Our Constitution

Gustavo Hernandez
Period 6/History

Our
Constitution

Leaders of Government

● There are three leaders of the Judiciary, Executive and Legislative Branch.
● The leader of the Legislative Branch is the Congress, the leader of the Executive

Branch is the President and the Supreme Court holds the role of the Judiciary
Branch.
● There are two parts to Congress: The United States House of Representatives
and The United States Senate.

Powers of the branches of Government

● The main job of the Legislative Branch is to write the laws, the main power for the Executive Branch is

to enforce laws and appoint heads of the federal agencies, and the Judiciary Branch is to interpret the
Constitution and review powers.
● Other powers the Legislative Branch has equipped is to confirm presidential appointments, approve
treaties, grant money, and declare war, while the Executive Branch can also administer the laws,
command armed forces, conduct a foreign policy, and form treaties, yet the Judiciary branch has no
other powers excluding its main ones.

Members of the Government (presently)

● There are a total of 535 people in Congress currently.
● The president and vice president (currently) in the Executive Branch are Donald

Trump and Mike Pence.
● There are 8 associate justices in the Judicial Branch; (11 but three had retired

currently).

Requirements and Terms of Office

● To run for President, you must be at the age of 35, you must be a natural born
citizen and be 14 years a resident. The duration of presidential terms is 4 years.

● To run for Senator, you must be at the age of 30, you must be 9 years a citizen
and must be an inhabited resident. The duration of senate terms is 2 years.

● To run as a Representative, you must be at the age of 25, be 7 years a citizen
and must not be an inhabited resident.

Checks and Balances

● Congress can check the power of the President with a ⅔ majority vote overriding his veto when held
by him/her. Congress can also hold a “Yes” or “No” vote to the President budget on money spent.
Congress can inspect the power of the Supreme Court by impeaching them and committing to
legislation and confirmation with the Supreme Court.

● The President can check the power of the Congress by: using a veto to make a law passed by the
Congress, and the President can also decide what money is needed for each government department.
The President can inspect the power of the Supreme Court by nominating Supreme Court Justices.
The President can also nominate the court of appeal judges to his advantage.

● Supreme Court can check the power of Congress by hosting and declaring a law unconstitutional and
interpret the Congress’ laws as well. Supreme Court can inspect the power of the President by
reviewing treaties made by the President and can also claim presidential acts unconstitutional and
preside over impeachment trials.

Current Office Holders

● The Senators for California as of now are Lamar Alexander, Tammy Baldwin, John Barrasso, Michael, Bennett,
Richard Blumenthal, Roy Blunt, Dianne Feinstein and Kamala D. Harris. My representative is Grace
Napolitano.

● The President is Donald Trump, the vice president is Mike Pence, and all Cabinet positions are “Vice President,
Secretary of State, Secretary of the Treasury, Secretary of Defense, United States Attorney General, Secretary
of the Interior, Secretary of Agriculture, Secretary of Commerce, Secretary of Labor, Secretary of Health and
Services, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Secretary of Transportation, Secretary of Energy,
Secretary of Education, Secretary of Veterans Affairs and the Secretary of Homeland Security.

● The Chief Justice is John Glover Roberts Jr. and the Associate Justices are Clarence Thomas, Anthony M.
Kennedy, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen G. Breyer, Samuel A. Alito Jr., Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Neil M.
Gorsuch.

Processes with Explanations

● The impeachment process: A majority of the members of the House must vote for these charges in order to impeach
the president. After the charges of misconduct are filed, the Senate has the power to try impeachment cases like a
court. Two-thirds of the senators must vote for conviction. The president may be removed from office and never
allowed to hold a government position again if he is found guilty.

● How a bill becomes a law: First the bill begins, it needs to be proposed and introduced to other Representatives, it goes
to Committee and is reported, then debated. The bill is then voted on and referred to the Senate in a “Yes” or “No” vote.
The bill is sent to the President and the bill becomes a law depending on the choice of the President.

● How to amend the Constitution: The Constitution can claim that an amendment may be introduced either by the
Congress with a ⅔ vote in both the House of Representatives and Senate or by a constitutional crowd called for by ⅔
of the State legislatures.

Five Principles of Government

● Federalism is a principle or a type of system of government that is followed by them.
● The separation of powers was the federalism of vesting in separate branches (Legislative, Executive,

Judiciary) of the entire government.
● Checks and balances were influenced by which a system is regulated, for people who want to make sure

that great power doesn’t fall into the wrong hands.
● Limited government is a government whose legalized force and power is restricted by authorities.
● Popular sovereignty is a doctrine that sovereign power is vested in the people and that those who chose to

govern it must exercise it well with great care.

The End!

“Our Constitution” by Gustavo Hernandez