In the earliest reaches of history, as soon as humans came to live together in large settlements, they were faced with the need to organize complex economic activities and protect themselves from outside attack. From this need arose the first forms of government. Whether despotic in nature or formally delineated by a constitution, governments exist to direct, control, and regulate the actions and affairs of a people or a state.
Ancient civilizations provided the basic origins of modern government. Beginning with the Mesopotamian city-states of Sumeria, it is possible to trace the development of governmental institutions through the Kingdom of Egypt, China, and the Persian Empire, and then onto the more modern “republican-style” governments of Greece and Rome.
Mesopotamia (ca. 3500–539 B.C.)
Often called “the cradle of civilization,” Mesopotamia stretched along a 600-mile-long plain of the Tigris and Euphrates valleys reaching to the Persian Gulf (an area that encompasses the present-day Nile Valley, parts of Syria, Iraq, and Palestine). The Sumerians, residents of southern Mesopotamia, not only developed writing and early mathematics, but also created a sophisticated form of government. In early Sumeria, the first city-state, a priest-king ruled as a representative of the city’s god together with an assembly of elders or citizens. As the kingdom of Sumeria grew, each new city had its own governor who ruled for the king.
As agricultural activity intensified along the banks of the Nile River, the need for water grew. The area was suitable for agriculture, but there was often a shortage of water during growing seasons. The Sumerians needed a mechanism for harnessing the rivers and allocating resources to ensure that farmers could irrigate their crops. The entity that developed for regulating water use eventually came to rule the people in other aspects of their lives.
Each of the Nile Valley city-states was a sacred temple city, and its ruler was believed to be a representative of god. The vast majority of the population consisted of peasants, while the monarch surrounded himself with a small cadre of court officials, scribes, and priests. The monarch was the supreme intermediary, or the “vicar of the gods” for the common people; religion fortified and reinforced social conformity in every way. The skills of writing and mathematics were the exclusive province of the bureaucrats who maintained power for the monarch. Each monarch oversaw the building of temples, the maintenance of a priestly order, and the organization of an army to defend his kingdom. Acting as a steward of the gods, he organized and controlled the economy, which included building dikes and canals, maintaining the city-state’s structure, and developing and enforcing a code of law.
King Hammurabi, the ruler of Babylonia, one of the most important states in southern Mesopotamia, developed a comprehensive legal system. Archaeologist were fortunate to discover well-preserved documents spelling out the Code of Hammurabi (created ca. 1780 B.C.), one of the earliest and most sophisticated set of laws ever found from the ancient world.
The Sumerian city-states lasted for about 800 years. A series of military defeats combined with economic stagnation sent this once-great civilization into decline.
The Kingdom of Egypt (ca. 3000–1100 B.C.)
Around 3000 B.C., the Kingdom of Egypt emerged when Upper and Lower Egypt were joined under one monarch, called Menes. There is evidence to suggest contact with Sumeria just prior to this consolidation, as several of Sumeria’s innovations appear in the Kingdom of Egypt. The earliest kings are credited with commanding allegiance by devising the concept of divine kingship. The Sumerians believed that their kings were appointed by the gods, but the Egyptians believed that their kings were gods.
The Old Kingdom (ca. 3000–2200 B.C.) The Egyptians established political unity of the Nile Valley and the Delta. Unlike the discrete Sumerian city-states, the Egyptians were organized as a “country-state,” with multiple villages held together to form one large economy. Their kings, called pharaohs, were autocrats—considered to be living gods, not just agents of the gods—and they wielded religious authority that influenced all institutions of government
and society. Just below the king stood a multilayered bureaucracy of scribes; this tiny elite of nobles, scribes, and priests controlled a massive illiterate peasantry.
The divinity of the king meant that the pharaoh was the highest authority in the land. He was not bound by a code of law; in fact, he was the supreme arbiter of all legal decisions. He appointed all ministers, and he decided on war or peace. His religious duties included not only taking care of state business, but also building and maintaining the famous pyramids, or temples to the dead.
Egypt at this time was around 750 miles long and very, very slender; most travel in the kingdom was done by water. To govern this far-flung empire, the kings set up a system of provinces run by governors. The central administration was run by a chief executive, who oversaw a number of specialized departments. The state controlled the economy, and used the monies from foreign trade and taxes to build monuments and support the lavish royal lifestyle.
The New Kingdom (ca. 1600–1100 B.C.) This state was a perfect autocracy and totally centralized, controlling all human and natural resources in its realm, including the entire economy. Like their predecessors in the Old Kingdom, the pharaoh was considered divine. The pharaohs of this period enjoyed spectacular wealth and power, dictating all aspects of life in the kingdom. The central government controlled a cast of lesser officials who oversaw the provinces, ruling a population of four million through a sophisticated system of taxation. Egypt fielded a well-equipped army that was totally devoted to the pharaoh. Very little is known about the judiciary of the New Kingdom except that in a criminal trial, evidence and interrogation techniques were used.
