Powers of government are separated into three main categories. The legislative branch consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate. The Constitution gives Congress the authority to ratify legislation and declare war. (The Legislative Branch) They are also responsible for making laws. Locke would support these obligations of legislation.
• Describe the tools used by the national government to extend its power over the states. • Distinguish between categorical grants and block grants. • Trace the shifting balance of power between national and state governments in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. • Discuss the difficulties associated with reshaping the federal system. • Contrast the approaches taken by
The principle organ of the US state is to legislate, represent and scrutinise the other, safely separated, branches of the government. First of the three elements in which Congress’s primary role plays is in legislation. The very first article of the Constitution lays out how this is done. Bills initiated by both the President and members of Congress are almost certain to be substantially modified as they go through the legislative process, making it very difficult for the President or any political faction to force through their policy agenda. Congress has been somewhat effective in passing laws such as the PATRIOTIC Act under Bush and the Healthcare Reform Act under Obama both show’s that Congress can legislate when it needs be, especially with a majority in both houses.
Explain the three general standard operating procedures of cooperative federalism. 1. Shared costs: Washington foots part of the bill, but states or cities that want their share must pay part of a program's costs 2. Federal guidelines: "strings attached” (ex: to get money for highway construction, states must adopt and enforce limits on legal drinking age) 3. Shared administration: state and local officials implement federal policies but have administrative powers of their own.
Court History and Purpose Michele A Anderson CJA/224 June 8, 2012 Austin Zimmer Court History and Purpose The American justice system is a complex system that serves a purpose of administering justice and all other legal matters. This paper will examine the court system and its purpose. This paper will describe the dual court system and how it pertains to our justice system. This paper will also examine the role of the early legal codes, common law, and the precedent they played in the development of the court systems. This paper will identify the role of the courts in the criminal justice system today.
In a more concrete understanding, the Constitution of the United States includes those “unalienable rights” initially granted to each citizen in the Declaration of Independence (1776). These rights safeguard the justice and freedom of every person whether he or she lives in the United States or in one of its territories, such as Guam. The Constitution specifies three branches which run America’s government. They consist of the legislative branch, the executive branch, and the
In our government, a system of separation of powers and checks and balances are used to maintain order among the three different branches of government. The purposes and responsibilities of the legislative and executive branches are laid out in Article I and II of the United States Constitution, respectively. To balance state's rights and the rights of all of the nation's citizens, the framers of the Constitution came up with the concept of an executive branch that represents the interests of the nation and a legislative branch that represents the interests of the states. The third branch of government, the judicial branch, is responsible for balancing these conflicting interests. The Judicial Branch, has power that is, arguably, unregulated; power to overturn decisions by both the Executive and Legislative Branches.
It does so by consisting of a set of rules and principles, “. . . creating, structuring, and possibly defining the limits of, government power or authority.” (Waluchow) Absolutism, on the other hand, the monarch would claim power by “divine right”. They and only they created law, in a pure absolutist state.
Federalism is a theory of government by which political power is divided between a national government and state government, each having their own area of substantive jurisdiction. Federalism involves a degree of decentralisation. Decentralisation is the principle by which governmental and political power is vested not only in the federal government, but also in the state governments. Although in the Constitution, nowhere is it directly stated that the government shall pertain to the idea of federalism, it did reference the enumerated powers of the 3 branches of the federal government for example, Congress was to "coin money", and the President was to be the "Commander in Chief." It was also included in the implied powers of the federal government eg Congress's powers' to "make all laws necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers."
Federalism is the theory of government by which political power is divided between a national government and state government, each having their own area of substantive jurisdiction. Within US politics, this refers to the 2 layers of government designed to demonstrate national unity while accommodating for regional diversity. The theory of federalism in the USA represents ‘E Pluribus Unum’ and K.C Wheare describes the system as “The method of dividing powers so that the general and regional governments are each, within a sphere, co-ordinate and independent.” Despite the aims of federalism, there are a number of consequences. Firstly, there are legal consequences. Throughout the USA, there is a huge variety in state laws on such matters as the age at which people can marry, drive a car and have to attend school.