The Legislative Branch

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© North Carolina Community College System

The U.S. Constitution sets up one government with three

branches.

Each branch has some power.

• The Legislative Branch makes the law

• The Executive Branch enforces the law

• The Judicial Branch interprets and applies the law

No branch has all the powers.

The U.S. plan of government is a system of checks and balances or a system with

separation of powers.

Separation of powers keeps one branch from getting too strong and

taking over the government. The three branches must work together.

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First, we look at the legislative branch.

The Legislative Branch of

government is the U.S. Congress.

Congress has two parts: the Senate and the House of

Representatives.

SenateHouse of Representatives

Every state of the United States is represented in Congress.

Each state has two Senators. Every state has an equal voice in

the Senate.

Senate

There are 50 states in the United States, so there are 100 Senators in the Senate.

A U.S. Senator represents all the people of his/her state.

• North Carolina’s two Senators are

Richard Burr

and Kay Hagan

• We elect a U.S. Senator to serve for 6 years.

The House of Representatives has 435 voting members.

House of Representatives

States with a big population have a larger number of Representatives than states with a small population.

• We elect a U.S. Representative for 2 years.

• A Representative serves the people in his/her District.

Part of Alamance county is in one District and the rest is in another. The Representatives serving Alamance County are Howard Coble and Brad Miller.

SenateHouse of Representatives

The House gives states a voice based on population.

The Senate gives small states an equal voice with large states.

In Congress

Only Congress can make laws for the United States.

• print money

• declare war on other countries

• make treaties

• organize and arm military forces

Congress can also:

Next we look at the Executive Branch.