Ancient China
The Xia Dynasty (ca. 2070–1600 B.C.) Scholars generally divide Chinese history into a series of dynasties (successive rulers from the same families). The first was the Xia dynasty, led by the legendary king Yu, who began China’s long history of family or clan control. Although there are few records of this dynasty, scholars feel that this society produced some governmental innovations: the first benign civilian government, harsh punishment for criminal legal transactions, and a Chinese legal code.
The Shang Dynasty (ca. 1600–1040 B.C.) When a rebel leader overthrew the last ruler of the Xia dynasty, the Shang dynasty came into existence in the Yellow River Valley. Shang China was situated in the North China Plain and extended as far north as modern Shandong province and westward through present Henan province.
The kings of the Shang dynasty are believed to have fought frequent wars with neighboring settlements. They occupied several capitals one after another, but appear to have settled at Anyang in the 14th century B.C. The king appointed local governors, and there was an established class of nobles elevated above the masses of peasants. In this largely agricultural society, the king issued pronouncements as to when to plant crops. Elaborate court rituals were developed to appease spirits: in addition to his secular position, the king was the head of the ancestor-and spirit-worship cult. During this period Chinese writing began to develop and a calendar system with 12 months of 30 days each was created.
The Persian Empire (ca. 550–330 B.C.)
The Persian Empire was actually a long series of historical empires that ruled over what is now modern-day Iran. Perhaps the greatest of these was the Achaemenid Empire (550–330 B.C.), which encompassed parts of Egypt and much of the Middle East, extending well into Central Asia and the Caucasus. This massive empire, the largest the ancient world had ever seen, sprawled over nearly 2.5 million square miles. It ruled over some 50 million people with diverse ethnicities, religions, and customs. The empire’s administrative capital lay roughly equally between Macedonia and Ghandara, 1,600 miles from each.
Below the Persian monarchs stood a complex class of powerful, enormously wealthy territorial nobles. There was no all-pervasive religion to buttress state power. The king, known as the Shah of Shahs, ruled supreme, but his empire was actually administered by local satraps, or provincial governors who worked for the king’s nobles. The king gave his orders through his noblemen, from whom he demanded loyalty. To govern this massive territory, the king exercised a loose administrative authority over the entire land, demanding tribute and obedience while delegating most local matters to regional officials.
Ancient Greece (2000–334 B.C.)
From the beginning of recorded history, ancient civilizations were monarchies that ruled through priests or noblemen. But Greece dispensed with the notion of kings and gods, creating an entirely new model of governance. Its subjects were organized for the first time as citizens who participated in a polis.
The Greek word polis is often translated as “city-state,”
but Aristotle defined it as an “association of citizens.” The concept of citizenship was a true innovation, implying the right for people to participate in running their own government. (It is worth noting, however, that only adult males could be considered citizens; women, slaves, and foreigners were excluded.)
Ancient Greece was a relatively small area defined by mountains and sea. From about 800 B.C., Greece was divided into many discrete self-governing communities, most isolated by their location. When the population outgrew this limited territory, the Greeks began to colonize other far-flung regions. By the sixth century B.C., Greeks both at home and abroad had organized themselves into independent communities and the city-state had become the fundamental unit of Greek government.
The basic political structure, the polis, included an executive (the basileus), a council of elders (the gerontes), and a meeting of all warriors (the agora). A polis had several fundamental characteristics including independence, political unity, identification with a cult, and a surrounding rural area forming an extension of its identity. Most importantly, there was no monarchy.
Athens The Greek city-state of Athens was the first “direct” democracy, meaning its citizens cast their own votes on legislation rather than relying on elected representatives to act as intermediaries. All posts—executive, legislative, and judiciary—were open to all citizens for a one-year term, and candidates worked to muster support among the citizens. This was demokratia, meaning “rule of the people,” or “government by the people” in its earliest form.
Cleisthenes (570–508 B.C.) assumed power around 507 B.C. and was responsible for implementing many reforms that came to define Athenian democracy. He eliminated the four traditional Athenian tribes, which curtailed the power of families and reorganized Athenian society into 10 new tribes based on their area of residence (each was named after an Athenian hero). The 10 tribes regularly provided men to serve in the various parts of Athenian government: the Assembly, the Council, the administration, and the judiciary. By design, each tribe contained men from the city, the coast, and the plain. Cleisthenes also devised legislative bodies with leaders chosen by lot rather than by heredity or kinship. He reorganized the council into a 500-member body made up of 50 representatives from each tribe. The council proposed laws to the Assembly, an open gathering of citizens who convened to vote at least 40 times a year. Cleisthenes also set up a court system with hundreds of new jurors chosen every day.
The Assembly was open to all Athenian citizens, and it is thought to have met at least 10 times a year in the main marketplace, giving each of the 10 tribes a chance to organize and preside over the Assembly on a rotating basis. An agenda was published four days in advance. The Council, as well as citizens, could put forth proposals or amendments. Votes were taken by a show of hands. No quorum was required for most voting, with a few exceptions that required at least 6,000 citizens to be present.
The powerful Assembly had jurisdiction over matters of war and peace, the army, finances and currency, political alliances, taxation, and offenses against the state. It controlled all magistrates, who had to appear before the Assembly 10 times a year.
