The Constitution states, "The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several States..." (Art. I, Sec. 2). Contrast this with the original constitutional language for the other house of Congress,

Resources for Week One Discussion – Separation of Powers/Checks and Balances

Before participating in this week’s discussion “Separation of Powers/Checks and Balances,” review these resources:

1. Read these chapters from the text, American Government:

a. Chapter 1 – American Politics and Founding Principles

b. Chapter 2 – The U.S. Constitution

2. Watch the following videos:

a. Checks and balances

C-SPAN. (1990, November 27). Checks and balances [Video]. Available from http://www.c-

spanvideo.org/program/Chec.

(This video (8 minutes) describes checks and balances and separation of powers in U.S. government.)

b. Built to Last

Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) (2013, May 28). Episode IV - Built to last [Series episode].

Constitution USA with Peter Sagal. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/tpt/constitution-usa-peter-

sagal/watch/built-to-last/

3. Read these articles found in the Academic Search Premier (EBSCOhost) database in the Ashford University

Library:

a. Policy point –counterpoint: Is divided government good for the United States?

Franklin, D. R. (2011) Policy point-counterpoint: Is divided government good for the United States?

International Social Science Review, 86(3/4), 160-162.

(This brief article relates separation of powers and the contemporary problem of “divided government” or

“gridlock.” It summarizes debates about gridlock’s effects on public policy.)

b. Divided we fall: The case against divided government.

John, C. (2011). Divided we fall: The case against divided government. International Social Science

Review, 86(3/4), 166-174.

(This brief article relates separation of powers and the contemporary problem of “divided government” or

“gridlock.” It summarizes debates about gridlock’s effects on public policy.)

c. Divided we conquer: Why divided government is preferable to unified control.

McLennan, W. (2011). Divided we conquer: Why divided government is preferable to unified control.

International Social Science Review, 86(3/4), 162-166.

(This brief article defends divided government against claims that it weakens government’s ability to

solve important problems.)