American Political Institutions
Faculty of Social Studies
Masaryk University
October 20, 2022
Advice: I recommend that you read the questions and make outlines for your
answers so you do not leave anything out in the rush to complete your essays.
Please send me an email (cdhadley@gmail.com) if you would like your course
grade and basic comments on your answers. You can also make arrangements
with Professor Michal Pink to see your completed essays with my marking and
comments.
Question 1 (U.S. System of Government):
Explain the important features of the U.S. system of government. Then describe the
organization AND operation of the Executive Branch (President), Congress (Senate
and House of Representatives), and the Supreme Court. Explain how these three
branches of government interact with each other, their power relationships. Is one
more important than another for the American political system? Explain your choice in
the context of the other two political institutions, for example, The Office of the President
viz-á-viz Congress and Supreme Court. Please do not neglect the video, “Super
Chief,” in your examination of the United States Supreme Court and its position in
the American system of government and American society.
Question 2 (U.S. Presidential Election System):
The U.S. is a federal republic. Its elections are held under the laws (rules) of the
individual state governments with three exceptions: the national voting day (in even
numbered years), the Electoral College voting procedure, and the public funding of
presidential elections that guarantees Republican and Democratic Party candidates
optional access to public funds. A U.S. presidential election is a very lengthy process
that takes a calendar year to complete. Please explain that process. Details are
important. Do not neglect them. Explain why the presidential election process was
different in the 1968 presidential election and those elections that came before it viz-áviz
the1972 presidential election and those that took place after it? Examine the
collective impact of the public funding of presidential elections and the political party
rules reforms for presidential candidate nominations. What is the future of American
politics? Why?
Ground your analyses in the context of the class reading and lectures.