Though subordinate to the Assembly, the Council was the central organ of executive power. From 507 B.C. on, it consisted of 500 members who served one-year terms (they could only be re-elected once). The men on the Council had to be at least 30 years old and hail from one of the 10 tribes. There were few candidates because the responsibilities were onerous, the expenses high, and the daily stipend very small—factors that discouraged the poor from serving. The Council met every day, and its sessions were public and open to citizen participation.
The “presiding committees” were the 50 men from the 10 tribes. The foreman, appointed to serve as president of the Athenian Republic for one day, held the keys to the temples and presided over the Council (and the Assembly if it met that day). The Council tightly controlled the Assembly’s agenda. The latter could discuss nothing that had not already been discussed in the Council and had been pronounced it as a resolution. It was also the only body that could coordinate and control a multitude of 10-man boards, all of equal standing and mutually independent, which carried on the day-to-day administration. Its judicial duties were challenging claims to citizenship, ruling on the validity of candidates for the Council and other government posts, and determining entitlement to public assistance.
Magistrates, elected to one-year terms, were the executive agents of the Council and the Assembly. Most served on commissions made up of 10 members, one from each tribe. There were three levels of administrator: the political, the administrative, and the subordinate staff of freedman or slaves who worked as clerks. Their areas of concern included sacrifices, the calendars, family law, protection of property, and general law. The Commission for Public
Contracts collected taxes.
The Athenian judicial system had two parts: the magistracies and the courts. The magistracies processed and administered actions, and the courts judged on them. All citizens had the right to be a juror in the popular courts.
The Roman Republic (509–27 B.C.)
The Romans contributed many ideas, innovations, and institutions to the modern world, including many of the foundations of modern governance. Their methods enabled the Romans to successfully homogenize and incorporate diverse populations into a unified community and to enjoy continuous military dominance. Most notably they created the concept of checks and balances in government, a mechanism that remains vital today.
In the beginning, Rome was a tiny city of just six by eight miles, governed by a king. A Council of Elders advised him and an Assembly of Warriors voted on matters of war and peace. But in 509 B.C., following the overthrow of Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, the last of Rome’s seven kings, the monarchy was replaced by several separate magistrates, called consuls, who took on the royal functions. The Council was renamed the Senate and was composed of ex-magistrates with life tenure; it was dominated by noble clans and families. The Assembly of Warriors evolved into various popular Assemblies. With the creation of the Senate in 509 B.C., the Roman Republic came into being. The word Republic comes from the Latin res publica, which means “public matters” or “matters of state.”
Like the Greek polis, the Roman Republic was a city-state—a community of citizens with a similar tripartite structure of magistrates, Council, and Assembly. But from the beginning, Roman society was dominated by wealthy families. There were four classes of people in Rome, and the distinctions were all-important. A census divided the population according to how much property they owned. The slaves were the lowest class. The plebeians, who were free, came next. The equestrians, or “knights,” who were fairly rich, were called to serve in the army; they made up the second-highest class. The upper echelon was occupied by the nobles, or “patricians.”
The system, with magistrates rotating annually, was actually more complex than it sounds. The Assemblies were restricted from taking action unless it was initiated by a magistrate, and they were restricted to simple yes-no votes. In addition, the magistrates could veto one another’s actions, and some officers, known as tribunes, could stop all business or initiate legislation.
In 451 B.C. Rome set out its first written legal code, inscribed upon 12 bronze tablets and publicly displayed in the Forum. Its provisions concerned such matters as legal procedure, debt foreclosure, paternal authority over children, property rights, inheritance, and funerary regulations. This so-called “Law of the 12 Tables” later formed the basis of all subsequent Roman private law.
Roman society was imperialist by nature, and over time, Rome grew to tremendous scale as it conquered other nations through its enormous military might. The newly acquired lands, inhabited by diverse peoples, presented a huge challenge of governance. In addition to stationing troops in these regions to maintain their occupation, the Romans organized the conquered peoples into provinces, appointing governors who wielded absolute power over all non-Roman citizens.
In 134 B.C. Rome issued a formal constitution to codify the role of each body of government. The constitution called for 22 magistrates (two were military consuls, two censors who maintained the census, and others who were charged with maintaining justice, the treasury, and public works). There were also 10 elected officers known as tribunes, who could veto and halt any action in any of the agencies (the magistrates, the Senate, or the Assemblies).
The Senate was now an advisory body consisting of ex-magistrates, who were nominated for life by the two censors. The Senate met only when it was convened by a magistrate; in those cases the Senators would listen to the matter at hand, issue an opinion, and be finished. Each of the Assemblies was made up of popular citizens. The Centuriat Assembly was the citizen-army, organized into voting blocs known as centuries. They were classified into five census categories, and their votes were weighted accordingly. The Centuriat elected the magistrates, who ruled the Republic for one year. The Tribal Assembly was made up of exactly the same citizens, but they were organized into 35 different groups, or tribes, and their votes were not weighted. The Tribute Assembly voted on peace and war, and passed legislation.
