The National Government Federal : government of the United States of America or national Constitution: written set of laws that describes how a government is to work

Congress Makes the Laws Congress: is the Legislative Branch of the national government Decides on new laws for the nation Has two parts: 1.Senate 2.House of Representatives Elected by citizens of the United States

Senate Each state has 2 members in the Senate Texas state senators are: Kay Bailey HutchinsonJohn Cornyn

House of Representatives Each states number of representatives depends on each state’s population Texas has 32 House of Representatives Michael T. McCaul is the representative for our area

The Senate and the House of Representatives work in the United States Capitol Building. org/CR /ThinkQ/famous_places/CapitolBuilding.jpg The Senate meets in the Senate Chamber House of Representatives meet in the House Chamber

How a Law is Made Senate and House of Representatives write a new law and agree on it. President signs the law

President leads the Nation President leads the executive branch of the national government President’s Responsibilities: Makes sure that the laws are faithfully executed Communicate with citizens Greets the troops Works with leaders of other nations Speaks with Congress

Supreme Court Courts make up the Judicial branch of the national government Supreme court is the highest or most important court in the USA 9 judges called justices serve on the Supreme Court Supreme court justices are appointed by the President and approved by the Senate tbn:ZfrLd0gZ7lUJgoogle.com/images?q=wM: Justices serve for the rest of their lives or until they retire

Citizens Have Rights and Responsibilities The Constitution of the USA describes how the national government is to work and also names some of the rights or freedoms all citizens are to have.

Rights and Responsibilities of Citizens Bill of Rights : names many of the rights and freedoms that belong to all Americans 1.Right to speak in public about their ideas and beliefs including religion (belief in a god or set of gods) 2. Also names the freedoms that the government cannot take away. 3. Right to vote (make a choice that gets counted) also a responsibility 4. Responsibility to obey the laws 5. Responsibility to pay taxes

Citizens Make Choices To vote, people must be 18 yrs. old Election: voting time Citizens go to special voting places where votes are counted They mark their choice on a ballot or use a machine to record it. Ballot: lists all the possible choices

Majority Rule: more than half of the voters vote in the same way Minority Rights: those who did not vote for the winner still keep their rights

Models of American Citizenships A good citizen works for the common good 1. Follows the laws of the nation 2. Pays taxes 3. votes 4. Believes that freedom and justice (fairness) are important

Thomas Jefferson 3 rd President of United States Worked hard to make sure that Americans enjoy many freedoms (speech, press, religion and ideas) Patriotism

Harriet Tubman She and her family were slaves Slave: someone forced to work for another person without pay She ran away from the plantation and risked her life by helping over 300 people escape from slavery. Courage

Helen Keller Communicate: share information about the world Lost her sight and ability to hear at 2yrs of age Anne Sullivan taught Helen to communicate with her sense of touch. Helen later became a public speaker and author She worked hard to help others succeed Perseverance

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:ZThBsXRDqQ74xM: Hero: someone whose courage sets an example for others Civil Rights: rights of personal freedom for all Minister in a Baptist Church who spoke out against the laws he thought were unfair. Some of his followers were angry, but King encouraged followers to remain peaceful. Won Nobel Peace Prize for efforts to gain civil rights for all Americans Fairness

Community Heroes Heroes help people who are in danger. - Police officers - Firefighters - Emergency medical technicians On September 11, 2001, the World Trade Towers fell after an attack on New York City.

Symbols of National Pride Flags: Some stand for cities Some stand for states Some stand for businesses Some stand for teams Some stand for nations

Patriotic Symbol: stands for the ideas the people believe in, such as freedom Patriotism: feeling of pride that citizens have for their country

Our Country’s Flag Early flags number of both stars and stripes showed the number of states in the nation As country grew too many states to show as stripes Congress agreed when new states joined that only a star would be added to flag In 1912, President ordered that stars should always be grouped in straight rows. Latest change in flag was in 1960, when 50 th state of Hawaii was added.

Flag Manners Stand and look at the flag. Place your right hand, over your heart If you have a hat on, remove it and old it at your left shoulder with the hand that is over your heart. Displaying the Flag Fly the flag of the US above any other flag on the same pole. Raise the United States flag first, and lower it last. Flying the flag at half-mast is a sign of mourning, or sorrow for a death. Raise the flag to the top of the pole, and then lower it halfway. At night, raise it to the top again b efore lowering it.

The Pledge of Allegiance Pledge of Allegiance: citizens show their respect for the flag and what it stands for. To pledge allegiance is to promise to be true. The first time the Pledge of Allegiance was said in 1892 by children in public schools.

Our National Anthem “The Star-Spangled Banner” is our nation’s anthem, or song of patriotism. Written by Francis Scott Key after he watched the British attack Fort McHenry during War of 1812.