As you are going to learn this week, the U.S. Constitution was not the original set of laws for America. During the Revolutionary War, the Continental Congress wrote, and the states approved, the adoption of the Articles of Confederation & Perpetual Union. The AOC would serve as our official governing document from 1781-1787 when they were replaced by the Constitution.
The AOC attempted to create a government where the people (states, voters etc.) retained most of the power within the government. We had just rebelled from a system of government where one man (King George III) and one governing body (Parliament) had full access to all political power, leaving "the people' often helpless. Naturally, in creating our new government we were going to spread the power around rather than centralize it in the federal government (Congress, President, Supreme Court etc.) This sounds good in theory, but an essentially powerless central government can get nothing accomplished which causes lots of problems for the states. Soon the leaders of America were rethinking the effectiveness of the AOC and chose to write a new document where power was more evenly distributed.
This decision to change, but eventually do away with, the AOC came in the summer of 1787. Men from all over the country convened in Philadelphia (just like they had done in the 1st and 2nd Continental Congresses) to author a new governing document. What emerged from those months of meetings and debates is our Constitution. Adopted in 1787, the Constitution has withstood over forty different presidents, multiple wars (including the Civil War) and various other crises. If you think about it, it is fairly remarkable that the AOC last about ten years and the Constitution has lasted 226 years. That was quite an improvement!
For this week's blog, visit this website and watch the videos on The President, The Legislative Branch & The Judicial Branch. Each video is approximately 20 minutes in length, so you'll need to plan your time accordingly. In the comments section, you will write three paragraphs. Each paragraph should be 100 words long and summarize what you learned from each video. This week's blog will be worth triple the points (150 instead of 50).
Let’s begin with the big cheese: the President. The President is the figure elected by the people to have a say in laws passed and represent us in foreign affairs. Because the President is elected by the people, they can also be overthrown by the people if they aren’t doing a very good job. I liked all the interesting facts about the White House, like the fact that it has a bowling alley and a movie theatre, but the only question that those things pose is if that is where some of our tax money goes. Even with that in mind, it would still be a fun (and highly challenging and taxing) job.
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Then, onto the Judicial. This is the law-upholding (rather than law-making) branch. It is the home of the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court is like an everyday court, except for the fact that the cases held in it are more along the lines of national, rather than regional, cases. Sandra Day O’Connor was the first woman justice (or the judge) at the Supreme Court. She said that we should look at the Constitution with our hearts and our minds, which I thought was a little strange, but I guess it makes sense. She’s saying that we should not only use our knowledge to determine what we think, but our thoughts and, yes, even our emotions.
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And lastly, the Legislative. This is the law-making branch, a.k.a. Congress. In it, the officials only help decide on laws that we the people suggest. I like that we are involved in the law making process. But the process is long. The law has to pass through each of our branches having most of the members’ votes. If the president is holding out on accepting a law that promotes the well-being of people, the Congress can override his veto. The same with Congress. In the video, we are given a list of Congress’s jobs:
Lay and Collect Taxes
Regulate Foreign Commerece
Coin Money
Regulate Post Offices and Roads
Declare War
Raise and Support Armies
Maintain the Navy
Make Laws....
I never knew Congress did so many things!
