A Three Legged Country Are Three Legs better than one?
Why does making a stool with three legs better than using just one? It is stronger It is balanced It will stand longer
What would happen if the legs of the stool were not the same length? One leg would do all the work One leg would never touch the ground to help support the top One leg would have to work only part of the time
Let’s compare our Government to the 3 legged stool Government Our government has 3 branches Each branch has equal power and authority The 3 branches provide strength for our country Stool The stool has 3 legs Each leg holds the same amount of weight evenly 3 legs provide strength
ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION The original idea for our government was called the ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION The Articles of Confederation were weak. It had no court or president and laws were difficult to make Another big problem was that the “A of C” had a government that couldn’t collect taxes. So soldiers who fought in the Revolutionary War couldn’t get paid….and this is what happened….
A former soldier shakes up the constitutional convention… Shays' Rebellion: America's First Civil War, the animated documentary - Actual Reality Pictures
Shay’s Rebellion This showed the “framers” that our federal government needed the power to… Collect taxes to pay debt Settle disputes between states Maintain order
The Constitutional Convention 55 delegates met in Philadelphia
Compromises at the Convention Franklin kept the arguments calm Washington kept everyone respectful Madison brought his ideas of a strong central government Morris wrote the final draft of the Constitution
They decided to use 3 branches of government… Legislative Executive Judicial
Legislative Branch Main Responsibility: Making Laws Members: Senators and members of the House of Representatives This is called CONGRESS
Our local members of the Legislative Branch Senators Jim Bunning and Mitch McConnell
Powers of the Legislative Branch Key Powers: Read pages to find the powers of the legislative branch
Executive Branch Main Responsibility: Carrying out the laws Members: The President His Cabinet
Our Executive Leader
Executive Branch Powers Read pages 146 to find the powers of the executive branch
Judicial Branch Main Responsibility: Interpreting the Laws (letting us know if the law is fair) Members: Supreme Court Justices
The Justices
Judicial Branch Powers Key Powers: Read page 147 to find the powers of the Judicial branch
Your Assignment…… On your desk, you will find a white envelope. Remove the situation paper from the envelope. Work on one situation at a time! Match the correct POWER CARD with the situation. Hint: the number of cards needed will be listed next to the sentence. Have Mr. Owens check off on each of your answers before you move on to the next situation GOOD LUCK! * If you finish early, write your own situations on the back of the paper based on what you read in the POWER CARDS