3. Making the Laws: The Legislative Branch
What are the two houses of the Legislative Branch, or Congress?
The Senate and The House of Representatives.
Who is the head of the Executive Branch?
The President of the United States.
What article of the Constitution describes the Judicial Branch?
Article III of the Constitution describes the judicial branch.
What are checks and balances?
Checks and balances ensure that no one branch becomes too powerful. For example, Congress can pass laws, but the president can approve or veto them. The president's power is a check on the power of Congress.
How many delegates met at the Constitutional Convention?
55 delegates from 12 different states showed up at the Constitutional Convention.
What does impeach mean?
To accuse or charge a government official, such as the president, with a crime or misconduct.
What is the Executive Branch's main responsibility?
Carry out laws written and passed by Congress.
What does the Judicial Branch do?
This branch interprets the nation's laws and the Constitution, and it also settles disputes between states.
How are the powers of the different branches balanced?
Suppose the president wants one thing and Congress wants another. Congress cannot make laws without the president's review, and the president needs Congress to pass the laws he or she wants. Their powers balance each other.
What was the intended goal of the convention?
Their plan was to improve the Articles of Confederation, but they decided to write an entirely new document instead.
How many Senates are there and how many Representatives are there?
Every state has 2 Senates, totaling to 50, and The House of Representatives is based on the population of the state, so there isn't an exact answer.
Define veto.
To reject a bill and prevent it from becoming a law, a power that belongs only to the president.
What does the Judicial Branch protect?
By using its powers, the judicial branch protects the Constitution and the rights of Americans.
Why did the creators of the Constitution make checks and balances?
They made it so that the Constitution works to make sure that no one branch of the government has too much power.
Who wrote the final draft of the Constitution?
Gouverneur Morris.
What are the Senate's jobs or duties?
he Senate approves or rejects the people the president chooses to fill key jobs and the Senate must approve the president's choices for ambassadors, or people who represent the United States in foreign countries. In addition, the Senate must approve the president's choice of federal judges. It also approves members of the president's cabinet.
True or false: can presidents make laws or introduce bills into Congress?
False, but they can lead the country by making proposals, or offering ideas, to Congress.
What are some important powers the Judicial Branch has?
It decides whether a national or state law conflicts with the Constitution. Such a law is called unconstitutional. The judicial branch also has the power to review and comment on treaties. If it finds that a treaty violates the Constitution, then the treaty is not put into effect.
Fill in the blank: Suppose members of the executive or judicial branch misuse their power. Congress can (blank) them.
Impeach.
What were the two most famous agreements in the Constitutional Convention?
The Great Compromise and the 3/5 Compromise.
What is Congress's power in foreign affairs?
Two‑thirds of the Senate must vote to approve a treaty between the United States and another country. Before the United States can declare war on another country, both houses of Congress must give approval.
What is the president in charge of in foreign affairs?
The president is in charge of the nation's armed forces, such as the army and navy.
True or false: Does the Judicial Branch have the power to collect taxes?
False.
What if Congress and the president agree on a law that conflicts with the Constitution?
If the law is challenged in court, the judicial branch decides whether it is unconstitutional. The court's power is a check on the power of the other two branches.
Who was the oldest delegate at the Constitutional Convention?
Benjamin Franklin, aged 81 at the time.