Throughout history, the power structures responsible for providing internal and external security, order, and justice have varied greatly from country to country. In most cases, a constitution lays out the framework and basic rules of government. The underlying principles may be implied in various laws, institutions, and customs, or contained in one fundamental written document. In some cases, the constitution is largely unwritten, as in Great Britain. As modern governments have moved into areas such as providing welfare services, regulating the economy, guarding civil liberties, and setting up educational systems, contemporary leaders frequently find it necessary to amend their original framework.
Democracy
A democracy is a system of government in which citizens participate in the decision-making process, either by voting directly or by electing representatives in periodic, free elections. In this system, the majority rules, usually through representation, and all votes count equally.
A direct democracy refers to the form of government in which the entire body of citizens has the right to make political decisions through the power of majority. This kind of democracy works well on a small scale, such as a charity board or a school. As the number of people to be governed grows larger and more complex, it becomes necessary for the people to elect representatives who will serve their interests. This is known as a representative democracy. A constitutional democracy, which is usually representative in nature, operates within the boundaries of a constitution that is designed to guarantee certain basic rights.
The normal pre-conditions for democracy are a constitutional government; free elections for legislatures and the executive; more than one political party; checks and balances between the various branches of government; an independent judiciary; the protection of each citizen’s personal liberties; and stability of government.
Presidential Democracy A presidential democracy, sometimes called a liberal democracy, typically features a freely elected president who presides over the executive branch and acts as head of state. He or she works in concert with the legislative branch, an independent judiciary, a constitution, and some degree of participation by political parties. The president cannot, in normal circumstances, dissolve the legislature, although in some presidential democracies, the president can veto bills. The president serves for a fixed term, and generally there are procedures for removing him from office if need be. The president can appoint a cabinet and nominate judges, but legislative approval is usually needed for these appointments.
Examples of presidential democracies include the United States, Indonesia, the Philippines, Mexico, South Korea, and most South American countries, as well as much of Africa and Central Asia.
Parliamentary Democracy The features of a parliamentary democracy normally include popular representation, a legislature (unicameral or bicameral), and a cabinet or ministry. This type of democracy typically makes a distinction between the head of state and the head of government. The president is often a figurehead and not an active political participant; the constitutional duties of the head of government fall to the prime minister. The figurehead presidents tend to be appointed by the legislature rather than elected, although there are exceptions. Normally, a parliamentary democracy features an executive branch of government that depends on the support of the parliament, which is often expressed through a vote of confidence or no confidence. As a general rule, constitutional monarchies are often parliamentary. This system normally includes a constitution, but in some cases, as with the United Kingdom, there are instead “constitutional conventions” instead of one formal written document.
The British style of parliamentary democracy spread throughout its colonies and continues to hold sway in many countries. Finland, Greece, Israel, and many of the newly formed states of Eastern Europe feature unicameral parliamentary democracies. Australia, Canada, India, and Spain are bicameral parliamentary democracies.
Monarchy
A monarchy is a form or government that is headed by a king or queen, the monarch. In a constitutional monarchy, such as Great Britain, Denmark or Sweden, the prime minister is the active head of the executive branch of government and also head of the legislature. The head of state is the monarch, who only exercises power with the consent of the government, the people, or their representatives. In a semi-constitutional monarchy, such as Kuwait or Liechtenstein, the prime minister heads the executive branch, but the monarch has a great deal of political power that can be used as he or she sees fit. In an absolute
monarchy, such as Saudi Arabia or Tonga, the monarch is the active head of the executive branch and can exercise complete power in government.
Theocracy
A theocracy is a form of government predicated on the elevation of one officially sanctioned state religion. The head of state is selected by some form of religious hierarchy, and may be considered to represent divine power on earth. Laws are crafted to enforce the principles of the one chosen religious. In many but not all cases, theocracies are non-democratic governments. Examples of theocracies are Iran and the Vatican.
Socialism
Socialism, in theory, envisages a socio-economic system in which wealth and property are distributed equally and are controlled by the people. In the mid-19th century, Karl Marx helped establish the modern socialist movement with his writings, in which he called for abolishing money, markets, and capital, and the use of people’s labor as a commodity. For Marxists, socialism was the transitional stage between capitalism and communism, in which the state would take control of the means of production. Once private property was abolished, the state would wither away and people would move on to a higher stage of communism.
The most famous example of socialism was the system put into practice by Vladimir Lenin in 1917, when the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) took over Russia. The CPSU sought to “build socialism” by bringing all of the means of production (except agriculture) under state control, and creating a mechanism of central planning for the entire economy. This proved to be very difficult to implement, and unworkable as envisaged; gradually the Soviet Union developed into a bureaucratic authoritarian state, while continuing to maintain publicly that their socialism was on the path to communism.
Communism
Communism is an ideology that seeks to establish a classless society based on common ownership of property and the means of production. A communist government has a one-party system with an allegiance to Marxism-Leninism (as in the old Soviet Union and Eastern Europe) or Marxism-Leninism–Mao Zedong Thought (as in China). The Communist Party is the only legal political party. Most communist states feature centrally planned economies. There are few individual rights for citizens, no genuinely free elections, and no independent judiciary.
