THE GOVERNMENT OF THE USA

1
THE GOVERNMENT OF THE USA

• The Constitution
• The Branches of Government
• The Separation of Powers
• Federal Government
• State Government
• Local Government

2
The US Constitution

• Created in 1787 by the Founding Fathers
• The Constitution gives power to the different
  branches of government e.g. the date of the
  Presidential election is set by the Constitution
  and the number of members in Congress
• The Constitution also give rights to each
  individual US citizen e.g. the right to free
  speech, the right to a fair trial and the right
  to bear arms
• These rights and powers are outlined in a series
  of articles

3
The Branches of Government

• There are 3 branches of government given their
  power by the Constitution
• Article 1
• Legislative Power is vested in the legislative
  to pass laws in the USA
• Article 2
• Executive Power is vested in the executive to
  carry out the laws passed by the Legislative
• Article 3
• Judicial Power is vested in the judicial to
  judge laws in the USA.

4
Legislative Branch

• The Legislative Branch is called Congress in the
  USA
• The Congress building is based on Capitol Hill in
  Washington
• The job of Congress is to debate and vote on any
  new laws affecting the whole of the USA
• Congress has the power to declare war on other
  countries and decides the funding given to
  departments of the US Government
• With the backing of two-thirds of both houses,
  Congress can make amendments to the Constitution.
• There are 2 parts to Congress

5
The House of Representatives

• 435 members
• The number of members from each of the 50 states
  is decided by the population and size of the
  state
• For example California has the most and Rhode
  Island the least.

6
The Senate

• 100 members
• 2 from each of the 50 states
• The Vice President is also the President of the
  Senate

7
Executive Branch

• The Office of the President is the main part of
  the executive branch
• The President selects a Cabinet of officials to
  help him carry out work of his office, although
  they must be accepted by Congress
• The job of the executive is to carry out the laws
  passed by Congress
• The President is not a member of Congress
• No President can stay in office longer than two
  terms 8 years

8
Judicial Branch

• The highest part of the Judicial Branch is the
  Supreme Court
• The job of the Supreme Court is to uphold the
  rights and powers given by the Constitution
• In the Supreme Court there are 8 Associate
  Justices and 1 Chief Justice
• They are appointed by the President

9
Separation of Powers

• This is the basis of the US system of government
• Power in the USA is divided between the three
  branches by the Constitution
• Each branch has the power to provide checks and
  balances on the other
• The ensures that no one branch or person has
  complete power in the USA

10
Federal Government

• Federal Government is controlled from Washington
  DC
• It is controlled by the 3 branches of government
• It has power over decisions which affect the
  whole of the USA
• Examples
• Defence
• Armed Forces
• Post Office
• Social Security
• Taxation

11
State Government

• Each state in the USA has its own Legislative,
  Executive and Judicial Branches
• The Executive is controlled by the Governor of
  the State e.g Arnold Schwarzenegger in California
• Each of the 50 states has power over areas which
  directly affect that state
• Examples
• Health
• Education
• Capital Punishment
• State Police

12
Local Government

• Within each state government there are elected
  officials at local, county and city levels
• These officials could be sheriffs, mayors,
  attorneys, dog catchers, coroners etc.
• This enables individuals to participate in the
  electoral processes of the USA in a wide variety
  of ways