purpose, objectives, audience, and content

8/7/2019 Purpose, Objectives, Audience, and Content

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Statement of Purpose: The purpose of this website is to provide information about the

structure of the American Government.

Objectives:

The student will demonstrate knowledge of the organization and powers of the nationalgovernment.

Describe the structure and powers of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches.

Audience: The audience is for students in grades 612 who are studying the structure and

powers of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches.

The American Government Web Site Content

The Constitution:

The Constitution is built on six basic principles. These are deeply ingrained in the mindset andlandscape of US Government.

Popular Sovereignty - This principle states that the source of governmental power lieswith the people.

Limited Government - In other words, the US government does not derive its power fromitself. It must follow its own laws and it can only act using powers given to it by thepeople.

Separation of Powers - As stated previously, the US Government is divided into threebranches so that no one branch has all the power. Each branch has its own purpose: to

make the laws, execute the laws, and interpret the laws.

Checks and Balances - In order to further protect the citizens, the constitution set up asystem of checks and balances. Basically, each branch of government has a certain

number of checks it can use to ensure the other branches do not become too powerful.

Judicial Review - This is a power that allows the Supreme Court to decide whether actsand laws are unconstitutional.

Federalism - This is the idea that the central government does not control all the power inthe nation. States also have powers reserved to them.

The Executive Branch

The Executive Branch consists of:

President of the United States, Vice President of the United States, and the Presidents Cabinet.


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The home of the Executive Branch is the White House

The executive branch of Government enforces the laws of the land.

The Role of the President: Carries out and recommends federal laws, directs national defense andforeign policy, directing government, commanding the Armed Forces, dealing with international

powers and vetoing laws. He serves as the Head of the Executive Branch of Government.

The Role of the Vice President: President of the Senate and becomes President if the President

can no longer do the job.

The Role of the Cabinet: Meets at least once a week to discuss matters that affect the United

States

The Cabinet consists of:

Department of State

Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton

http://www.state.gov

Department of the Treasury

Secretary Timothy F. Geithner

http://www.treasury.gov

Department of Defense

Secretary Robert M. Gates

http://www.defenselink.mil

Department of Justice

Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Jr.

http://www.usdoj.gov

Department of the Interior

Secretary Kenneth L. Salazar

http://www.doi.gov

Department of Agriculture

Secretary Thomas J. Vilsackhttp://www.usda.gov

Department of Commerce

Secretary Gary F. Locke

http://www.commerce.gov

Department of Labor
http://www.state.gov/http://www.state.gov/http://www.treasury.gov/http://www.treasury.gov/http://www.defenselink.mil/http://www.defenselink.mil/http://www.usdoj.gov/http://www.usdoj.gov/http://www.doi.gov/http://www.doi.gov/http://www.usda.gov/http://www.usda.gov/http://www.commerce.gov/http://www.commerce.gov/http://www.commerce.gov/http://www.usda.gov/http://www.doi.gov/http://www.usdoj.gov/http://www.defenselink.mil/http://www.treasury.gov/http://www.state.gov/


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Secretary Hilda L. Solis

http://www.dol.gov

Department of Health and Human Services

Secretary Kathleen Sebelius

http://www.hhs.gov

Department of Housing and Urban Development

Secretary Shaun L.S. Donovan

http://www.hud.gov

Department of Transportation

Secretary Ray LaHood

http://www.dot.gov

Department of Energy

Secretary Steven Chu

http://www.energy.gov

Department of Education

Secretary Arne Duncan

http://www.ed.gov

Department of Veterans Affairs

Secretary Eric K. Shinseki

http://www.va.gov

Department of Homeland Security

Secretary Janet A. Napolitanohttp://www.dhs.gov

Requirements for the President and Vice President

Must be at least 35 years old

Natural born U.S. citizen

Must have lived in the United States for at least 14 years.

The President serves a term of four years. The most one President can serve is two terms for atotal of eight years.

The current President is Barack Obama

He is the 44th

President of the United States

He is also the first black President of the United States
http://www.dol.gov/http://www.dol.gov/http://www.hhs.gov/http://www.hhs.gov/http://www.hud.gov/http://www.hud.gov/http://www.dot.gov/http://www.dot.gov/http://www.energy.gov/http://www.energy.gov/http://www.ed.gov/http://www.ed.gov/http://www.va.gov/http://www.va.gov/http://www.dhs.gov/http://www.dhs.gov/http://www.dhs.gov/http://www.va.gov/http://www.ed.gov/http://www.energy.gov/http://www.dot.gov/http://www.hud.gov/http://www.hhs.gov/http://www.dol.gov/


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The current Vice President is Joseph Biden

Legislative Branch

The legislative branch consists of Congress and government agencies. Congress has two parts:The House of Representatives and the Senate.

The Legislative branch is housed in the U.S. Capitol

The Role of Congress: Make the laws

The Role of the House of Representatives: 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 thecountry.

