The United States of America follows a federal system of government. The government is made up of three branches whose powers are stipulated in the constitution. These are; the executive, judiciary, and legislature. These branches of government manage and control state affairs while at the same time check each other's operations and ensure the balance of power such that none is stronger than the other.
The executive branch is responsible for administration and enforcement of federal law. It is made up of the President, Cabinet, executive departments, vice president, and executive agencies. Being elected officials, the president and vice president get to the office by winning elections. The elections are through secret ballot elections conducted by the Electoral College. The president is the head of state and government ( Aberbach & Peterson 103) . He is also the commander in chief of the nation's armed forces. The vice president is the head of Senate and may assume the duties of the president in the event of impeachment, incapacitation, death or succession as the Acting President. Federal executive departments are responsible for law enforcement, and their heads from the Cabinet. The Legislature can check the powers of the executive by approving the presidential appointees to the cabinet; these are the head of executive departments. The executive can check the power of the Legislature when the president uses his veto power to approve or disapprove the laws passed.
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The legislature is the law making body constituting the United States Congress which is bicameral (Power & Nicol 4). It comprises a House of Representatives and a Senate. The capacity of the House of Representatives is 435 representatives who represent the congressional district in the U.S. It also has 5 delegates and one Resident Commissioner. The Senate comprises of 100 members to whom the U.S. government allocates every state: 2 per state. The Legislature checks the powers of the Judiciary when it approves presidential appointments of federal judges to the Supreme Court. The Legislature can override the right of veto of the president with a majority vote.
The judiciary is responsible for interpreting the laws. The Judicial system has the Supreme Court as the highest court and also consists of other federal courts (Kowalski 8). The Chief Justice is appointed by the President and may serve until death, retirement or removal in exceptional events. The creation of other federal courts is a provision of the Constitution under Article 3, Section 1. The judiciary can check the powers of the Legislature by declaring the laws passed as unconstitutional.
Gerrymandering is the process of reconstructing district boundaries so as to boost the political advantage for a certain party. Redistricting is the process by which electoral district boundaries are drawn. Redistricting is done after a national census has been conducted and is done because of the need to determine whether states will win or lose seats in the U.S. Congress. It is done to favor incumbents from both parties but gerrymandering is done to favor one party against another. These processes greatly affect the electoral process. Gerrymandering is used to influence election results. It may be conducted to place majority voters on the loosing party or at the same time produce unequal representation. Sparsely populated areas may have major representation in government while largely populated areas may have little representation. Redistricting, on the other hand, endeavors, to influence free and fair elections. It tends to give both parties equal chances but at the same time can promote
A political party is a group of people with similar philosophies and ideologies that collaborate so as to gain control over the government. The U.S has the Democratic Party and the Republican Party as the dominant parties since it practices a two party system (Mayhew 2). These parties check each other in that the minority party assesses the actions of the other party and can criticize these publicly. Political parties also organize the government. The two party system states that the winner takes all and thus the party with the majority votes forms the government. Political parties also assist in creating platforms that allow a better understanding of political concerns through debates. However, political parties create division between special interest groups because of conflicting ideologies, and this may adversely hurt the economy.
The media is key in the spread of information and thus can control and influence politics. The media is used to convey information on politics by airing political debates and important events. This creates awareness and through such politicians can garner favor for themselves. However, it is also subject to manipulation and can be used to spread propaganda and thereby tarnish the reputation of the government or other involved personalities. The media is also used to voice public opinions making the government aware of the people’s opinions.
Interest groups are those that lobby for or against certain public policies without being in government. These majorly aim to protect the interests of their members and usually rally around a central idea such as social reforms and economic developments. They provide citizens with platforms to contribute to the democratic process. However, they also create controversy by supporting policies helpful to a minority group thus disrupting democratic processes
The U.S government is well-organized to accommodate both minority and majority groups and to afford all equal chances of participation. It’s well structured with institutions that run the government and those that check the running of the government while at the same time provide mechanisms within the government itself that regulate its operations.
Works Cited
Aberbach, Joel D.; and Mark A. Peterson. The Executive Branch . Oxford Univ Pr, 2005.
Kowalski, Kathiann M. Judges and Courts: A Look at the Judicial Branch . Minneapolis: Lerner Publications, 2012.
Mayhew, David R . Partisan Balance: Why Political Parties Don't Kill the U.s. Constitutional System . Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2011.
Power, Timothy J. & Nicol C. Rae. Exporting Congress?: The Influence of the U.S. Congress on World Legislatures . University of Pittsburgh Pre, 2006.
