The Federal Government (Branches)

Other Roles of Congress

All tax and spending bills must originate form the House of Representatives and gain approval in both the House and Senate before moving on to the president for approval.

Appeal Courts

Appeal courts are the next level of federal courts. Appeal courts review district court decisions in which the losing side is asked if they want a review of the verdict. The verdict can remain the same, be overturning, or just be cancelled. If the verdict is cancelled, the court will have a retrial. There are 14 appeal courts in the U.S.

How Congress "checks" the Executive Branch

Congress checks the Executive Branch by monitoring its actions and investigating possible abuses of power. The House can impeach or charge any federal official for wrongdoing. If found guilty the federal official is removed from his or her position. Only Senate can ratify treaties made by the president and appointments of federal officials.

The Role of the Congress

Congress' main job is to make the nation's laws and to control government spending. The government cannot spend money unless Congress sets aside funds.

Chief Executive

The Chief Executive is the president. The president's job is to be the nation's chief executive, chief diplomat, commander in cief, chief of state, and legislative leader. As chief executive, the president is responsible for carrying out the nation's laws.

The Judicial Branches Roles

The Constitution doesn't describe the duties of the justices. Instead, the duties have developed from laws and as needs and circumstances of the nation have developed. The main duty of the justices is to hear and rule cases.

The House of Representatives

The House of Representatives is the lower house of the Legislatives Branch. Currently it is made up of 435 people and 6 nonvoting members. The number of representatives depends on a state's population. Over 24 million people live in Texas, so we have 32 representatives.

How the House of Representatives was created

The House was created through Roger Sherman's The Great Compromise. The bigger states wanted the number of representatives depend on their population. The smaller states argued for equal representation. Roger Sherman came up with the Great Compromise, where the bigger states and smaller states both got what they wanted. That is how the Senate and House was created.

How the Judicial Branch "checks" other branches

The Judicial Branch checks other branches by examining the laws and actions of local, state, and national governments and to cancal them if they violate the Constitution. This is called judicial review.

The Judicial Branch

The Judicial Branch is made up of the Supremem Court and lower courts.

Separation of Power in the Legislative Branch

The Legislative Branch is made up of two houses to further divide the amount of power. The two houses are the House of Representatives and the Senate.

The Legislative Branch

The Legislative Branch is the law-making body of the nation. It is also known as Congress.

The Senate

The Senate is the upper house of the Legislative Branch. Each state has 2 representatives, regardless of population. This emerged from the smaller states' ideas of equal representation.

The Supreme Court Shaping Public Policy

The Supreme Court is both a political and a legal institution. It is a legal institution because it is responsible for settling disputes and interpreting the meaning of the laws. It is a political institution because when it applies the law to specific disputes, it often determines what national policy will be.

The Supreme Court

The Supreme Court is the highest level of federal justice. The Supreme Court is composed of nine justices:the chief justice of the United States and 8 associate justices. Congress sets the number of Supremem Court Justices can has the power to change it.

Branches of Government

The U.S. government was divided into three branches to divide power. The three branches are called the legislative, executive, and judicial branch. Each branch has its own role in the government.

Chief Diplomat

The chief diplomat or president directs foreign policy, appoints ambassadors, and negotiates with other nations.

Chief of State

The chief of state's role is to recieve foreign ambassadors or heads of state, visiting foreign nations, or bestowing honors on Americans.

The Executive Branch

The executive branch carries out the laws that Congress passes. The executive branch is made up of offices, departments, and agencies.

The Federal Government

The government of the United States of America has been quite successful. It has been unchanged for over 200 years.

The Lower Courts

The lower courts are called district courts. They handle criminal and civil cases. There are 91 district courts in the nation, with at least one in every state.

Legislative Leader

The president fulfills this role by proposing laws to Congress and working to see that they are passed. In the annual State of the Union address, the president presents goals fof the legislation.

Commander in Chief

The president is also the commander in chief of th armed forces. The president can use the military to intervenve or offer assistance in crises at home or around the world. The commander in chief cannot declare war though because Congress holds that power.

Departments

There are 14 executive departments. Each department is responsible for a different area of government.

Separation of Power

To prevent other branches from becoming too powerful, the Framers decided to use Baron de Montesquieu's idea of separating the powers of government and balanced against each other. This is called checks and balances.