Fascism
Fascism is a set of authoritarian ideologies that focus on state control of individuals in the interest of forging national unity, usually based on ethnic, religious, or cultural considerations. It emphasizes conformity to forge a mobilized national polity. Mussolini’s Italy is generally thought to be the first fascist government, and Mussolini himself defined fascism as the merging of corporate interests with the state. Fascist nationalism was hostile to both socialism and feminism, and attempted to create a new elite acting in the name of the people. This form of government tends to be headed by a charismatic leader and focused on glorifying the military. Fascist regimes have included Nazi Germany under Hitler and Spain under Franco.
Authoritarian Governments
Authoritarian governments are intent on maintaining social control; their citizens are subject to state authority in many aspects of their lives. This type of government normally demands strict obedience—and may obtain that obedience through oppressive measures.
Like a democracy, an authoritarian regime can be a very stable system that adheres to a constitution. But normally an authoritarian government does not allow free elections; more than one political party; checks and balances between the executive, legislative, and judicial branches; an independent judiciary; or civil liberties.
Dictatorship A dictatorship is an autocratic form of government ruled by a dictator who has no legal, constitutional, social, or political restrictions on his power. Dictators often head military governments, a situation that has occurred in some Latin American, Asian, and African nations.
Totalitarianism A totalitarian system is one in which the state regulates almost all aspects of private and public behavior. This type of government attempts to mobilize the entire population toward an official state ideology. A totalitarian regime typically outlaws activities that are not sanctioned by the state, and it often uses repression or state control of all activities. Citizens have been persecuted in totalitarian states for reasons of religion and ethnicity,
as well as belonging to trade unions or political parties. Authoritarian regimes often maintain power through the use of a secret police force, heavy propaganda distributed through state-controlled media, restricted speech, a tightly controlled judiciary, single-party politics, and mass surveillance and terror tactics. Often totalitarian governments feature a personality cult revolving around the leader. The former Soviet Union is a prime example of a totalitarian state, as is North Korea.
The United States is a federal republic consisting of 50 states and the District of Columbia. As mandated by the U.S. Constitution, each state has considerable powers of self-government. A liberal democracy, the United States has a formal Constitution; free elections; clear separation of powers between the executive, legislative and judicial branches; an independent judiciary; and protection of civil liberties.
In May 1787, the Founding Fathers held a Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia to create a government that would have checks and balances. After four months of rancorous deliberations, they devised a system that would give the government power while protecting the rights of citizens. In a solution known as the “Virginia Plan,” the conventioneers called for three branches of government: the legislative body; the executive, led by a president who would run the country; and the judiciary, entrusted with the power to enforce laws and punish those who do not obey them. The first three articles of the U.S. Constitution clearly set forth the fundamental workings of each branch.
At the Constitutional Congress, there was also much debate about how to give each state fair representation, since some of the states were large and some very small. In what came to be known as the “Great Compromise,” the delegates created a bicameral system, dividing the congress into two chambers (the Senate and the House of Representatives). Each state, regardless of size, sends two elected officials to the Senate. (Senators serve six-year terms, and in any given cycle, one-third of the Senate faces re-election.) Conversely, the states send differing numbers to the House of Representatives, with their allotment based on population. Congressional representatives serve two-year terms; the entire House is up for re-election every two years. (For a complete description of the U.S. Constitution see “Law.”)
The Legislative Branch
The legislature, or congress, is charged with making laws. Many of the bills considered by congress are produced by specialized committees drawn from its membership. Under the Constitution, only congress has the power to declare war.
The Senate is most often thought of as the more powerful body, because it approves key federal appointments and ratifies foreign treaties, and it is generally a more deliberative chamber than the House of Representatives. Although impeachment cases brought against federal officials must originate in the House of Representatives, the Senate hears the formal trial of impeachment cases, with a two-thirds majority vote required for conviction.
The House of Representatives has a large role in the fiscal area, since all spending bills originate in this chamber. The House Budget and Finance Committee is therefore the most powerful of all the legislative committees.
Both houses of congress are involved in ratifying amendments to the Constitution. This requires two-thirds majorities from both chambers, and three-fourths of all state legislatures across the nation. Alternatively, a Constitutional amendment may be initiated by two-thirds of state legislatures, which can call for a special National Constitutional Convention.
How a Bill Becomes a Law
Every law starts out as a bill that is introduced by a member of the House or Senate. The bill is assigned to an appropriate committee or subcommittee in the chamber where it originated; there the bill is examined and debated, and hearings may be held. In “mark up,” the committee in charge can change, add, or take away provisions of the proposed bill. Once that process is finished, the bill is placed on the calendar for debate and a vote. When the members meet to vote on the proposed bill, it is either approved, sometimes with changes, or it is killed.
If the members vote to pass the bill, it is then introduced into the other chamber of congress for debate and enhancement. If the bill passes through both chambers, it is sent to the president for signature. If the House and Senate pass differing versions of the same bill, the proposals go to “conference committee,” where both sides must hammer out their differences.
