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    • Announcements Forum
    • What Are Some of the Strengths and Weaknesses of Our National Government?

      The legislative branches are said to be responsible for making laws, the executive for carrying them out, and the judiciary for managing disputes about their interpretation and application. These distinctions are not, in fact, so clear. It is better to describe our system as one in which these institutions are separated, but they actually share all of these powers to some extent. Furthermore, since the founding period, power has shifted among these institutions and there is a continuous tension among them regarding the scope and limit of their powers. Our system is compared with parliamentary systems that have different institutional and procedural arrangements. Current problems in our system are examined, including claims regarding a breakdown in essential norms and the current extent of polarization in Congress.
      • Introduction
      • Video (2:13) Page
      • Section 1: National Governmental Institutions: Separation and Sharing of Powers
      • Video (6:07) Page
      • Review Questions Quiz
      •     Discussion and research questions

      • Question 1 Forum
      • Question 2 Forum
      • Question 3 Forum
      • Question 4 Forum
      • Question 5 Forum
      • Section 2: Sharing of Powers Between Congress and the Executive Branch and Related Issues
      • Video (8:07) Page
      • Review Questions Quiz
      •     Discussion and research questions

      • Question 1 Forum
      • Question 2 Forum
      • Question 3 Forum
      • Section 3: Problems in the Functioning of Congress and the Executive Branch
      • Video (11:47) Page
      • Review Questions Quiz
      •     Discussion and research questions

      • Question 1 Forum
      • Question 2 Forum
      • Question 3 Forum
      • Section 4: Violations of Regular Order, Democratic Procedures, and Democratic Norms
      • Video (8:24) Page
      • Review Questions Quiz
      •     Discussion and research questions

      • Question 1 Forum
      • Question 2 Forum
      • Question 3 Forum
      • Question 4 Forum
      • Section 5: The Importance of Democratic Norms
      • Video (3:05) Page
      • Review Questions Quiz
      •     Discussion and research question

      • Question 1 Forum
      • Section 6: The Oversight Responsibility of Congress
      • Video (11:01) Page
      • Review Questions Quiz
      •     Discussion and research questions

      • Question 1 Forum
      • Question 2 Forum
      • Question 3 Forum
      • Question 4 Forum
      • Question 5 Forum
      • Section 7: Shift in Balance of Power from Congress to the President
      • Video (11:32) Page
      • Review Questions Quiz
      •     Discussion and research questions

      • Question 1 Forum
      • Question 2 Forum
      • Question 3 Forum
      • Section 8: Representation, the Will of the People, Majority Rule, and Minority Rights
      • Video (5:29) Page
      • Review Questions A Quiz
      • Review Questions B Quiz
      •     Discussion and research questions

      • Question 1 Forum
      • Question 2 Forum
      • Question 3 Forum
      • Question 4 Forum
      • Section 9: Shift of Powers from Congress to the Supreme Court
      • Video (3:47) Page
      • Review Questions Quiz
      •     Discussion and research questions

      • Question 1 Forum
      • Question 2 Forum
      • Question 3 Forum
      • Section 10: Examining Remedies
      • Video (10:09) Page
      • Review Questions A Quiz
      • Review Questions B Quiz
      •     Discussion and research questions

      • Question 1 Forum
      • Question 2 Forum
      • Question 3 Forum
      • Question 4 Forum
      • Question 5 Forum
      • Question 6 Forum
      • Section 11: Balancing Congressional and Executive Resources
      • Video (3:42) Page
      • Review Questions Quiz
      •     Discussion and research questions

      • Question 1 Forum
      • Question 2 Forum
      • Question 3 Forum
      • Section 12: Campaign Finance
      • Video (6:42) Page
      • Review Questions A Quiz
      • Review Questions B Quiz
      •     Discussion and research questions

      • Question 1 Forum
      • Question 2 Forum
      • Question 3 Forum
      • Question 4 Forum
      • Question 5 Forum
      • Section 13: Congressional Constraints on Executive Power
      • Video (6:28) Page
      • Review Questions Quiz
      •     Discussion and research questions

      • Question 1 Forum
      • Question 2 Forum
      • Question 3 Forum
      • Question 4 Forum
      • Question 5 Forum
      • Section 14: Congress, Judicial Powers, and the Powers of Large and Small States in Congress
      • Video (7:58) Page
      • Review Questions A Quiz
      • Review Questions B Quiz
      •     Discussion and research questions

      • Question 1 Forum
      • Question 2 Forum
      • Question 3 Forum
      • Question 4 Forum
      • Question 5 Forum
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