Capitol Building, Washington, D.C.: the site of all Congressional action.
Our Government
Did You Know?
Our Nation is a Republic.
The Thirteen Colonies that began this country joined to form the United States. The people of the United States created a government that is a "republic" in the late 1700's. A republic is defined in the Constitution as a government, "of the people, for the people, and by the people". This type of government was created to keep the power of the United States citizens and the elected officials equal. However, the republic of the United States was founded by a group of people who were known slave owners. Therefore, women, slaves, and tribal Americans were not initially allowed the right to vote.
Our Government is Made Up of Three Branches.
The United States government is made up of three branches: the Legislative Branch, Judicial Branch, and Executive Branch.
In order to ensure that one branch does not become more powerful than the other, a system of checks and balances was established. Each of the three branches serves a different function within this system. In the Constitution, the President is given the power to veto a bill that has been voted upon by Congress. The Supreme Court has the power to declare “unconstitutional” a law voted by Congress. Congress, on the other hand, has the power to impeach Supreme Court Justices and/or the President. They have this power under Articles I and II of the Constitution, but can only impeach for "high crimes and misdemeanors". This is an example of how the government uses checks and balances to be sure that no one branch has more power than another.
The picture provided above is a great graphic to show how each branch of government is "checked" by the other so that no one branch can be accused of abusing its power in the government over another branch.
*Here is a website you can visit for more information about the Three Branches of Government, their functions, and an index of the U.S. departments and agencies. It provides a review of the material that we have covered in the classroom in Social Studies.
www.usa.gov/Agencies/federal.shtml
*This website below also provides a description of the roles of the three branches of Government, the Constitution of the United States, and state and local government. If you are interested in seeing the types of bills that Congress is examining right now, you can also find them on this website.
www.whitehouse.gov/our-government
*On the following website, you can review information about how laws are made, as well as find further details about the work of Congress.
kids.clerk.house.gov/young-learners/lesson.html?intID=29-