Chapter 7-The U.S. Constitution How the United States Government Works

3 Branches of Government Legislative Branch (Makes the Laws) Executive Branch (Enforces the Laws) Judicial Branch (Interprets the Laws) Congress (535 people) House of Senate Reps (435) (100) President Vice President President’s Cabinet Supreme Court Other Federal Courts

The Legislative Branch (makes the laws) Legislative Branch =Congress Makes The Laws! There are 2 “houses” in Congress: Congress Senate House of Representatives

Senate 2 Senators from each state Senators serve 6-year terms can be elected unlimited times are directly elected by the people

To be a Senator you must: Be 30 years old Be a U.S. citizen for 9 years Live in the state you are representing Dick Durbin Mark Kirk Illinois Senators

The Senate continued… Leader of the Senate = The Senate President (Vice-Pres. Of U.S.) Joe Biden Powers of the Senate Approve treaties made by the president. Approve Judges picked by the president. Holds Impeachment Trials (decide if the person is guilty or innocent).

House of Representatives # of Representatives in your state depends on the state’s population every state has at least 1 rep. serve 2-year terms can be elected unlimited times are directly elected by the people

To be a Representative you must: Be 25 years old Be a U.S. citizen for 7 years Live in the state you are representing Adam Kinzinger 11th District

House of Reps Continued….. Leader of the House= The Speaker of the House John Boehner Powers of the House of Representatives all money (tax) bills must start in the House. Impeaches government officials (accuse them of doing something wrong

Powers of Both the House of Representatives and the Senate: Declare War Print money Pass Bills

How a Bill Becomes A Law Bills can start in the House of Representatives or the Senate. (Money/Tax Bills must start in the House of Reps) If the Bill starts in the House, it must be voted on in the House first. If it is passed, it goes to the Senate. If the Bill starts in the Senate, it must be voted on in the Senate first. If it is passed, it goes to the House.

How a Bill Becomes A Law continued…. The Bill Must Be Passed by The House and the Senate, before it can go to the President! The President can: SIGN THE BILL or VETO THE BILL. If the President SIGNS the bill, it will become a law. If the President VETOS the bill, it will go back to Congress.

How a Bill Becomes A Law continued…. If 2/3 of both the House and Senate approve of the Bill, they can OVERRIDE the President and the Bill will still become a law ***So Technically, only the House and Senate need to pass a Bill in order for it to become a law**** http://www.270towin.com/

LAW Bill President Congress Back to congress Signs or vetoes Bill is approved by House and Senate Need 2/3 vote

Executive Branch (Enforces the Laws) The President, Vice-President, and the President’s Cabinet are in this branch.

Executive Branch Continued: To be President, you must: 1. Be 35 years old 2. Live in the U.S. for 14 years 3. Be a natural born citizen (born in the U.S.) President’s Powers & Duties: Main Job: Enforce the laws! Veto bills passed by Congress Makes treaties with other nations (approved by senate) Appoints/Picks judges (approved by senate) Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces

Executive Branch Cont… President’s Term The President serves a 4-year term. The President can be elected 2 times (2 terms) Example: President Bush was elected in 2000 and then again in 2004 A President can serve for a total of 10 years. The President is elected in November, but can’t take office until January Presidential Succession If the President dies, these are the next two people in line to take his spot: The Vice-President The Speaker of the House

How Do We Elect the President? We elect the President through popular vote and the Electoral College 1. Each state has a certain number of electoral votes. (538 Total Electoral Votes) 2. Number of electoral votes in each state= # of Reps + # of Senators Example: Illinois has 20 Electoral Votes (18 reps + 2 senators) Example: California has 55 Electoral Votes (53 Reps + 2 senators)

How Do We Elect the President? Continued…. 3. People go and vote for their favorite person 4. The person that gets the most votes in that state, gets the electoral votes for that state Example: John Kerry got the most votes in IL in 2004, so he got 21 electoral votes from IL. 5. The candidate that gets 270 electoral votes WINS!!!

Census…how we determine the number of electors ***Every 10 years the government takes a CENSUS which is a poll of questions that Americans answer including; how many people live in the house, what their income is, race, gender, etc. This is how the government determines how many state representatives the state will have.

The Judicial Branch (interprets the laws) = Supreme Court, other Federal Courts, state and local courts

The Judicial Branch Supreme Court The Supreme Court is the HIGHEST court in the land There are NINE justices (judges) on the Supreme Court Supreme Court Justices serve a LIFE term

There are nine Supreme Court Justices The Supreme Court Building in Washington, D.C.

Supreme Court continued…. Supreme Court Justices are: appointed/selected by the President but the Senate has to approve of the Justices. The Supreme Court can declare laws unconstitutional

Checks and Balances System The system in which each branch of government “checks” each other to balance the power. This ensures that one branch does not become more powerful than the others

Executive Judicial Legislative

Checks and Balances System Can Check Example President 1.Congress 2.Supreme Court 1.vetoes a bill 2.Appoints judges Congress 1. President 2. Supreme Court 1.Override a President’s veto with 2/3rds vote 2.Senate approves or rejects judges Supreme Court 1.President 2.Congress 1.Can Declare Presidential Acts unconstitutional. 2.Can Declare laws unconstitutional