a governor is the elected head of a state.
What are the roles of the courts?
Courts interpret laws and the constitution, settle disputes, and determine if someone is innocent or guilty.
Unfortunately, the President dies in the middle of his four-year term. What happens next? Who takes over?
The vice president takes over and is now the president until the next election.
Executive Order
A rule or order issued by the president to an executive branch of the government and having the force of law.
What is the leader of the House of Representative called?
Speaker of the House
What is the role of the Commander-in-Chief?
It is the president, and they have power over the armed forces (the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines). All military generals and admirals take their orders from the President.
What two documents guarantee the right of a fair judicial process to every citizen of the United States?
The Constitution and the Bill of Rights
In the Presidential Election, Democratic candidate Bob got 48% of the popular vote, having just under 66 million people vote for them, while the Republican candidate Arnold 46% of the popular vote, having just under 63 million people vote for them. The Republican candidate got 306 of the electoral votes, while Bob got 232 of the electoral votes. Who won the election?
Republican candidate Arnold won the election and will become the next President. A president is formally elected using the electoral college system.
Appeal
If one side feels the trial wasn't handled correctly or fairly, they can appeal to a higher court for a review and reversal of the decision of a lower court.
How many senators are there and how long are their terms? How many representatives are there, and how is the number determined?
100 senators, 2 per state, and their terms are 6 years long. There are 435 representatives, and for each state it is based on the population within the state.
What is the Electoral College?
It is how the president is formally elected. Electors are chosen in every state, with the electors being proportional to the population of the state.
How many justices are in the Supreme Court? How are they appointed and how long do they serve? What is the role of the Supreme Court?
There are 9 justices, appointed by the President and confirmed by Congress, and the job is for life. The role of the justices is to check if a law agrees with the Constitution.
A bill about banning vanilla ice cream (because it is too boring) is passed with a majority vote by the House of Representatives and Senate. The President however vetoes the bill, since it is his favorite ice cream flavor. Is there anything that can be done to pass the bill?
Congress can override the President's veto. There needs to be a 2/3 majority vote in the house of representatives and the senate to pass the bill for it to become a law.
Bureaucy
A system of government in which most of the important decisions are made by state officials rather than by elected representatives.
What is the primary role of the Legislative branch? What other powers does Congress have?
The primary role is to write up and vote on laws. Other powers are to create an annual budget for the government and tax citizens, the power to declare war as well as performing government oversight. The Senate can create treaties with other countries.
What are the primary responsibilites of the President?
They are the the commander-in-chief, sign legislation into law or veto it, enforce laws through federal agencies and departments, diplomacy with other nations and signing treaties.
What is the Equal Protection Clause in the Fourteenth Amendment?
It says states must apply the law equally and cannot discriminate against citizens or groups of citizens.
Unfortunately, the president dies (due to some medical problem). The vice president, who became the acting president, dies one month later after eating too much cookie dough. What happens now? Who takes over?
The Speaker of the House of Representatives takes over, as they are third in line to become President if anything were to happen.
Filibuster
An action such as a prolonged speech that stalls debate and voting in Congress.
What are the steps of the Legislative Process (in which a law is created)?
1. Someone writes a bill
2. Then a member of Congress can present it to Congress
3. Next one or many committees, that are experts on the subject, rejects, accepts, or changes
4. Once the bill is ready, both the House and the Senate will debate it
5. A majority of the votes from both the Senate and the House of Representatives is needed for it to pass
6. The next step is for the President to sign the bill
What is the Executive Office of the President and the Cabinet?
The EOP helps the branch run smoothly and includes many of the President's closest advisors (some approved by Senate others hired by the President). The Cabinet, important and powerful, is made up of the heads of 15 different departments, all must be approved by the Senate.
What are some rights do the 5th and 6th Amendment give people?
The 5th amendment gives the right to due process (a fair and equal trial), and the right to remain silent to avoid self-incrimination. While the 6th gives the right to a speedy trial and the right to an attorney.
An official of the federal government (which for example could be the President or anyone in the Cabinet) lies under oath to a grand jury and obstructing justice. Both are federal crimes known as perjury, and they could be impeached. How would they be impeached?
The House of Representatives would charge them by approving with a majority vote the articles of impeachment, which describe their crime. Then the articles of impeachment would go to the Senate, which would need a 2/3rds vote to convict, and upon conviction, the official would be removed from office.
Government Oversight
The job of Congress to make sure the government spends tax money on the right things and branches of government are doing their jobs.