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The President of the United States. Oh, what a job that would be! The role of the President is a very important piece of our country. Because of our past experiences with leaders, "cough cough" the American people wanted to make sure that the President didn't have too much power, but enough to provide for the country. The President is elected by the people, and he can be taken away if he is not doing what he said he was going to. We have to put a lot of trust in him because he is running our country. That has to be a big pair of shoes to fill! This is why we are allowed to vote because we need to have a say in who we feel is best to run our country. (134)
ReplyDeleteThe Legislative branch is a very complicated branch. It holds Congress, and has the House of Representatives and the Senate. One group only has 1 representative per state, and the other has a number of reps. based on the state's size. This was a compromise that was similar to the NJ plan and the VA plan. Small states were afraid that their voices wouldn't be heard if they only had one rep. and the larger states and more than one. However, the larger states wanted to have more reps. because they were larger. This compromise was successful in balancing both ideas. (100)
After the taxes of the French and Indian War and the government that Revolutionary War inspired, we pushed the government in the other direction, giving the states ALL the power instead of one united government. Welcome to the Articles of Confederation. At the convention in Philadelphia, James Madison first introduced the Virginia Plan, which included many ideas that went into the Constitution. The executive's job, one of Madison’s ideas, was to enforce the laws of the land and to unite the states under a single authority. The debates over the executive branch included whether the executive should be one person or a group. James Wilson had a clear vision of what was to be done. He was set on one strong person to unite us under one authority. The method used to elect this man is called the Electoral College. Electoral College was created because the founders thought the electors would be important in each state. Today, it also means the smaller states' voices are heard in the election process. After the Constitution was signed, it was pretty obvious that George Washington would be the first to be President of the United States. Washington did many things to develop our country including restoring faith in the government. Today, many perks of being President include the Oval Office, 5 full-time chefs, a tennis court, a bowling alley, and a movie theater. Even with the perks, each President has their fill of problems to deal with. For goodness sake, they run a COUNTRY! Nowadays, the President is also our chief diplomat, representing us to the world. The President has protected our rights as citizens in the country. Being the President can't be easy, but with our country still alive, they must be doing a good job so far. The President is an important part, but only a PART of our government. (209)
ReplyDeleteThe Legislative Branch (a.k.a. Congress) was the first to be written about in the Constitution and it was written the most about. Congress is made up of two houses: the House of Representatives and the Senate. Working together, the two houses make the laws. Making laws isn't that easy either. You have to take into account everyone's view and perspective and do your best to not make people angry. The Capitol Building is a symbol of the power of "We the People." The Congress was a compromise between the Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan. Congress was given power to veto laws, make laws, and pass laws. A long process is used to pass a Bill into a Law. Our own personal voices can be heard in the halls of power through delegates and representatives. The success of the Connecticut Compromise has been good for our country. When we use our rights as citizens, we have a chance to influence, affect, and shape our country. (166)
The Judicial branch enforces the laws. The justices (or judges) have to help interpret the law and to understand what is said. The Supreme Court is the highest court in the country. It deals with national cases that almost always have to be run up the flagpole from district courts to state courts, finally to the Supreme Court. Other than the wide importance of the cases the Supreme Court handles, it works like any other court system. Under Federalism, many things are handled by the central government, such as, negotiating treaties, making trade deals, creating and managing money, and declaring war. The state governments handle local issues such as, the driving permit age & public schools. All of the disagreements in our government is actually good for us. It lets us share our opinions with each other. And sometimes, those opinions can change our country. (145)
The executive government had always had too much power or too little power. This eventually led to an uprising. With the Articles of Confederation, the executive government had too little power, and in previous times (before the Articles of Confederation) the government had too much power. Under the Articles of Confederation, the states were focused on themselves and handled their own affairs. At the convention in Philadelphia, the people there decided to create an Electoral College to elect the president because they didn’t trust the people in America. They also decided that the president could veto something, but that the veto could be overridden by Congress so that the president didn’t have all the power. (115)
ReplyDeleteCongress has to lay and collect taxes, regulate foreign commerce, coin money, regulate post offices and roads, declare war, raise and support armies, maintain the navy, make all laws, and more. The majority of Congress has to agree on a law, and only then can it be sent to the president for consideration. It’s a simple enough process, but hard to do. Each state is represented in the House and Senate. The representative for a state is supposed to vote based on what his/her state wants or needs. This is also difficult because there will be disagreement inside the state. The Connecticut Compromise was proposed by Roger Sherman which combined the Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan, that way the amount of representation was equal in one house, the House of Representatives, while it was based on population in the other, the Senate. (144)
A justice has to help interpret and understand what the Constitution says. Under the Articles of Confederation, every state had one vote. When the new Constitution was being discussed, the bigger states wanted more representation because they had more people, but they smaller states wanted equal representation because they were afraid they wouldn’t have any say in the government if the number of representatives was based on population. Before the Constitution, the states were doing whatever they wanted because they had a weak central government. Alexander Hamilton was trying to get them to hold another convention because he knew these things needed to be fixed. However, in that convention, he wasn’t really listened to even though he knew how to fix it because he was arrogant. The federal government had certain things it controlled over the states while the states also had certain things it controlled that the federal government couldn’t interfere with as long as it didn’t contradict the Constitution. Because of the system of checks and balances, no one branch can have more power than the others. (179)
Constitution Day or Election Day as most people think of is a really interesting subject that has many different parts. The first branch I learned about was the Executive or the President. The President is the highest job in our government. The President can do many things like veto a law. When picking the President there is a long process taken to get the candidates that voters vote on. The Presidents chosen by delegates from each state who form the Electoral College. Once the people vote and we find who our nation's new leader is, he/she takes an oath of office on Inauguration Day, then he/she is our President.