The Role of the Senate: Say yes or no to any treaties the president makes. Say yes or no to anypeople 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.

House of Representatives

Representation of the House of Representatives is based on the population in each state. Thereare a total of 435 representatives in the House. Each member represents an area of the state

known as a congressional district. States with larger populations have more representation thanstates with smaller populations.

Each representative serves a term of 2 years. When the term is over, people from that state may

choose to elect a new representative or keep the same one. There is no limit on the number of

terms a representative can serve.

Requirements for House of Representatives:

Be at least 25 years old

Be a U.S. citizen for the past 7 years

Live in the state they represent

Senate


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Each of the 50 states sends 2 people to the Senate, so there are a total of 100 senators. This

means that each state has equal representation in the Senate. Each senator serves a term of 6years. When their 6 year term is over, the people from that state may choose to elect a new

senator or keep the same one. There is no limit on the number of terms a senator can serve.

Requirements for the Senate:

Be at least 30 years old

Be a U.S. citizen for the past 9 years

Live in the state they represent

Judicial Branch

The judicial branch is made of the court system. The Supreme Court is the highest court in the

United States.

The Judicial branch is housed in The Supreme Court.

The Role of the Courts: Decide arguments about the meaning of laws, how they are applied, andwhether they break the rules of the Constitution.

The Supreme Court

The Supreme Court hears cases that made its way through the court system. Only about 80 to100 cases are actually accepted each year. Once a decision is made in a case, it can only be

changed by another Supreme Court decision or by amending the Constitution. The SupremeCourt has to decide if cases challenge the Constitution.

The Supreme Court is made of nine Justices. One of them is called the Chief Justice. They are

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 appointed as a Justice but all have been trained in the law.

Checks and Balances:

Checks and Balances of the Legislative Branch

The Legislative Branch is given the powers to make the laws. It has the following checks overthe Executive Branch:

May override presidential vetoes with a two-thirds vote Has the power over the purse strings to actually fund any executive actions May remove the president through impeachment


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Senate approves treaties Senate approves presidential appointments

The Legislative Branch has the following checks over the Judicial Branch:

Creates lower courts

May remove judges through impeachment Senate approves appointments of judges

Checks and Balances of the Executive Branch

The Executive Branch is given the power to carry out the laws. It has the following checks over

the Legislative Branch:

Veto power 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 judgesChecks and Balances of the Judicial Branch

The Judicial Branch is given the power to interpret the laws. It has the following checks over the

Executive Branch:

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

review

The Judicial Branch has the following checks over the Legislative Branch:

Courts can judge legislative acts to be unconstitutional.

Washington Monument

The Washington Monument is easy to spot from almost anywhere near the National Mall. At555 feet, 5 1/8 inches, it towers over everything in the Nation's Capital.

The cornerstone of this monument was laid on July 4, 1848 in a ceremony attended by President

James K. Polk and other important people, including Representatives Abraham Lincoln and

Andrew Johnson.


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The money, for building the monument ran out in 1853 when it only stood 152 feet. It stood

unfinished for 25 years until President Ulysses S. Grant approved an act authorizing the FederalGovernment to complete the project.

In December 1884, the Washington Monument was completed by placing a 3,300 pound marble

capstone on top of the obelisk.

It was topped with a 9-inch pyramid of cast aluminum.

White HouseThe White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the President of the United

States.

Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by

Irish-born James Hoban and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in

the Neoclassical style.

It has been the residence of every U.S. President since John Adams.

When Thomas Jefferson moved into the house in 1801, he (with architect Benjamin HenryLatrobe) expanded the building outward, creating two colonnades that were meant to conceal

stables and storage.

Vietnam War Memorial

This black granite wall, which was built in 1982, includes the names of over 58,000 American

soldiers who died or disappeared during the Vietnam War.

The Wall is only several inches tall when it begins and includes a single name of the first soldierkilled in Vietnam in 1959. The Wall, which is 246 feet in length, rises in height to include the

thousands of names of those who died during the Vietnam War in the 1960's and 1970's.

Along the Wall you will see people using a paper and crayon to make a rubbing of a loved one's

name. The beautiful memorial was designed by Maya Ying Lin when she was a 21 year old

college student at Yale University.

Nearby are several dramatic statues of US soldiers and the US women who served in Vietnam as

medical personnel.

Lincoln Memorial

The Lincoln Memorial was built to resemble a Greek temple.

It has 36 columns, one for each state at the time of Lincoln's death. The names of the 48 states in

the Union (when the memorial was completed in 1922) are carved on the walls, above the


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columns, along the outside of the memorial. A plaque honoring Alaska and Hawaii is just outside

the building.

Inside the memorial there is a huge statue of Lincoln sitting in a chair. The statue is 19 feet high

and it weighs 175 tons!

Inscribed on the south wall of the monument is the Gettysburg Address. Above it is a mural of an

angel freeing a slave.

Etched into the north wall is Lincoln's Second Inaugural speech. Above this is a muralrepresenting the unity of the North and the South.

