US constitution and federalism

• The Electoral College system has been a subject of debate, with some arguing for its abolition in favor of a direct popular vote for the president.
• The Electoral College is a body of electors established by the United States Constitution, which forms every four years for the sole purpose of electing the president and vice president of the United States.
• The two major political parties in the US are the Democratic Party and the Republican Party.
• Political parties in the US also help to facilitate the functioning of government by providing a framework for cooperation and negotiation between different branches and levels of government.
• Political parties play a crucial role in US politics by organizing and mobilizing voters, nominating candidates for office, and shaping policy agendas.
• Political parties in the US play a crucial role in organizing and mobilizing voters, nominating candidates for office, and shaping policy agendas.
• Affarmitive Action - the policy of favouring historically disadvantaged members of a community
• Bipartisanship - the practice of working with both parties in the legislature to pass laws
• checks and balances - the system of government that ensures that no one branch of government has too much power
• codificalation - the process of converting a system of rules into a written code
• constitiution - the basic law of a country, which sets out the rights and duties of the people
• constitutional rights - rights that are guaranteed by the constitution of the country, such as freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly, freedom of the press, and freedom of association
• Direct Action - Actions taken by an individual or group to bring about a change in the world.
• divided government - when the executive and legislative branches are controlled by different parties
• Electorale mandate - mandate that the political party receives from the electorates
• entrenchment - The US constitiution is protected from change by law
• executive branch - the US president
• executive orders - presidential orders that are not laws but are still binding on the federal government
• factions - groups of people with different views on a particular issue or topic, often with opposing views
• fedrealism - Legal and political structures where power is distributed between two distinct levels of government on the basis that neither is subordinate to the other; the US system in which sovereignty is shared between a central government (federal government) and the individual states, with each having their own specific rights
• The US has a codified constitution - a constitution which is set out in a single document and has single source
• separation of powers - Constitutional division of powers among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches, with the legislative branch making law, the executive applying and enforcing the law, and the judiciary interpreting the law
• the elastic clause - empowers Congress to make all laws necessary and proper to carry out the federal government's duties
• concurrent power - powers shared by the state and federal governments
• Constitutional rights - rights guaranteed by the constitution, such as freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly, and freedom of the press.
• Bill of Rights - The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution that guarantee certain individual freedoms and limit the power of the government.
• presidential veto - the president's power to reject a bill passed by Congress
• impeachment - A formal accusation of misconduct in office against a federal official
• Midterm election - an election held midway between presidential elections for the whole of the House and one-third of the Senate
• Tyranny of the Majority - the majority can make decisions for the minority
• tyranny of the minority - when a small number of citizens exercise power and protect their own interests over those of the larger population
• Implied powers - powers that are not explicitly mentioned in the constitution but are implied from the powers mentioned
• The constitution is often vauge
• Bipartisanship - the practice of working with both parties in the legislature to pass laws
• supermajority - 2/3 in house and senate plus 3/4 of all state governers
• a supermajority ensures that the constitution is neither too flexible nor too rigid
• The constitution ignores minority interests as it requires a supermajority to pass an ammendment
• the constitution allows for some flexibility through judicial review which means that judges can interpret the constitution how they see fit
• The supreme court is made up of unelected and unaccounted people
• ammendments must have a broad support across the USA in order to pass