Topic 4: The Institutions of Government

By delegating specific powers and duties of governing a nation to the three branches of the federal government, the Constitution establishes the ground rules for the fundamental working relationships among various players within the government--the president and members of Congress or the bureaucracy and the courts. The success or failure of these relationships can determine the subsequent success or failure of policy initiatives, a fact that is often missed by the American public. Thus, students need to be aware of not only the basic workings of the institutions of government, but how these institutions--and the people who work within them--operate to help or hinder the policy making process.

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Benchmarks & Indicators:

NOTE: Red Bolded content in the indicators is considered essential and must be taught in all classrooms. Content which is not bolded goes beyond the scope and sequence of the state standards.

Benchmark 4.1: Students will explain how public policy is the action the government takes to solve a problem, deal with an issue, or meet the needs and wishes of citizens.

4.1 Indicators:

Students reach this benchmark when they are able to:

The Legislative Branch

Benchmark 4.2: Students will explain the organization of the United States Congress.

4.2 Indicators:

Students reach this benchmark when they are able to:

Benchmark 4.3: Students will identify the powers of Congress.

4.3 Indicators:

Students reach this benchmark when they are able to:

Benchmark 4.4: Students will describe how Congress shapes public policy.

4.4 Indicators:

Students reach this benchmark when they are able to:

1. Explain that the role of Congress in the policy-making process is to make laws.
2. Describe how individuals currently in leadership positions in Congress use their influence to shape public policy.
3. Describe the law making from proposed legislation to the president's signature or veto.
4. Describe the similarities and differences between the lawmaking process in the House and the Senate, e.g., filibuster, Rules Committee, etc.
5. Evaluate the role of Congress in shaping foreign policy, e.g., War Powers Act, control of funding, etc.

Benchmark 4.5: Students will evaluate, take, and defend a position in writing, discussion, and debate on how citizens can exert influence on Congress.

4.5 Indicators:

Students reach this benchmark when they are able to:

1. Explain the ways individuals and groups can have an impact on lawmaking through letters, lobbying, demonstrations, opinion polls, etc.
2. Analyze the effectiveness of efforts to influence Congress by examining historical and contemporary examples.
   

The Executive Branch

Benchmark 4.6: Students will explain the organization of the executive branch.

4.6 Indicators:

Students reach this benchmark when they are able to:

1. Identify the executive branch as consisting of the Executive Office of the President, the White House staff, cabinet departments, and other bureaucratic agencies.
   1. Describe the various offices and departments in the executive branch and their individual responsibilities and powers.
      
   2. Explain the criteria presidents use to fill appointed posts such as cabinet secretaries and staff members in the executive branch.
      
2. Identify the constitutional requirements to be president and vice president and the line of presidential succession.
   
3. Describe the unwritten requirements for the presidency, e.g., popularity, charisma, moral character, etc.
   
4. Describe the compensation and perks of the Office of the President.

Benchmark 4.7: Students will identify the powers of the president.

4.7 Indicators:

Students reach this benchmark when they are able to:

1. Describe the formal powers of the president as outlined in Article II of the Constitution, e.g., power of appointment, commander-in-chief, etc.
2. Explain the various informal powers of the president such as power to persuade, electoral mandates, etc.
3. Describe the veto power of the president.

Benchmark 4.8: Students will describe how the president shapes public policy.

4.8 Indicators:

Students reach this benchmark when they are able to:

1. Explain how presidents can use their office and the media to influence the public in order to shape public policy.
2. Explain how the various roles that presidents play, e.g., chief of state, chief diplomat, chief legislator, etc., allow presidents to shape public policy.
3. Describe how the current president and members of his or her administration use their influence or positions to shape public policy.
4. Evaluate the president’s role in shaping foreign policy.

Benchmark 4.9: Students will evaluate, take, and defend in writing, discussion, and debate a position on how citizens can exert influence on the executive branch.

4.9 Indicators:

Students reach this benchmark when they are able to:

1. Explain the ways individuals and groups can influence presidential decisions.
2. Analyze the effectiveness of efforts to influence the president and executive branch decision making by examining historical and contemporary examples.

The Bureaucracy

Benchmark 4.10: Students will explain the organization of the bureaucracy.

