The Three Branches of Government

Civics Study Packet #1

Team Foster 2010

In this section, we’ll review:

• The names of the 3 branches• What each branch does• How a bill becomes a law• How the branches check & balance each other

What are the ‘Three Branches’?

LEGISLATIVE EXECUTIVE

(and how can I remember them?)

JUDICIAL

Why do we have three?

• In the Articles of Confederation, there wasn’t really an executive/president. Also, there was NO national court system, and the legislative branch was very weak (because states were still very strong). This system didn’t work very well. Pretty much we just had a weak legislative branch.

• When the Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution, they made a new system where there would be 3 branches, or divisions of government.

One branch would write the laws. This branch would have a few hundred members in it, would be bicameral, and would be called Congress.

Another branch would make sure that the laws Congress wrote would be

enforced. The man who would do this would be called the President.

The final branch would decide what the laws mean, or interpret them. They would be in charge of the court system. They would be called the Supreme Court.

WRITING LAWS

Which branch WRITES laws?

• The LEGISLATIVE branch writes (or makes) laws.

• In our country, we call the legislative branch CONGRESS. Congress is BICAMERAL, which means it has TWO CHAMBERS.

• Congress meets in the U.S. Capitol building, in the city of Washington, D.C.

*Think of writing with your LEG and you’ll

remember this branch!*

What are the two chambers of Congress?

• One chamber is the Senate. Each state gets two Senators, no matter the size. Since there are 50 states, there are 100 Senators.

• The other chamber is the House of Representatives. The amount of Representatives each state gets depends on the states’ populations. California has a high population, so it gets a LOT of Representatives. Wyoming is a state with very few people, so it only gets ONE Representative!

» Let’s look at the building where Congress meets:

The U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C.

The Senate side. The House side. The 100 Senators The 435 Representatives

debate bills here. debate bills here.

Interesting facts about Congress (the House)

• The leader of the House of Representatives is called the Speaker of the House. The current Speaker is also the first female Speaker, Nancy Pelosi.

The term for a Representative is two years. This means that every 2 years, they have to run for re-election.

While most bills can start in either chamber, bills dealing with taxes and spending money can ONLY be started in the House.

There are 435 Representatives from the 50 states; but did you know there are 6 other Representatives?These Representatives are elected by the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the other territories; but since those are not states, their Representatives don’t get to vote.

Interesting facts about Congress (the Senate)

In the Constitution, the Vice-President is technically the President of the Senate. But he can only vote if there is a tie. This does happen every now and then.

The term for a Senator is 6 years. This means that every 6 years, they have to run for re-election.

The Senate get to do some things the House doesn’t, such as approve who the President chooses for judges/justices and other positions in the government. If the president breaks the law, the Senate puts him on trial.

Senators were originally chosen by the state legislatures; for example, Georgia’s legislature in Atlanta would choose our 2 Senators; then, in 1913, the 17th Amendment changed things so that the people in the state could now directly vote for their Senators (as they already did for electing their Representatives).

ENFORCING LAWS

Which branch ENFORCES laws?

• First of all, a law is only good if it can be enforced. If there are no police, do you think bad people will obey the law? Of course not!

• The EXECUTIVE branch enforces laws, or carries them out. Think of the letter E for Executive and enforces laws.

*I think of the President carrying eggs (‘eggs’

sounds sort of like ‘executive). This helps me

remember the President carries out laws.*

‘Eggsecutive!’

Who leads the Executive Branch?

• The President is the head of this branch. He is the boss and commander of the military, the FBI (national police), and many other important offices. It is his job to see that the laws are enforced, or carried out.

The President has a term of 4 years. He

can only serve 2 terms, which is a total of 8

years.

President Obama & Vice-President Biden

• President Barack Obama became President in January 2009. His term is 4 years, and will end in 2013. If he gets re-elected, he will get 4 more years to be President, but he will have to stop being President in 2017.

• His Vice-President is Joe Biden. If the President dies, quits, or gets kicked out of office, the Vice-President becomes the new President.

Pres. Obama Vice-Pres. Biden

Interesting facts about the Presidents (just for fun; you don’t have to study this!)

• George Washington was the first president. He had only three men in his cabinet, or group of helpers. Barack Obama is the 44th president. There are 14 people in his cabinet, and over 2,000 people that work for his office.

• The White House if the president’s home and office.

• Eight times has the President died and the Vice-President became President. Only once has a President quit (Richard Nixon resigned, 1972) and the Vice-President (Gerald Ford) became President.

In 1972, Pres. Nixon (in front) was in trouble, and Congress was

about to kick him out; before they could, he went ahead and quit, leaving VP Ford (behind him, in

chair) to become President.

