American Democracy in Context. Joseph A. Pika

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СКАЧАТЬ href="#ulink_8b48dbbe-7a00-527c-9c0f-644e3488698f">Table 2.2). Republicanism, the first of these principles, stands in contrast with both direct democracy and monarchy. A republican form of government is one in which power rests with the people (as opposed to a monarch or, as under the Articles of Confederation, the states), but the people rule only indirectly, through elected representatives bound by the rule of law. Rule by representatives was expected to temper the passions of public opinion associated with a direct democracy, while elections would assure that those representatives remained accountable to the people for their actions. Republicanism had never been tried in a country as vast as the United States, and some feared that elected representatives would be tempted to act tyrannically rather than according to the rule of law.

Table 2.2

      Second, the Constitution instituted a system of federalism. In contrast with both a confederation, where the primary power is left to the states, and a unitary system, where all areas of power belong to the central government, a federation is a system in which power is divided between the central government and the state (or other regional) governments. The Constitution listed the powers of the national government, and it also listed the powers denied to the states, implying that all other powers were retained by the states. The Tenth Amendment (part of the American Bill of Rights, ratified in 1791) later clarified this, stating: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” Dividing powers between the national government and the states was another check designed to prevent tyranny.

      As we will see in Chapter 3, debate continued even after the ratification of the Tenth Amendment about precisely what powers were reserved to the states and when, if ever, Congress could interfere with those powers. It was clear, however, that whenever it was exercising its constitutionally enumerated powers, the national government was supreme: If conflicts arose between national and state law in such cases, national law would always prevail. As the supremacy clause of Article VI, Clause 2 put it, the Constitution, as well as acts of Congress and federal treaties passed pursuant to the Constitution, were “the supreme Law of the Land; and the judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.”

      Third, the Constitution instituted a separation of powers across branches of the national government. Similar to federalism, this was designed to prevent the concentration of power in any one part of government. Thus, the framers divided the national government into three coequal branches and gave each a separate function. The legislative branch was given the power to make the laws, the executive branch was given the power to enforce (or execute) the laws, and the judicial branch was given the power to interpret the laws. This stands in contrast with parliamentary systems such as the United Kingdom, where the prime minister and the cabinet, who together perform the executive function, are drawn from the legislature.

      supremacy clause Article VI, Clause 2 of the Constitution specifying that federal laws and treaties passed pursuant to the Constitution trump contradictory state laws dealing with the same topic.

      separation of powers The division of governmental powers among three separate and coequal branches—legislative, executive, and judicial.

      checks and balances A method to protect against unrestrained governmental power by dividing and sharing powers among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches.

      Finally, to further ensure that power would not become concentrated, the Constitution set up a system of checks and balances in which each of the three branches among which power was divided would have some degree of control over the other two. In other words, power is both divided and shared, as shown in Figure 2.4. We have already discussed how war powers, appointment power, and treaty power are each shared between the president and Congress. There are also other checks. For example, the president is given the power to veto legislation. Moreover, that veto can be overridden only by a two-thirds majority of both houses of Congress (as opposed to simply getting the most votes, which is required for passing legislation in the first place). Thus, the president has a check on Congress, but this check is itself limited. Similarly, courts have a check through their power to interpret laws passed by Congress, and—by means of judicial review—to strike down laws and executive actions that violate the Constitution. Though not specifically enumerated in the Constitution, judicial review—as discussed below—has become an accepted part of our constitutional system. And, Congress has the power to impeach—remove from office—the president, vice president, and other civil officers, including federal judges and Supreme Court justices.

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      Figure 2.4 System of Checks and Balances in the U.S. Federal Government

      The Articles of the Constitution

      The Constitution has only seven articles, preceded by a preamble and followed by the 27 amendments that have been made since its ratification. The preamble spelled out the justification for the Constitution (“to form a more perfect Union”), its fundamental goals (which included establishing justice and “securing the blessings of Liberty”), and made clear that the new Constitution and the government established by it were created by “We the people” (as opposed to being created by the states, as had been the case with the Articles of Confederation). The first three articles that follow the preamble each spell out the power of one of the three branches of government. The remaining articles are concerned with federal–state relations as well as with the relations among the states and provide procedures for ratifying the Constitution and amending it.

      Article I: The Legislative Branch

      Because legislators are the representatives of the people, the framers thought of the legislative branch as being the most important and presented it first (see Figure 2.5). Article I opens by stating, “All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives” [emphasis added]. In other words, Congress is limited to those powers given to it by the Constitution. Those powers fall into two broad categories: enumerated powers and implied powers.

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      Figure 2.5 Confidence in Government and American Institutions

      The framers thought that Congress would be the most important governmental institution. How do people feel about it today, based on the findings shown here?

      Source: “Confidence in Institutions,” Gallup, 2019, https://news.gallup.com/poll/1597/confidence-institutions.aspx

      Enumerated powers are those powers specifically listed. Most enumerated powers are in Article I, Section 8, which contains a laundry list of specific powers given to Congress, including the power to impose and collect taxes, to borrow money, to regulate commerce, and to declare war. Some of these powers were lacking under the Articles of Confederation, notably the power to collect taxes and regulate commerce. Legislative powers not given to Congress, and not covered under implied powers, were presumably СКАЧАТЬ