Forms+of+Government

//Task #1: Review the different parts of the Government and then go to the discussion section (note: study the above pictures and know which is which).//  == //Our federal government has three parts. They are the// **//Executive,//** //(President and about 5,000,000 workers)// **//Legislative//** //(Senate and House of Representatives) and// **//Judicial//** //(Supreme Court and lower Courts).// == //The// **//President of the United States//** //administers the// **//Executive//** //Branch of our government. He enforces the laws that the// **//Legislative//** //Branch (Congress) makes. The President is elected by United States citizens, 18 years of age and older, who vote in the presidential elections in their states. These votes are tallied by states and form the Electoral College system. States have the number of electoral votes which equal the number of senators and representatives they have. It is possible to have the most popular votes throughout the nation and NOT win the electoral vote of the Electoral College.// //The// **//Legislative//** //part of our government is called Congress. Congress makes our laws. Congress is divided into 2 parts. One part is called the Senate. There are 100// **//Senators//**//--2 from each of our states. Another part is called the House of Representatives. Representatives meet together to discuss ideas and decide if these ideas (bills) should become laws. There are// **//435 Representatives//**//. The number of representatives each state gets is determined by its population. Some states have just 2 representatives. Others have as many as 40. Both senators and representatives are elected by the eligible voters in their states.// //The// **//Judicial//** //part of our federal government includes the// **//Supreme Court//** //and// **//9 Justices//**//. They are special judges who interpret laws according to the Constitution. These justices only hear cases that pertain to issues related to the Constitution. They are the highest court in our country. The federal judicial system also has lower courts located in each state to hear cases involving federal issues.// //All three parts of our federal government have their main headquarters in the city of Washington D.C.//
 * [[image:http://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/teacher_lessons/images/xexecbrch.GIF width="160" height="161" align="bottom"]] || [[image:http://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/teacher_lessons/images/xlegsbrch.GIF width="160" height="160" align="bottom"]] || [[image:http://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/teacher_lessons/images/JxDCLBRCH.GIF width="160" height="159" align="center"]] ||

The [|delegates] to the Constitutional Convention faced a difficult challenge. They wanted to ensure a strong, [|cohesive] central government, yet they also wanted to ensure that no individual or small group in the government would become too powerful. Because of the colonies’ experience under the British monarchy, the delegates wanted to avoid giving any one person or group absolute control in government. Under the Articles of Confederation, the government had lacked centralization, and the delegates didn’t want to have that problem again. To solve these problems, the delegates to the Constitutional Convention created a government with three separate branches, each with its own distinct powers. This system would establish a strong central government, while insuring a balance of power. Governmental power and functions in the United States rest in three branches of government: the legislative, judicial, and executive. Article 1 of the Constitution defines the legislative branch and vests power to legislate in the Congress of the United States. The executive powers of the President are defined in Article 2. Article 3 places judicial power in the hands of one Supreme Court and inferior courts as Congress sees necessary to establish. A complete diagram of the branches of the U.S. Government may be found in the [|U.S. Government Manual] (PDF, 9.7k). Though in this system of a [|"separation of powers"] each branch operates independently of the others. However, there are built in [|"checks and balances"] to prevent tyrannous concentration of power in any one branch and to protect the rights and liberties of citizens. For example, the President can [|veto] bills approved by Congress and the President nominates individuals to serve in the Federal judiciary; the Supreme Court can declare a law enacted by Congress or an action by the President unconstitutional; and Congress can impeach the President and Federal court justices and judges.
 * To learn more, choose from the following: * //Branches of Government//
 * [|The Legislative Branch]
 * [|The Judicial Branch]
 * [|The Executive Branch]
 * [|The U.S. Government Manual] || [[image:http://bensguide.gpo.gov/images/ben/ben_navigate.jpg width="118" height="97" caption="Related links"]] ||