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Three Branches of Government
Legislative Branch
Executive Branch
Judicial Branch
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It
was important to the men who wrote the Constitution that they form a government that did not allow one person to
have too much control. While under the rule of the British king
they learned that this could be a bad system. Yet government
under the Articles
of Confederation taught them that there was a need for a
strong centralized government. With this in mind, the framers
wrote the Constitution to provide for three
separate, but equally powerful, branches of government:
the Legislative
Branch (which writes the laws); the Executive
Branch (which carries out the laws); and the Judicial
Branch (which reviews the way laws are applied). The separation
of powers allows for a system of checks and balances within
the government. Each branch is given certain control over the
other two, which balances the power and keeps the potential
for abuse of power in check. Check out the lyrics to the SchoolHouse
Rock song which describes our three branches of government or watch the video on TeacherTube.
Article I of the Constitution specifies that there shall be two separate legislative bodies: a House of Representatives and a Senate. Together they are called the Congress. The two bodies of Congress work together to write, debate, and pass bills, which are then passed on to the President for approval.
There are 100 senators and 435 representatives. Each of the 50 states elects 2 senators. The number of representatives is determined by each state's population. Each member represents an area of the state, known as a congressional district. The number of representatives is based on the number of districts in a state. Therefore, states with larger populations have more representation than states with smaller populations. (ex: California has 53 representatives and Utah has only 3 representatives.)
Explore Ben's Guide to U.S. Government to discover the answers to the following questions about the Legislative Branch:
- Today, senators are elected by the citizens of the state they represent. Prior to 1913 who selected senators?
- Besides passing laws, name 3 powers of the U.S. Congress.
- How many years is a representative's term? a senator's? Why do you think the term lengths differ?
- Which chamber of Congress (House of Representatives or Senate) has the power to start laws that make people pay taxes?
- Who is known as the president of the Senate?
Although Congress has numerous responsibilities and powers under the Constitution,
its chief function is to make laws. The legislative
process can be quite complicated. A proposed law, or
bill, must pass through a series of steps before it is voted
upon on the House and Senate floors. At any one of these steps,
a bill can be delayed, defeated, or amended (changed). Most
bills that are introduced do not survive this process and
do not become law. For more information on how laws are made
go to Ben's
Guide to U.S. Government or to Thomas:
The Legislature Process. SchoolHouse Rock also offers
a musical explanation of How
a Bill Becomes a Law.
Suppose
you had fifteen minutes to describe the ten most important
features of the U.S. Congress - could you do it? Don't worry,
help is close by. The CongressLink web site provides an easy to understand list of What
Every Student Should Know About Congress. In addition, Thomas: U.S.
Congress on the Internet is a great source on pending
legislation. Be sure not to miss CongressLink's lesson
plans and student activities.
Utah State Legislature
The Utah State Legislature is similar in structure to the Federal Legislature. There are 29 local elected Senators and 75 members in the House of Representatives. Do you know who your state legislators are? Use these interactive maps to locate your Utah Senator and Utah House of Representative.
The
executive branch of government makes sure that the laws of
the United States are obeyed. Article
II, section 1, of the Constitution vests the President
of the United States the head of the executive
branch. The United States has had 42 Presidents.
How many can you name? How many presidents have we had
in your life time? No women have been elected to the
Oval Office, yet women make up half the population of the
U.S. Do you think that a woman will be elected president in
the next decade? In the next twenty years? Ever? Why do you
think a woman has never been elected to the presidency?
The President
To learn more about U.S. Presidency, explore these resources:
- The American Presidential Biographies: A very comprehensive guide to the presidents of the United States.
- The Presidents of the United States Hotlist has a link to everything you will ever want to know about the U.S. presidents.
- Could you be president? Discover the presidential requirements.
- Check out this index of Presidential Speeches.
- Have you seen the Portraits of the Presidents and First Ladies?
- George Washington was not the first president. Find out who was.
