Three Branches Of Government - Essay Example

Three Branches Of GovernmentIn 1787, the leaders of state decided to make a new constitution, a set of rules and regulations regarding a nation. They wanted a strong government, one which would be fair to everyone and would not abuse its power by protecting the rights of all citizens. They decided to come up with three different branches of the government: legislative, executive and judicial. The legislative branch consists of the senate and the House of Representatives, which form the congress of the United States.

One of the duties of this branch is to make laws through discussion in the congress. There are hundred senators in the senate along with 435 representatives in the house of the representatives. Each senate gets to choose their own senators but the number of representatives depends on the population of the state. For example, if the population of California is greater than another state, then they would have more representatives in the congress. Senators are elected for a period of six years by their state whereas the representatives are elected by their state for a term of two years.

The head of the senate is the vice-president of U.S. and the House of Representatives is headed by a speaker who is elected by the representatives. The nominations made by the president have to be approved by two-thirds of the senate for it to be approved. The leaders are elected by the parties in both the senate and the house of the representatives. The leader of the party controlling the house is called a majority leader while minority leader is the leader of the minority group (Legislative branch, Web).

The executive branch makes official laws and is headed by the president who is elected for a term of four years by the entire nation. The laws passed by the legislative branch have to be approved and carried out by the president. The vice-president and other cabinet members are also a part of this branch. Other duties of the president include appointing or removing cabinet members, negotiating treaties as well as acting as the commander-in-chief and the head of state. The cabinet also gives advice to the president on important issues and is made up of heads of 15 major departments of the government such as the secretary of labor, education, defense, state etc.

(Three branches of government, Web). The third branch of the government is the judicial branch which is responsible for administrating the court system of the country. The head of the judicial branch is the Supreme Court which is responsible for explaining the constitution and the laws passed by the congress. The Supreme Court is made of one chief justice, eight associate judges and nine justices. The nominations of the judges are made by the president but have to be approved by the senate. Decisions made by the Supreme Court are final and no one can deny these decisions.

(Three branches of government, Web). Works Cited"The Legislative Branch | The White House." The White House. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Sept. 2012. ."Three Branches of Government — FactMonster.com." Fact Monster: Online Almanac, Dictionary, Encyclopedia, and Homework Help — FactMonster.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Sept. 2012. .administration.shtml>.