The president has 10 days to sign a bill into law. If he does not sign it in 10 days, and congress is in session, the bill automatically becomes law. If he turns it down (issuing a “veto”), he may send it back to the congress with his suggestions for changes, and the process starts again in the chamber where the bill originated. At this point, the House and Senate can attempt to override the president’s veto, a move that requires a two-thirds majority vote. If the veto is overridden in both chambers, it becomes law. If the president does not act on a bill and congress adjourns before the end of the 10-day period, the legislation is dead. This is called a “pocket veto.”
The Executive Branch
The executive’s main job is to carry out the laws of the country. Article 2 of the U.S. Constitution states that the president can conduct foreign affairs and act as commander-in-chief of the U.S. military. He can also appoint a cabinet to advise him on specialized subjects.
The cabinet includes the vice president and the heads (or “secretaries”) of 15 executive departments: Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Justice (the head of this department is the Attorney General), Labor, State, Transportation, Treasury, and Veterans Affairs. Under President George W. Bush, cabinet-level rank also has been accorded to the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency; the director of the Office of Management and Budget; the director of National Drug Control Policy; and the U.S. Trade Representative.
The president and vice president run for election every four years. Article 2 specifies that these elections are actually decided by indirect voting; the citizens cast their votes for candidates, but in reality, they are voting for a slate of “electors” pledged to those candidates. These electors ratify the final result in the Electoral College, in a process that is further outlined in the 12th Amendment. (See “The Constitution”) Most states have a winner-take-all rule that awards all of their electors to the candidates who win the popular vote, no matter how slim their margin of victory may be.
The Constitution also requires that the president must be born in the United States, that he or she must be at least 35 years old, and he or she must have lived in the United States for 14 years. Once elected, the president serves as the head of state, commander-in-chief of the armed forces, and head of the civil service. The 22nd Amendment limits the president to two terms in office.
In the event that a president becomes disabled, power is transferred according to procedures outlined in the 20th Amendment, the 25th Amendment, and the Presidential Succession Law of 1947. The 20th and 25th Amendments establish the method for the vice president to assume the duties and powers of the presidency in the case of a permanent or temporary disabling of the president. The 25th Amendment also provides a method for filling a vacated office of the vice president. The president must nominate a new vice president, who must be confirmed by a majority vote of both houses of Congress. The Presidential Succession Law of 1947 addressed the simultaneous disability of both the president and vice president.
Presidential Order of Succession
| Vice President of the United States |
| Speaker of the House |
| President Pro Tempore of the Senate |
| Secretary of State |
| Secretary of the Treasury |
| Secretary of Defense |
| Attorney General |
| Secretary of the Interior |
| Secretary of Agriculture |
| Secretary of Commerce |
| Secretary of Labor |
| Secretary of Health & Human Services |
| Secretary of Housing & Urban Development |
| Secretary of Transportation |
| Secretary of Energy |
| Secretary of Education |
| Secretary of Veterans Affairs |
| Secretary of Homeland Security |
The Judicial Branch
Article 3 of the U.S. Constitution provides for the judicial branch, consisting of a Supreme Court and lower federal courts. The U.S. Supreme Court consists of nine justices who are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. The justices serve lifetime terms—a system that was designed to insulate the Court from the political pressures of the moment. A justice can only be removed by impeachment.
Directly under the Supreme Court are the appellate courts, including 10 Regional Circuit Courts of Appeals and one U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. These courts hear appeals of cases that have already been decided by lower courts. The trial courts, or the U.S. District Courts, are made up of 94 judicial districts across the nation.
The Supreme Court is the “court of last resort.” Each year some 7,000 requests for Supreme Court judgments arrive for review, and are placed on a docket. The Court cannot hear all of these cases, and chooses to rule on about 100 of them,
and to write opinions on about 80. The Supreme Court may also determine whether or not a law passed by Congress violates the U.S. Constitution.
State Governments
The 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states that, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” State powers have evolved over time to include jurisdiction over the rules pertaining to internal communications, property, industry, business, and public utilities. Each state also has its own criminal code and regulations regarding working conditions.
Article 5, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution further mandates that each state will implement a republican form of government. The Founders envisioned state governments that would mirror the structure of the federal government, complete with checks and balances. Each state has its own constitution, which specifies the workings of a legislature, an executive (the governor), and a state-level judiciary.
Almost every state has a bicameral legislature. (Nebraska is the lone exception, with a unicameral legislature called the Senate.) Because each state has its own constitution, the various legislative bodies may go by different names. But these are differences in name only, for no matter its name, each state legislature contains elected officials who represent the populace. Each state has a chamber of state senators and a chamber of state representatives.
Just like the U.S. Congress, these state legislatures pass laws and create a budget to pay for state-run programs. Because the United States is such a large and varied country, each state can create the government that best suits its needs. While state laws cannot contradict or violate federal law or the U.S. Constitution, there are times when interests of the state and federal governments intersect. These usually have to do with matters of health, education, welfare, transportation, and housing and urban development. In these cases, state and the federal governments cooperate.
Each state’s executive branch, like its federal counterpart, carries out state laws. A popularly elected governor is the chief executive, and most states also have a lieutenant governor. Most governors serve four-year terms, although in Vermont and New Hampshire, the term is two years. The governor oversees all the state agencies and departments.