- President's Day is the 3rd Monday of February. Here are two resources to help you learn more about President Washington and Lincoln. Presidents' Day Hotlist #1 and Presidents' Day Hotlist #2.
Now you should be ready to complete these activities: 
- Test your presidential knowledge by taking one of these online quizzes: Presidents Quiz or an American Presidency Quiz.
- If you are tired of quizzes, try this Presidents game.
- Play Who is That? You will be shown a portrait of a president with a clue.
- How well do you really know our presidents? Match the presidents with their hobbies.
- Don't miss this Presidential word scramble.
Vice President
The Vice President of the United States is second in command. This person must be ready to become president or acting president at a moment's notice if the president dies, resigns, is removed from office, or becomes unable to perform the duties of office. Only nine of our nation's 45 vice president have had to do this: John Tyler, Millard Fillmore, Andrew Johnson, Chester A. Arthur, Theodore Roosevelt, Calvin Coolidge, Harry S. Truman, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Gerald R. Ford.
The Constitution of the United States defines only one official duty for the vice president. He is the president of the U.S. Senate. The president, however, can choose to delegate additional responsibilities to this person and since 1933, the vice presidents have attended meetings of the president's Cabinet. At this point, only five vice presidents have been successfully elected as president: John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Martin Van Buren, Richard Nixon and George Bush.
You may want to read the biographies of Vice Presidents and then take the Vice Presidents Trivia Quiz.
First Lady
The wife of a president is called the First Lady. Read about some of our most recent first ladies, Laura Bush, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barbara Bush, Nancy Reagan, Rosalyn Carter, Betty Ford, Lady Bird Johnson, and Jacqueline Kennedy, and learn how they have influenced their husband's administration. Many of these women were activists for issues of their times. Discover which first lady was a champion of women's rights, which started a "Just Say No to Drugs" campaign, which supported mental health programs and which focused on adult literacy.
The Executive branch is very large so the President gets help from the Vice President, department heads (Cabinet members), and heads of independent agencies.
If you have questions for the President, Vice President, or First Lady send them an email message:
The Cabinet
The
Cabinet is composed of the heads of the 14 executive departments:
- Department of Agriculture (They have a Kids' Site too.)
- Department of Commerce
- Department of Defense
- Department of Education
- Department of Energy
- Health & Human Services (Check out the FDA Kids page.)
- Housing & Urban Development (Kids Next Door is also a good site.)
- Department of the Interior
- Department of Justice (Have you seen the FBI Kids page?)
- Department of Labor
- Department of State (Here is a great National Parks site.)
- Department of Transportation
- Treasury (You can also learn about this department at the Kid's Page.)
- Veterans' Affairs
Government Agencies
There are several administrative divisions of the government whose job it is to enforce and administer laws and regulations. Because provisions for these agencies were not outlined in the Constitution, they are considered independent extensions of the U.S. government. Here is a list of some of the major agencies.
- Central Intelligence Agency (Don't miss the CIA's Homepage for Kids.)
- U.S. Commission on Civil Rights
- Consumer Product Safety Commission (Here is a Kidd Safety site.)
- Environmental Protection Agency (Spend some time at the Explorer’s Club.)
- Federal Election Commission
- Federal Emergency Management Agency
- Federal Trade Commission
- Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (G.L.O.B.E.)
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Have you seen the NASA for Kids site?)
- National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities
- National Science Foundation
- National Transportation Safety Board
- U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (Explore the Kid's Page too.)
- Peace Corps (The Kids’ World page is also interesting.)
- U.S. Postal Service
- Small Business Administration (Check out the Kids Invest page.)
- Social Security Administration (Here's the Youthlink web site.)
The Executive Branch at the State level is a bit different than the Federal Level. Instead of having a president, states have Governors. Take a minute to read about Utah's past governors. Other major offices include Lt. Governor, Attorney General, State Treasurer and State Auditor.
