Definition

A document that outlines the rights and responsibilities of everyone who belongs to a nation, including the ruling class and the ruled. It also defines the structure of governance, such as democracy, and how it is to be run, including details such as the separation of powers.

Types

• Written
  • American Constitution
  • Basic Law of HKSAR
• Unwritten

Federalism

• While individual states have the power to make their laws and govern themselves, they also unite together to form a country. They assign power to the central government to manage matters such as defense and security, taxation, transportation, communication, and economic policies. This is done because working together is more effective.
• The central government of the United States is known as the Federal Government. The country is referred to as the US, the USA, or America, which is named after Amerigo Vespucci.
• If there is a conflict, the judiciary branch of government will regulate the matter. The highest court in the USA is the Supreme Court.

Presidential system

• In the USA, the President is the head of state, are opposed with Governors are heads of their respective states.
• In the early days, the role of the President in the governance of the country was insignificant. However, today's American President plays a significant role in national and world politics.
  1. America entered the world stage since World War II.
  2. The rise of the concept of national crisis
• In these two scenarios, State Governors were not enabled to do as forceful and effective as the President.
  1. Diplomacy provides a chance to act on behalf of the nation and immense power.
  2. The identification of national crises provides an opportunity for the President to skip Congress and take immediate action to protect the nation from danger
• In American history, there were presidents who abused their power, such as Johnson during the Vietnam War and Nixon during the Watergate scandal As a result, the American public became suspicious of the President and made efforts to check their power and authority. This is proved by the many cases that Trump encountered while he was President.

The separation of powers

• Montesquieu's idea was adopted by the Founding Fathers in the American Constitution. However, the Constitution has so many checks and balances that the American President cannot function without working together with the other two branches of government.
• Neustadt argues that in the USA, the British Prime Minister is more powerful than the American President. To overcome this gap, the President must learn to persuade instead of relying on the powers.
• Congress is the most challenging institution that the President must work with. The UK Parliament never regulates the work of the Prime Minister, but the American Congress "controls" the President.

The Bill of Rights

• Publication/ the press