(All of these foundation stones" are explained in this book)

Figure 58

The Strong Foundations of the United States Government

are the foundation stones on which the whole structure of our country's government is built, and nothing planned by man can be stronger than its foundations. The set of principles described in this chapter are those on which the American form of democratic government was developed for the United States, through the wisdom of its early statesmen and because of the special problems of its early history. They have stood the test of time and proved to be sound working principles of democracy. In reviewing them and the principles discussed in the next chapter, we can sum up the whole teaching of this book.

THE PRINCIPLES OF A FEDERAL SYSTEM

One of the basic principles of government in the United States is that every citizen has two separate citizenshipsa National citizenship and a State citizenship. The State government exercises the principal "police power" in safeguarding his freedom to live and work and vote as he likes, but limiting that freedom so that he does no unlawful damage to any other citizen or group of citizens. The National Government must think and plan for the whole Nation and, because of this larger objective, may seem farther removed from the individual citizen than his State government. Yet there are so many problems in this great country, which cannot be limited to individual States but stretch across State boundaries, that the National Government is often the only government with broad enough powers to do important and necessary services for the people. We know this from our study, in chapter 28, of the contacts of the Federal Government with its citizens.

By this dual Federal system the people of this country have built up a workable government organization big enough and strong enough to develop and rule a great nation and yet close enough to each citizen to give friendly attention to his or her individual needs. In smaller countries a single government may fulfill both requirements, but for a nation covering 3 million square miles and made

up of over 131 million people, the existence of 48 self-governing States in a cooperative Federal system and under a wise Federal Constitution has proved a mighty safeguard to democracy.

THE PRINCIPLE OF DELEGATED POWERS

Closely related to the principle of a Federal system is that of delegated powers. This means that our Federal Government does not have unlimited power but can exercise only such powers as are given to it by the people, through the Constitution. In chapter 11 in Figure 28 you will find a list of subjects on which the Constitution gives the Congress power to make laws and rules. All powers not delegated to the Federal Government, or kept by the people, are reserved to the States. There are certain things which both governments can do, and certain things which neither government can do. In Figure 28 you will see how these powers are distributed.

THE PRINCIPLE OF DIVISION OF AUTHORITY

You studied this principle when we were discussing the organization of the Federal Government. You saw that the authority of the Federal Government is divided among three branches, and that none of the three has authority enough to dominate the whole government. The Constitution tells what each branch is to do: The Legislative is TO MAKE THE LAWS, the Executive is TO PUT THE LAWS INTO EFFECT, and the Judicial is TO APPLY AND EXPLAIN THE LAWS.

You will recall that the Congress is divided into two Houses the Senate and the House of Representatives. (See Figure 45.)

The Executive Branch includes the President, the Vice President, the 10 Executive Departments, and other Government officials and agencies. (See Figure 50.)

The Judicial Branch is made up of the Federal courts, which, in deciding cases brought before them, interpret the meaning of the laws made by the Congress and apply them to many different situations that arise in the life of a great Nation. (See Figure 52.)

It may be well to remember that State governments are divided into the same three branches.

THE PRINCIPLE OF AN INDEPENDENT JUDICIARY

One of the three separate branches of our Government, the Judiciary, is especially created to give the people "equal justice under the law." Our Constitution provides that the judges of our Federal courts shall be appointed by the President without limit of time but during good behavior, and that their pay may not be lowered during their term of office. This arrangement gives to every Federal judge a safe position as long as he performs his duties properly, removes from him any problem of reelection and tends to make him independent of outside influences.

THE PRINCIPLE OF CHECKS AND BALANCES

Although the three branches of our Federal Government have separate powers, each branch is given certain authority over the other two. Thus the powers of all three can be kept in balance. The Constitution provides ways by which one branch can check another from getting more power than belongs to it. It also provides checks by which each branch can keep final action from being taken in too great a hurry. What are some of these checks?

Laws passed by the Congress may be signed or vetoed by the President. In this way the Executive Branch can suggest to the Legislative Branch that it has not acted wisely. But even if the President vetoes a law, the Congress can pass it again over his veto if a two-thirds vote of each House can be secured to show that the Legislative Branch still stands firm in favor of the proposed law.

The Houses of Congress check each other. Every bill must be passed by a majority vote of both Houses before it can become a law. Each House may amend any bill which has been passed by the other House, but both must agree on its final form or it does not become a law. (See Figure 59.)

The people of the United States cannot take all the

The Principle of Checks and Balances in our Government (Examples are shown below)

This chart indicates one way in which each branch of our National Government is authorized to check (to hold back, to slow up, and even to change) the action of each of the other two branches.

Figure 59

The Principle of Checks and Balances