Unit 4: American Political Institutions
When many people think of American government, the institutions – Congress, the president, and the Supreme Court – most often come to mind. This unit will focus on these three important pillars of American government, in addition to a fourth and often overlooked facet of American government: the bureaucracy. Each subunit will be dedicated to one of the major institutions and discuss the significant role that the particular institution plays in the American political system. As you learned in previous units, the American system of government relies on a delicate balance of power among many forces; by the end of this unit, you will understand the specific roles that each institution plays in establishing and maintaining that balance of power.
Completing this unit should take you approximately 45 hours.
Upon successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- explain the roles, duties, structure, and functions of the US Congress;
- compare and contrast the differences between the Senate and the House of Representatives;
- outline the powers of the legislative branch of government;
- explain the impact of changing demographics and sociological influences on the evolution of the US Congress over time;
- compare and contrast the modern Congress with its previous historical incarnations;
- explain the process of how a bill becomes a law;
- analyze the role of congressional committees in the lawmaking process;
- analyze the role – their duties and responsibilities – of party leaders in Congress;
- explain the role and constitutional powers of the presidency;
- discuss the limits of presidential power in a constitutional system of checks and balances;
- compare and contrast both the formal and informal powers of the presidency;
- explain how the modern presidency has evolved over time;
- discuss the complicated nature that exists between the president and the media;
- describe the role of the vice president;
- explain the organization of the Executive Office of the President;
- discuss the origins of the modern cabinet;
- analyze the role of the bureaucracy as the implementation arm of the executive branch;
- explain the role of congressional oversight of the bureaucracy;
- discuss the constitutional origins of the judicial branch;
- analyze how the US Supreme Court interprets the law, paying particular attention to the competing judicial philosophies of judicial restraint and judicial activism;
- explain the origin and importance of judicial review; and
- explain the politics of the judicial selection process.
4.1: The Legislative Branch – Congress
Use these slides prepared by Dr. Scott as a reference for taking notes while watching the Congress lectures.
Read this chapter. The US Congress is one of the world's greatest democratic institutions. Members fight hard on behalf of their states and districts and are free to introduce legislation which supports their policy agendas and the needs of their constituents. Congress is also an intricate institution, within which it can be very difficult and time-consuming to pass legislation.There has been tension between representation and action since the very first Congress in 1789. Because Congress is divided into two houses with their own rules, procedures, and electoral bases, members often disagree about major legislation, even when the public wants action. However, as you will discover in this subunit, frustration does have a purpose, and was even built into our constitutional system.
4.1.1: The Formal and Informal Roles of Congress National
Read the text of Article I, which describes the constitutional role and duties of the legislative branch. You can click on the highlighted phrases, which will then provide a detailed explanation of that section.
4.1.2: Structure of Congress
Watch this two-part presentation, which explains the structure and function of the United States Congress.
4.1.3: Evolution of the Modern Congress
Watch this video, which features a panel discussion with members of the American Political Science Association. The panel discusses the transformation of Congress and the influences of the two-party system. Among the other topics they address are the impact of changing demographics on party affiliation, sociological influences on political habits, and the nature of structural changes. After watching the video, think about Congress' evolution over time. Has it changed for better or worse? Why?
4.1.4: The Legislative Process, "Logrolling", and the "Pork Barrel"
Watch this two-part presentation to learn how a bill makes its way through the halls of Congress before it lands on the president's desk to be signed into law. Thousands of bills are introduced each session in Congress, and these bills must traverse a highly complex legislative process involving committees, floor debates, interest-group influence, and party power struggles. This complexity not only slows the process of enacting legislation, it also provides a tremendous built-in advantage for opponents of any bill to block it. Supporters of a bill must have success at every step. Opponents need to win only once. Of the approximate 8,000 bills that are introduced in every two-year congressional cycle, only five percent become public laws.
Read this article on the use of logrolling and the pork barrel in political compromise. Logrolling is the trading of favors, or quid pro quo, such as vote trading by two (or more) legislative members to obtain passage of bills of interest to each member. This practice is common in many legislative bodies, including Congress, that often want to secure passage of bills that provide sizable benefits in their home districts. Most logrolling typically involves "pork barrel" funding for government programs whose economic or service benefits are concentrated in a particular area but whose costs are spread among all taxpayers. Public works projects, certain national defense spending projects, and agricultural subsidies are the most common examples
4.1.5: The Committee System
Read this report, which discusses the basic structure and function of congressional committees. Most of the work of Congress is conducted in committees, where policies are shaped and legislation is hammered out. President Woodrow Wilson once observed that "Congress in session is Congress on public exhibition, whilst Congress in its committee rooms is Congress at work".