4.10 Indicators:

Students reach this benchmark when they are able to:

1. Identify the bureaucracy as the agencies and offices, consisting of nonelected officials (bureaucrats), who develop, implement, and enforce public policy.
   1. Identify independent regulatory commissions, government corporations, independent executive agencies, executive agencies, and cabinet-level departments headed by a secretary.
   2. Explain how private government contractors complete much of the work government cannot complete.
2. Describe the historical background of the civil service system and how it is used today in the hiring and firing of federal bureaucrats.
   

Benchmark 4.11: Students will identify the powers of the bureaucracy.

4.11 Indicators:

Students reach this benchmark when they are able to:

1. Explain how individual agencies and departments within the bureaucracy interpret and implement policies passed by Congress and signed by the president.
2. Explain the power individual bureaucratic agencies have to make rules and regulations.
3. Explain the power individual bureaucratic agencies have to enforce rules and regulations by holding hearings, conducting investigations, levying fines, etc.

Benchmark 4.12: Students will describe how the bureaucracy shapes public policy.

4.12 Indicators:

Students reach this benchmark when they are able to:

1. Explain how the rules and regulations issued by bureaucratic agencies translate public policy into action.
2. Explain why representatives from bureaucratic agencies often testify before Congress to initiate new programs or to preserve old ones.
3. Explain the term “iron triangles” and describe how they work.

Benchmark 4.13: Students will evaluate, take, and defend in writing, discussion, and debate a position on how citizens can exert influence on the bureaucracy.

4.13 Indicators:

Students reach this benchmark when they are able to:

1. Explain the ways individuals and groups can have an impact on bureaucratic decisions.
2. Analyze the effectiveness of efforts to influence the bureaucracy by examining historical and contemporary examples.

The Judicial Branch

Benchmark 4.14: Students will explain the organization of the United States judicial system.

4.14 Indicators:

Students reach this benchmark when they are able to:

1. Describe the organization of the United States judicial system as consisting of state and federal courts each with separate jurisdiction connected through the appellate process.
   1. Describe the structure of the federal court system, i.e., the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Courts of Appeals, District Courts, and special courts.
   2. Explain the three types of federal law: constitutional, criminal, and civil.
   3. Explain the concepts of original and appellate jurisdiction.
   4. Explain the process of becoming a federal judge.
2. Explain the importance of an independent judiciary in American government.
3. Describe the adversary system and evaluate its advantages and disadvantages.

Benchmark 4.15: Students will identify the powers of the federal judiciary.

4.15 Indicators:

Students reach this benchmark when they are able to:

1. Explain the importance of the Judiciary Act of 1789 and the constitutional role of Congress to shape the federal judicial system.
   
2. Examine how John Marshall established the Supreme Court as an independent coequal branch through his opinion in Marbury v. Madison (1803), which established the concept of judicial review.
   
3. Explain the significance of the supremacy clause (Article VI, Section 2).
   

Benchmark 4.16: Students will describe how the federal judiciary shapes public policy.

4.16 Indicators:

Students reach this benchmark when they are able to:

1. Explain how the Supreme Court decides to accept cases for hearing, e.g., rule of four, petition for certiorari, role of law clerks, etc.
2. Explain the Supreme Court decision making process on cases it has accepted for review, e.g., filing briefs, amicus curiae, oral arguments, conference deliberation, reliance precedent, majority, per curium, dissenting, and concurring opinions.
3. Explain how the philosophies of judicial activism and judicial restraint influence Court decisions.
4. Evaluate the ability of the Supreme Court to influence policy by limiting the power of government and protecting the rights of individuals.

Benchmark 4.17: Students will evaluate, take, and defend in writing, discussion, and debate a position on how citizens can exert influence on the judiciary.

4.17 Indicators:

Students reach this benchmark when they are able to:

1. Explain the ways individuals and groups can have an impact on judicial decisions.
2. Examine historic and contemporary examples of individuals and groups who have demonstrated the power to change and influence the meaning of the law, e.g., Clarence Earle Gideon, Gideon v. Wainwright (1963), “Jane Roe”, Roe v. Wade (1973), Alan Bakke, Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978), NAACP, etc.
   

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