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The Legislative Branch is another part of our great nation. The Legislative Branch or Congress is made up of the House of Representatives and the Senate. This branch of the government is the lawmaking branch. The people on one side make a bill and give it to the other side and ask their opinion and to see if it is Constitutional, then it is sent to the President who can say yes or no. When the Constitution was being written and approved the plan for how the house/houses should be. The Virginia Plan said one house with the number of delegates from each state depending on who had the most population. The small states felt that they wouldn't be represented so they said the representation should be equal for each state, this was called the New Jersey Plan. The people came up with a compromise of two houses one based on population one with two representatives from each state.
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I felt that the last video talked more about the Legislative Branch and Congress than it did the Judicial Branch. The Judicial Branch is mainly the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court is the highest court in America. Before the Constitution came into play the Articles of Confederation were giving all of the states the power leaving the federal government with practically nothing. The states then made their own laws that were not good. They also made their own currency because there was no federal government. If the constitution hadn't been written our country probably wouldn't have survived. This really all started because the government started putting farmers in jail for not paying bills because the money they had was worthless. They then got scared so bad by Daniel Shays they wrote the Constitution and that is how we got our government.
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We are America! We scare people so they will make a new government!
The presidency was pretty cool. It has changed a lot since the first presidency but one thing that has not changed is the Electoral College. I think it is pretty cool that it has not changed and they still vote the same way. When George Washington became the first president, I did not know that he won every vote. That is embarrassing for the other guys that ran. Another thing that stuck out to me was that it said every president before Andrew Jackson was a “wealthy elite”. Andrew Jackson was not. He was from the “back woods of Tennessee”. I knew he was from Tennessee but I did not know that he was not wealthy like the rest. (120)
ReplyDeleteThe legislature branch is the congress. It is divided into two houses, the Senate and the House of Representatives. I knew James Madison helped a lot with the presidency but I did not know he helped so much with this too. Actually, he helped with the whole constitution. The congress is the one that makes laws. Like it said, that would be harder than you think because everybody has to be happy. I thought the Soda Bill was funny. It had to do with not selling a certain amount of soda for health issues. That is a weird law, but I guess it is smart. (106)
Lastly, is the judicial branch. The last video did not really talk about the judicial branch but this branch determines what the laws mean that the congress makes and what the constitution means. It is the Supreme Court. So you have law cases there but it is much bigger than just a state case or something. The judicial branch just enforces the laws. They are like the judges in the law cases. They want justice, and all these words start with a “j”. That is because they all kind of mean the same thing. So the judicial branch keeps the nation from bad things happening, or tries to. (109)
On sep. 17th 1787 delegates got together to sign their names under the constitution. For 225 years we have followed the supreme laws of the land. Article 2 of the constitution talks about the presidency. The problem started why back in 1754- 1763 with the French and Indian war. We had too much power so it took a revolution to solve our problems. The articles of confederation were the first document to talk about our rights and powers. James Madison helped us slow these powers down. Madison made up the Virginia plan before he went to his meeting. James Wilson also had some ideas about the president. Electoral College was where you could vote for the president. The president was in charge of the state of the union, picks the cabinet, and the power to veto. George Washington was our first president. At the U.S. Capitol is where the president takes the oath of office. (155).
