Division and Balance of Governmental Powers Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved.

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System of Checks and Balances Legislative Branch –National legislature: two bodies of government –Senate - two members from every state –House of Representatives - seats allocated to the states in proportion to their population to their population –All taxing and appropriating funds must originate in the House must originate in the House 3 Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved.

System of Checks and Balances –House - has the power to impeach or accuse any civil officer of the U.S. (President and Vice President) of treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors –Senate has the sole power to try all impeachment cases –Major legislation requires a two-thirds vote for passage –Amendments to the Articles require a unanimous vote of the states 4 Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved.

Executive Branch System of Checks and Balances President and Vice President elected by the people Political party - private organization of citizens who select/promote candidates for election to public office Electoral votes determine who wins the Presidency 5 Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved.

System of Checks and Balances Judicial BranchJudicial Branch –Headed by the Supreme Court –Decides on the constitutionality of a statute passed by the legislative branch and signed by the President as head of the executive branch 6 Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved.

Amendment To change or alter Two-thirds majority vote in both the Senate and the House Legislatures of two-thirds of all the states to call a convention of all the states Must be ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the states or conventions in three-fourths of the states Changing the Constitution 7 Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved.

U.S. Form of Government Representative Democracy (republic)Representative Democracy (republic) –Voters select representatives to make the day-to-day decisions –Sovereign power ultimately resides in the people 8 Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved.

The Power to Govern Rights were written by representatives of the people elected by voters in the 13 original statesRights were written by representatives of the people elected by voters in the 13 original states First Official United States Flag June 14, 1777 Lasted for a period of 18 years 9Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved.

The Power to Govern Sovereignty of the StatesSovereignty of the States –Tenth Amendment- acknowledges the continued sovereignty of all of the states to govern their own citizens within their own borders –Supreme political authority free from external control –Article VI- recognizes the Constitution to be the supreme law of the land –Constitution prevails over any possible contrary state constitutions or law 10 Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved.

The Power to Govern Limiting States’ PowersLimiting States’ Powers –U.S. citizens cannot receive special privileges from individual states –All persons born or naturalized in the U.S. are subject to the jurisdiction of the U.S. and the state wherein they reside 11 Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved.

Duty to protect every state against invasion May establish post offices, coin money, and tax imports/exports Regulate interstate commerce Regulate foreign commerce States regulate intrastate commerce The Power to Govern 12 Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved.

Assignments 1.How Government Affects a Day in My Life Poster: Ask students to record the events of a day in their lives and note the agencies that have some connection to these events. Give examples to help students get started with this assignment. For example, the hamburger they ate for lunch was tested by the FDA and the hair dryer they used in the morning was regulated by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The assignment (poster) should have at least ten events and government relationships. The poster should include words and pictures. 2.Division of Governmental Power Poster: Split the class into teams with two members. Each team must design a poster that defines the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches of government through words and pictures. The poster should indicate what individuals (specific names) are involved in each branch of government. The legislative branch can include names of representatives from your state. Independent Practice Assignments 13 Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved.