The Three Branches of Government
It's like a three legged stool! By: Callie Ross
Legislative Branch of Government.
- The Legislative Branch is also known as Congress.
- It is stated in Article 1 of the U.S Constitution .
- There are two parts of Congress which also can be called bicameral.
- They include, The House of Representatives and the Senate.
- Congress approves the president's desicions and can approve or reject bills/laws
- This picture shows the Capitol Building. It is located in Washington, DC and is where the Congress meets.
Senate in the Legislative Branch
- A Senator salary is 174,000 dollars a year.
- The number of Senators is two for every state. 100 in all
- If a Senator is a Senate leader and is one of the main people in charge, then their salary is a little more, 193,000 dollars a year.
- The length of term for a member of the Senate is 6 years.
- The number of times a Senator can be re-elected varies from state to state.
- In order to be a member of the Senate you have to be at least 30 years old.
- You should also be a citizen of the United States and have been for at least 9 years.
House of Representatives in the Legislative Branch
- The salary of a member of the House is the same as one in the Senate.
- If someone is speaker of the House or a majority or minority leader which is a bigger responsibility the yearly salary is 223,500 dollars.
- The party leaders which are like Senate leaders make 193,000 dollars.
- The length of term for a representative in the House is 2 years.
- The number of representatives from each state is determined by its population.
- To be in the House of Representatives, one of the qualifications include, being at least 25 years old.
- Also representatives need to be a U.S citizen for at least 7 years, and to be a member of the state they would like to represent.
- The picture to the right shows how the amount of people in a state determines the amount of representatives. Therefore, New Hampshire has a bigger population than Louisiana.
Executive Branch of Government and qualifications of the president!
- The Executive Branch is stated in Article 2 of the Constitution.
- The Executive Branch of Government includes the chief executive, which is the president.
- The president's salary is 400,000 dollars a year.
- The Constitution gives the president leadership, but does not give him power to do everything he wants.
- The President is the only one who can veto a bill which means he can deny that it turns into a law. But, Congress can pass the bill if two thirds of both houses vote to. The President chooses his cabinet, ambassadors and other federal participants but Congress needs to agree. Mostly, the President makes important decisions and Congress has to support it.
- A president needs to be a good leader, so they need to have these qualifications to be elected...
- They have to be at least 35 years old.
- Have been a US citizen for at least 14 years.
The vice president
- The vice president is the one who takes the president's place if during his term, the president passes away, or gets fired from the job. If he remains his role the whole time, the vice president is the one who acts as an assistant.
- The vice president's salary is less than the president, it is 221,000 dollars a year.
- The qualifications of a vice president are the same as a president's
List of President's Cabinets
- Department of Agriculture: Secretary Thomas J Vilsak. Helps farmers import and export crops.
- Department of Commerce: Secretary Penny Pritzker.Works on Foreign trade and economical growth.
- Department of Defense: Secretary Chuck Hagel. Protects security of armed forces.
- Department of Education: Secretary Arne Duncan.Responsible for loans and exceptional education.
- Department of Energy: Secretary Ernest Moniz. Responsible for energy technology and regulating various uses of energy.
- Department of Health and Human Services: Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. Researches cures for diseases, helps the poor, provides Medicare, and social security.
- Department of Homeland Security:Secretary Jeh Johnson. Includes the Secret Service, Coast Guard, and more. Prevents country from terrorist attacks.
- Department of Housing and Urban Development: Secretary Shaun L.S Donovan. Provides houses at a reasonable price.
- Department of Interior: Secretary Sally Jewel. Manages over hundreds of parks and historical sites. Protects our countries natural resources.
- Department of Justice: Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole.Supervises federal laws.
- Department of Labor: Secretary Thomas E Perez. Responsible for employment and good working conditions.
- Department of State: Secretary John Kerry. Supervises anything foreign or overseas.
- Department of Transportation: Secretary Anthony Foxx. Supervises Coast Guard, waterways, railroads, and more.
- Department of the Treasury: Secretary Jacob Lew. Works with the President and Congress with economical situations including Federal Taxes.
- Department of Veterans Affairs: Secretary Eric K. Shinseki. Provides service to US veterans.