ReplyDeleteSep 17th 1787 voted to approve our draft of the constitution. The Enlightenment is where people started thinking of new ideas and stuff. The people started talking about the population is how much voting percentage you should get. The smaller states thought that you should get it equal. They would not back down on this argument so they compromised. So there are two congresses the House of Representatives and the Senate, and they both have different jobs. Alexander Hamilton was the person who called for the meeting in Philadelphia. Washington was the president of the meeting. Washington and Madison were both from Virginia. Federalism is the difference between state and federals. Checks and Balances is the difference between the powers of the congress. So the power was equal. Three people did not sign the Constitution. (135)
The Legislative Branch is the first branch to be described in the constitution, written most by the founding fathers, and its primary job is to make laws. The Legislative is made up of two houses the house and the senate. Their job is to make laws. To make a law you go through two committees and then address the whole house, and when majority votes it goes to the president. If the President approves it becomes a law. The Independence Hall may be the most important place in history. The delegates defiantly had to have a compromise to sign the constitution. There were two plans the Virginia plan and the New Jersey plan. Rodger Sherman helped with the compromise! The soda law keeps you from getting a drink over 16 oz. (132)
The executive branch insists of mainly four parts. 1st the president, president trolls many of the things that go on in our nation. He is Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces which means he can send small groups of troops to places. If he wants to declare war however the must go through the Congress as well. The president can also veto laws made by the Congress. If he vetoes a law than the law will not go into effect. Most people believe the president has all the power but without the Congress and the Supreme Court on his side and wouldn’t have that much power at all.
ReplyDeleteThe legislative branch consists of 2 parts, the House of Representatives and the Congress. The Congress can make laws. The House of Representatives is the lower part of the legislative branch. If the House of Representatives does not like all the Congress may make an veto it. For certain bills to come in place the House of Representatives must be the 1st part of a law. They must take a vote for it even to get past the House of Representatives. once it gets past the House of Representatives it may be made a law. But the president can veto this as well as the Congress does not make it into a law.
The Supreme Court heads the judicial branch of the United States government. It is the only court established by the Constitution. Decisions made by the Supreme Court are usually of national importance. All of the other courts in the United States must follow the ruling or the decision made by the justices of the Supreme Court. The Constitution also gives the Supreme Court the power to judge whether federal, state, and local governments are acting within the law. The Supreme Court can also decide if a president's action is unconstitutional.
the executive branch is a really important branch just like the rest of the branches. this branch has a really important person in it though. the president is in this branch. the president controls the things of the US. he is commander-in-chief of the forces such as the army and things. he send troops to places of the world. when declaring war on some country or something he has to go through the great congress. Mr. president veto's things as well. most people have this illusion in their mind that the president is only reason we get things done around the US. this in fact, is incorrect. The Supreme Court and Congress need to be given half the credit as well.
ReplyDeleteLegislative branch consist of two parts. the House or The House of Representatives and Congress. these groups can make laws as well. the House isn't as high ranked as congress though. so the house id on the lower part of the legislative branch and congress is the higher part of this branch. the congress must be the first part of the law when bills come into play. these people must vote for it just to get it past the house. once it is past the house it is almost ready to become a bill. then off to the president.
the Supreme Court is the head of the Judicial branch. this branch of the US government is the only court established by the constitution of the United States of America. when the court makes a decision it is usually a national matter which is very important! the other courts in "Merica follow this important court of the US. this court tells the smaller categories of law if they are doing what the are supposed to. this court decides if the President is doing a constitutional or unconstitutional job! that's huge!
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ReplyDeleteThe president is the highest office that a politician can hold in this world other than a king. His or her “job description” is in the second amendment showing their roles as the leader of a nation. The president also acts as the commander-in-chief for the nation. The men who wrote the constitution wanted to have one person lead the government but they didn’t want that one single person to have unlimited power over the country. The president is the only leader chosen by all the states and all the people to lead the country from the executive branch. The person who becomes president is the most important person in the country at that point in time.
ReplyDeleteThe judicial branch of government is the branch that is the head of all the court systems of the nation. While they are over everything the people still have right like the ability to remain silent, trial by jury, and freedom from cruel and unusual punishment. These ideas were adopted from a time called the enlightenment which was a time period where new ideas were being passed around the used all over the world. Without the innovations from Jacque Cousteau and John Locke and these ideas not used by Ben Franklin, we might not have many rights when a crime is committed.
