Three Branches of Government

Three Branches of Government

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The Constitution

The Founding Fathers, the framers of the U.S. Constitution, wanted to form a government that did not allow one person to have too much control.

With this in mind, they wrote the Constitution to provide for a separation of powers, or three separate branches of government.

Multiple Choice

What are the three branches of government?

• Executive, Legislative, Judicial

• Elementary, Middle, High

• State, Country, City

• Market, Pool, Theater

How do the branches work?

Each branch has its own responsibilities and at the same time, the three branches work together to make the country run smoothly and to assure that the rights of citizens are not ignored or disallowed.

This is done through checks and balances. A branch may use its powers to check the powers of the other two in order to maintain a balance of power among the three branches of government.

Multiple Select

What is the executive branch responsible for?

• Making sure the laws are obeyed

• Commanding the armed services

• Organizing charities in the world

Multiple Select

What is the legislative branch responsible for?

• Making and passing laws, declaring war

• Ruling the country and the world

• This branch doesn't exist.

Multiple Choice

What system is a part of the judicial branch?

• stores

• restaurants

• airports and casinos

• courts

The President

The president is the head of state, head of the U.S. government, and the commander-in-chief of the U.S. military.

The Vice President

The vice president not only supports the president but also acts as the presiding officer of the Senate.

The Cabinet

The Cabinet members are nominated by the president and must be approved by the Senate (with at least 51 votes). They serve as the president's advisors and heads of various departments and agencies.

Multiple Choice

The legislative branch includes:

• the congress

• the teachers

• all of the unions

• alligators and the mob

The Congress

The Congress is made up of the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Senate

The Senate has 100 elected senators total; 2 senators per state. Each senator serves a 6-year term.

House of Representatives

The House has 435 voting representatives; the number of representatives from each state is based on the state's population. Each representative serves a two-year term and may be re-elected.

Multiple Choice

What makes up the judicial branch?

• The teachers' union

• The court system

• truck and train drivers

• president and the prime minister

Supreme Court

The Supreme Court is the highest court in the country. The nine justices are nominated by the president and must be approved by the Senate (with at least 51 votes).

Other Federal Courts

There are lower Federal courts but they were not created by the Constitution.

Congress established them around the country to handle federal business as the country grew, using power granted by the Constitution.