10-17-14

Leadership In Our Government

The Three Branches

The government of the United States of America is framed by the constitution (the law) and was formed in 1789 by our founding fathers.

Our government is divided into three distinct parts; the Executive branch, the Legislative branch, and the Judicial branch.

What Is Federalism?

The United States government is based on the principle of federalism.

Federalism is when power is shared between the government and the state governments.

-No one person is allowed to be completely in charge.

-Every individual has a say.-The minority can stand up against the majority.

-Freedom of speech!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Checks And Balances

Government systems that have a separation of powers need a way to balance each other/share the power, so to prevent one branch from becoming supreme.

This is accomplished through a system called Checks and Balances.

With Checks and Balances, each of the three branches of government can limit the power of another. Each branch “checks” the power of the other branches to make sure it is balanced between them.

Lets Look At An Example…………….

-Law is a good example.In brief:-The Legislative branch votes on a bill.-Then the bill goes to the Executive branch where the

President decides if it is a good idea, and if so, he signs the bill and it becomes a law.

-If the president does not think the bill is good for the country, he does not sign it, this is called a veto.

-But with enough votes, the Legislative branch can cancel the Executive branch’s veto, and the bill becomes a law.

-When the law is in place, the people of the country can test it through court systems, which is under the Judicial branch. If someone thinks a law is unfair, a lawsuit can be filed. Lawyers make arguments for and against the case and a judge decides whose is more convincing. The losing side can choose to appeal to a hire court, and might even go to the supreme court, the highest of them all.

-If the Legislative branch does not agree with how the Judicial branch understood the law, they can compromise it and introduce a new piece of legislation.

The Process Starts All Over again

• See how they balance each other.

The Executive Branch

What makes it up??The President is the head of the Executive branch.Makes laws official.Appoints or removes cabinet members and officials.Negotiates treaties.Commander and chief of the armed forces.Is elected by the entire country.Can serve a total of eight years.

The Vice President

Second-highest official in rank of the government.

First in the US. presidential line of secession.President of the senate.Chosen by the President.

The Cabinet

The cabinet is made up of heads of the 15 major departments of government. The Vise President is part of the cabinet as well.

The cabinet gives advise to the President about important facts.

Cabinet members are chosen by the President.

The President can replace a cabinet member at anytime.

Generally, cabinet members serve as long as the President in office.

The Legislative Branch

The Legislative branch is made up of two houses of congress; the senate, and the house of representatives.

There are 100 senators in the senate, two from each state. They are elected by there state, and serve six-year terms.

There are 435 representatives in the house of representatives. The number of representatives within each state is based on the population of the state. Representatives are elected by their states and serve a two-year term.

The Most Important part of the Legislative branch’s job is to make, write, discuss, and vote on laws.

The Judicial Branch

The Judicial branch is the court system of the US. The Supreme Court is the head of it. The Supreme Court rules whether something is constitutional or unconstitutional.

On the Supreme Court There are nine justices, eight associate justices, and one chief justice. The justices are chosen by the President and approved by the senate. Once you are in, you are in until you die, or retire.

The Supreme Court is the highest of all and it’s decisions are finale.

Sources

http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0774837.html

http://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/teacher_lessons/3branches/1.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_government_of_the_United_States