Each state’s judiciary is set up to mirror the hierarchy of the federal judiciary. There is a state Supreme Court, which hears appeals from the lower state courts. The state’s constitution or legislation governs the methods by which judges are elected or appointed in each state.
Speakers of the House of Representatives
| Speaker |
State |
Date Elected |
| Frederick A.C. Muhlenberg |
Pennsylvania |
Apr. 1, 1789 |
| Jonathan Trumbull |
Connecticut |
Oct. 24, 1791 |
| Frederick A.C. Muhlenberg |
Pennsylvania |
Dec. 2, 1793 |
| Jonathan Dayton |
New Jersey |
Dec. 7, 1795 |
| Jonathan Dayton |
New Jersey |
May 15, 1797 |
| Theodore Sedgwick |
Massachusetts |
Dec. 2, 1799 |
| Nathaniel Macon |
North Carolina |
Dec. 7, 1801 |
| Nathaniel Macon |
North Carolina |
Oct. 17, 1803 |
| Nathaniel Macon |
North Carolina |
Dec. 2, 1805 |
| Joseph B. Varnum |
Massachusetts |
Oct. 26, 1807 |
| Joseph B. Varnum |
Massachusetts |
May 22, 1809 |
| Henry Clay |
Kentucky |
Nov. 4, 1811 |
| Henry Clay 1 |
Kentucky |
May 24, 1813 |
| Langdon Cheves |
South Carolina |
Jan. 19, 1814 |
| Henry Clay |
Kentucky |
Dec. 4, 1815 |
| Henry Clay |
Kentucky |
Dec. 1, 1817 |
| Henry Clay 2 |
Kentucky |
Dec. 6, 1819 |
| John W. Taylor |
New York |
Nov. 15, 1820 |
| Philip P. Barbour |
Virginia |
Dec. 4, 1821 |
| Henry Clay 3 |
Kentucky |
Dec. 1, 1823 |
| John W. Taylor |
New York |
Dec. 5, 1825 |
| Andrew Stevenson |
Virginia |
Dec. 3, 1827 |
| Andrew Stevenson |
Virginia |
Dec. 7, 1829 |
| Andrew Stevenson |
Virginia |
Dec. 5, 1831 |
| John Bell |
Tennessee |
June 2, 1834 |
| James K. Polk |
Tennessee |
Dec. 7, 1835 |
| James K. Polk |
Tennessee |
Sept. 4, 1837 |
| Robert M.T. Hunter |
Virginia |
Dec. 16, 1839 |
| John White |
Kentucky |
May 31, 1841 |
| John W. Jones |
Virginia |
Dec. 4, 1843 |
| John W. Davis |
Indiana |
Dec. 1, 1845 |
| Robert C. Winthrop |
Massachusetts |
Dec. 6, 1847 |
| Howell Cobb |
Georgia |
Dec. 22, 1849 |
| Linn Boyd |
Kentucky |
Dec. 1, 1851 |
| Linn Boyd |
Kentucky |
Dec. 5, 1853 |
| Nathaniel P. Banks |
Massachusetts |
Feb. 2, 1856 |
| James L. Orr |
South Carolina |
Dec. 7, 1857 |
| William Pennington |
New Jersey |
Feb. 1, 1860 |
| Galusha A. Grow |
Pennsylvania |
July 4, 1861 |
| Schuyler Colfax |
Indiana |
Dec. 7, 1863 |
| Schuyler Colfax |
Indiana |
Dec. 4, 1865 |
| Schuyler Colfax |
Indiana |
Mar. 4, 1867 |
| Theodore M. Pomeroy |
4 New York |
Mar. 3, 1869 |
| James G. Blaine |
Maine |
Mar. 4, 1869 |
| James G. Blaine |
Maine |
Mar. 4, 1871 |
| James G. Blaine |
Maine |
Dec. 1, 1873 |
| Michael C. Kerr5 |
Indiana |
Dec. 6, 1875 |
| Samuel J. Randall |
Pennsylvania |
Dec. 4, 1876 |
| Samuel J. Randall |
Pennsylvania |
Dec. 4, 1876 |
| Samuel J. Randall |
Pennsylvania |
Mar. 18, 1879 |
| J. Warren Keifer |
Ohio |
Dec. 5, 1881 |
| John G. Carlisle |
Kentucky |
Dec. 3, 1883 |
| John G. Carlisle |
Kentucky |
Dec. 7, 1885 |
| John G. Carlisle |
Kentucky |
Dec. 5, 1887 |
| Thomas B. Reed |
Maine |
Dec. 2, 1889 |
| Charles F. Crisp |
Georgia |
Dec. 8, 1891 |
| Charles F. Crisp |
Georgia |
Aug. 7, 1893 |
| Thomas B. Reed |
Maine |
Dec. 2, 1895 |
| Thomas B. Reed |
Maine |
Mar. 15, 1897 |
| David B. Henderson |
Iowa |
Dec. 4, 1899 |
| David B. Henderson |
Iowa |
Dec. 2, 1901 |
| Joseph G. Cannon |
Illinois |
Nov. 9, 1903 |
| Joseph G. Cannon |
Illinois |
