The legislative branch of a government holds the power to make laws. In the United States, Congress is the legislative branch. Congress also has the power to declare war. A few legislative agencies, like the Library of Congress, help Congress in its work. Members of Congress Voters are the average Americans who have desires and needs that they want met David Easton, 1917–2014: Easton not only created the school of postbehavioralism but also gave the world the input/output model to explain policy making. Around 620 the Golden Age of Islam begins. This is important as they focus on obtaining and preserving the knowledge of the Greeks during the European dark ages. Economic liberalism: A political and economic theory based on support for a market economy and private property. Economic liberals are afraid of government intervention in the economy and thus support only a small limited government.

Social democracy: The mildest form of socialism, advocating for the retention of private property in a society but calling for a large welfare state and some state-owned industries. The free market remains in place. What’s funny–yet deeply disturbing–is that despite all the hubbub that this election is stirring up, not many people actually know too much about American politics. Even though it’s taught in American schools, research by the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania found that out of 1,416 adults, 36% couldn’t name all three branches of government and 35% couldn’t name any of them. And if almost 60% of Americans turn out to vote in general elections like they did in 2012, that’s a lot of people who don’t know a whole lot about the government and how it works who have a say in who is elected and what laws are passed. The district courts are the lowest level of U.S. courts. District court trials usually feature a jury and witnesses. A person who loses a case in a district court can appeal, or challenge, the decision in a circuit court of appeals. Panels, or groups, of judges usually hear cases in courts of appeals. They have the power to overturn, or undo, the judgments of the lower courts. Supreme CourtThe basic government types have been known since Ancient times and were noted by Plato and Aristotle. They include, roughly speaking, a monarchy (ruled by one), an oligarchy (ruled by a few), a republic (ruled by elected officials and ruled by law), and a democracy (ruled by the many). [6]. There are different ways to express the classical government types, but generally our mixed-republic and different branches of government reflect this. Separation of powers: A form of government where powers are divided between the legislative, executive, and the judiciary.

Against voter ID laws citing (a) undue burden on lower income groups causing them to be disenfranchised, and (b) virtually no evidence of voter fraud actually occurring. The right wing believes that a fetus is a living person and that abortion is, therefore, murder. Some people make an exception for cases involving rape and incest, but some do not. Many on the left believe that the death penalty is barbaric and does not deter crime. Meanwhile, the right generally believes that certain crimes deserve death as a punishment, somewhat akin to the "an eye for an eye" doctrine. A debate over the fairness of the criminal justice system has emerged, with the left asserting that many on death row may be innocent. Most of the cases that the Court hears are appeals of cases that lower courts have already decided. The justices vote on which cases they will hear.In roughly 350 BC, shortly after Aristotle and Alexander the Great, Athens fell to Rome. Rome based its Democratic Republic on Athens. Pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants; moratorium on deportations or prosecutions of undocumented immigrants who are young adults and have no criminal record. States also have their own Supreme Courts which act as the state’s highest court of appeal and interpret state laws. Kenneth Waltz, 1924–2013: Waltz created the idea of the three image (level) explanation for international conflict. His Man, the State, and War: A Theoretical Analysis was published in 1959.