Parts of Our Government Principles

Popular Sovereignty People control the government’s power In the USA, we control the government’s powers with our votes

veto Deny, reject, turn down, or say no to a law Who can veto? The president

impeach To accuse or charge a person in government of breaking the law, or doing the wrong thing If you are found guilty, you are fired from your government position The House of Representatives can impeach the president

judicial review The court can review/look at a law and decide if it follows the constitution or not If the law breaks the constitution, then the law is thrown out

unconstitutional Does not match or follow (it violates) the constitution

Rule of Law People in a country must follow specific laws The laws are made by the people through the government The Constitution is our top/supreme law

Consent of the Governed We have a government because we, the people, say it is ok We have leaders because we, the people, say it is ok We give the government power, the government doesn’t take power

Majority Rule Which side has the most votes wins

Eminent Domain If needed, the government can take your things/land and use it for the government

Representative Democracy People vote for representatives to go work in the government The representatives make decisions for the people

Equal Protection All people have equal rights

Limited Government Government cannot do everything Government cannot take control of everything

federalism Government has two parts: National government State governments

Checks and Balances Each branch of the government can check one what the other branch is doing. All the branches must be equal. No branch can have more power than another. They must all be balanced.