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The Three Branches. Chapter 3 Section 2. Section 2. The Legislative Branch. The Founders limited the powers of Congress to expressed powers , powers directly stated in the Constitution. Most expressed powers are enumerated powers , itemized by numbers 1 through 18.
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The Three Branches Chapter 3 Section 2
Section 2 The Legislative Branch • The Founders limited the powers of Congress to expressed powers, powers directly stated in the Constitution. • Most expressed powers are enumerated powers, itemized by numbers 1 through 18. • Five of the enumerated powers deal with economic matters • Ex. taxes, coining money
Section 2 The Legislative Branch (cont.) • Seven enumerated powers provide for defense and deal with the military. • Additional enumerated powers give Congress the power to naturalize citizens and establish post offices and courts. • The final enumerated power is the elastic clause, which lets Congress stretch its powers to meet situations the Founders could not anticipate.
Section 2 The Executive Branch • The president is the head of the executive branch. • Article II grants the presidency broad and vague powers. • Sections 2 and 3 of Article II define the specific powers of the presidency: • Ex. commander in chief of the armed forces and the state militias.
Section 2 The Executive Branch (cont.) • With Senate approval, the president appoints heads of the executive departments. • The president can pardon people convicted of federal crimes. • The president makes treaties with foreign nations with the Senate’s consent.
Section 2 The Executive Branch (cont.) • The president commissions all military officers of the United States. • The president ensures that the laws passed by Congress are “faithfully executed.” • Unlike early presidents, modern presidents have a vast federal bureaucracymade up of all executive branch employees.
Section 2 The Judicial Branch • The American judiciary is made up of two different court systems: • the federal court system whose powers derive from the Constitution and federal laws, and • the courts of the 50 states whose powers derive from the various state constitutions and their laws.
Section 2 The Judicial Branch (cont.) • Two factors determine federal jurisdiction: • the subject matter of the case, and • who is involved in the case. • Marbury v. Madison established the principle of judicial review and elevated the Supreme Court to a status that balanced the legislative and executive branches.
Section 2 Shared Power and Conflict • The executive branch provides plans for many of the laws that Congress considers. • There are several sources of conflict between the executive and legislative branches, including: • the expanding power of the presidency, • congressional responsibility to monitor how the executive branch enforces the law, and • different goals, constituents, and philosophy of government.
Section 2 Shared Power and Conflict (cont.) • Congress can create lower federal courts and limit the Supreme Court’s jurisdiction. • Some Supreme Court decisions require action of the president. In rare cases a president has refused to enforce the Court’s decision.