4.1.6: Congressional Leadership and Organization
Read this report on the basic structure of leadership in the House of Representatives. An extensive leadership structure provides an organizational framework that helps House members work effectively, if not efficiently. At the top of the leadership hierarchy is the Speaker of the House, who is the body's presiding officer. Majority and minority leaders help set their party's agenda on issues. The whips encourage party unity on House votes.
Use this site to explore the various aspects of the Senate's leadership structure. The Senate leadership consists of the presiding officer, majority leader, minority leader, and whips. Unlike in the House, where the Speaker wields considerable power, the presiding officer is not the most visible member of the Senate and can only vote in case of a tie. The majority and minority leaders work together to schedule and manage Senate business. Whips are less important in the Senate than in the House because the closer personal relationships that develop in the smaller body make it easier to know how members will vote without a formal whip count.
4.1.7: Influences on Congress and Voting
Read this article. Consider how Congress operates and how individual members' votes are subject to a number of different influences: ideological beliefs, constituents, party loyalty, interest groups, and the President.
Read this article, which focuses on the evolving concepts of congressional representation – representatives as trustees, delegates, or politicos.
4.1.8: Congress and the Media
Watch this video, which features First Amendment advocacy and monitoring groups and journalists discussing the issues they face when covering the legislative process.
Checkpoint
- Receive a grade
Answer these ungraded questions to see how well you have understood the course material in this section.
4.2: The Executive Branch – The Presidency
Use these slides prepared by Dr. Scott as a reference for taking notes while watching the Presidency lectures.
Read this chapter. The United States was the first nation to create the office of president as the head of state in a modern republic, and today the presidential system of government is used in several countries. As of 2015, there have been 44 presidents of the United States. From the early 20th century, the United States' superpower status has made the President one of the world's best-known public figures. During the Cold War, the President was called the "leader of the free world", and since the collapse of the Soviet Union the President is often described as "the most powerful person on Earth".
4.2.1: The Constitution and Presidential Power
Read Article II, which describes the constitutional role of the President. Click on the highlighted phrases, provide detailed explanations of each section. Why does the Constitution say so little about presidential powers as compared to the legislative branch?
Watch this presentation on the Presidency and the limits of Presidential power.
4.2.2: Evolution of the Modern Presidency and the Expansion of Presidential Power
Watch these lectures, which discuss how presidential power has evolved throughout history. Most historians believe that the "modern" presidency – the ability of the president to wield his power far above and beyond what is explicitly stated in the Constitution – began with the election of Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933. FDR was also one of only a few presidents to facilitate a durable coalition that realigned American politics for decades.
Watch this presentation to learn more about the roles the president plays beyond what is outlined in the Constitution.
Read this report.
Executive privilege is the power claimed by the president and other members of the executive branch to resist certain subpoenas and other interventions by the legislative and judicial branches of government. The concept of executive privilege is not mentioned explicitly in the Constitution, but the Supreme Court ruled it to be an element of the separation of powers doctrine, and/or derived from the supremacy of the executive branch in its own area of constitutional activity. Various presidents – most infamously Richard Nixon – have invoked their right to executive privilege over a litany of issues they deemed to be private communications.
4.2.3: The President and Congress
Watch this lecture, which is Dr. David Mayhew's take on the importance and effects of having a different electoral base for the presidency, senators, and members of the House of Representatives. Dr. David Mayhew is the Sterling Professor of Political Science at Yale University.
Read this short article on the President's constitutional veto power. Presidents use vetoes more often when there is divided government. As you can see from the chart, presidents have used them often or sparingly, depending on the historical and policy circumstances of the time. Franklin D. Roosevelt vetoed more legislation than any President before or after him. Why do you think this was the case?
Read this article. What are the pros and cons of both united and divided government?
4.2.4: The President and the Media
Watch this presentation to learn more about presidential politics and public perception.
Read this article on the often-complicated relationship between presidents and the news media. Why do you think they need each other so much?
4.2.5: The Executive Branch – Vice President, Executive Office of the President, and the Cabinet
Watch this presentation to learn more about the White House offices and individuals that play a major role in a President's tenure. The second topic will discuss the different management styles that modern presidents have used in the White House.
4.2.5.1: The Vice Presidency
Explore this webpage to learn about the history of the Vice Presidency. The Vice Presidency is often the least understood of all constitutional offices, but some remarkable men have held the position. The Vice President constitutionally holds the Presidency of the Senate. This article explains the origins and duties of the Vice Presidential office, as well as the evolution of the office from its founding to the modern Vice Presidency.
This report documents the evolution of the Vice Presidency that we know today, beginning with the New Deal Era.
