Unit 4 Mastery Project

Danielle Dirksen
Silver 6

Identify and explain the organization of the

Legislature.

The legislative branch consists of Congress, which is

split into the House of Representatives and the
Senate. The House contains 435 representatives, with
the number per state based off of each individual
states population. On the other hand, each state has
2 senators, for a total of 100. Obviously, senators
have more influence than representatives, but
population still counts for something. These varying
measures of influence can be attributed to the Great
Compromise, which allowed fair representation for
both small and large states. The two different houses
means that the legislation is classified as bicameral.

Identify and provide an example of the

powers of the Legislature, both formal and
informal.

Formal powers refer to duties explicitly listed

under the job title. For Congress, this might
include declaring war or ratifying a treaty
(enumerated power).

Informal powers are basically assumed, or

implied, powers. These can be setting the
agenda, holding hearings, or performing a
check over the executive branch by
investigating it.

Identify and explain how Congress shares powers

with the Executive, Judiciary, and bureaucracy.

Congress shares powers with the executive branch in

that they both have veto, appointment, treaty, and war
powers. The Congress can declare war and the president
can do so as well, without notifying Congress for a set
period of time. Also, the Senate must approve any
treaties the president draws up by a 2/3 majority.

Powers are shared with the judiciary branch in that

appointees must be confirmed/approved, meaning
consent from both branches is needed.

The bureaucracy carries out specific tasks for Congress,

suggesting that the two must be compatible in order for
anything to be accomplished. Some powers that
Congress has over the bureaucracy include investigating
it and appropriating money.

Discuss the implications of Congress sharing

powers with each of the following: Executive,
Judiciary, and bureaucracy.

Sharing powers with any branch can lead to

controversy or conflict.

Because of this, checks and balances have been

imposed in order to keep each branch at bay and
make sure no one branch is superior to another.

Although the bureaucracy is never specifically

addressed in the constitution, it is still problematic
in its many divisions and complexity. The solution
to this is to use the already-instigated checks and
balances as a means to sort out the attention
differences to each branch (and prioritize).

Discuss the functions that Congress performs.

Congress 5 main functions are summarized as lawmaking,

representing the people, performing oversight, helping
constituents, and educating the public.

Lawmaking goes hand in hand with the title of legislative

branch. If a bill manages to go through the lengthy
legislative process, it becomes a law.

Representation is a key part of Congress because the laws

affect the people and often reflect ways in which society
needed improved.

Oversight refers to the congressional implied powers and

keeping a watchful eye on the rest of the government or
particular sections.

Helping constituents ensures that at least some specific

needs of locals are fulfilled.

Educating the public is necessary to encourage accurate

representation and legislation.

Identify how the power of the Congress

has/may evolve gradually.

Congress must evolve with the rest of the

country and become modernized as necessary.
With conflict often comes the need for change
(gay marriages recent approval, for example).
Ultimately, congressional power has
weakened. This is possibly a result of the
countrys new tendency to rely less on the
idea of democracy and more on the ideas of
being less ideological and relying more on
individuals. Based on its current state,
Congress may continue to weaken in stature.
But if it does, American democracy will not be
as prominent.

Identify how the power of the Congress has/may

changes dramatically as a result of crisis.

In times of crisis, congressional power either

immensely decreases or significantly increases. For
example, in times of war, the president might use
his power to declare war without informing
Congress for x number of days, seemingly
diminishing congressional stance. The president
will gain the upper hand more often than not in
times of chaos, and the public will look to him/her
for guidance. On the other hand, congressional
power may increase if the crisis calls for the
implementation of new bills to properly govern
distressed citizens or protect the nation in times of
terror.

Identify and discuss the ties between the

Congress and political parties.

Partisanship is no longer viewed as ideal; now

it is being able to compromise and collaborate
with the opposite party. Political parties are
important in Congress because of the majority
and minority branches. Whichever party has
the most representatives ends up claiming the
title of majority party and, thus, ends up ruling
(typically) both houses as well as holding the
most prestigious positions, such as speaker of
the house.

Identify and discuss the ties between the

Congress and interest groups.

Interest groups represent different groups of people

so, naturally, they want to persuade members of
Congress to work with them rather than against.
They try to influence Congress using tactics like
lobbying and PACs.

Lobbying is when interest group members have a

meal with a congress member and suggest their
views (outright saying what they want and/or
forcing members to comply is considered
bribery).

PACs, or Political Action Committees are a means

of financing campaigns and contributing
donations.

10

Identify and discuss the ties between the Congress

and media.

People typically associate media attention with the

president before they do Congress, and its true.
Congress does have access to the media, but they have
a substantially lower impact on the public. C-SPAN is a
means of allowing the public to watch what goes on in
the chambers. Of course, Congress is able to meet with
the press and schedule interviews and all that, but it is
a battle between congressmen for attention. Their
primary purpose in using the media is to gain attention
as well educate the public and generate awareness
about various issues. Congressional success in
completing the aforementioned objectives varies
depending on the generation, whether its a time of
crisis, and whether change is imminent.

11

Identify and discuss the ties between the

Congress and state and local governments.

Congress obviously has presiding power over both

state and local governments, but they all must
work together in order to be effective and
maintain a state of both freedom and order.
Sometimes, state laws conflict with federal laws,
but state laws are often left alone unless they
become problematic. The sheer number of
governments present in the United States makes
the whole system sluggish and conflict-prone but
ultimately, we are still a democracy. Congress
must acknowledge the powers of the smaller
governments and must take them into
consideration when making laws and decisions.