The United States
Government
Karen Pollard
2005-2006
The United States Government
Three Branches of Government
* Legislative Branch
* Executive Branch
* Judicial Branch
Checks and Balances
Founding Fathers
James Madison;
Benjamin Franklin
Primary author
of The
Constitution
George Washington
John Jay
Patrick Henry
John Adams
Alexander Hamilton
Thomas Jefferson
The Constitution
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The Founding Fathers, the framers of the
Constitution, wanted to form a
government that did not allow one person
to have too much authority or control.
The framers wrote the Constitution to
provide for a separation of powers, or
three separate branches of government.
This is done through checks and balances
The Three Branches of
Government
The Capitol Building
What is the Legislative Branch?
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The legislative branch of government is
made up of the Congress and government
agencies.
The Constitution established this branch
and gave Congress the power to make
laws.
The Legislative Branch &
Congress
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The U.S. Congress is made up of two
parts, the House of Representatives and
the Senate.
Congress meets at the U.S. Capitol in
Washington, D.C.
Its primary duty is to write, debate, and
pass bills, which are then passed on to the
President for approval.
Other Powers of Congress
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Makes laws controlling trade between
states and between the
United States and other countries.
Makes laws about taxes and borrowing
money.
Approves the making of money.
Can declare war on other countries.
Two Parts of Congress
The House of Representatives
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Representation is based on the number of
people living in each state.
There are a total of 435 representatives in
the House.
States with larger populations have more
representation than states with smaller
populations.
The House of Representatives
Representatives
Representatives must:
 Be at least 25 years old.
 Be a U.S. citizen for the past 7 years.
 Live in the state they represent.
 Each representative serves a term of 2
years.
 There is no limit on the number of terms a
representative can serve.
Jobs of Representatives
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Start laws that make people pay taxes.
Decide if a government official should be
put on trial before the Senate if s/he
commits a crime against the country.
Two Parts of Congress
The Senate
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Each of the 50 states sends 2 people to
the Senate.
Total of 100 senators
Each state has equal representation in the
Senate.
The United States Senate
Senators
Senators must:
 Be at least 30 years old.
 Be a U.S. citizen for the past 9 years.
 Live in the state they represent.
 Each senator serves a term of 6 years.
 There is no limit on terms a senator can
be elected.
Jobs of Senators
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Say yes or no to any treaties the president
makes.
Say yes or no to any people the president
recommends for jobs, such as cabinet
officers, Supreme Court justices, and
ambassadors.
Can hold a trial for a government official
who does something very wrong.
The Executive Branch
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The executive branch of government makes sure
that the laws of the United States are obeyed.
The President of the United States is the head of
the executive branch of government.
The President gets help from the Vice President,
department heads (Cabinet members), and
heads of independent agencies.
The White House
The White House
President’s Oval Office
The White House
The Red Room
State Dining Room
Diplomatic Reception Room
The Blue Room
The Vermeil Room
Parts of the Executive
Branch
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President: Leader of the country and
commands the military.
Vice President: President of the Senate and
becomes President if the President can no longer
do the job.
Departments: Department heads advise the
President on issues and help carry out policies.
Independent Agencies: Help carry out policy
or provide special services.
Jobs of The President
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Head of the executive branch
Approves or vetoes laws that Congress creates
American Head of State; meeting with leaders of
other countries and can make treaties with
them.
Chief of the Government
Official head of the U.S. military
Can declare war with the approval of Congress.
To Be The President
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Must be at least 35 years old
Must be a natural-born U.S. citizen and
have lived in the U.S. for at least 14 years
Serves a term of four years
Can serve two terms for a total of eight
years
The President’s Advisors
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When the President wants advice, he asks a
group of people called the Cabinet.
They advise the President.
The Cabinet includes the Vice President, the
heads of 15 executive branch departments, and
other Government officials chosen by the
President.
The Cabinet meets at least once a week to
discuss matters that effect the United States.
The Presidential Cabinet
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Secretary of State
Secretary of Defense
Secretary of Treasury
Attorney General
Secretary of the Interior
Secretary of Agriculture
Secretary of Commerce
Secretary of Energy
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Secretary of Housing
Secretary of
Transportation
Secretary of Education
Secretary of Veteran’s
Affairs
Secretary of Labor
Secretary of Health &
Human Services
Secretary of Homeland
Security
The Judicial Branch
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The judicial branch of government is made
up of the court system.
The Supreme Court is the highest court in
the land.
Courts decide arguments about the
meaning of laws, how they are applied,
and whether they break the rules of the
Constitution.
The Supreme Court
The Supreme Court
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The Supreme Court is the highest court in
the United States.
The Supreme Court hears cases that have
made their way through the court system.
The main power of the Supreme Court is
to decide cases that challenge the
Constitution.
Justices of the Supreme Court
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The Supreme Court is made up of nine Justices.
One is the Chief Justice.
Appointed by the President and must be
approved by the Senate.
Justices have their jobs for life, unless they
resign, retire, or are impeached by the House
and convicted by the Senate
There are no requirements to be a justice; but
they are trained in the law.
The Justices
2005
How Laws are Made
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Laws can be made by the national
government or by individual state
governments.
National laws are made in Congress.
Congress can make laws on all kinds of
matters.
Laws begin in the Senate
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A Senator writes a bill.
A committee reviews the bill; then…
*Sends the bill back with no changes.
*Makes changes and sends it back.
*Tables the bill -- In other words, they do nothing.
The bill is voted on by the Senate and
over half of the senators (51 of 100) must
vote yes to pass it.
Laws and The House of
Representatives
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The bill goes to a House committee
The committee studies the bill
The bill is voted on by the representatives.
Over half of the representatives (218 of
435) must vote yes to pass the bill.
Laws and the President
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If the bill passes the Senate and House…
Then the bill goes to the President
If the president signs the bill, it becomes a law.
The bill may also become law if the president
does not sign it for 10 days.
If the president rejects (vetoes) the bill, it can
still become a law if two-thirds of the Senate
and two-thirds of the House vote in favor of it.
Finally, the Supreme Court decides if it’s
Constitutional
Checks and Balances
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Founding fathers wanted to avoid tyranny.
Framers of the Constitution balanced
power among the 3 Branches
Each branch “checks” or restrains the
powers of the other two branches.
Balance of Power
“Checks and Balances
Checks and Balances
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The power of government is balanced
when it takes all 3 branches of
government to pass laws.
The U.S. Congress begins the law as a bill
The President passes/vetoes the law
The Supreme Court decides if the law if
Constitutional
Responsibilities of
Citizens
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Voting
Serving on a Jury
Paying taxes
Serving in the Military
Obeying the Laws
We rest this case.