4.2.5.2: The Executive Office of the President
Read the White House website, housing the Executive Office of the President (EOP). On this website, you can see all the offices that are considered part of the EOP. To enhance your reading, visit the individual departments' websites within the EOP by clicking on the hyperlinks on the webpage.
4.2.5.3: The Cabinet
Watch this presentation to learn more about the history and evolution of the presidential cabinet.
Checkpoint
- Receive a grade
Answer these ungraded questions to see how well you have understood the course material in this section.
4.3: The Executive Branch – The Bureaucracy
Use these slides prepared by Dr. Scott as a reference for taking notes while watching the Bureaucracy lectures.
Read this chapter. Whether they realize it or not, Americans interact with the bureaucracy every day. Federal agencies reflect the ways in which the political system attempts to identify our most important national goals and address them.
4.3.1: History of the Bureaucracy
Read this article on the history and development of the bureaucracy in the American political system from the "spoils system" to the Pendleton Act, which mandated that certain segments of federal civil service jobs be merit-based. Legislators passed this act in the aftermath of the assassination of President James Garfield by a disgruntled government office-seeker.
4.3.2: Characteristics and Organization of the Bureaucracy
Watch the first two topics in the first three-part presentation to learn more about the perceptions and organization of the federal bureaucracy.
Then watch the second presentation to learn about regulatory agencies and government corporations.
4.3.3: Regulating the Bureaucracy
Read this report. Oversight is an integral part of the system of checks and balances between the legislative and the executive branches of government.
4.3.4: Bureaucratic Reform
Checkpoint
- Receive a grade
Answer these ungraded questions to see how well you have understood the course material in this section.
4.4: The Judicial Branch
Use these slides prepared by Dr. Scott as a reference for taking notes while watching the Judiciary lectures.
Read this chapter. Judges in the United States play a more active role in the political process than they do in most other democracies. Unlike other countries, the US has a dual judiciary – federal and state court systems. In both federal and state courts, individuals must have standing to sue, and must assert a personal injury. Courts decide only justiciable cases, not political questions.
4.4.1: The Constitutional Role of the Judicial Branch
Read Article III, which describes the constitutional role and duties of the judicial branch. As you read, click on the highlighted phrases, which will provide a detailed explanation of each section.
4.4.2: The Development and Organization of the Federal Courts
Read this report on the history, development, and organization of the US federal court system. Compared to the legislative and executive branches, the judicial branch did not receive as much attention in the drafting of the Constitution. The Constitution requires a Supreme Court, which the framers felt was a necessity if the national government were to have the power to make and enforce laws that would take precedence over state laws. As you may recall, the lack of a national court was one of the many shortcomings of the Articles of Confederation. However, the framers left it to Congress to create lower courts (also known as "Article III courts").
Watch this presentation to learn more about the structure of the American federal court system.
4.4.3: The Supreme Court
Watch Professor Chemerinsky's lecture on the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court is the only court that has complete control over the cases that it chooses to hear. Its nine justices dispose of thousands of cases annually, and most of their time is concentrated on the fewer than 100 cases per year that they accept for review. These cases usually deal with substantial federal questions or constitutional issues. The court's decisions and opinions establish guidelines for lower courts around the country.
Watch this presentation to learn more about how Supreme Court justices interpret the law through the competing legal philosophies of judicial restraint versus judicial activism. This lesson also discusses the historic impact of the court's immense power of judicial review, and how they are the final authority on the interpretation of the Constitution.
4.4.4: The Politics of Judicial Confirmation
Read this article, which discusses the constitutional role of the Senate in confirming the President's judicial nominations. The selection of federal judges has always been a significant part of the political process. It makes a difference who serves on the federal courts. The courts have come to play an even more important role in the policy-making process. And as more and more interests – African Americans and women, for example – participate in this process, judicial-selection politics has come front and center on the political stage (which would probably dismay the Founding Fathers, whose goal was to create an independent judiciary free from political passions).
Read this report on the Supreme Court nomination process. Read pages 1-16 carefully, and skim the remainder of the report. Pages 1-16 of the report give a detailed account of the president's role in the filling vacancies on the Supreme Court. The rest of the report explains the Congressional process.
Watch this video, which discusses how the Senate uses the filibuster – the right of an individual to unlimited debate to prevent a vote on a given proposal – as a mechanism to delay floor votes on controversial presidential judicial nominees.
Checkpoint
- Receive a grade
Answer these ungraded questions to see how well you have understood the course material in this section.
Unit 4 Assessment
- Receive a grade
Take this assessment to see how well you understood this unit.
- This assessment does not count towards your grade. It is just for practice!
- You will see the correct answers when you submit your answers. Use this to help you study for the final exam!
- You can take this assessment as many times as you want, whenever you want.
