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Articles II-VII of the U.S.
Constitution
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Article
II- The Executive Branch
The executive branch of
the federal government carries out or executes the laws made by
Congress. The chief executive is the President. The Vice
President takes the place of the president when necessary.
The executive branch is the
largest branch of government and employs the most people. It
includes the Cabinet, the 14 large executive departments
of the Cabinet, and many other agencies and organizations, such as the
Post Office, the Army, Navy, and Air Force, the Internal Revenue Service
(IRS), the FBI and the CIA. |
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Information about the
President
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| requirements |
must be 35 years old
must be born in the United States
must live in the U.S. for 14 years before election |
| term
of office |
4 years
can be elected only two times |
| how
elected |
by the Electoral
College |
| powers |
signs or vetoes
bills passed by Congress
commander-in-chief of the military
recognizes other countries
make treaties with other countries (must be approved by the Senate)
appoints Supreme Court justices and federal
judges (must be approved by Senate)
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| other
duties |
appoints Cabinet members
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Electing
the President
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The Oval Office in the White House
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People in each state do not vote directly
for the president. The President is officially elected by voters
called electors. Each state has a certain
number of electors, equal to the number of Senators plus Representatives
from that state.
In November of an election year, the people
vote. The candidate who receives the most popular votes gets all
the states electoral votes.
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Then the candidate who receives
the most electoral votes wins the presidency. But the Constitution
says a candidate has to get a majority
of the electoral votes to become president. Majority
means "more than half" (not just "the most" as
it seems to mean sometimes).
In past elections there have been only 2
candidates splitting the electoral votes, so one candidate has always
received a majority of votes. But what happens if three candidates
split the electoral votes three ways and no candidate gets more than
half? According to the Constitution, if no candidate
receives a majority of electoral votes, then the House of
Representatives selects the president from the top 3
candidates.
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The
Cabinet
The Cabinet is a
group of advisers. There are 14 large executive departments, for
example the Defense Department, the Agriculture Department, and the
Department of Transportation. These departments are responsible for carrying
out laws passed by Congress. Each department has many jobs.
The Agriculture Department inspects the foods we eat, controls school
lunch programs and food stamps, and help farmers.
The head of each department is
called the Secretary, for example the Secretary of State. The Cabinet is
this group of department heads. The President appoints the secretary
of each department, and each appointment must be approved by the Senate.
The President can meet with the Cabinet a little or a lot; it's up to the
President.
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Article
III - The Judicial Branch
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The Supreme Court Building, Washington
D.C.
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The Constitution set up only one
court, the Supreme Court, but gave Congress the power to set up
other federal courts. Congress has created two other kinds of
federal courts: courts of appeals and
district courts. The Constitution also gave states the power
to create their own court systems. |
Federal judges,
including Supreme Court justices, are appointed by the President.
The Senate must approve each appointment. Once appointed and approved,
federal judges never have to run for election or be reappointed.
Their appointments are for their lifetime, and they hold their judgeships
as long as they want, unless they are impeached.
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Federal Courts
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Supreme Court
only one court
9 judges,
called justices |
The highest court in the United
States.
Decides if laws passed by Congress are in
conflict with the Constitution. If a law is declared unconstitutional,
the law is not valid and cannot be used. Also hears appeals from lower courts. Can overturn
decision made by lower courts. |
Courts of
Appeals
12 courts |
Hear cases on
appeal (no new trials, no juries). Decide if decision made by district courts followed
due process. Can overturn lower courts' decisions.
Decisions are final unless the case is appealed to the Supreme Court. |
District
Courts
91 trial courts |
Trial courts, evidence presented, juries
often hear cases. Hears cases about crimes and
disputes if...
- different states are involved
- people from different states are involved
- federal laws have been broken
- federal government is involved in dispute
- other countries are involved
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The Supreme Court and
judicial
review
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The Old Supreme Court chamber
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The Supreme Court has the power
of judicial review, the authority to
declare laws made by Congress or states unconstitutional.
This power is not stated directly in the Constitution. The right
of judicial review was first established in 1803 by Chief Justice John
Marshall in the case Marbury versus Madison. |
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Since 1803, the Supreme
Court has overturned more than one hundred federal laws and more than
one thousand state laws. For example, in 1954, in the Brown
versus Topeka Board of Education case, the Supreme Court
ruled that state laws that segregated children into schools were unconstitutional.
The power of judicial review can also declare acts made by the president
or other executive branch officials unconstitutional. Judicial
review is a strong check against the executive or legislative branch
having too much power. |
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Trials and treason
Article III says that a person has the right
to a jury trial in all criminal cases, except for impeachment trials.
Article III defines treason as an act of war against the
United States or the act of helping an enemy of the U.S. No
one can be convicted of treason unless that person openly confesses to
the treasonous act in court or two eyewitnesses testify that the person
has committed a treasonable act. A person can't be convicted of treason
for just thinking or talking about it. |
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Articles
IV-VII |
| Article IV |
Article 4 has four
sections that describe how states will get along with the
federal government and other states.
- Every state must respect the
laws, records, and court decisions of other states.
For example, if Illinois gives a person a driver's
license, that person can legally drive in Missouri,
Kansas, and all other states.
- Citizens from one state
visiting another state are entitled to the same rights as
people who live in that state.
- If a person commits a serious
crime in one state and then escapes to another state, that
person must be found and returned to the state where
the crime was committed. (This is called extradition.)
- Congress makes the rules for
selling and controlling all land or other property that
belongs to the United States.
- Congress has the power to
admit new states to the U.S.
- Every state must have a
representative form of government.
- The federal government will
protect and defend all states from other countries.
Also, if fighting or violence breaks out inside a state,
the federal government will help.
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| Article V |
Article 5 tells how to
make changes to the Constitution.
- The Constitution can be changed
by adding an amendment. There are two steps.
First the change must be proposed. To propose an amendment,
two thirds of either all the state legislatures or
two thirds of both houses of Congress must vote to propose
it. If it's successfully proposed, then it must be
ratified.
- The second step, ratification,
is the decision of the states. Three fourths of all
state legislatures or
three fourths of state conventions held just for the
purpose of voting on the amendment must vote to approve the amendment.
It's possible but difficult to
change the Constitution. Only 27 amendments have been
added to the Constitution in over 200 years.
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| Article VI |
Article 6 includes an
important part of the Constitution called the supremacy
clause. The Constitution is the highest law
of the land. The Constitution, the laws of Congress, and all
treaties must be followed by all states. State laws must agree
with the Constitution. State judges must know that the
Constitution is supreme over state laws.
All members of Congress, the
President and all executive branch officials, all Supreme Court
justices and federal judges, all members of state
legislatures, all governors and state officials, all state
judges take an oath of office and swear to obey the United
States Constitution.
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| Article VII |
Article 7 says that
the Constitution will become effective when 9 (out of 13)
states approve or ratify it.
The Constitution was signed by
its authors on September 17, 1787. Then each of the 13 states
held meetings to decide whether to accept or reject it.
Three states quickly ratified the Constitution in 1787.
During the next year, 1788, six more states approved it, and
the Constitution became law.
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