UNIT 64: OVERVIEW OF US INSTITUTIONS.

THE
CONSTITUTION. THE CONGRESS AND THE FEDERAL
GOVERNMENT. THE PRESIDENT. POLITICAL PARTIES AND
THE ELECTORAL SYSTEM.

1. INTRODUCTION.

The present essay aims to provide a useful introduction to the United States institutions among which
we shall focus on those related to North American politics, not only in terms of political basis
regarding the Constitution and territorial organization, but also in terms of political powers regarding
the main political parties and electoral system. In doing so, we shall first locate the United States
institutions within a historical framework and then we shall move on to analyze each political body.

Therefore the essay will be divided into the following parts. First section will deal with the
constitution of the individual states. Secondly, there will be a review of the federal constitution, which
will be followed by an explanation of the legal system in the United States. Last part will be devoted
to talk about the different political parties and how the Government works.

2. THE CONSTITUTION OF THE INDIVIDUAL STATES.

When the thirteen colonies gained their independence from England they had the idea of creating a
kind of government which would allow each person to live his own life without fear of being
ill-treated or interfered with by political or religious authorities. They also wanted to have peace
among themselves and put an end to the national differences they had left behind in Europe.
Each state constitution regulated the democratic procedure by which these authorities would be
elected at fixed intervals. Women were not initially allowed to vote and most states had some
restrictions on the right to vote among men.
The constitution of most states consisted of two Houses: a House of Representatives and a Senate.
The elected Governor represented the executive power whose duty was to carry out the laws made by
the legislative assembly and to do those things necessary for the conduct of the government not
necessarily based on specific legal powers.

3. THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION.

The Constitution has always been regarded with almost veneration, both because it is the main
expression of the American ideal and because it has remained practical for over 200 years. The ideals
which inspired the Constitution have changed very little, but the model of nation for which it was
written has undergone many changes.

3.1. The Organisation of the Legislative Power.

The Constitution provides a description of the powers and organization of the legislative department,
that is, the Congress, consisting of a House of Representatives and a Senate. It also establishes the
process by which bills become laws. It gives the list of powers granted to Congress, which include
defence and foreign affairs, citizenship, naturalisation and immigration, the regulation of commerce
with foreign countries and among the states, but not within any state, and power to collect taxes, to
pay debts and to provide for the common defence and general welfare of the United States.

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The Constitution is designed to reinforce the powers granted to the federal government. The states are
prohibited from taking any part in the control of foreign affairs, war, and control of interstate and
foreign commerce. They are not allowed to print paper money.

3.2. The Executive Department.

The Constitution establishes the norms for the indirect election of the President and Vice-President by
“electors” chosen for that purpose. It also gives the President the military power as Commander in
Chief of the Armed Forces. The president is given the power to make treaties, appoint Ambassadors,
Judges of the Supreme Court and other Officers of the United States.
The impeachment process by which the President may be removed from office after having been
convicted of treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanours is also established by the
American Constitution.

3.3. The Judicial Department.

The judicial department is one of the most sketchily described in the Constitution. It was simply stated
that there was to be a Supreme Court and inferior courts. Other details were left for later decision by
Congress. The principal function of the federal judiciary under the Constitution is plain: to try
offences against federal laws and treaties.

3.4. The Amending Process.

One of two possible ways of amending the Constitution is through the proposition of the amendment
by two thirds of Congress, which must later be ratified by three quarters of the states.
One of the principal objections to the Constitution when it was presented for ratification was that it
contained no section spelling out the rights and liberties of American citizens. Several states were
persuaded to ratify only on the assurance that such a statement would be added immediately. The first
ten amendments are known as the Bill of Rights. They were designed to make sure that the new
Federal Government would not abuse its great powers by oppressing the people of the states.

4. THE LEGAL SYSTEM.

The American legal system is made complex by the fact that a two court system must co-exist: federal
and state.

4.1. States’ Legal System.

The states have full control over the maintenance of ordinary law and order within their boundaries
and jurisdiction over everything which does not specifically correspond to the Union. Therefore, each
state has its own laws, courts, police and prisons.

4.2. Federal Legal System.

Federal jurisdiction covers cases which arise under the Federal Constitution or under any federal law
or treaty and also cases which affect people outside the jurisdiction of a single state.
Corresponding with the federal jurisdiction, there is a federal police force, the FBI, Federal Bureau of
Investigation, and a separate federal prison system.

4.3. The Supreme Court.

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The Supreme Court is the most effective safeguard of democracy. It sits for at least four days a week
and any individual who has a grievance against the government can apply for help. Its members make
sure that the Constitution is respected and the rights of citizens are guaranteed. The Supreme Court is
composed of nine Justices appointed for life by the President with the consent of the Senate. They
can only be removed by impeachment.

5. POLITICAL PARTIES AND ELECTIONS.

There are two prominent parties in the American scene: Republicans and Democrats. No other
political parties can compete with these two. There are no left-wing parties as just a few Americans
are interested in socialism.
Although different, it is not easy to draw a political line between Republicans and Democrats. Ideas
supported by one party may be adopted by the other in a different state or in the same state some years
later. There are no clear leaders in the parties and discrepancy on prominent ideas is not uncommon
among different groups of politicians belonging to the same party. Party discipline is very lax as
compared with that of European parties.

