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