Embedded Files
Three Branches of the Federal Government
Three Branches of the Federal Government
The Federal Government is composed of three distinct branches: legislative, executive, and judicial, whose powers are vested by the U.S. Constitution in the Congress, the President, and the Federal courts, respectively.
There are hundreds of Federal agencies and commissions charged with handling such responsibilities as managing America’s space program, protecting its forests, and gathering intelligence. For a full listing of Federal Agencies, Departments, and Commissions, visit USA.gov.
https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/intro.7-3/ALDE_00000032 Mar 31, 2025 "Another basic concept embodied in the Constitution is federalism, which refers to the division and sharing of power between the national and state governments.1 By allocating power among state and federal governments, the Framers sought to establish a unified national government of limited powers while maintaining a distinct sphere of autonomy in which state governments could exercise a general police power.2" Constitution Annotated
Federal elections occur every two years, on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. Every member of the House of Representatives and about one-third of the Senate is up for reelection in any given election year. Federal elections are administered by State and local Governments, although the specifics of how elections are conducted differ between the states.
Under the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, all powers not granted to the Federal Government are reserved for the States and the people. All State Governments are modeled after the Federal Government and consist of three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial. The U.S. Constitution mandates that all states uphold a “republican form” of government, although the three-branch structure is not required.
This course the No. 86 video project focuses on the formation and core tenets of the Structural Constitution. Explore debates over the unitary executive, whether the state or the federal government gets to decide, what is and is not permitted under the Commerce Clause, separation of powers, judicial review...and others.
Federalism and the Constitution Video Links
Federalism and the Constitution Video Links
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRJtG572JJI&t May 2, 2019 Was federalism set up to promote slavery in the US Constitution? Professor Michael McConnell discusses the deep ideological divergences on slavery at the time of the Founding, and argues that the federalism adopted by the Constitution was the first step toward abolition. The Constitution created a nation with the potential of eventually abolishing slavery, which it did via the amendment process. The Fourteenth Amendment made the national government principally responsible for civil liberties, but the state governments still have a role to play. These competing power centers together work to promote liberty. Michael William McConnell is a constitutional law scholar who served as a United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit from 2002 until 2009. Since 2009, McConnell has served as Director of the Stanford Constitutional Law Center at Stanford Law School. The Federalist Society
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajsTPXA7eSM Jun 20, 2019 How did the Founders think about slavery? How did it affect the construction of the Constitutional system? Professor Randy Barnett notes that many of the Founders were opposed to slavery but they believed that the states ought to be allowed to govern themselves on this and other issues. Professor Barnett explains that the Constitution barely addresses the slavery question, leading to what was known as the “freedom national, slavery local” position. Congress could discourage or abolish slavery in territories and other federal jurisdictions but each state was free to decide the local slavery issue. The Reconstruction Amendments, passed after the Civil War, changed the Constitution to mandate both freedom national and freedom local. Professor Randy E. Barnett is the Carmack Waterhouse Professor of Legal Theory at the Georgetown University Law Center, where he teaches constitutional law and contracts, and is Director of the Georgetown Center for the Constitution. The Federalist Society
Report abuse