Of the People, For the
People, By the People
Essential Question: What do we
need the government for anyway?
What would life be like without
governments?
Learning Target: I will be able to
define the rolls of government and
I will be able to differentiate
governments by one, or by few, or
by many.
Essential Question: How is the
power of the United States
government separated and
limited?
Learning Target: I will be able to
describe how the U.S. Constitution
limits the power of the
government and creates a system
of checks and balances.
A New Kind of Government
for a New Nation
After the American Revolution won
independence for the 13 British colonies in
America, a new government had to be formed.
A group of men who came to be known as
“the Founding Fathers” met to decide what kind
of government we would have to replace the
King of England and the British government.
A Constitutional
Democratic Republic
The Founding Fathers discussed and
debated and eventually decided on a type of
government that would be limited and be led
by representatives elected by the people
(citizens of the new nation).
Together, they wrote a document, the
Constitution of The United States, that would
form the outline or framework for this
government.
Limiting of Powers
To keep the government from having
unlimited power over the people, the
Constitution was written to tell what the
government could do and what it could not do.
The Founding Fathers also specified that
the leaders would be elected by the citizens
rather than inherit their positions like kings and
other royalty. They also defined terms of time
to serve after which leaders would have to be
re-elected to stay in office. So leaders get to
lead only as long as the citizens allow by vote.
Separation of Powers
They also did not want all of the power of
the government to be in the hands of just one
person or even a small group of people. So
the Constitution divides the power of the
government into three branches. Each
branch has specific powers given to it.
Anything one branch does can be undone by
one of the other two branches. This creates a
system of checks and balances so that no one
person or group of people becomes too
powerful.
Three Branches of Government
Legislative
Branch
Executive
Branch
Root word:
legislate – to
create a new
law
Root word:
execute – to
carry out an
order or law
Congress:
Senate
& House of
Representatives
President:
Office of the
White House
& Cabinet
Judicial
Branch
Root word:
adjudicate – to
judge or make an
official decision
about a problem
Court System:
Supreme Court
& lower courts
Legislative
Branch
Legislate – to create a new law.
Article 1 of The Constitution gives the
power to write new laws to the legislative
branch know as Congress. Congress is
divided into two bodies or “Houses”, one at
each end of the Capitol Building in
Washington, D.C. These two bodies are the
Senate and the House of Representatives.
Senate
At the north end of the capitol building is the
Senate chamber or room. There are two senators
elected from each state, so there are 100 U.S.
Senators. They are elected for six year terms and
both senators represent their entire state.
The two senators from Texas are:
John Cornyn
Ted Cruz
House of Representatives
At the south end of the capitol building
is the House of Representatives chamber or
room. Representatives are elected from each
state based on population, so there are a
different number of Representatives from
each state. California has the most, 53 and
several states like Wyoming and Alaska only
have 1. There are 453 Representatives and
36 are from Texas.
House of Representatives
Representatives are elected for two year
terms and represent only their home part of the
state called a district. Saginaw and the west side
of Fort Worth to Weatherford and Decatur are in
district 12.
Our Representative from District 12:
Kay Granger
House of Representatives
Saginaw and the west side of Fort Worth to
Weatherford and up to Decatur are in district 12.
https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/TX
Legislative
Branch
Congress has the power to:
• Print money
• Approve Presidential appointments
• Declare war
Executive
Branch
Execute – to carry out a command or
law.
Article 2 of The Constitution outlines the
office of the President of the United States.
The President’s power is to sign into law bills
passed by Congress or to veto bills and send
them back to Congress.
Executive
Branch
As chief executive, the President’s job is
to make sure all of the laws are enforced and
to keep the government running smoothly.
The President is elected by the electoral
college and serves a four year term. He then
can be re-elected once to serve a second and
final term.
Executive
Branch
The executive branch includes the
President, Vice-president and the Cabinet.
The Cabinet is currently made up of 15
department heads who aide the President in
making sure the government runs properly
and the laws are carried out. The Cabinet is
appointed by the President and confirmed by
the Senate.
Executive
Branch
The executive branch has the power to:
• Enforce the law
• Make treaties with other countries
• Collect taxes
The President also has to report to the Congress
on the State of the Union from time to time.
Traditionally this is done as a speech.
Judicial
Branch
Adjudicate – to judge or make an official
decision about a problem
Article 3 of The Constitution created the
Judicial Branch or court system. This includes the
Supreme Court, at the highest level and also lower
level federal courts.
Judicial
Branch
The Supreme Court is made up of nine justices.
Eight are associate justices and one is Chief Justice.
Each was appointed by the President at the time of
their appointment and then confirmed by the
Senate. Justices are appointed for life. They may
retire, or can be impeached by Congress if they
violate the law.
Judicial
Branch
The Supreme Court is responsible for interpreting
the law and deciding if new laws are
constitutional. If the Court decides a law is
unconstitutional, the law is struck down and is no
longer a law. So the Court can balance the power
of Congress and the President.
Your Name
Mr. Hunter
Social Studies 6 Period ?
Feb. 18, 2015
Divided Government Power
Essential Questions:
Learning Target:
Write your paragraph here to answer the
two essential questions.
Rap video for C Notes link
22
Sources:
Official Government Websites:
U. S. Congress https://www.congress.gov/
U. S. Senate http://www.senate.gov/
U.S. House of Representatives http://www.house.gov/content/learn/
The Whitehouse www.whitehouse.gov
U. S. Supreme Court http://www.supremecourt.gov/
Architect of the Capitol http://www.capitol.gov/
Congress For Kids : http://www.congressforkids.net/index.htm
Macmillan Dictionary : www.macmillandictionary.com
Google Images
Discovery Education http://www.discoveryeducation.com/