The Branches of the United Stated Federal Government
by Brittani Spitoleri
Honors U.S. History 1
Ms. Cook
The Legislative Branch
Conclusion
- Made up of Congress (House of Representatives and Senate)
- The House of Representatives has 435 members
- Census decides the number of representatives in each state and is taken every 10 years
- The Senate has 100 members (2 from each state)
- This branch makes the laws
- The vice president can break a tie but cannot get involved in the senate debates
In conclusion, the Legislative branch, the Executive branch and the Judicial branch were all put into effect because in the 1800's when the Constitution was written, nobody wanted one branch or one person in the government to gain too much power. This was the best way they could think of to keep the power divided and not abused.
The Executive Branch
- This Branch enforces the laws of the country
- Include the President and the Vice President
- Most powerful leader in the country
- Serves 4 year terms and can serve 2 terms
- Can be impeached for treason, bribery or other high crimes
- The President can grant pardons or freedom of punishment
- If the President dies or is removed from office, the Vice President takes his/her place as President
The Separation of Powers
The Judicial Branch
This is dedicated by the Constitution and it separates the Federal Government into three different branches and it is designed to keep any branch from getting too powerful.
- Made up of a system of courts
- headed by the Supreme Court
- Can strike down a state or law if a law is unconstitutional
- President appoints judges, Congress approves them
- Receives the position for life so they don't get influenced by political parties
- Each state has at least one district court for federal cases
- You can appeal your case to a higher court if you feel your trial was unfair
- Higher courts decides if the lower court tried the case properly