12/16

TEST WEDNESDAY (12/18/19)

Study Guide:

Branches of Government, Constitution, Bill of Rights, Articles of Confederation, Political Parties

3 Branches of Government: Legislative, Executive, Judicial

Legislative:

Congress – 535 members

Senate – 100 Senators (2 from each state)

House of Representatives – 435 (amount of representatives are based on the state’s population)

Make the laws

Executive:

President of the United States

Cabinet – President’s team that helps him make decisions

Approve the laws

Judicial:

Supreme Court (9 Judges)

Enforce the laws

The President can veto a bill.

Veto – the power of the President to reject a bill

Very few bills are passed every year.

After the President signs a bill, it becomes a law.

Congress needs 51% of the vote to pass a bill.

(Senate 51 out of 100) (House of Representatives 218 of 435)

Congress needs 67% of the vote to override a Presidential veto.

The Articles of Confederation is America’s first Constitution.                

The Constitution is America’s plan for government.

The Constitution is amendable.

Amendable means able to be changed.

Checks and Balances – way to make sure no branch of the government has too much power

Bill of Rights – First 10 Amendments to the Constitution.

If the 2^nd Amendment didn’t exist, people might not be able to own guns.

If a person does not want to testify against himself in court, he or she can plead the 5^th.

The first Republican President was Abraham Lincoln.

Bipartisan – both political parties working together

Other Political Parties – Green, Reform, Libertarian (smaller parties)

President Trump is a Republican.

Republican

-          Conservative

-          Right Leaning

-          Elephant

-          Grand Old Party

Democrat

-          Left Leaning

-          Liberal

-          Older Party

-          Donkey