1. Principles of the U.S. Constitution Part 3 Separation of Power and Check and Balances

2. Topic/Objective: To identify and describe principles of the US Constitution Essential Question: How do the constitutional principles of “Separation of Powers” and “Checks and Balances” divide the powers within the national government?

3. *Separation of Powers 1) Divides gov’t into 3 branches  Legislative (makes laws)  Executive (enforces laws)  Judicial (interprets laws) 2) No one branch has all the power

4. 1) Legislative Branch = Congress  Purpose: creates the laws  Established by: Article I of the Constitution  Location: US Capitol Building in Washington DC US Capitol Building *Legislative Branch

5. 2) Congress made of two houses:  Senate: Two Senators per state  House of Representatives: # of reps determined by population of each state. 26,000,000 – 38 Representatives 6,500,000 - 11 Representatives *Legislative Branch

6. *Executive Branch 1) Executive Branch = President  Purpose: executes/enforces the laws  Established by: Article II of the Constitution  Location: White House in Washington DC White House

7. 2) Executive Branch is made up of:  President & Vice President  President’s Cabinet of Advisors Ex: Secretary of State (John Kerry) – advises on foreign relations 3) Supporting Departments Ex: FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) – Nat’l security & law enforcement *Executive Branch

8. 4) 25th Amendment Presidential Line of Succession  If the President leaves office, (dies, resigns, or removed) the Vice President (VP) becomes the next President.  If the VP leaves office, the Pres nominates a new VP with approval of Congress. Vice President Lyndon Johnson was sworn in as President after JFK was assassinated in 1963. *Executive Branch

9. 5) Presidential Line of Succession If President leaves office...  Vice-President (Joe Biden)  Speaker of the House of Representatives (Paul Ryan)  President Pro Tempore of the Senate (Orrin Hatch)  Secretary of State (John Kerry) *Executive Branch

10. *Judicial Branch 1) Judicial Branch = Supreme Court & other Federal Courts  Purpose: interprets the laws  Established by: Article III of the Constitution  Location: Supreme Court in Washington DC Supreme Court Building

11. 1) Nine Supreme Court Justices  One Chief Justice (John Roberts)  Eight Associate Justices 2) Only hear appealed cases that deal with Constitutional issues 3) Determine constitutionality of laws & actions of the gov’t *Judicial Branch