Government - Unit 2 - Lesson 5

many of the laws that Congress has passed are meant to clarifying vague portions of the Constitution. For example, Congress is given the power to collect taxes.

parts of our government have developed over time even though they are not a part of the Constitution. For example, the Constitution doesn't mention anything about political parties but they have developed and play a major role in how our government works.

Congress has extended its power by broadly interpreting general statements in the Constitution. For example, Congress can establish courts. Over the years, the regulation of these courts has changed and Congress has gained more and more power over the regulation of the court systems.

the Supreme Court has used their interpretation of the Constitution to rule on many social issues that impact large numbers of American citizens.

the president's power has grown greatly with their power over foreign affairs. Presidents can make treaties with other leaders that greatly impact the economy of the US and Congress has very little power over this process. This has greatly increased the power of the Presidency.