Presidential Succession
George Washington (1789-1797, served two terms) - John Adams
John Adams (1797-1801) - Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson (1801-1809,served two terms )- Aaron Burr, George Clinton
James Madison (1809-181,-served two terms)- George Clinton, Elbridge Gerry
James Monroe (1817-1825,served two terms)- Daniel Tompkins
John Quincy Adams (1825-1829)- John Calhoun
Andrew Jackson (1829-1837, served two terms)- John Calhoun, Martin Van Buren
Martin Van Buren (1837-1841)- Richard Johnson
William H Harrison (1841-died during his term) -John Tyler
John Tyler (1841-1845) Tyler was the vice president that took over once William Harrison died so he didn't have his own vice president.
James K Polk (1845-1849) -George Dallas
Zachary Taylor (1849-1850- died during his term) -Millard Fillmore
Millard Fillmore (1850-1853) - Was the vice president for Zachary Taylor, and took over when he died so he didn't have his own vice president.
Franklin Pierce (1853-1857) - William King
James Buchanan (1857-1861) - John Breckinridge
Abraham Lincoln (1861-1865) - Hannibal Hamlin, Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson (1865-1869) - none
Ulysses S Grant (1869- 1877, served two terms) - Schuyler Colfax
Rutherford Hayes (1877-1881) - William Wheeler
James Garfield (1881-died during his term) - Chester Arthur
Chester Arthur (1881-1885) did not have a vice president because he was one and took over when James Garfield died.
Grover Cleveland (1885-1889) - Thomas Hendriks
Benjamin Harrison (1889-1893) - Levi Morton
Grover Cleveland (1893-1897-, served two terms) - Adlai Stevenson
William McKinley (1897-1901) - Garret Hobart, Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909 - he served two terms) -Charles Fairbanks
William Taft (1909-1913)- James Sherman
Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921)-Thomas Marshall
Warren Harding (1921-1923)- Calvin Coolage
Calvin Coolage (1923-1929) - even though Coolage took over Harding's term when he died, Coolage served another term and had a vice president-Charles Dawes
Herbert C Hoover (1929-1933) - Charles Curtis
Franklin Roosevelt (1933-1945)- John Garner, Henry Wallace, Harry S Truman
Harry S Truman (1945-1953, served two terms) - Alben Barkley
Dwight David Eisenhower (1953-196, served two terms)- Richard Nixon
John F Kennedy (1961-1963)- Lyndon Johnson
Lyndon Johnson (1963-1969- served one year of JFK's term and served his own 4 year term)
His vice president was Hubert Humphrey
Richard Nixon (1969-1974)- Spiro Agnew, Gerald Ford
Gerald Ford (1974-1977) - Nelson Rockefeller
Jimmy Carter (1977-1981) Walter Mondale
Ronald Reagan (1981-1989-he served two terms) - George H W Bush
George H W Bush (1989-1993) - James Dan Quayle
Bill Clinton (1993-2001-served two terms) - Al Gore
George W Bush (2001-2009 - served two terms) Richard Cheney
Barack Obama (2009- and got re-elected so he will serve to 2015)
Judicial Branch and responsibilities of Supreme Court!
- The Judicial Branch is stated in Article 3 of the U.S Constitution.
- The Supreme Court is the leader of this branch, and they interpret the laws which means make opinions if they're reasonable or not.
- This branch can overrule a law and cancel it if they think it is not beneficial in any way and a bad decision.
- The Judicial Branch also has the power of a chief justice- which is a ranking of judge- and that person can judge an impeached person and decide if they're innocent or guilty.
Current members of the Supreme Court !
Antonin Scalia
Anthony M Kennedy
Clarence Thomas
Ruth B Ginsburg
Steven G Breyer
John G Roberts
Samuel Alito Jr
Sonya Sotomayor
Elena Kagan
- The salary for different members in the Supreme Court varies but it is mostly in the two hundred thousands yearly.
- The length of term for a Supreme Court Justice is for a lifetime, or until they retire.
- The process in which a justice gets appointed is that the president appoints them and Congress has to agree in order for them to be in the Supreme Court.
Two Supreme Court cases!
- One Supreme Court case was Brown vs Board of Education. This was when Plessy Brown protested segregated education. She was African American and wanted to go to the same schools as whites. It went all the way to the Supreme Court and the judges allowed whites with African Americans going to school together.
- Another Supreme Court case was when a slave named Dred Scott asked for freedom. The justices decided that the Constitution did not give freedom to slaves. Slaves were treated as property.
- Watch the video to see more about Brown vs Board of Education and a few other court cases