Levels of U.S. Government

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The legislative branch of government "makes the laws." They also, however, have more jobs. They can check the other branches to make sure they're power is not abused. This system is called checks and balances. It has the following checks over the executive branch:

Able to override presidential vetoes with a two-thirds vote of the peolpe

Has power over the purse strings to actually fund any executive actions

May remove the president through impeachment

Senate approves treaties

Senate approves presidential appointments

It has the following checks over the judicial branch:

Creates lower courts

Able to remove judges through impeachment

Senate approves the appointments of judges

Senate: Unlike the House of Representatives, the Senate has 2 Senators per state, regardless of its population. Senators are able to stay six years in office.

Congress-

Makes up the legislative branch.

House of Representatives: The number of representatives per state depends on the population. The greater the population, the more representatives that state has. Example: Rhode Island has 2 representatives while the California has 53. Representatives are able to stay eight years.

The Capitol: The people in the congress meet here.

The U.S. government has three branches of government and each of these branches "checks" the other branches to verify the power is balanced. This is an example of the system called separation of powers. Shown below is a table showing each level and each branch and what the names are.

The Constitution is made up of a Preamble, or the introduction to the constitution explaining the goals of government. The introduction reads as follows:

"We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure Domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the General Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

Domestic Tranquility means that the United States government wants to preserve peace and calm in their country, and they want to protect it.

General Welfare means the benefit or well-being of all the citizens of the U.S.

Posterity just means all our future generations.

The Constitution also contains a body, also known as the Articles. The first three articles sets up the U.S. government as a republic with three separate branches of government:

Legislative Branch

Executive Branch

Judicial Branch

These branches each have their own powers to make up the United States government. The 4th article- Establishes the relationship between the states and the federal government. Describes how to admit new states to the Union.The 5th article - Describes how to amend the Constitution.

The 6th article - Establishes the Constitution as the supreme law of the USA. Authorizes the national debt (Congress can borrow money). Public officials must take an oath to support the Constitution.

ARTICLE VII - Lists the requirements for ratification of the Constitution.

Scene at the signing of the constitution after James Madison wrote

The Constitution

The first ten amendments of the Constitution are called the Bill of Rights. The protect the natural rights of all citizens. They are as follows:

Amendment 1 - Freedom of religion, press, speech

Amendment 2 - Right to bear arms

Amendment 3 - Limits the quartering of soldiers

Amendment 4 - Search and seizure of property

Amendment 5 - Right to a trial if accused, no self-incrimination required, no double-jeopardy (you cannot be tried twice for the same crime), right to compensation for takings by government.

Amendment 6 - Right to a speedy trial by jury and confrontation of witnesses

Amendment 7 - Right to a trial by jury in civil cases

Amendment 8 - Prohibits cruel and unusual punishment

Amendment 9 - People may have other rights, even if they are not listed here

Amendment 10 - The federal government's powers are limited to those listed in the Constitution

Amendments 11-27 were later added to the Constitution throughout the years. They are as follows:

Amendment 11 (1798) - Judicial limits

Amendment 12 (1804) - Method for choosing the President, Vice President

Amendment 13 (1865) - Slavery is abolished slavery

Amendment 14 (1868) - Rights of citizenship to all people born in USA or naturalized

Amendment 15 (1870) - Gives the right to vote to all citizens, regardless of color or race, but women are not mentioned

Amendment 16 (1913) - Income tax authorized

Amendment 17 (1913) - Senators elected by the popular vote

Amendment 18 (1919) - Prohibition - Liquor prohibited

Amendment 19 (1920) - Women's suffrage (voting rights)

Amendment 20 (1933) - New terms of office for the President and Congress

Amendment 21 (1933) - Amendment 18 repealed (overturned)

Amendment 22 (1951) - Presidential term limited

Amendment 23 (1961) - Presidential vote given to Washington, D. C.

Amendment 24 (1964) - Poll taxes barred (you cannot charge people to vote)

Amendment 25 (1967) - Presidential disability and succession

Amendment 26 (1971) - Voting age lowered to 18 years old (same as the age at which men can be drafted into the army)

Amendment 27 (1992) - Congressional pay increases go into effect only during the next Congressional session.

The executive branch of government is given the power to execute and "enforce the laws." It has the following checks over the Legislative Branch:

Power to veto laws

Ability to call special sessions of Congress

Can recommend legislation

Can appeal to the people concerning legislation and more

The executive branch has the following checks over the judicial branch:

President appoints Supreme Court and other federal judges

The White House: The President, the head of the executive branch, lives here.

U.S. Supreme Court Building: Court cases take place.

The President,

Vice President &

the Cabinet-

Makes up the executive branch.

The President: He/she can stay in office for 4 years but can stay in office for another 4 years if the people elect him or her again. Although the people vote for the president, the electoral college are responsible for some votes as well. In addition, the president works with the Cabinet; they help the president make decisions.

2. John Adams

4. James Madison

6. John Quincy Adams

8. Martin Van Buren

10. John Tyler

12. Zachary Taylor

14. Franklin Pierce

16. Abraham Lincoln

18. Ulysses S. Grant

20. James Garfield

22. Grover Cleveland

24. Grover Cleveland

26. Theodore Roosevelt

28. Woodrow Wilson

30. Calvin Coolidge

32. Franklin D. Roosevelt

36. Lyndon B. Johnson

34.

Dwight D. Eisenhower

38. Gerald R. Ford

40. Ronald Reagan

42. William J. Clinton

44. Barack Obama

1. George Washington

3. Thomas Jefferson

5. James Monroe

7. Andrew Jackson

9. William Henry Harrison

11. James K. Polk

13. Millard Fillmore

15. James Buchanan

17. Andrew Johnson

19. Rutherford B. Hayes

21. Chester A. Arthur

23. Benjamin Harrison

25. William McKinley

27. William Howard Taft

29. Warren G. Harding

31. Herbert Hoover

33. Harry S. Truman

35. John F. Kennedy

37. Richard M. Nixon

39. James Carter

41. George H. W. Bush

43. George W. Bush

All the Names of the Presidents of the U.S.

The judicial branch of government "interprets the laws." It has the power to check the executive branch in the following ways:

Judges, once appointed for life, are free from controls from the executive branch

Courts can judge executive actions to be unconstitutional through the power of judicial branch

The judicial branch has the following checks over the legislative branch:Courts can judge legislative acts to be unconstitutional.

Justices of Supreme Court-

Make up the judicial branch.

Unlike the other branches of government, supreme court justices don't have a limit to how long they are in office. They can serve for life unless they retire or if they are impeached removed from office.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuFR5XBYLfU (Embed)

The video shown below covers everything said and other information you need to know about the Constitution.

Summary

Legislative Branch

The Constitution

Executive Branch

Judicial Branch