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The Founding Fathers (The delegates to the
Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787), the framers of the
Constitution (The document which establishes the basic principles of
the American government), wanted to form a government that did not allow
one person to have too much authority or control. While under the rule
of the British king they learned that this could be a bad system. Yet
government under the Articles of Confederation (The first constitution
of the 13 American states, adopted in 1781 and later replaced in 1789 by
the Constitution of the United States) taught them that there was a need
for a strong centralized government.
There are links to each branch of the
United States Government at the bottom of this page.
With this in mind the framers wrote the
Constitution to provide for a separation of powers (The system of
dividing the powers and duties of a government into different branches),
or three separate branches of government. Each has its own
responsibilities and at the same time they work together to make the
country run smoothly and to assure that the rights of citizens are not
ignored or disallowed. This is done through our system of checks and
balances (Limits imposed on all branches of government by giving each
the right to amend acts of the other branches). A branch may use its
powers to check the powers of the other two in order to maintain a
balance of power among the three branches of government. The three
branches of the U.S. Government are the legislative, executive, and
judicial.
LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
The legislative branch of government is
made up of the Congress and government agencies, such as the Government
Printing Office and Library of Congress, that provide assistance to and
support services for the Congress. Article I of the Constitution
established this branch and gave Congress the power to make laws.
Congress has two parts, the House of Representatives and the Senate.
The U.S. Congress is made up of two parts,
the House of Representatives and the Senate. Congress meets at the U.S.
Capitol in Washington, D.C. Its primary duty is to write, debate, and
pass bills, which are then passed on to the President for approval.
Other Powers of Congress include, making
of laws controlling trade between states and between the United States
and other countries, makes laws about taxes and borrowing money,
approves the making of money and they can declare war on other
countries.
Each Congress lasts for two years. When
the two years are over, new Members of Congress are elected. We are
currently in the 108th Congress. Congress meets once every year and
usually last from January 3rd to July 31st, but in special cases, it can
last longer.
The way that states are represented in the
House and the Senate is different. Why is this? Well, when the Founding
Fathers were drafting the Constitution, there were debates over how
states would be represented. States with larger populations wanted more
representation than states with smaller populations. Meanwhile, states
with smaller populations favored equal representation. So, a compromise
was made -- Representation in the Senate would be equal, while
representation in the House would be based on population.
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
In the House, representation is based on
the number of people living in each state. There are a total of 435
representatives in the House. Each member represents an area of the
state, known as a congressional district. The number of representatives
is based on the number of districts in a state. Therefore, states with
larger populations have more representation than states with smaller
populations. Each state has at least one congressional district and
therefore one representative in the House.
Each representative serves a term of 2
years. When the term is over, people from that state may choose to elect
a new representative or keep the same one. There is no limit on the
number of terms a representative can serve.
The House has special jobs that only it
can do. It can, start laws that make people pay taxes, decide if a
government official should be put on trial before the Senate if he or
she commits a crime against the country.
THE SENATE
Each of the 50 states sends 2 people to
the Senate, so there are a total of 100 senators. This means that each
state has equal representation in the Senate. Each senator serves a term
of 6 years. When their 6 year term is over, the people from that state
may choose to elect a new senator or keep the same one. There is no
limit on the number of terms a senator can serve.
The Senate has special jobs that only it
can do. It can, say yes or no to any treaties the president makes, say
yes or no to any people the president recommends for jobs, such as
cabinet officers, Supreme Court justices, and ambassadors and it can
hold a trial for a government official who does something very wrong.
Source: Government Printing Office
http://www.gpo.gov
Links
House of Representatives
Senate
White House
United States Supreme Court |
