The Branches Of The Government

The Judicial Branch

The judicial branch is the part of the U.S. government that interprets the law and administers justice. You know how judging is making a decision? The judicial branch of the U.S. government makes decisions — interpretations — of laws.

The Legislative Branch

The legislative branch is the part of the United States government that creates laws. Whenever you read about congresspeople in the Senate or House debating a law, you're reading about the legislative branch: the branch of the government that writes, debates, and passes laws. Making laws can be called legislating.

Amending The Constitution

The means by which an alteration to the U.S. Constitution, whether a modification, deletion, or addition, is accomplished.

The Executive Branch

executive branch definition. The branch of federal and state government that is broadly responsible for implementing, supporting, and enforcing the laws made by the legislative branch and interpreted by the judicial branch.

Interest Groups

interest group definition. An organized group that tries to influence the government to adopt certain policies or measures. Also called pressure group. (See lobby.) The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition.

Political Parties

(politics) an organization of people who share the same views about the way power should be used in a country or society (through government, policy-making, etc)"

Separation Of Powers

A fundamental principle of the United States government, whereby powers and responsibilities are divided among the legislative branch, executive branch, and judicial branch. The officials of each branch are selected by different procedures and serve different terms of office; each branch may choose to block action of the other branches through the system of checks and balances. The framers of the Constitution designed this system to ensure that no one branch would accumulate too much power and that issues of public policy and welfare would be given comprehensive consideration before any action was taken.

Federalism

A system of government in which power is divided between a national (federal) government and various regional governments. As defined by the United States Constitution, federalism is a fundamental aspect of American government, whereby the states are not merely regional representatives of the federal government, but are granted independent powers and responsibilities. With their own legislative branch, executive branch, and judicial branch, states are empowered to pass, enforce, and interpret laws, provided they do not violate the Constitution. This arrangement not only allows state governments to respond directly to the interests of their local populations, but also serves to check the power of the federal government. Whereas the federal government determines foreign policy, with exclusive power to make treaties, declare war, and control imports and exports, the states have exclusive power to ratify the Constitution. Most governmental responsibilities, however, are shared by state and federal governments: both levels are involved in such public policy issues as taxation, business regulation, environmental protection, and civil rights.

Duties Of Citizenship

Citizenship is the status of being a citizen. If you have citizenship in a country, you have the right to live there, work, vote, and pay taxes! Citizenship comes from the Latin word for city, because in the earlier days of human governments, people identified themselves as belonging to cities more than countries. Citizenship is more than merely living somewhere. If you have citizenship, you have a whole set of rights that non-citizens might not have. Usually you have citizenship in the country you're born in, but if you're an immigrant from somewhere else, you have to apply for it.

The Bill Of Rights

In the United States, the Bill of Rights is the first ten amendments to the Constitution. The purpose of the Bill of Rights is to provide specific freedoms to citizens and limit the power of the government.

Liberties And Rights

The rights belonging to an individual by virtue of citizenship, especially the fundamental freedoms and privileges guaranteed by the 13th and 14th Amendments to the US Constitution and by subsequent acts of Congress, including civil liberties, due process, equal protection of the laws, and freedom from discrimination.

Election Campaigns

the ​period of ​time ​immediately before an ​election when ​politicians ​try to ​persuade ​people to ​vote for them