The legislative branch is the branch of government where all the states are represented and everything brought before them is voted on for the people. The senate is composed of all fifty states with two representatives from each state while the house of representatives is made up of people from all fifty states but the number of representatives is based on the state’s population. An electoral college votes on the president and vice president while the house of representatives and the senate vote on bills and whether they should be laws. This, to me, is the most important branch of government.
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First off I’ll start with the president. We the people are the ones that elect the president the in to office. He has a really big job to do. He has to make sure that the states don’t get to much power and the federal government doesn’t get to much power either. The president has to run the country so if they have a bad day we can’t get mad at them because they have to do so much. The president wasn’t always here we had a council before we had a president and before that we had parliament and a king. The president is our country’s ruler.
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The legislative branch is made up of two houses the representative house and the senate house. The British burned the U.S. capital on August 12, 1814. Congress has a big job they have to make all the laws and many, many other things there can be 435 members in this branch they can be elected for 6 years at a time. It’s the first branch described in the constitution it was written the most by the founding fathers in the constitution. They have many things to do like tax, regulate foreign commerce, regulate the post office and roads. This is a very big part of our government.
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The last but not least is the judicial branch. This is the Supreme Court system. This branch is the one that controls all the court systems and stuff like that. There were 42 people in the room with the constitution when it was signed only 39 people signed it that day. I really wonder why they all didn’t sign the constitution it’s really weird. The constitution was written during the enlightenment time. The judicial branch controls all the checks and balances of the United States of America this is a really important part of the federal government. The judicial branch is important.
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Sorry I didn't put all three together in my post. I was sick with strep throat and was feeling poorly. I decided that since I wasn't going to be able to come to school, I figured that I would try to get some work done. Anyways, here is Part 3.
ReplyDeleteThe Judicial Branch is the branch of government that upholds all of the laws. It is also home of the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court is like any everyday court except it takes care of much bigger cases. These cases almost always affect a lot of people or a certain group of people. The Supreme Court also tells other groups if they are doing what is right. They also see if the President is abiding and running the country based on what the constitution says. This branch is very crucial. (102)
“The executive power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America.” The president is the head of the executive branch. The young United States needed a strong executive power to keep the government in line. James Wilson agreed with James Madison on the idea of having an executive, and he decided it should be one person, a president. Wilson wanted the president chosen directly by the people, but he is chosen by an electoral college. Every state has a certain number of votes determined by population (Tennessee: 11). The president chooses his own cabinet, and can veto bills passed by congress, but to keep it fair, congress can override his vote by a 2/3 vote. The white house is way cooler than I thought it was. There are so many things in there that I would have never guessed. President Woodrow Wilson was the first president to leave the states in 1919 while in office. (160)
ReplyDeleteRoger Sherman came up with the Connecticut Compromise and the idea of a two house Congress. The House of Representatives had state representation determined by state population. The Senate had 2 senators from every state so that it was equal. The House of Representatives writes bills regarding the government’s money, and the Senate approves treaties and presidential appointees. The judicial branch is the Supreme Court system, and they determine the meaning of the constitution and the law. The three branches of government have different jobs and no branch is greater or has more power than any of the others because of checks and balances. If the Supreme Court needs a new justice, the president chooses that person, and congress has to approve him/her. (123)
The legislative branch is Congress. It is made up of the House of Representatives and the Senate. This branch makes the laws. Something I didn’t know, or I forgot about it, was the British burning the capitol building in 1814. Congress takes care of taxes, foreign trade, coin money, declares war, supports armies, maintains the navy, makes all laws, and a bunch of other stuff. When congress makes a law, it starts in one house, and after all the committees have looked at it, it goes to the other house and they do the same thing, then, if the majority agrees on it, it goes to the president. The president can either say yes, or veto it. Federal Hall in New York City was once where Congress met from 1789-1790. I think the soda bill is interesting because something as simple as a coke can be talked about in congress and a law wanting to be made about it. (159)
some of this stuff was really interesting, and i especially liked how laws were made.
