1. How the Federal Government Works
The American Nation
Chapter 8 – Section 2
How the Federal Government Works
Copyright © 2003 by Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ. All rights reserved.

2. Things look for when taking notes…
Key Terms
What is and how does the Legislative Branch work?
House of Representatives v. Senate
Powers of Congress?
Elastic Clause?
Committee – what are they and how do they work?
What is and how does the Executive Branch work?
Roles of the President?
How is the President elected? – electoral college?
What is and how does the Judicial Branch work?
Supreme Court?
Lower Courts?
What is the system of Checks and Balances?
Vetoing
Overriding
Impeaching

3. How the Federal Government Works
Chapter 8, Section 2
What are the powers of the legislative branch?
What roles does the President fill as head of the executive branch?
How is the judicial branch organized?
How can each branch of the government check the powers of the other two?

4. Qualifications for Representatives and Senators (:46)

5. Terms for Representatives and Senators (:43)

6. I. The Legislative Branch: Congress
Chapter 8, Section 2
A. Established by Article I of the Constitution.
B. House of Representatives
435 members
Number of representatives for a state is based on that state’s population
2-year terms
Leader of the House is the Speaker.
C. Senate
100 members
Two senators per state
6-year terms
Leader of the Senate is the Vice President of the United States. When the Vice President is away, the president pro tempore takes over.

7. What Legislative Representatives Mean (:51)

8. Powers and Duties of the Legislative Branch (3:39)

9. D. The Legislative Branch: The Powers of Congress
Chapter 8, Section 2
D. Listed Powers and Duties of Congress
To make laws
To levy taxes
To borrow money
To coin money
To establish post offices
To fix standard weights and measures
To declare war
E. Elastic Clause
Congress can “make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper” for carrying out its duties.
Committees
Congress relies on these to aid with the great amount of bills that are introduced. (10,000 each year)
Permanent or Standing Committees deal with a specific topic
Joint Committees – made up of both Senate and House members
Conference Committees – settles differences between House and Senate versions of the same bill.

10. Process of Making Laws (2:38)

11. E. How a Bill Becomes a Law
Chapter 8, Section 2
Bill—a proposal for a law

12. The Congress Game
Object of the Game: Take a bill and move it through Congress to become a law.
What you need:
Groups of 4
Game board
Spinner
Cup of Cheerios to represent your bill and mark the spinner
Where to begin:
Where do bills start?
House Committee
How to play:
Drop a cheerio on the spinner to see the path bills take to become laws
Choose a secretary to record how many bills become laws and home many bills die in the allotted time frame.
Play for 10 minutes
Take quiz as a group.
Discussion:
How many bills died and how many passed?
Discuss answers to the quiz.

13. Most Powerful Position in the World (:56)

14. The President’s Cabinet (1:55)

15. The Powers and Duties of the Executive Branch (2:19)

16. The President’s Responsibilities to Congress (1:14)

17. Limitations to the President’s Power (2:12)

18. F. The Executive Branch: Powers and Duties of the President
Chapter 8, Section 2
To carry out the nation’s laws
To direct foreign policy
To make treaties
To appoint ambassadors
To act as Commander in Chief of the armed forces
To suggest new laws and work for their passage
Can grant pardons
Can call special sessions of Congress
To stand as a symbol of the nation

19. G. Electing the President: Presidential Facts
Chapter 8, Section 2
The President is elected for a 4-year term.
The President may be elected to no more than two complete terms. (Amendment XXII)
The President is elected by a complex system known as the electoral college.
When Americans vote for President, they are really voting for a group of electors pledged to the candidate.
A few weeks after Election Day, the electors meet in each state to vote. The candidate who receives a majority of the electoral votes nationwide becomes President.

20. G. Electing the President: The Electoral College
Chapter 8, Section 2

21. The Supreme Court (2:01)

22. Supreme Court Justices (1:35)

23. Supreme Court Cases (2:22)

24. Supreme Court Decisions

25. Other Supreme Court Responsibilities (2:24)

26. Limits on Power of Supreme Court (1:05)

27. H. The Judicial Branch
Article III of the Constitution establishes the Supreme Court and gives the power to Congress to establish any other courts that are necessary.
Judiciary Act of 1789 – Under this law, Congress established the system of federal courts
Lower Courts
a. Most federal cases begin in district courts
b. Disagreement with the decision can lead to appeal - asking that the decision be reviewed by a higher court
c. Appellate Courts – Review decisions of district courts to decide whether the lower court judges interpreted and applied the law correctly.
Supreme Court – top of the American Judicial System
a. Made up of a Chief Justice and 8 Associate Justices
b. Justices are appointed by the President and approved by Congress
c. Justices serve for life
d. Main job is to serve as the nation’s final court of appeals – “the court of last resort”
e. Decisions rest on a majority vote of at least 5 justices
f. A limited amount of cases are heard by the Supreme Court each year.
g. Decides what the Constitution means – The Court can declare whether acts of the President or laws passed by Congress are unconstitutional (not allwoed under the Constitution)

28. H. The Judicial Branch
Chapter 8, Section 2

29. Important Issues Facing the Supreme Court (1:40)

30. I. Examples of Checks and Balances
Chapter 8, Section 2
One branch
checks another branch
by doing the following
President
Congress
vetoing, or rejecting, bills Congress has passed
overriding, or overruling, the President’s veto
approving or disapproving Presidential appointments
ratify or not ratify treaties the President has negotiated
The House can impeach, or bring charges of wrongdoing against, the President. The Senate then conducts a trial.
Supreme
President and Congress
declaring laws unconstitutional

31. The Balance between the Legislative and the Executive (1:58)

32. Checks and Balances between Legislative and Executive Branches (1:29)

33. Section 2 Assessment Only Congress has the power to
Chapter 8, Section 2
Only Congress has the power to
a) make foreign policy.
b) declare war.
c) decide cases involving federal laws.
d) select electors.
Only the President has the power to
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34. Section 2 Assessment Only Congress has the power to
Chapter 8, Section 2
Only Congress has the power to
a) make foreign policy.
b) declare war.
c) decide cases involving federal laws.
d) select electors.
Only the President has the power to
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