DEMOCRACY

System of government whose leaders are elected by the people for the people

Think about it…We vote for our Mayors, Supervisors, County Executives, Congressmen, Judges, and Presidents. We vote for just about EVERYTHING in America!!!

The Constitution: What is it?

The written plan of the government.

Preamble…beginning of Constitution

“We the people of the United States in Order to Form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America”

What is the Preamble?

“It explains the purposes of the Constitution, and defines the powers of the new government as originating from the people of the United States.”

www.senate.gov The why, the what for, and from whom!

Ratification

The word ratify means official approval

The Constitution became binding upon the approval of nine states. New Hampshire was the ninth state to ratify, on June 21, 1788The new government was officially in

business!

A New Government…

How did we get here? By way of the Articles.

The first written form of Government doomed to fail were the Articles of Confederation.However, the more the founding fathers

tried to write a government that was so different from the British rule they broke from, the more problems they caused.

A Call to Debate!

James Madison & Alexander Hamilton were alarmed by the people’s lack of trust and confidence in the Articles.

They realized that the original Government was in need of serious repair.

The result was a call for state leaders to meet and revise the Articles of Confederation.

The Constitutional Convention

James Madison and Alexander Hamilton called for a convention to revise the Articles on May 14th, 1787 and they eventually began to plan a new government called the Constitution.

Article 1- Legislative Branch

Main Job- Make the LawsMade up of 2 groups: Bi-Cameral

LegislatureSenate- Upper HouseHouse of Representatives- lower houseBoth Groups together are called the

CongressThey meet in the Capitol Building in

Washington

By the Numbers: The Senate

2- the number of Senators per state100- number of total Senators6 year terms in office$169,300- salary per year30- age you must be to run for Senate9- number of years you must be citizenUnlimited- number of times they can be

re-elected

Numbers: House of Representative

# the number of Rep’s per state depends on the states population

435- number of total Representatives 2 year terms in office $169,300- salary per year 25- age you must be to run for House 7- number of years you must be citizen Unlimited- number of times they can be re-

elected

The Faces of Your Elected Officials

Charles (Chuck) Kirsten Brian

Schumer Gillibrand Higgins

Senator- NY Senator- NY Representative-

Hamburg

Quick Facts to remember about the Congress…

Congress meets in the Capitol Building

For the Senate…the whole state votes on 2 Senators

For your Representatives, states are broken up into districts and each district picks one person.

The more people living in your state the more Representatives you send to Washington

The more people that live in your state the more districts to vote and the more representatives elected to office

Article 2- Executive Branch

Main Job- Enforce the LawsTrick to remembering…E is for Executive

and E is for EnforcePresident is the head of this branch…he

works with the Vice President and his Cabinet.

Presidential Cabinet- His Group of Advisors- they help him make decisions

Who’s Who in the Executive Branch

President- Barack H. Obama

Vice President- Joe Biden

Numbers for the Executive Branch…

4- Number of years in office 2- maximum number of terms in office 35- age to run for office 14- years as a resident of US and Natural Born

Citizen $400,000- salary per year in office 44- Presidents so far in US History 15- Number of Cabinet Departments 1600 Pennsylvania Ave- Address of White

House

Facts about the Executive Branch…

Veto- when the president cancels out a bill made by Congress… Says NO

Electoral College- The group that actually elects the president

Succession- Order of people who will take over if the president resigns or dies

Article 3- Judicial Branch

Main Job- Interpret LawsThis branch makes sure that the

Congress and President do not make any laws violating the Constitution

Facts about the Judicial Branch…

1 Supreme Court 9 judges sit on the Supreme Court80- 100- Number of cases the court

hears in one year7,500- cases sent to them to pick from$217,400- salary for Chief Justice$208,100- salary for other 8 justices

How do you get this job???

President appoints (picks) a person to serve as supreme court judge…Senate approves choice

NO requirements for Age, Residency, Citizenship

Job for LIFE!!!! You can either resign or die in office

Most Important Power for Courts

Judicial Review- the power of the Supreme Court to interpret the Constitution and what it means

Current Members of the Court….

John G. Roberts- Chief Justice (Born in Buffalo, NY)

John Stevens, Anthony Scalia, Anthony Kennedy, Clarence Thomas, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Sam Alito, Sonia Sotomayor

Impeachment- What is it?

To bring charges against someone Who can be impeached- President, Vice

President, Judges, Officers The House of Representatives brings the

charges, Senate acts as the jury, and the Supreme Court acts as the justice

Impeachment is the way to get rid of a corrupt official who has been voted into office

Who was this man??

Checks and Balances…

The government responsibility is split into three groups in order to balance the power out…NO one group can become too powerful.

Article 5- How to make a Change

Changes to the constitution are called Amendments

Amendments need 2/3rd of the Senate and the House agreeing to propose the change

You then need 3/4th of the states to agree on the amendment

This has happened only 27 times in over 225 years.

The first 10 amendments are called the Bill of Rights

Last amendment was in 1992