Korean War Memorial

The Korean War Veterans Memorial was authorized by the U.S. Congress on October 28, 1986,

with design and construction managed by the Korean War Veterans Memorial Advisory Board

and the American Battle Monuments Commission.

The memorial is in the form of a triangle intersecting a circle. Walls: 164 feet long, 8 inchesthick; more than 100 tons of highly polished "Academy Black" granite from California: . Within

the walled triangle are 19 stainless steel statues designed by Frank Gaylord, each larger than life-

size, between 7 feet 3 inches and 7 feet 6 inches tall; each weighs nearly 1,000 pounds.

The figures represent a squad on patrol, drawn from each branch of the armed forces; fourteen of

the figures are from the U.S. Army, three are from the Marine Corps, one is a Navy Corpsman,and one is an Air Force Forward Air Observer. They are dressed in full combat gear, dispersed

among strips of granite and juniper bushes which represent the rugged terrain of Korea.

When reflected on the wall, there appears to be 38 soldiers, representing the 38th parallel.

Roosevelt Memorial

Designers decided against plans to have FDR shown in a wheelchair. Instead, the statue depictsthe president in a chair with a cloak obscuring the chair, showing him as he appeared to the

public during his life.

There is a bronze statue of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt standing before the United Nations

emblem. It is the only presidential memorial to depict a First Lady.

Running water is an important physical and metaphoric component of the memorial.

The five main water areas represents:

A single large drop - The crash of the economy that led to the Great Depression Multiple stairstep drops - The Tennessee Valley Authority dam-building project Chaotic falls at varying angles - World War II


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A still pool - Roosevelt's death A wide array combining the earlier waterfalls - A retrospective of Roosevelt's presidency

Jefferson Memorial

The neoclassical building was designed by John Russell Pope. It was built by Philadelphiacontractor Tyler Nichols.

Construction began in 1939, the building was completed in 1943, and the bronze statue of

Jefferson was added in 1947. When completed, the memorial occupied one of the last significantsites left in the city.

The interior walls are engraved with passages from Jefferson's writings. Most prominent are thewords which are inscribed in a frieze below the dome: "I have sworn upon the altar of God

eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man."

Holocaust Museum

It is dedicated to helping leaders and citizens of the world confront hatred, prevent genocide,promote human dignity, and strengthen democracy.

The museum contain more than 12,750 artifacts, 49 million pages of archival documents, 80,000

historical photographs, 200,000 registered survivors, 1,000 hours of archival footage, 84,000

library items, and 9,000 oral history testimonies.

The Hall of Remembrance is the museum's official memorial to the six million victims and

survivors of the Holocaust. Visitors can memorialize the event by lighting candles, visiting an

eternal flame, and reflecting in silence in the octagonal hall.

Smithsonian Museum

The Smithsonian is a museum and research complex, comprised of 19 museums and galleries

and the National Zoological Park.

The Smithsonian Museums in Washington, DC are world class museums with a variety of

exhibits ranging from insects and meteorites to locomotives and spacecraft.

Admission to all of the Smithsonian museums is free.

US Capitol

The United States Capitol is the meeting place of the United States Congress.

The Capitol is the origin by which the quadrants of the District are divided.

The Capitol was partially burned by the British on August 24, 1814, during the War of 1812.


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Supreme Court

The Supreme Court Building is the seat of the Supreme Court of the United States.

On May 4, 1987, the Supreme Court Building was designated a National Historic Landmark.

The west faade of the building (essentially, the "front" of the court, being the side which facesthe Capitol) bears the motto "Equal Justice Under Law," while the east facade bears the motto

"Justice, the Guardian of Liberty."

Library of Congress

The Library of Congress is the nation's oldest federal cultural institution, and it serves as the

research arm of Congress.

The Library of Congress was established by Congress in 1800, and was housed in the United

States Capitol for most of the 19th century.

After much of the original collection had been destroyed during the War of 1812, Thomas

Jefferson sold 6487 books, his entire personal collection, to the library in 1815.

The collections of the Library of Congress include more than 32 million cataloged books and

other print materials in 470 languages; more than 61 million manuscripts including the rough

draft of the Declaration of Independence.

Resources:

http://americanhistory.about.com/od/governmentandpolitics/a/amgovoverview.htm

http://bensguide.gpo.gov/

http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/cabinet

http://www.wikipedia.com
http://americanhistory.about.com/od/governmentandpolitics/a/amgovoverview.htmhttp://americanhistory.about.com/od/governmentandpolitics/a/amgovoverview.htmhttp://bensguide.gpo.gov/http://bensguide.gpo.gov/http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/cabinethttp://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/cabinethttp://www.wikipedia.com/http://www.wikipedia.com/http://www.wikipedia.com/http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/cabinethttp://bensguide.gpo.gov/http://americanhistory.about.com/od/governmentandpolitics/a/amgovoverview.htm

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