Our federal government has three parts. They are the Executive, [President and about 5,000,000 workers] Legislative [Senate and House of
Representatives] and Judicial [Supreme Court and lower Courts]. The President of the United States administers the Executive Branch of our government. The President enforces the laws that the Legislative Branch [Congress] makes. The President is elected by United States citizens, 18 years of age and older, who vote in the presidential elections in their states. These votes are tallied by states and form the Electoral
College system. States have the number of electoral votes which equal the number of senators and representatives they have. It is possible to have the most popular votes throughout the nation and NOT win the electoral vote of the Electoral College. The Legislative part of our government is called Congress. Congress makes our laws. Congress is divided into 2 parts. One part is called the Senate. There are 100 Senators--2 from each of our states. Another
part is called the House of Representatives. Representatives meet together to discuss ideas and decide if these ideas [bills] should become laws. There are 435 Representatives. The number of representatives each state gets is determined by its population. Some states have just 2 representatives. Others have as many as 40. Both senators and representatives are elected by the eligible voters in their states. The Judicial part of our federal government
includes the Supreme Court and 9 Justices. They are special judges who interpret laws according to the Constitution. These justices only hear cases that pertain to issues related to the Constitution. They are the highest court in our country. The federal judicial system also has lower courts located in each state to hear cases involving federal issues. All three parts of our federal government have their main headquarters in the city of Washington D.C.
There are three sections, or branches, of the U.S. government. Find out what they are and how they work together through the system known as checks and balances.
Executive branch
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The Resolute Desk in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C.
Photograph by SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty Images
The president is the head of the executive branch and the country. He or she is responsible for signing and enforcing laws passed by Congress. This branch also includes the vice president and the president’s group of advisors, known as the Cabinet.
Powers of the president
—Makes treaties [that must be approved by the Senate]
—Appoints judges and ambassadors [who must be approved by the Senate]
—Calls Congress into session during “extraordinary occasions”
—Enforces laws
—Vetoes bills
—Supports legislation
—Issues executive orders, rules that don’t need Congress’s approval
—Grants pardons to federal offenders
legislative branch
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Photograph by Tim Graham / Getty Images
The legislative branch consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate, which together form the United States Congress. This branch has the power to “check,” or limit, the president’s power. The law-creation system in the United States, in which members are voted in by the people. Congress writes and revises bills to send to the president to sign into laws. If the president vetoes one, they can override the veto if two-thirds of the representatives disagree with the president and make the bill into a law.
Powers of Congress
—Creates bills that can be voted into laws
—Overrides the president’s vetoes with a two-thirds majority
—Confirms or rejects the president’s appointments
—Confirms or rejects the president’s treaties
—Declares war
—Impeaches the president
judicial branch
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Exterior of the Supreme Court
Photograph by Richard Sharrocks / Getty Images
The court system in the United States is known as the judicial branch. The Supreme Court is the highest court in this system.
Powers of the Supreme Court
— Decides if the laws passed by Congress or executive orders signed by the president are constitutional and legal
—Declares acts from the president and Congress “unconstitutional”
—Hears cases whose rulings in lower courts have been challenged
From the Nat Geo Kids book Weird But True Know-It-All: U.S. Presidents by Brianna Dumont, revised for digital by Laura Goertzel