Kathleen Sears - American Government 101: From the Continental Congress to the Iowa Caucus, Everything You Need to Know About US Politics

Avon, Massachusetts

Copyright 2016 by F+W Media, Inc.

All rights reserved.

This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher; exceptions are made for brief excerpts used in published reviews.

Published by

Adams Media, a division of F+W Media, Inc.

57 Littlefield Street, Avon, MA 02322. U.S.A.

www.adamsmedia.com

Contains material adapted from The Everything American Government Book by Nick Ragone, copyright 2004 by F+W Media, Inc., ISBN 10: 1-59337-055-5, ISBN 13: 978-1-59337-055-8; and The Everything U.S. Constitution Book by Ellen M. Kozak, copyright 2011 by F+W Media, Inc., ISBN 10: 1-4405-1274-4, ISBN 13: 978-1-4405-1274-2.

ISBN 10: 1-4405-9845-2

ISBN 13: 978-1-4405-9845-6

eISBN 10: 1-4405-9846-0

eISBN 13: 978-1-4405-9846-3

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Sears, Kathleen, author.

American government 101 / Kathleen Sears.

Avon, Massachusetts: Adams Media, [2016]

Includes index.

LCCN 2016013741| ISBN 9781440598456 (pob) | ISBN 1440598452 (pob) | ISBN 9781440598463 (ebook) | ISBN 1440598460 (ebook)

LCSH: United States--Politics and government.

LCC JK275 .S42 2016 | DDC 320.473--dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016013741

Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book and F+W Media, Inc. was aware of a trademark claim, the designations have been printed with initial capital letters.

Cover design by Alexandra Artiano.

Cover images iStockphoto.com/traveler1116; Andrea Gingerich; Clipart.com.

Interior images credited on insert.

Have you ever wondered just what the qualifications are to be president of the United States? Have you been curious about the Electoral Collegewhat it is and why we have it? Are you curious about how Congress creates laws?

If so, American Government 101 is for you. Here youll learn, in clear, simple language, how American government worksfrom presidential elections to your local town council elections. Youll find entries that cover such topics as:

• Whats really in the Constitution
• The role of the Senate and the House of Representatives
• The daily life of the president
• The powers of a state governor
• How federal, state, and city elections are conducted

Its important to know these things because the United States expects its citizens to participate in governing. After all, not only do Americans regularly select representatives in city, state, and federal government, but the American people also vote on an often-bewildering array of issues, ordinances, and initiatives. The better the American people are informed about how their government works, the better decisions theyll make about how it should work.

Understanding governmental institutions often seems challenging because of the sheer size of the government. When the House of Representatives met for the first time on March 4, 1789, it had just twenty-nine members; today it contains 435 (as well as six nonvoting members). As of 2014, the federal government employed approximately 4,185,000 people. In 1789, the entire population of the newly formed United States was only 3,929,000.

Apart from sheer numbers, the American government has become increasingly complicated. Although it may be hard to believe, the first Congress didnt have political parties; the national founders disapproved of them and hoped to avoid them. Today, its impossible to imagine the U.S. governmental system without them. Reports of discussion in the House and Senate are dotted with references to filibusters, whips, cloture, Blue Dog Democrats, Tea Party Republicans, and more.

While this sounds complicated, this book will help you make sense out of the government, whether its in Washington, D.C., or in your local town hall. It will show you things like how a bill becomes a law, whats needed to pass and ratify a constitutional amendment, and much more. It will explain to you the complex rules of procedure followed by the Senate and the House, and how politicians use these to craft legislation.

Above all, this book will explain government to you as it really works. It will discuss the importance of money in politics and how it became such a major ingredient. This book will tell you about lobbyists: who they are and what they do. It will outline controversial Supreme Court decisions, from Brown v. Board of Education to Obergefell v. Hodges, and explain why these decisions were so controversial.

The Founding Fathers of the United States didnt anticipate all the twists and turns the countrys history would take. But Washington, Jefferson, Adams, Madison, and others were confident that the government they had created would be sufficient to cope with even the greatest crises and survive. So far, after more than two centuries, the government has done just that.

The story of American government dates back to the earliest settlement of North America. Our grade-school textbooks taught us that the first settlers were religious separatists who came to America to escape the Church of England. Some did seek religious freedom; others sought a new beginning; and still others were simply attracted to adventure. A few were even fortune seekers.

The earliest English settlement took place at Roanoke Island, North Carolina. Established by English explorers in the mid- to late 1580s, the Roanoke Island colony is best remembered for its mysterious and sudden demise.