Chapter 7-The U.S. Constitution How the United States Government Works.
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Transcript of Chapter 7-The U.S. Constitution How the United States Government Works.
Chapter 7-The U.S. Constitution
How the United States Government Works
3 Branches of Government
Legislative Branch(Makes the Laws)
Executive Branch(Enforces the Laws)
Judicial Branch(Interprets the Laws)
Congress (535 people)
House of Senate Reps (435) (100)
President
Vice President
President’s Cabinet
Supreme Court
Other Federal Courts
The Legislative Branch(makes the laws)
Legislative Branch =Congress
Makes The Laws!There are 2 “houses” in
Congress: Congress
SenateHouse of
Representatives
Senate
• 2 Senators from each state• Senators serve 6-year terms• can be elected unlimited times• are directly elected by the
people
To be a Senator you must:
• Be 30 years old• Be a U.S. citizen for 9 years• Live in the state you are
representing Dick Durbin Mark Kirk
Illinois Senators
The Senate continued…
• Leader of the Senate =
The Senate President (Vice-Pres. Of U.S.)
Joe Biden
Powers of the Senate• Approve treaties
made by the president.
• Approve Judges picked by the president.
• Holds Impeachment Trials (decide if the person is guilty or innocent).
House of Representatives
• # of Representatives in your state depends on the state’s population
• every state has at least 1 rep.• serve 2-year terms• can be elected unlimited times• are directly elected by the
people
To be a Representative you must:
• Be 25 years old• Be a U.S. citizen for 7 years• Live in the state you are
representing
Adam Kinzinger 11th District
House of Reps Continued…..• Leader of the
House= The Speaker of the
House
John Boehner
• Powers of the House of Representatives
• all money (tax) bills must start in the House.
• Impeaches government officials (accuse them of doing something wrong
Powers of Both the House
of Representatives and the Senate:
Declare WarPrint money
Pass Bills
How a Bill Becomes A Law
• Bills can start in the House of Representatives or the Senate.
• (Money/Tax Bills must start in the House of Reps)
• If the Bill starts in the House, it must
be voted on in the House first. If it is passed, it goes to the Senate.
• If the Bill starts in the Senate, it must be voted on in the Senate first. If it is passed, it goes to the House.
How a Bill Becomes A Lawcontinued….
• The Bill Must Be Passed by The House and the Senate, before it can go to the President!
• The President can: SIGN THE BILL or VETO THE BILL.
• If the President SIGNS the bill, it will become a law.
• If the President VETOS the bill, it will go back to Congress.
How a Bill Becomes A Lawcontinued….
• If 2/3 of both the House and Senate approve of the Bill, they can OVERRIDE the President and the Bill will still become a law
• ***So Technically, only the House and Senate need to pass a Bill in order for it to become a law****
• http://www.270towin.com/
Bill
Congress
Bill is approved by House and Senate
President
Signs or vetoes
Back to congress
Need 2/3 vote
LAW
Executive Branch(Enforces the Laws)
• The President, Vice-President, and the President’s Cabinet are in this branch.
Executive Branch Continued:
To be President, you must:
• 1. Be 35 years old• 2. Live in the U.S. for
14 years• 3. Be a natural born
citizen (born in the U.S.)
• President’s Powers & Duties:
• Main Job: Enforce the laws!
• Veto bills passed by Congress
• Makes treaties with other nations (approved by senate)
• Appoints/Picks judges (approved by senate)
• Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces
Executive Branch Cont…
President’s Term• The President serves a 4-
year term.• The President can be
elected 2 times (2 terms)• Example: President Bush
was elected in 2000 and then again in 2004
• A President can serve for a total of 10 years.
• The President is elected in November, but can’t take office until January
PresidentialSuccession• If the President dies, these
are the next two people in line to take his spot:
• The Vice-President• The Speaker of the House
• We elect the President through popular vote and the Electoral College
• 1. Each state has a certain number of electoral votes. (538 Total Electoral Votes)
• 2. Number of electoral votes in each state= # of Reps + # of Senators
• Example: Illinois has 20 Electoral Votes (18 reps + 2 senators)
• Example: California has 55 Electoral Votes (53 Reps + 2 senators)
How Do We Elect the President?
How Do We Elect the President? Continued….
• 3. People go and vote for their favorite person
• 4. The person that gets the most votes in that state, gets the electoral votes for that state
• Example: John Kerry got the most votes in IL in 2004, so he got 21 electoral votes from IL.
• 5. The candidate that gets 270 electoral votes WINS!!!
Census…how we determine the number of electors
***Every 10 years the government takes a CENSUS which is a poll of questions that Americans answer including; how many people live in the house, what their income is, race, gender, etc. This is how the government determines how many state representatives the state will have.
The Judicial Branch(interprets the laws)
= Supreme Court, other Federal Courts, state and local courts
The Judicial Branch
Supreme Court• The Supreme Court is the HIGHEST
court in the land
• There are NINE justices (judges) on the Supreme Court
• Supreme Court Justices serve a LIFE term
The Supreme Court
Building in Washington,
D.C.
There are nine Supreme Court Justices
Supreme Courtcontinued….
• Supreme Court Justices are: • appointed/selected by the President• but the Senate has to approve of the
Justices.
• The Supreme Court can declare laws unconstitutional
Checks and Balances System• The system in which each branch
of government “checks” each other to balance the power.
• This ensures that one branch does not become more powerful than the others
Executive
Legislative Judicial
Checks and Balances System
Can Check Example
President 1.Congress2.Supreme Court
1.vetoes a bill2.Appoints judges
Congress 1. President2. Supreme Court
1.Override a President’s veto with 2/3rds vote2.Senate approves or rejects judges
Supreme Court
1.President2.Congress
1.Can Declare Presidential Acts unconstitutional.2.Can Declare laws unconstitutional