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The Three Branches of Government
Legislative Branch – Makes the laws. Made up of the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Judicial Branch – Judges/interprets the laws - The Court system for the U.S. The highest court in America is the Supreme Court
Executive Branch – Enforces/Carries out the laws. Headed by the President and Vice President.
Branches of Government(cont’d)
All branches are equally powerful. Each branch has its own responsibility. Checks and Balances makes sure one
branch never becomes too powerful
Legislative Branch Legislature is made
up of House and Senate.
Congress meets the first week in January of every odd numbered year.
Lawmaking branch of the Federal government.
Also controls spending.
The House of Representatives House of
RepresentativesMembers elected
based on population.Number of Reps for
each state varies.Elected for 2 year
terms.Presiding officer of the
House is the Speaker of the House.
435 members
House of Representatives (cont’d)
Qualifications:Must be 25 years oldMust be a citizen of
the U.S. for seven years.
Must be a resident of the state that elects you.
North Dakota Representative Earl
Pomeroy
The U.S. Senate Two senators per state
regardless of population. 100 members Senators are elected for
6 year terms. Led by the Vice
President of the United States.
President pro Tempore – presiding officer when VP is gone.
United States Senate (cont’d)
Qualifications:○ Must be at least 30
years old.○ Must be a U.S.
citizen for at least 9 years.
○ Must be a resident of the state that elects you.
Both Senators and Representatives make $162,500 per year.
North Dakota Senator Kent
Conrad
North Dakota Senator Byron
Dorgan
Bills
Thousands of bills are introduced each year. Both houses use committees to evaluate proposed bills. Types of Committees: Standing, Subcommittees, select
committees, joint committees, and conference committees.
Types of Committees Standing – Permanent committees in both
houses that specialize in particular areas. Subcommittees – Focus on a particular
aspect or issue. Select Committees – Deal with issues
requiring special attention. Joint Committees – Meet to consider
specific issues. Conference Committees – Work to
compromise two similar bills into a single bill.
Bill Process Committees can pigeonhole a bill, meaning
they kill it without really looking at it. Once a committee approves the bill, it goes
to the full House or Senate for debate. Congress either approves, rejects, or
sends the bill back to the committee. When both houses pass the bill it goes to
the president to be signed into law. The president can veto the bill if he does
not approve. It can still become law with a 2/3 vote.
The Executive Branch Executive Branch is
headed by the President and Vice President
President today: Barack Obama
Vice President:
Joe Biden Main goal is to enforce
the laws enacted by Congress.
Requirements for Presidency
Must be at least 35 years old
Must be a natural born U.S. citizen.
Resident of the U.S. for at least 14 years.
Electoral College1. States vote for President.
2. Each state has a group of assigned electors. Some for each political party.
3. Electors: individuals who elect the President
4. If their candidate wins the popular vote they go to the D.C. and cast their vote for the candidate.
5. Each state only has as many electoral votes as it does representatives in Congress.
1. ND has three electors.2. What if there is a tie? House
of Representatives votes.
Order of Succession What happens if the
President is killed? 1st Person: Vice
President 2nd Person: Speaker
of the House 3rd Person:
President pro Tempore (Senate)
4th Person: Secretary of State
Presidential Odds n’ Ends Salary of the:
President: $400,000 Vice President: $198,600
Elections are held every four years on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November.
Inaugurations are held January 20 the year following the election.
Oath of Office administered by the Chief Justice of Supreme Court
Impeach: To be found guilty of wrongdoing while in office.
Impeachment Trials: Begin in the House Senate acts as the
Jury. Only two Presidents
have ever been impeached: Andrew Johnson Bill Clinton
Judicial Branch
Main job of the Judicial Branch is to judge the laws passed by Congress and approved by the President.
Highest court in the land: Supreme Court.
Led by 9 Supreme Court Justices.
Supreme Court Supreme Court
Justices:Appointed for life or
until retirement.Nine Justices with
one Chief Justice (John Roberts)
Justices are appointed by the President and Confirmed by Congress.
Supreme Court (cont’d)
Supreme Court Powers and ResponsibilitiesDetermine
Constitutionality of laws passed by Congress.
Judge meaningful cases with the Constitution.
Interpret the Constitution.
Constitutional Amendments
2 ways amendments are passed:1st way
○ Bill must pass both houses of Congress with a 2/3 majority.
○ Once passed by Congress the bill goes to individual state legislatures for approval.
2nd way○ Convention called by 2/3 of
states○ Propose one or more
amendments.○ Must be passed by ¾ of
states.
Judicial Branch Odds n’ Ends Treason – The act of
disloyalty to ones country.
To be convicted: must have testimony of two witnesses to the same act or a confession.
$$$$$$$$$$ Chief Justice makes
around $202,900 Associate Justices
make $194,200.
Current Justices: Chief Justice: John
Roberts Associate Justices:
Choose 3○ John Paul Stevens○ Samuel Alito○ Antonin Scalia○ Anthony Kennedy○ David Souter○ Clarence Thomas○ Sonja Sotomayor○ Stephen Breyer