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

2. 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

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

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

5. 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

6. 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).

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

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

11. 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.

12. 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.

13. 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****

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

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

16. 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

17. 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

18. 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)

19. 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!!!

20. 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.

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

22. 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

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

24. 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

25. 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

26. Executive
Judicial
Legislative

27. 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