Fiche de révision : US Political Institutions

📋 Plan du Cours

1. Constitution and Bill of Rights
2. Three Branches of Government
3. Congress and Its Two Houses
4. How a Bill Becomes Law
5. President and Vice President
6. Impeachment and Presidential Limits
7. Supreme Court and Judicial Power
8. Checks and Balances

📖 1. Constitution and Bill of Rights

🔑 Notions clés & Définitions

• US Constitution : The supreme law of the United States, establishing the federal institutions that all Americans in the 50 states must obey.

📝 Points essentiels

• The US Constitution was adopted by Congress on September 17, 1787, and came into effect in March 1789.

• The Constitution established the United States as a republic rather than a monarchy.

• The Constitution contains seven original Articles and has been extended by 27 Amendments.

• The first Ten Amendments, called the Bill of Rights, were written in 1789 and ratified in 1791.

• An Amendment is adopted by a two-thirds vote in both houses of Congress, ratified by three-quarters of the states, and then enforced throughout the country.

💡 Astuce mémo

1787 adoption → 1789 entry into force → 1791 Bill of Rights

📖 2. Three Branches of Government

📝 Points essentiels

📌 The Legislative Branch writes laws, the Executive Branch enforces laws, and the Judicial Branch interprets laws and checks their constitutionality.

💡 Astuce mémo

LEJ: Legislative, Executive, Judicial

📖 3. Congress and Its Two Houses

★ À maîtriser

• The US Congress consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate and sits in the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C.

• The House of Representatives has 435 members elected for two years, with representation proportional to each state's population.

• The Senate has 100 members elected for six years, with two Senators representing each state regardless of population.

Compléments

• One third of the Senate is renewed every two years, so the entire Senate is never elected at the same time.

💡 Astuce mémo

House: proportional representation; Senate: equal representation

📖 4. How a Bill Becomes Law

📝 Points essentiels

• A bill becomes an act when it is written and proposed, approved by both houses of Congress, and signed by the President.

📌 If the President vetoes a bill, Congress can override the veto if two-thirds of both the House and the Senate approve it.

💡 Astuce mémo

Write → vote → sign, unless vetoed and overridden

📖 5. President and Vice President

📝 Points essentiels

• The President is elected for four years and can serve only two terms under the 22nd Amendment of 1951.

📌 To become President, a person must be at least 35 years old, a natural-born citizen, and have lived in the United States for at least 14 years.

• The President is head of state, head of the Cabinet, and commander-in-chief of the armed forces.

📌 The Vice President replaces the President if the President dies, resigns, cannot govern, or is considered physically or mentally unfit by a majority of the Cabinet under the 25th Amendment of 1967.

📖 6. Impeachment and Presidential Limits

★ À maîtriser

• The impeachment process consists of impeachment by the House of Representatives followed by a Senate trial requiring a two-thirds majority for removal.

Compléments

• Andrew Johnson in 1868, Bill Clinton in 1998, and Donald Trump in 2020 and 2021 were impeached, but none was removed from office.

💡 Astuce mémo

House impeaches → Senate tries → two-thirds removes

📖 7. Supreme Court and Judicial Power

📝 Points essentiels

• The Supreme Court consists of nine Justices: one Chief Justice and eight Associate Justices appointed for life by the President with the Senate's consent.

📌 The Supreme Court checks that laws passed by Congress and state legislatures do not violate the US Constitution, and all states must obey its decisions.

📖 8. Checks and Balances

🔑 Notions clés & Définitions

• Checks and balances : A system in which each branch of government controls the other two so that no branch becomes dominant.

📝 Points essentiels

• The President appoints Secretaries, Supreme Court Justices, and ambassadors only with the consent of the Senate.

• The President can veto a bill, but Congress can override the veto with a two-thirds vote in both houses.

• The Supreme Court controls the Legislative Branch by ensuring that laws passed by Congress respect the Constitution.

💡 Astuce mémo

Fear of tyranny → mutual control between branches

📊 Tableaux de synthèse

House of Representatives and Senate