The
role of the judicial
branch is to interpret the nation's laws. It consists
of two separate levels of courts: state
courts and federal
courts. The type of court that a case is tried in depends
on the law that was allegedly violated. Most of the laws that
govern our day-to-day living are state
laws. Violations of federal
law include offenses involving federal government employees,
crimes committed across state lines (for example, kidnapping
or evading arrest), and fraud involving the national government
(such as income tax or postal fraud).
Utah Courts
The Federal and the Utah State judicial systems include both trial courts and appellate courts. Trail Courts conduct the first hearing of a case, and appellate courts review a trial court's decision at the request of the losing party. The Utah State Court System is comprised of two appellate courts - the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals. Utah trial courts include the District Court, Juvenile Courts, and Justice Courts. These courts are located in each of the state's eight judicial districts. If you don't know which district you live in, use the Judicial Locator Map. These courts handle most criminal matters and most legal business concerning marital disputes, probate of estates, land deals, commercial contracts, and other day-to-day matters.
Federal Courts
The federal courts, in contrast, have power to decide only those cases over which the Constitution gives them authority. These courts are located principally in the larger cities. If
the federal court system is viewed as a pyramid, at the top is the Supreme Court of the United States, the highest court. On the next level are the 13 United States Courts of Appeals and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces.
Utah is in the Tenth Circuit along with the states of Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Wyoming, plus those portions of the Yellowstone National Park extending into Montana and Idaho. On the following level are the 94 U.S. district courts and the specialized courts, such as the Tax Court, the Court of Federal Claims, the Court of Veterans Appeals, and the Court of International Trade. The U.S. District Court for Utah is located in Salt Lake City.
Federal cases are usually begun at the district court level. If a party is not satisfied with the decision, they may have the decision reviewed in one of the courts of appeals. If dissatisfied with the decision of a court of appeals, the party may seek additional review in the Supreme Court of the United States; however, the Supreme Court primarily reviews only cases that involve a matter of great national importance and only accepts a small number of cases each term. Read some of the current and past Supreme Court Decisions. Have some fun and take a Virtual Tour of the Supreme Court Building. (Note: You need the QuickTime 4.1 plugin installed.)
Jury Service
The Sixth Amendment of the United States Constitution guarantees a speedy, fair trial before a jury of one's peers. A jury consists of 12 people who are selected to hear the evidence in a trial. After the jurors hear the evidence presented during the trial, they must try to decide if the defendant is guilty or not guilty. Read Utah's Guide to Jury Service and then answer the following questions:
- How are people selected to serve on a jury?
- How much are you paid for jury service?
- Why are some citizens excused from jury duty?
- Can you describe the jury selection process?
- What’s the difference between a criminal and a civil case?
You can get a good idea what is involved in a trial by exploring the Famous Trials web site.
Judges / Justices
Courts are presided over by judicial officers. In the courts of appeals, district courts, and other courts, most of the judicial officers are called judges. Where a jury is used, the jury decides questions of fact and the judge decides all questions of law. When all the evidence has been heard, and the lawyers for both sides have addressed the jury, the judge charges the jury, telling it what rules of law apply to the case. A jury is not always used. In some cases, the law requires a judge to decide on the facts. Or perhaps the parties do not want a jury to decide the case. In these cases, the judge decides based on fact and law.
Utah's highest court is the state supreme court. This court has five justices, elected to 10-year terms. The justice with the shortest remaining period in office serves as chief justice. Each of Utah's 8 districts has one or more district court judges, depending on population.
In the United States Supreme Court, the judicial officers are called justices. There are currently nine justices on the Court: a chief justice and eight associate justices. When a vacancy opens, the President nominates a new justice who is then confirmed or rejected by the Senate. Take a minute to learn about each of the nine justices:
- Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr.
- Antonin Scalia
- Anthony Kennedy
- Clarence Thomas
- Ruth Bader Ginsburg
- Stephen G. Breyer
- Samuel A. Alito, Jr.
- Sonia Sotomayor
- Elena Kagan
- David H. Souter (retired)
- John Paul Stevens (retired)