How The US Government Works, As Explained Through Beyoncé GIFs
Because even government is meaningless unless Bey is somehow involved.
The United States government can get a little complicated.
Luckily, Beyoncé and I are here to explain it to you. If you're a student about to undergo a US Government final, or if you're just a person who wants a more exact understanding of how our political system works, me and Queen Bey got you.
The United States is a federation. As such, we have a federal government, which is broken up into three branches.
These are known as the Executive, Judicial and Legislative branches. The division of the government into three branches is referred to as "separation of powers" and allows for a system of checks and balances.
For example, whereas the Legislative branch is responsible for writing and enacting laws, the Executive branch has the power to veto those laws and the Judicial branch gets to decide which laws apply to a particular case.
The Legislative branch is the US Congress, which is made up of two assemblies: the House of Representatives and the Senate.
The US Congress has the exclusive abilities to declare war, collect taxes, pass laws and create courts with less power than the Supreme Court among other things.
The House of Representatives is composed of officials who directly represent each state and the District of Columbia.
Representatives from the House are often referred to as "Congressmen" and "Congresswomen." During Presidential elections, if there is no majority from the Electoral College, the House is responsible for electing the president. The House also has the exclusive abilities to impeach elected officials and initiate revenue bills.
The number of Representatives for each state is determined by population, but according to law, the total number of voting Reps can't exceed 435.
The Senate is comprised of 100 total Senators.
No matter its population, each state is represented by two senators. A senator's term is six years, and terms are staggered. Every two years, a third of Senate seats become vacant and are up for grabs.
The Senate has the exclusive abilities to consent to the appointment of major officials, to ratify treaties signed by the President and to try officials impeached by the House of Representatives. The Senate gets to consent to or deny Supreme Court Justice nominees made by the President.
The Executive branch is comprised of the President and the people who act directly on behalf of the President.
The federal government's executive power is vested directly in the President, the President's Cabinet members and a number of other high-level officials to whom various executive powers have been deliberated.
The Executive branch is essentially the "head branch" of the federal government; the President is the head of state, the head of the government, the commander-in-chief of the military and the head diplomat. The President has the exclusive abilities to veto laws, sign treaties and pardon criminals, and can serve no more than two four-year terms. If the President dies, resigns or is otherwise unable to continue the Presidency, the Vice President takes over. The Vice President is the head of the Senate and votes in the Senate whenever the need arises for a tie-breaking vote.
The Judicial branch is responsible for interpreting and applying laws.
The Judicial branch is comprised of many federal courts, but is headed up by the Supreme Court, which is the only court formally established by the Constitution. The Supreme Court is essentially in charge of interpreting the constitution and applying laws enacted by Congress to various cases. The Supreme Court gets to decide if the President, state and local governments are acting in accordance with Constitution.
As the highest court in the US, the Supreme Court sets the precedent for all other courts of the nation.
There are three types of elections in the US government: federal, state and local.
Federal elections include the election of the President, Congress and Governors. State elections include the election of various state officials, e.g. state Senators. Local elections include the election of sheriffs, mayors and school board members, among other positions.
The President and Vice President are elected through the Electoral College, a system that designates electors who vote on behalf of the American people. There are a total of 538 electors, and 270 are needed to win the Presidential election.
The rest of governing is left up to state and local governments.
State and local governments most directly effect day-to-day lives of the American people, and are thus some of the most important elections. While there is a federal Constitution, each state has its own constitution and set of laws, and the federal government cannot exercise any power over states that was not granted by the federal government.
And now you know the basics of US government.
Only one thing left to do: get out and vote!