The Republican Party started as a northern alliance against slavery. For many decades after the
abolition of slavery the Republican Party was boycotted by whites in the south. Afterwards the
Republican Party represented the mainstream of developing northern industry and private enterprise.

After the abolition of slavery, the Democratic Party became the only alternative for many people in
the south and many conservative Democrat congressmen have come from the south. These southern
Democrats are often more conservative than the Republicans. Outside the south the Democrats
attracted the support of the people who felt themselves outside the dominant system: Irish immigrants,
the poor, the intellectual, Catholics, labour unions and much later Negroes.

In 1932 Roosevelt led the Democrats with a program called the New Deal, which was the beginning of
a greater state and federal intervention in the economy and the foundation of government social
services. While the Republicans have defined little state intervention in the economy, they have not
shown enthusiasm for social programs, have supported individualism and in general terms have been
supported by business interests.

5.3. Choosing the Candidate:

Elections for different offices are held in November every two years, but before that date there are
primary elections in which the parties select candidates by different means.

5.4. Election of the President:

Strictly speaking, the President of the United States is indirectly elected.

The presidential election is not a real direct one. When people vote in the November Presidential
elections they do not directly give their votes to their favorite candidate but to state electors who will
vote for the electoral college. In practice, these are electors belonging to a party and who support the
candidate nominated by their party during the summer convention, so voting for the list of Republican
electors is really like voting for the Republican candidate.

Each state has a number of electoral votes which is equal to the number of Representatives plus two,
the two being the two Senators that correspond to every state. As the number of Representatives varies

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with the population of each state, the most heavily populated states have a greater number of electoral
votes.
If the President dies, the Vice-president, elected together with the President, becomes President for the
unexpired part of the four-year term. Congress can remove a President by a special kind of political
trial, as happened with Nixon, who preferred to resign rather than face an impeachment.

5.5. Elections for Congress:

Elections for Congress, and many other offices, are held in November each even numbered year.
Candidates who want to be elected Senators or Representatives must first take part in primary
elections.
Senators are elected for a six-year term. The two Senators corresponding to the same state are elected
in different years.
Representatives are elected for two-year terms. They must be residents of the district for which they
run. There is only one seat for each district so it is the most voted-for candidate who obtains it. This
electoral system helps to consolidate a two-party system.

6. HOW THE GOVERNMENT WORKS.

6.1. The Balance:

The European idea of a party in power while the rest of the parties remain in opposition does not
really correspond to the American balance of power. It is quite possible that one party has the majority
in one or in both houses while the President belongs to the other party. This is only relatively relevant.

The President’s influence on legislation is greater than the Constitution suggests and he is the source
of most important new laws. The Congress also makes laws, approves or disapproves the
appointments to important offices that the President makes and they control the working of the
administration.

6.2. The President at Work.

The President of the USA has more power than any other President in the democratic world. The
foreign relations of the United States are almost wholly under the general direction of the President,
but no treaty made by him is valid until it has been approved by a two-thirds majority vote in the
Senate. He is leader of the nation and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces. The USA is the only
democracy, apart from France, where a President can rule with a parliament in which the majority of
its members do not belong to his own political party.
Actually, a great deal of the President’s power is controlled by Congress, which must agree on all
matters for those to be carried out. Congress has on several occasions refused to ratify treaties or to
give approval to laws proposed by the President.
The President has a cabinet formed by eleven Heads of Department. The Secretary of State is the
most important member of the cabinet and he deals with foreign relations. Other important members
are the Secretary of Defence, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Transportation and the
Attorney General, in charge of legal questions.

6.3. Congress at Work:

The Senate and the House of Representatives together form the Congress, which is the law-making
body. No federal taxes can be collected or money spent without the approval of both Houses. It

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regulates commerce with foreign nations and among the several states. It is also the Congress which
declares war.
The President signs the laws. If he refuses, his “veto” can be overridden by a two-thirds majority in
both Houses. A non-financial bill may originate in either House. Many are inspired by the President.
Americans have other ways of influencing politics besides voting. People who find that they share
interests with others tend to join in groups and organisations which try to influence political decisions.
Such organisations are called “lobbies” and they are becoming more and more influential nowadays.
They are frequently associated with certain economic interests hidden under the name of a certain
ethnic minority or a certain political view.

7. CONCLUSION.

To know a language does not only mean to know grammatical structures and vocabulary. Our students
should also develop communicative competence, an integral part of which is socio-linguistic
competence, i.e., they have to develop a deeper understanding of the culture of the foreign language.
Therefore, some of the information here presented could be used from time to time in the lessons to
illustrate American culture.

8. BIBLIOGRAPHY.

Some of the books I have checked to elaborate this unit, all of them published in the 2nd half of the 20th
century, are the following:
ECKHARD, F. America in close-up. An in-depth study in Contemporary America. Longman.
London. 2003.
The Encyclopaedia Britannica. Chicago.