3 Branches of Government By Nicole George

How 3 Branches of Government Started Founding Fathers gathered in 1787 to write the Constitution Constitution – “set principles that told how the new nation would be governed.” The Founding Fathers wanted a strong and fair national government. The Founding Fathers wanted to protect individual freedom. The Founding Fathers wanted to prevent the government from abusing its power.

Three Branches of Government The Founding Fathers came up with three branches of government: The Executive Branch The Legislative Branch The Judicial Branch

The Legislative Branch The legislative Branch is usually called Congress Congress includes 2 houses: 1. The Senate 2. The House of Representatives

The House of Representatives 435 representatives in the House The number each state gets is based on the population of the state. The higher the population, the more representatives a state gets. Write, Debate and Vote on Laws

The Senate There are 100 Senators – 2 from each of our 50 states The Vice President is the head of the Senate Senate approves nominations made by the President of the Cabinet, Supreme Court, federal courts and other posts. The Senate must ratify all treaties by a 2/3 vote Make laws Can impeach (fire) a President for misconduct Approve Judicial nominations Approve Cabinet members Can declare War Can remove Judges from office for misconduct

The Executive Branch The Executive Branch includes the President, Vice-President and the President’s cabinet. The Executive Branch makes laws official. The President is the head of the Executive Branch. The Vice-President takes over the President’s job if he should become incapacitate, dies, resigns or is removed from office for impeachment and/or following a conviction. The cabinet includes secretaries of various departments of the government, for example state, treasury, defense, justice, interior, agriculture, commerce, labor, transportation, education, etc., there are currently 16 people currently in the cabinet.

The President Negotiates treaties with other nations Elected by the Entire Country Veto Bills to deny or delay approval of laws Sign Bills into Laws Writes the budget (but must get Congress to approve it) Leads our nation in times of war Appoints supreme court judges (of Judicial branch) for a life term (until they retire or die) Appoints or removes Cabinet members

Members of the Cabinet Made up of 15 major departments of government The members give advice to the President about important matters.

The Cabinet The Secretary of State The Secretary of the Treasury The Secretary of Defense The Attorney General (Justice Department) The Secretary of the Interior The Secretary of Agriculture The Secretary of Commerce The Secretary of Labor The Secretary of Health and Human Services The Secretary of Homeland Security The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development The Secretary of Transportation The Secretary of Education The Secretary of Energy The Secretary of Veterans' Affairs

The Judicial Branch The Judicial Branch includes: the Supreme Court the District Courts the Appeals Courts. The Supreme Court is the highest court in the nation; all other courts must follow their rulings. There are nine Supreme Court judges.

The Supreme Court 9 Justices (judges), 8 Associates Justices, and 1 Chief Justice Decisions set precedents – new ways of interpreting the law Rules whether something is Constitutional By decisions explain meaning of Constitution and laws passed by Congress Oversees the Court System of the U.S. Serve life terms Nominated by the President

Checks and Balance System Each of the 3 branches can limit the powers of the other branches. This way no branch becomes too powerful. ”Each branch ‘checks’ the power of the other branches to make sure that the power is balanced between them.”

Example of the Checks and Balance System HOW LAWS ARE MADE 1. Legislative Branch introduces and votes on the bill. 2. The bill goes to the Executive Branch 3. The President decides if the bill is good for the country. 4. If so, he signs the bill and it becomes a law. 5. If not, he vetos the bill (does not sign it) 6. The Legislative Branch gets another chance. 7. With enough votes, the legislative branch can override the Executive branch’s veto. 8. The bill becomes a law.

continued 9. People test the law through the court system, which is under the control of the judicial branch 10. If someone believes a law is unfair, a lawsuit can be filed. 11. Lawyers make arguments for and against the case. 12. Judges decide which side presented the most convincing arguments. 13. The side that loses can choose to appeal to higher court. 14. If the Legislative Branch does not agree with how the Judicial has interpreted the law, the can introduce a new piece of legislation. 15. The process starts all over again.