1. Three Branches of Government
World Geography
Democracy

2. Constitution
The US Constitution created three branches of government for the people.
These branches are:
The Legislative Branch
The Executive Branch
The Judicial Branch

3. Legislative Branch
The legislative branch of government was created by Article I of the Constitution.
The main purpose of the legislative branch is to make and pass laws.
The legislative branch is made up of a House of Representatives and a Senate.
These two combined are known as Congress.

4. Legislative Continued
The founders of the Constitution expected the Legislative Branch to be the most important branch of government, but feared if its power wasn’t clearly defined it could endanger liberty. So the Legislative branch was given expressed powers.
Expressed Powers- Powers directly stated in the Constitution.

5. Legislative Continued
Enumerated Powers- The powers listed in Article I Section 8 are called enumerated powers, because they are numbered 1-18.
One of these enumerated powers is called the elastic clause.
Elastic Clause- gives Congress the right to make any laws they seem necessary to carry out its other powers.
Allows Congress to stretch its power to meet new situations the founders couldn’t anticipate.

6. The Executive Branch
The executive branch of government was created by Article II of the Constitution
The executive branch is in charge of making sure the law is put into practice and executed properly.

7. President The president is the head of the executive branch.
The Constitution grants the president broad and vague powers.
The president today has powers that are not mentioned in the Constitution, but some of his powers are mentioned.

8. The Judicial Branch
The judicial branch was created by Article III of the Constitution.
The judicial branch is in charge of interpreting the law. This is done by a court system.
The judicial branch is at times a referee between the legislative and executive branches.
There are two types of courts systems in the judicial branch.
Federal Courts (Supreme Court)
State Courts

9. Supreme Court The highest court in the US Government
The supreme courts job is to interpret the Constitution.
There are 9 supreme court justices

12. Cartoon Example