This is an american city. A city that is not very large. It is not very large, not very old if is situated on the western part of the United States. In california. Its smam riverton. The woman in the car is dr. Dawson, one of the 15,000 residents. Today there will be no classes held here. This is election day. This classroom is one of the 130,000 places that american citizens will cast their votes today. This is the table where the voters names will be checked. A locked ballot box. And a polling booth. Here it is in the this space that the American Voters every ten years on the first tuesday after the first monday in november choose their national government. This is the election board. Each representing one of the Major Political parties. Mr. Schwartz is a republican. They have all known one another for years. First they removed the last traces of their campaign activities, their party buttons. Then they take the oath. I will defend the constitution of the United States of america. To the best of your ability so help you god . I do. This makes them responsible for seeing that the voting here today takes place according to the laws of the land. And now the polls are open. Here comes the first voter. No wonder he is first. He has been up since 4 00 delivering milk. Good morning, everybody. Youre the very first one. I like to vote early to give the republicans a temporary lead. Here is your ballot, bill. Thanks. That is as far as we can go. Remember this is a secret vote. No one ever sees another person mark his ballot. If we were able just this one to follow bill janice, he works for the chief executives. Next he votes for a senator from his state, then a senator from his district. He is casting his vote for a government of his own choosing under the constitution of the United States. This is the way that it is set up. There are three branchs of the United States government. The executive branch, the legislative branch, or congress, and the Judicial Branch and Supreme Court. The duties of each branch are established in the constitution. The president is the executive head of the nation. He initiates all important policies. Such as creat treaties with oth governments. He is the commander and chief of the army and the navy. The Vice President is the president s league successor . The Vice President by custom sits as a member of the president s cap nit. The cabinet advices the president on matters of policy. The powers of the president and his helpers are limited. This is a government not of men, but of laws. Based on the government and the constitution. Congress makes the laws if is a parliament that has no direct connection with the executive branch. It is made up of two houses. The senate and the house of representatives. They originate in either house, but they must be approved by both of them. When a deal is passed by both houses it is sent to the president. If the president also approves the bill, he signs it. It then becomes law. The president may veto a bill bassed by congress. But the congress may still make the bill law. Although the chief responsibility of congress is that of making laws, certain other responsibilities are delegated to the two houses. In the senate each of the 48 state Social Security elected of two members making a total membership of 96. Small states and large have equal representation in the senate. The senate has two important functions aside from law making duties. To pass on president ial appointments and to approve or reject other treaties with nations approves or rejected by the president. When a treaty is under consideration, they express their opinions, and then a vot is taken. If two thirds of the Senate Approves of the creaty it is ineffective. In the house of representatives or lower house, each of the 48 states is represented in proportion to their population. The more populous the states have more people. They originate and are controlled in the lower house. The money appropriated is turned over to the president for expenditures. And the president with the aide of the cabinet spends the money in the manner decided on for the congress. For the purposes of peace or war. The congress of the United States makes the laws of the land its powers are both limited by the constitution. As a check on both executive and legislative branchs of the government there is a third branch. The judicial. The Supreme Court whose members are appointed for life, they protect the constitution from violation by congressional laws or executive orders. The three branchs, executive, legislative, and judicial each with some power, none with all of the power, check and balance each other in the matter intended by the framers of the constitution. So the although power rests always in the hands of the voter, bill johnson. Having voted for a federal government, we must also choose a governor for his state. Members of the state assembly, county judges, all of the minor offices and various legislative amendments. When bill johnson is finished, he elected a entire government from top to bottom. This is not only here in riverton that the voting is heavy today. All over the country people are conscious of the issues facing their nation and the world. This is their way of expressing their conviction of how and by whom these issues should be met. Two major candidates vote like the other citizens. One describes himself as a lawyer. The other gives his occupation as farmer. For those that cannot come to the polls, an absentee ballot is provided. This is the same kind of ballot that is sent to forces at home and abroad. These ballots are returned to be counted in their respective states. Here in riverton the line grows longer. Elections are held on schedule rain or shine, panic or prosperity, peace or war. When a teacher reminded her pupils of two other elections, in 1964 with a nation in the throws of a civil war, Abraham Lincoln was in a campaign with one of his own generals. The people chose to reelect mr. Lincoln. In 1916 during the first world war, an election was held. And now again in 1944. Earlier, conventions are held. The chosen delegates of these nominees gather to elect a president and a Vice President for the United States. Now the candidates have been chosen. And the campaign is on. For president of local sheriff. For three months through the late summer and fall, where other people come together, issues and manners are discussed and argued about. Some feel this is not all together a good thing, that a lot of time and energy are wasted this way. That may be, but thats the way that americans like to do it. They look to feel that everybody has a right to speak and is interested enough to do it. Even the small fry. Every attempt is made to influence the peoples thinking. All over the country week after week, 140 million citizens take part in the great debate. Business, professional, and civic groups endorse one candidate or another, but for the first time in American History organized labor takes an active part in the campaign. Radio plays a greater roll than ever. Time on the air is paz for by all parties and distributed evenly among them giving to party the advantage. It is estimated that in the last days of the campaign, americans heard the speeches of various candidates. Now all of that is over, the heat and the excitement. Apparently the younger jep ration has declared peace. They are checked, they telephoned headquarters. Hello, this is mrs. Johnson in the 7th precinct ready to report. From coast to coast, city by city, state by state, the results are recorded. All over america tonight the people are waiting to learn whom they have chose tn to govern th in the next four years. Towards midnight the final results are announced. The nation has elected a new leader for their government. Every saturday at 8 00 p. M. Eastern on American History tv go inside of a Different College classroom and hear about classrooms. He did most of the work to change the soviet union, but reagan met him halfway, reagan encouraged him, reagan supported him. Freedom of the press that we will get to later, madison called it the freedom of the use of the presence, the freedom to print things and push lish thbl. Not what we now institutionally refer to as the press. Lectures in history are also available as a pod cast. Find it where you listen to pod casts. Youre watching American History tv. Cspan 3 creating my American TelevisionCable Companies and brought to you today by your television provider. Now on American History tv, a newsreel style film from the Information Agency about the 1960 president ial election from the nominating conventions to the victory speeches by john f. Kennedy. All through september and october and the first week