The document provides information about the three branches of the US government as established by the Constitution: 1) The legislative branch is Congress, comprised of the House of Representatives and Senate, which has the power to create and pass laws. 2) The executive branch is led by the President, who enforces laws and commands the military. 3) The judicial branch includes the Supreme Court and lower federal courts, which interpret laws and the Constitution.

1. The CONSTITUTION & THE
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

2. Learning Goal
• SWBAT Identify and Explain how the
U.S. Constitution organizes the
government.
Major Part Purpose
1. Preamble
2. Articles
3. Amendments

3. This is the Preamble (or introduction) of
the Constitution.

4. THE THREE BRANCHES OF
GOVERNMENT: The 7 Articles
* Legislative
* Executive
* Judicial

6. THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
House of Representatives
and
Senate

7. LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
• Also called Congress.
• Meet in the Capitol
Building in
Washington, DC.

8. LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
• Bicameral - 2 Houses
• House of Representatives
• Senate
• Responsibility is to make (create) laws.
• Dual Role - constituents needs & wants and
considering what is good for nation as a
whole.

9. HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES
• 435 Seats
• Number of seats determined by state
population.
• 19 Committees - 84 sub-committees
• Referred to as the “lower” house.
• Leader is called Speaker of the House.

10. HOUSE OF
REPRESENATIVES
• Has sole power to Impeach President.
• All bills to raise money must come from the
House of Representatives.
• All bills (laws) must pass in the House
before going to the President.

11. SENATE
• 100 seats -2 seats per state - separate vote
• 16 Committees and 69 sub- committees
• Referred to as the “upper” house
• Vice President is President of Senate but
NO vote unless a tie.
• Leader = President pro tempore
• Nicknamed “Millionaires Club”

12. SENATE
• Power to try impeachment - 2/3rd vote
• Senate approval needed on bills to raise
money.
• All laws must pass in the Senate before
going to the President.

13. LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
• Powers of Congress
• Oversee elections
• Set rules within the legislative branch
• To tax, to borrow money, to coin money
• Set rules of naturalization
• regulate commerce
• Establish Post Offices

14. LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
• Powers continued….
• To declare war
• To raise and support armies
• To make all laws that are necessary and
proper

15. LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
• Powers that Congress DOES NOT have..
• Can not suspend Habeas Corpus
• Can not tax inter-state commerce
• Can not take money from treasury unless a
law is passed to do so
• Can not give a title of nobility

16. THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH

17. EXECUTIVE BRANCH
• Responsible for enforcing the laws.
• President is the head of the Executive
Branch.
• President provides leadership by setting
goals and developing policy.

18. EXECUTIVE BRANCH
• Must be a natural born citizen
• Must be at least 35 years old
• Must be 14 years a resident within the
United States
• Term is for 4 years - only 2 in a row
• Must give state of the union to Congress

19. EXECUTIVE BRANCH
• Must take an oath as follows, “I do
solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute
the Office of President of the United States,
and will to the best of my ability, preserve,
protect and defend the Constitution of the
United States”

20. EXECUTIVE BRANCH
• Powers of the President….
• Commander and Chief of the Army and
Navy (expressly granted in Article II)
• Can grant pardons and Can veto laws.
• Can call Congress into session.
• Make treaties, appoint Supreme Court
Justices and Ambassadors - Senate approval

21. EXECUTIVE BRANCH
• Can be impeached for the following
reasons:
• Treason
• Bribery
• Other high Crimes and Misdemeanors

22. EXECUTIVE BRANCH
• President creates cabinet - advisors
• Department of State, Treasury, Interior,
Agriculture, Justice, Labor, Commerce,
Veterans’ Affairs, Defense, Health and
Human Services, Housing and Urban
Development, Transportation, Energy,
Education and NOW Homeland Security

24. THE JUDICIAL BRANCH

25. JUDICIAL BRANCH
• Responsible for interpreting the law in
regards to the Constitution
• Final court of appeals for state and federal
cases.
• Supreme Court justices are appointed by the
President, approved by the Senate, and they
hold their office for life or retirement.

26. JUDICIAL BRANCH
• Currently - 9 Justices - only can be changed
by Constitutional Amendment
• Justices hear 150 cases per year - over 5000
requests
• 4 Justices need to agree to hear a case
• Session is October through June
• Removed by impeachment or conviction

27. JUDICIAL BRANCH
• Qualifications - nothing listed in the
Constitution
• Unofficial qualifications are:
• Politically active
• Lawyer or Lower Court Judge
• Same political party as the President

28. JUDICIAL BRANCH
• Article III is where we define treason,
establishes the court systems, lists the
powers of the federal courts and describes
the kind of cases the court can hear.
• Treason = committing an overt action - it
must be seen
• Talking about treason is not a crime
• Can not punish family

29. JUDICIAL BRANCH
• Judicial Act of 1789
• Created three part court system
• Established the Office of Attorney General
• Job of Attorney General is to represent the
USA in the Supreme Court and to be a legal
advisor to the Executive Branch

30. JUDICIAL BRANCH
S u p r e m e C o u r t
9 J u s t i c e s
C i r c u i t C o u r t s
1 3 C o u r t o f A p p e a l s
S t a t e v s . S t a t e
D i s t r i c t C o u r t s
T r i a l C o u r t s
C i v i l C a s e s
C r i m i n a l C a s e s
C h i e f J u s t i c e
H e a d o f S u p r e m e C o u r t

31. JUDICIAL BRANCH
• Civil Cases - sue, divorce, contracts, any
case that does not involve a crime
• Criminal Cases - commit a crime
• Defendant - the person on trial
• Plaintiff - person who brought case to court
• Prosecutor - represents city, state, people in
a criminal case

32. JUDICIAL BRANCH
• Influences on the Court
• Precedents - past decisions
• Personal legal views - strict interpretation
means to look at intent of founding fathers –
loose (broad) interpretation means you need
to take into account changes in society
• Justices interaction

33. JUDICIAL BRANCH
• Influences continued……
• Public Opinion, Congress, and the President

37. Questions: Visual Skills
• What are the ways an
amendment can be
proposed? Do you
think it is easy or
difficult to propose an
amendment? Why?
• What are the ways an
amendment is ratified?
• In what way is it more
difficult to ratify an
amendment than to
propose one?

39. • Review
Which of the following is a power expressly
granted to the president in Article II of the
Constitution?
• A.
executive privilege
• B.
the line item veto
• C.
impoundment of funds
• D.
commander in chief of the armed forces

40. • Review:
The Constitution grants the House of
Representatives the right to
• A.
confirm presidential appointments to executive
positions
• B.
initiate all impeachment proceedings
• C.
approve treaties with other nations
• D.
override objections by the Senate to proposed
legislation

41. • REVIEW:
What power is granted to the vice president
by the Constitution?
• A.
advice and consent to presidential treaties and
appointments
• B.
tie-breaking power in votes by the Senate
• C.
floor leadership in the House of Representatives
• D.
power to veto legislative bills

42. • REVIEW:
A presidential veto of a legislative bill may be
overridden by
• A.
a 2/3 vote of either house of Congress
• B.
5 of 9 Supreme Court justices
• C.
a majority vote of both houses of Congress
• D.
a 2/3 vote of both houses of Congress