INTERPRETING LAWS

Which branch INTERPRETS laws?

• The JUDICIAL branch does. To interpret something means to tell the meaning of it.

• Sometimes it isn’t clear what Congress meant by a law. Other times, Congress’s law may not be fair according to the Constitution. Who reads the law to see if it’s fair? The court! And not just any court…

…The U.S. SUPREME Court!

• The Supreme Court is the highest court in our country. It decides if our laws are constitutional or unconstitutional.

• There are 9 people on this court. Instead of being called judges, they are called justices.

More about the Supreme Court:

• The President chooses who he wants to be a justice, but the Senate has to approve them.

• Once approved, the justices serve for life (or until they want to retire).

*To remember judicial = courts,

think Judge Judy (Judi)

Interesting facts about the Supreme Court (you don’t have to study these, but

they’re still cool things to think about)

• The ‘leader’ of the Supreme Court is called the Chief Justice.

• The current Chief Justice is John Roberts. He was chosen by President George W. Bush in 2005.

• Did you know a former President later became the Chief Justice? It happened in 1921, when William Howard Taft (who was president 1909-1913) was chosen by President Warren G. Harding. He served as Chief Justice until he died in 1930.

• Sometimes the President chooses someone, but the Senate doesn’t approve. This very famously happened in 1987, when President Ronald Reagan chose judge Robert Bork to be a Supreme Court justice. The Senate said no, so Bork never became a justice.

Chief Justice John Roberts

2005-present

Now, let’s see how a bill becomes a law.

HOW does Congress write laws?

• A bill can start in either chamber. (Let’s say for this time it starts in the Senate.)

• Senator Tuck wants to make a new law. She writes a bill. If enough people in her committee (small group) like her bill, the whole Senate will vote on it.

• If the Senate doesn’t pass it, it dies.

But if they pass it,

is it now a law?

NO! …because NOW it goes to the House!

• Senator Tuck’s bill has passed the Senate. Now it gets sent to the House, where they will debate and vote.

• If they don’t pass the bill, it dies.

• But if they DO pass it, is it NOW a law?

NO! After both chambers of Congress have passed the bill, it goes to the…

***PRESIDENT!***

• If he likes the bill, he will sign it, and NOW, FINALLY, the bill is a brand-new LAW!!!

• But if he doesn’t like it, he can VETO it.

• A veto doesn’t mean the bill is dead, but it sends it back to Congress where they get a chance to change it.

…but a veto VERY RARELY is able to get overridden.

• Why? Because instead of just getting a regular old majority, they have to get a 2/3 majority to override the veto!

• And it’s hard to get 2/3 of Congress to agree to do that.

• That’s 2 out of every 3 members of Congress!

Yeah, 2/3 of the House AND

Senate!

• If they override the veto, the bill becomes a law.

• If not, the bill is dead! R.I.P. buddy!

It’s not a simple thing!

• It’s a long, complicated process for your bill to become a law; and even then, the Supreme Court could later say it violated the Constitution! But this is very rare. Congratulate yourself, Senator! Your bill is now a law!

Thanks!

REVIEW: What are the ‘Three Branches’?

LEGISLATIVE EXECUTIVE(eggs-ecutive)

(and how can I remember them?)

JUDICIAL

The legislative branch ________ laws.

• There are ___ chambers of Congress. The _____ of _________, which is based on each state’s ________, and the ______, in which each state gets 2 members.

The executive branch ________ laws.

• The leader of the executive branch is the _________. He _______ laws, which means he makes sure they are ______ ___. He is elected to a term of ___ years, but he can serve for a total of ___ terms (which means ___ years).

• If he likes a bill Congress passes, he can ____ it.• If he doesn’t like it, he can ____ it, which sends it

back to Congress.

The judicial branch ________ laws.

• There are ___ judges who are part of the _____ Court. These judges are called ________. They must ____ laws, or tell what the laws ____. They decide whether laws are ________al or not. Theyare chosen by the _____ but must be approved by the ______. Once approved, they can serve for ____.

CHECK YOUR CHECKS! *Mini Quiz*

• 1: Congress passes a bill, but the President vetoes it.

This is the ___________ branch checking the ________ branch.

• 2: Congress overrides the President’s veto.

This is the ___________ branch checking the ________ branch.

• 3: Congress’s bill becomes law, but the Supreme Court declares it unconstitutional.

This is the ___________ branch checking the ________ branch

• 4: The President picks someone to be on the Supreme Court, but the Senate rejects him.

This is the ___________ branch checking the ________ branch

5. The Supreme Court decides something the President ordered was illegal.

This is the ___________ branch checking the ________ branch