Bell Ringer – 10/23/07  Why was the Declaration of Independence written and who did most of the writing?  Give two terms for Americans who fought in the Continental Army  What happened at the battle of Yorktown?

3 Branches of Government  The Founding Fathers, the framers of the Constitution, wanted to form a government that did not allow one person too much control Founding FathersConstitutionFounding FathersConstitution  They divided the U.S. Government into three branches: the legislative, executive, and judicial.

Executive Branch  The executive branch of Government makes sure that laws of the United States are obeyed. The President of the United States is the head.  President: Leader of the country and commands the military.  Must be 35 years old  Must be natural-born U.S. citizen and have lived in the U.S. for at least 14 years

 Vice President: President of the Senate and becomes President if the President can no longer do the job.  Cabinet Members: Department heads advise the President on issues and help carry out policies.

Legislative Branch  The legislative branch of government is made up of the Congress; this branch makes the laws  Article I of the Constitution established this branch and gave Congress the power to make laws. Congress has two parts, the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Congress  H + S = C  = 535 members of Congress  Each state is awarded 2 (50 x 2 = 100) senators.  The # of Representatives sent to the House from each state is by population  Illinois has 19 Reps and 2 Senators = 21  Richard Durbin and Barack Obama are the senators

The President’s Cabinet  Secretary of State - Works with other countries.  Sec of the Treasury - Supervises taxes & printing of money.  Sec of Defense - Oversees the armed forces.  Attorney General - Enforces the U.S. Government's laws.  Sec of the Interior - Protects natural resources and wildlife.  Sec of Agriculture - Ensures a healthy food supply and provides support for farmers.  Sec of Commerce - Promotes business and job opportunities, responsible for all copyrights, patents, and trademarks  Sec of Labor - Oversees the interests of U.S. workers.  Sec of Health & Human Services - Provides services including medical research, preventing diseases, assuring the safety of food and drugs; providing financial assistance for low income families.  Sec of Housing & Development - Oversees housing needs, and focuses on improving and developing communities.

The Judicial Branch  The judicial branch of government is made up of the court system. The Supreme Court is the highest court in the land. This Court and all other Federal courts were created by Congress. Courts decide arguments about the meaning of laws, how they are applied, and whether they break the rules of the Constitution.

Veto – rejection of legislation  A presidential veto is the rejection of a bill passed by the majority votes of both the House of Representatives and the Senate.  While Congress can vote to override a presidential veto, causing the bill to become law without the president's approval, this is rarely done.  More often than not, the threat of presidential veto is sufficient motivation for Congress to modify the bill prior to its final passage.