BICAMERAL CONGRESS
House of
Legislature
Senate House of Representatives
Who make up? 2 senators from each state (100
total)
Must be at least 30 years old
Be citizen for 9 years
Legal resident of the state to be
represented
Must be 25 years old to serve
Be citizen ...
BICAMERAL CONGRESS
House of Senate House of Representatives
Legislature
Who make up? 2 senators from each state (100 Must be 25 years old to serve
total) Be citizen for 7 years
Must be at least 30 years old Legal resident of the state to be represented
Be citizen for 9 years Representation is determined by population
Legal resident of the state to be
represented
Powers Hold impeachment trials Impeach the president and other federal officials
Ratify treaties Decide presidential elections if no candidate wins the
Confirmation of the appointment majority of electoral college
of executive officials Start the bills that raise taxes
Reasons we have two Houses:
1. States couldn’t agree on what type of legislature they should have.
Larger states wanted proportionate representation (Virginia Plan)
Smaller states wanted equal representation (New Jersey Plan)
As the result Connecticut (The Great) Compromise was created – upper house equal representation and lower
house with proportionate representation
2. So the legislature doesn’t have too much power
Intrabranch check – one house of legislature can limit the power of the other house
SEPARATION OF POWERS
The Legislative Branch The Executive Branch The Judicial Branch
Congress President Supreme Court
Make laws Execute laws Interpret and explain the law
CHECKS AND BALANCES
Each of branches has the power to limit or check the other two
Legislative Executive Judicial
Power on The House of Representatives can: The Senate can:
Impeach the President Reject judicial nominees
The Senate can: Both can:
Remove the president from office Impeach and remove judges
Reject President’s appointment of judges Add or take away courts
and officials Change the jurisdiction of federal courts
Both can: Pass the laws that override the Supreme C
Override the veto of the President decisions (as long as the decisions aren’t b
Refuse to pass laws that the executive on the Constitution)
wants Can propose Amendments to the Constitu
Refuse to appropriate funds for executive
programs
Executive Legislative Judicial
Power on Veto Congress’ laws Nominate Supreme Court justices
Call Congress into a special session Nominate federal court judges
Vice President can break ties in the Senate Pardon people convicted by the courts
Refuse to carry out court decisions
Judicial Legislative Executive
Power on Declare laws unconstitutional Declare executive actions unconstitutiona
Preside over impeachment trials Issue warrants in federal crime cases
Invalidate laws Invalidate executive actions
FEDERALISM
Federalism – an idea that the governmental power is divided between the government of the United States (Federal
government) and the government of the individual states (State Government)
Jurisdiction – what government has control over
, Dual Federalism Cooperative Federalism
1788-1937 The National Government encourages states and
Government power was strictly divided between the state localities to pursue nationally defined goals
and national governments Grant-in-aid – money given to the state by the
Limited government federal government for a particular purpose
National government had jurisdiction over internal (transportation or education)
improvement (interstate roads, subsidies to the states, Two types of categorical grands:
taxes on imports, foreign policy, patents) 1. Formula grands
State government had control over property laws, 2. Project grands
commercial laws, banking laws, insurance, family laws , Under regulated federalism, the national
education, public health, criminal laws, land use, licensing government sets up regulations and rules that the
(more power than national) states must follow
New Federalism – giving more power to the states in these ways:
1. Block Grands – big chuck of money given to the state to decide what to do with d=federal money
2. Devolution – giving state and local governments the power to enforce regulations
CONSTITUTIONAL COMPROMISES
Articles of Confederation – the first American Government, written in pace during the revolutionary war by John
Dickinson
Articles of Confederation failed because:
Had good ideas but was poorly executed
No executive branch or President, no judiciary to settle disputes
There was only Congress, each state was equally represented
Each state had veto power and could sink the legislation they didn’t like
All decisions were collective
Government had no power to levy taxes, which meant they if it needed any money it had to ask for the money
from the states
Competing interest between different states
This all led to The Great Compromise that formed our current Bicameral Congress
The 3/5ths Compromise – to count the population of the state with slaves, the number of free people was added to the
3/5 of the number of slaves in the state (each slave was worth 3/5ths of each free person); this also enshrined the idea
that slaves, who were mostly black, were worth less than free people, who were mostly white, and it embedded
slavery into the Constitution
During Constitution ratification process, states had divided opinion about the Constitution
Federalists Anti-Federalists
Believed that government would benefit the country as a whole Were skeptical of a large govern
Tended to come from cities and often represented commercial classes, that would trample on people’s
especially wealthy people individual liberties
They liked new Constitution because they felt like strong national Believed that sates would be bet
government would pay its debts, and this was good for business protectors of the people’s rights
Wanted stronger ties with England be more responsive
Federalists position won and the Constitution was ratified
Constitution wasn’t ideal and Federalists had to offer another compromise, promising Bill of rights ( First 10
Amendments)
CONGRESSIONAL ELECTIONS
Incumbent – a person holding an office who runs for that office again
Incumbency Advantage – incumbent has a big advantage over any challenger
Representative’s behaviors and activities categories:
1. Advertising – to develop their personal brand so they are recognizable to voters
2. Credit claiming – to get things done so they can say they got them done
3. Position taking.- making a public judgmental statement on something likely to be of interest to voters
CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES
The House and the Senate are both divided into committees to make them more efficient
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