American Government The Three Branches

The United States Constitution was written in It explains how the United States Government is to be run. The power of the government is separated into three branches. The Three branches are the LegislativeExecutiveJudicial

The Legislative Branch is known as the branch of government that MAKES the laws. Congress respresents the legislative branch. There are 535 members of Congress, 100 Senators (two for each state) and 435 Representatives in the House (based on state population). The Legislative branch introduces, writes, edit, review bills. Each bill must travel through both the House and the Senate. Any Bill written either in the House or the Senate must be voted on in the House, then passed on to the Senate or vice versa, where they too need a majority vote on the Bill. The Bill then goes to the president where he can sign it or veto it. A veto is when the president cuts down the bill despite the majority vote from Congress. The bill must then go back to Congress for a second vote in which the bill would need a 2/3 approval vote for the Bill to be passed. While in the House and the Senate, the bill must also go through various committee processes where members of either the House or the Senate gather together in groups and edit and rephrase the bill before it is voted on.

Representatives serve 2 year terms Senators serve 6 year terms. There is no limit to how many times a Congressman can run More info on Legislative Branch

The executive branch consists of the President, Vice President, and cabinet members. The Legislative branch makes the laws while the Executive Branch enforces the laws. Military and police forces are seen as being controlled by the executive. The president appoints the cabinet and has final say. Also, the president has the right to veto a bill. The President’s main duties are to -Command armed forces-makes treaties with foreign nations -enforce and recommend new laws -appoint official positions More on Executive Branch

The Judicial Branch Explains and applys the laws that were made by the legislative branch and enforced by the executive branch. Judicial Branch is in charge of the Court System There are three court levels District Court, Court of Appeals, Supreme Court The Supreme Court is the most powerful of the three levels. The Supreme Court has the power to overturn state laws and laws passed by Congress. Over 4500 cases are submitted to the Supreme Court each year, but less than 1% of them are actually heard. There are nine Supreme Court Justices. Once they are appointed, they hold the position for life. More on the Judicial BranchMore on the Judicial Branch END OF THE LESSON TAKE THE QUIZ!END OF THE LESSON TAKE THE QUIZ!