Dec. 4, 1905 |
| Joseph G. Cannon |
Illinois |
Dec. 2, 1907 |
| Joseph G. Cannon Joseph G. Cannon |
Illinois Illinois |
Mar. 15, 1909 Mar. 15,1909 |
| James Beauchamp Clark |
Missouri |
Apr. 4, 1911 |
| James Beauchamp Clark |
Missouri |
Apr. 7, 1913 |
| James Beauchamp Clark |
Missouri |
Dec. 6, 1915 |
| James Beauchamp Clark |
Missouri |
Apr. 2, 1917 |
| Frederick H. Gillett |
Massachusetts |
May 19, 1919 |
| Frederick H. Gillett |
Massachusetts |
Apr. 11, 1921 |
| Frederick H. Gillett |
Massachusetts |
Dec. 3, 1923 |
| Nicholas Longworth |
Ohio |
Dec. 7, 1925 |
| Nicholas Longworth |
Ohio |
Dec. 5, 1927 |
| Nicholas Longworth |
Ohio |
Apr. 15, 1929 |
| John N. Garner |
Texas |
Dec. 7, 1931 |
| Henry T. Rainey6 |
Illinois |
Mar. 9, 1933 |
| Joseph W. Byrns7 |
Tennessee |
Jan. 3, 1935 |
| William B. Bankhead |
Alabama |
Jun. 4, 1936 |
| William B. Bankhead |
Alabama |
Jan. 5, 1937 |
| William B. Bankhead8Alabama |
|
Jan. 3, 1939 |
| Sam Rayburn |
Texas |
Sept. 16, 1940 |
| Sam Rayburn |
Texas |
Jan. 3, 1941 |
| Sam Rayburn |
Texas |
Jan. 6, 1943 |
| Sam Rayburn |
Texas |
Jan. 3, 1945 |
| Joseph W. Martin, Jr. |
Massachusetts |
Jan. 3, 1947 |
| Sam Rayburn |
Texas |
Jan. 3, 1949 |
| Sam Rayburn |
Texas |
Jan. 3, 1951 |
| Joseph W. Martin, Jr. |
Massachusetts |
Jan. 3, 1953 |
| Sam Rayburn |
Texas |
Jan. 5, 1955 |
| Sam Rayburn |
Texas |
Jan. 3, 1957 |
| Sam Rayburn |
Texas |
Jan. 7, 1959 |
| Sam Rayburn9 |
Texas |
Jan. 3, 1961 |
| John W. McCormack |
Massachusetts |
Jan. 10, 1962 |
| John W. McCormack |
Massachusetts |
Jan. 9, 1963 |
| John W. McCormack |
Massachusetts |
Jan. 4, 1965 |
| John W. McCormack |
Massachusetts |
Jan. 10, 1967 |
| John W. McCormack |
Massachusetts |
Jan. 3, 1969 |
| Carl B. Albert |
Oklahoma |
Jan. 21, 1971 |
| Carl B. Albert |
Oklahoma |
Jan. 3, 1973 |
| Carl B. Albert |
Oklahoma |
Jan. 14, 1975 |
| Thomas P. O’Neill, Jr. |
Massachusetts |
Jan. 4, 1977 |
| Thomas P. O’Neill, Jr. |
Massachusetts |
Jan. 15, 1979 |
| Thomas P. O’Neill, Jr. |
Massachusetts |
Jan. 5, 1981 |
| Thomas P. O’Neill, Jr. |
Massachusetts |
Jan. 3, 1983 |
| Thomas P. O’Neill, Jr. |
Massachusetts |
Jan. 3, 1985 |
| James C. Wright, Jr. |
Texas |
Jan. 6, 1987 |
| James C. Wright, Jr.10 |
Texas |
Jan. 3, 1989 |
| Thomas S. Foley |
Washington |
Jun. 6, 1989 |
| Thomas S. Foley |
Washington |
Jan. 3, 1991 |
| Thomas S. Foley |
Washington |
Jan. 5, 1993 |
| Newt Gingrich |
Georgia |
Jan. 4, 1995 |
| Newt Gingrich |
Georgia |
Jan. 7, 1997 |
| J. Dennis Hastert |
Illinois |
Jan. 6, 1999 |
| J. Dennis Hastert |
Illinois |
Jan. 3, 2001 |
| J. Dennis Hastert |
Illinois |
Jan. 7, 2003 |
| J. Dennis Hastert |
Illinois |
Jan. 4, 2005 |
| Nancy Pelosi |
California |
Jan. 4, 2007 |
| John Boehner |
Ohio |
Jan. 5, 2011 |
| Source: Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress, Congressional Research Service Notes: 1. Resigned from the House of Representatives, January 19, 1814. 2. Resigned on October 28, 1820. 3. Resigned from the House of Representatives, March 6, 1825. |
| 4. Elected Speaker, March 3, 1869, and served one day. 5. Died in office, August 19, 1876. 6. Died in office, August 19, 1934. 7. Died in office June 4, 1936. 8. Died in office, September 15, 1940. 9. Died November 16, 1961. 10. Resigned from the House of Representatives, June 6, 1989. |