The President and Supreme Court Appointments

History/Government

Standard 5

The Student:

• The Student understands the major characteristics of systems of shared powers and of parliamentary systems.

Benchmark 1

The Student:

Understands the major characteristics of systems of shared powers (e.g., in the United States and Brazil the executive, legislative, and judicial branches each have primary responsibility for certain functions and share some of the powers and functions of the other branches)

Standard 15

The Student understands how the United States Constitution grants and distributes power and responsibilities to national and state government and how it seeks to prevent the abuse of power.

Benchmark 1

The Student:

Understands how the overall design and specific features of the Constitution prevent the abuse of power by aggregating power at the national, state, and local levels to allow government to be responsive; dispersing power among different levels of government to protect individual rights, promote the common good, and encourage citizen participation; and using a system of checks and balances (e.g., separated institutions with shared powers, provisions for veto and impeachment, federalism, judicial review, the Bill of Rights)

Benchmark 5

The Student:

Understands the purposes, organization, and functions of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches and the independent regulatory agencies (e.g., agencies such as the Federal Reserve, Food and Drug Administration, Federal Communications Commission)

Benchmark 7

The Student:

Understands how specific features and the overall design of the Constitution results in tensions among the three branches (e.g., the power of the purse, the power of impeachment, advice and consent, veto power, judicial review), and comprehends the argument that the tensions resulting from separation of powers, checks and balances, and judicial review tend to slow down the process of making and enforcing laws, thus insuring better outcomes