American Political Institutions
Faculty of Social Sciences
Charles University
April 19, 2018
Describe the organization and operation of the Executive Branch (President),
Congress (Senate and House of Representatives), and the Supreme Court relative to
one another. Which one is the most important in the U.S. political system? Explain
your choice in the context of the other two political institutions.
Please explain the factors that make the American political system such a complex one,
e.g., the role that the state governments in the national political process.
Explain how the 2016 presidential nomination process worked to produce Secretary
Hillary Clinton over U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders for the Democrats and Donald Trump
over the other 16 candidates for the Republicans? The other stages of a presidential
election are national conventions and a general election. Explain them, how they work.
How do minor political parties fit into the presidential selection process? Explain how
the public funding of presidential elections impacts presidential candidates from both the
major and minor political parties. Why did the system appear rigged to Bernie Sanders
and to Donald Trump? Explain. Yet, Donald Trump won the 2016 presidential election.
Explain how. Ground your analysis in the context of the class reading and
lectures rather than general speculation.
Please do not neglect the video, “Super Chief,” in your examination of the
United States Supreme Court and its position in the American political system.