Checks and balances
The three branches.
What are the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches?
This is the system where the national government and state governments share power.
What is federalism?
This three-word opening to the Constitution shows that the power of the government comes from the citizens.
What is "We the People"?
This level of government is in charge of things that affect the whole country, like the military and printing paper money.
What is the Federal government?
These are powers specifically given to the National government, such as declaring war or dealing with other countries.
What are Delegated (or Expressed) powers?
The primary purpose of Checks and Balances.
What is to prevent one branch from overpowering the other and to maintain equal power between all 3 branches.
This is the name for the government in Washington, D.C., that makes rules for the whole country.
What is the federal (or national) government?
This is the "introduction" to the Constitution that explains the goals of our new government.
What is the Preamble?
This level of government is usually responsible for issuing driver's licenses and running local schools.
What is the State government?
This is the name for powers that belong only to the States, like setting rules for marriages or professional licenses.
What are Reserved powers?
This branch has the power to sign or veto bills passed by congress.
What is the Executive Branch?
These governments manage local issues, such as conducting elections and issuing driver's license.
What are state governments?
This system allows each branch of government to limit the powers of the other branches to prevent any one from becoming too powerful.
What are checks and balances?
Both the state and federal governments have the power to collect these to pay for things like roads and bridges.
What are taxes?
These are powers that both the federal and state governments use at the same time, such as making laws and opening banks.
What are Shared powers?
This branch can declare that a law violates the constitution.
What is the Judicial Branch?
While the Federal government handles the military, these local governments are usually in charge of schools and marriage licenses.
What are State Governments?
The purpose of the constitution.
What is distributing power among branches, and protecting individual rights.
This is the name for the head of a state's executive branch, similar to how the President is the head of the country.
Who is a Governor?
This is the specific power of the local government to make rules for how land in a town can be used for homes or businesses.
What is zoning?
If there is an emergency, the President can force this group to come to work for a meeting.
What is Congress
This is a power that both the state and federal governments have, like the power to collect money (taxes) or build roads.
What is a Shared Power?
This famous document was written and signed in 1787 to create the "rules" for how the United States government should work.
What is the Constitution?
If a state law and a federal law disagree, this clause in the Constitution says the federal law is the one that must be followed.
What is the Supremacy Clause?
According to the 10th Amendment, any power not given to the federal government belongs to these two groups.
Who are the States and the People?