2. Our Government Our Constitution called for a Federal System of Government. What does that mean?!?!?! It means that the powers of the government were divided between the national government and the governments of the states. In other words, the national government has certain powers and the state governments have certain powers. For example, the national government in Washington, D.C. can make you pay taxes but the state government of Virginia can make you go to school.
5. The Three Branches of the National Government are 1) The Legislative Branch (or Congress)- they make the laws. Congress has two houses; the Senate and House of Representatives. Each state gets two representatives in the Senate. If there are 50 states how many senators are there? In the House of Representatives, the number of representatives for each state is based on the population, or the number of people that live in that state. Which state do you think has more representatives in the House of Representatives, Virginia with a population of 8 million or California, with a population of 34 million?
6. The Three Branches Again Ratification After approval of 3/4 Of state legislatures
7. 2) The Judicial Branch (Supreme Court)- determines of laws made by Congress are constitutional. In other words, Congress cannot pass a law that breaks any of the ideas of the Constitution. For example, if Congress passes a law that makes the President the King of America, the Judicial Branch can overturn it.
8. 3) The Executive Branch (President) carries out the laws. For example Congress may pass a law that declares war on another country, but it would be the President’s job to carry out or fight that war.
