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The Preamble
• A preamble is the
opening statement in a
document that explains
the document's purpose.
• The preamble doesn't not
assign powers of the
Federal Government.
• Some people say it’s the
evidence of our founding
fathers such as Alexander
Hamilton.
13th, 14th, 15th
amendment
Passed by Congress on January 31,
1865, and ratified on December 6,
1865, the 13th amendment abolished
slavery in the United States.
The 14th Amendment to the
Constitution was ratified on July 9,
1868, and granted citizenship to “all
persons born or naturalized in the
United States,” which included
former slaves recently freed. In
addition, it forbids states from
denying any person "life, liberty or
property, without due process of law"
.
Legislative Branch
•
The Legislative Branch consists of
the House of Representatives and
the Senate, which together form the
United States Congress.
• The House of Representatives is
made up of 435 elected members,
divided among the 50 states in
proportion to their total population. In
addition, there are 6 non-voting
members.
Executive Branch
•Including members of the
armed forces, the Executive
Branch employs more than 4
million Americans.
•The power of the Executive
Branch is in the President of
the United States, who also
acts as head of state and
Commander-in-Chief of the
armed forces.
•The Vice President is also
part of the Executive Branch .
The Judicial Branch
•Where the Executive and
Legislative branches are
elected by the people,
members of the Judicial
Branch are appointed by the
President and confirmed by
the Senate.
•The Supreme Court of the
United States is the highest
court in the land and the
only part of the federal
judiciary specifically
required by the Constitution.
Checks and Balances
•The system of checks and
balances is a part of our
Constitution.
• It guarantees that no part of the
government becomes too
powerful.
•The executive branch can veto the
law , making it harder for the
legislative branch to pass the law.
Judicial Review
• Judicial review is a
court’s power to review
• Judicial review is the
final word by a
government institution
on a law’s validity.
•Judicial review has
three functions. First, it
allows justice to be
served Second, courts
monitor the
performance of lower
courts. Third,
important arguments
regarding the law are
examined and resolved.
This third function is
the concern of higher
courts.
The Separation of Powers
•Separation of powers
serves several
goals. Separation pr
events concentration
of power and provides
each branch with
weapons to fight off
encroachment by the
other two branches.
James Madison