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ReplyDeleteSeptember 17 is the National Constitutional Day. The presidential election was established by the Constitution. Article two is where presidency is talked about in the Constitution. Our country (America) is sometimes referred to as “a experiment in democracy”. The British were given a ton of land after they won the French and Indian War. The colonists were mad about Britain forcing taxes on us because of the pricey war. The Articles of Confederation was written because of King George the third and Parliament. It was meant to avoid how Britain was but it didn’t turn out well. We needed to have a central power. (104)
ReplyDeleteSeptember 17, 1787 is when the draft for the Constitution of the United States was approved. Everyone needs to understand the Constitution. In 1969 the courts passed a law, concerning the first amendment, which stated teachers could not get on to students for what they say in the classroom unless they have a legitimate reason. That law was passed because of three students that knew and understood the Constitution very well. “Knowledge is power”. Nation Constitution Center’s Signers’ Hall is a room that recreates the last day that the Constitution was signed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania by the fifty-five delegates. (101)
We have three main parts of our government, the judicial branch, the legislative branch, and the executive branch. The House of Representatives has 364 members. There are 100 senators, two for every state. The most powerful thing we can do is to vote. The first branch to be decribed in the Constitution is the Legislature Branch, which is to make laws. There are two parts of the Legislative branch, the House of Representatives and the Senate. Our Founding Fathers wrote more about the Legislative branch than any other part of our government. We, the people, play a part in law making. (101)
Presidency
ReplyDeleteWe have three branches of government. The executive branch is the one the presidency is under. The president’s job description is article 2 in the constitution. The president has a difficult and very responsible job. His position is the highest level of power in our country. The White House is where he lives. It has lots of perks like a swimming pool, bowling alley, and theatre in it so the president can do things he couldn't go out and do without body guards. Without leadership over the states it would be hard to enforce the laws of the land. The Electoral College votes on our president. Each state decides who they send to represent them at the Electoral College. The president has the power to veto any law of the congress but it can veto the president’s vote by 2/3 of the member’s votes. The president is in charge of keeping our national government on track. He also represents our country in foreign affairs. Washington was responsible for restoring faith in the national government. This job is to preserve, protect and defend the constitution. (186)
Judicial
The judicial branch of our government is the Supreme Court. It is our national court that interprets and decides what our laws of the constitution say. It is a system that is checks and balances for our constitution. It is the heart of a living democracy. We should stay informed about our laws; share our opinions, and think of all the different viewpoints. The Supreme Court ties us all together under federalism. It takes actual cases of groups or individuals with opinions or complaints that have national significance. Sandra day O’Conner was the first female justice (judge). She emphasized that we as citizens have the right of free speech, decide what to stand up for, and make our knowledge powerful. (130)
Legislative
The legislative branch is the law making branch of government. The job requirements and its purpose are found in article 1 of the constitution. It is the first branch described. It is also known as congress and its main theme is “we the people.” Congress is made up of 2 houses. The house of representatives is made up of members according to the state’s population. The senate has 2 delegates from each state. It is not easy to get laws passed both houses have to work together and become unified in the end results. To make a law, a member of one house introduces it. Then it goes to a sub- committee for discussion, then onto the entire group. After agreement, in both houses, it goes to the president. If no veto occurs it becomes a law. For over 200 years we have tested and reshaped our plans and laws. (152)
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September 17 is known as Constatution Day. The Presidental Election is one of the most important events. The leadership did not know if they had too much or not enough executive authority. This took ahwile and almost an uprising to figure out. The French and Indian War started all the problems. War cost a lot of money and British made the colonist pay taxes from the war. Taxes were enforced by Parliment.After the Revolutionary War a government had to be made. Without some type of leadership no one could be heard. During 1787, our country was strugged with Articles of Confederation. Our country needed an exctutive; it did not matter if it was one person or a group.
ReplyDelete1969, supreme court debated on wether or not schools could take away students right to speak in the class room freely. Cases from awhile ago are still being used today with the freedom of speech. Some people still argue about what the constatution means to them today. 39 men signed the constatution. People can now choose their own leader who have a good knowlege about the country. Even though we had disagreements about Britian we still use some of their ideas. The Article of Confederation said each state had one vote for the government. Some states have more power than others because of population. People in smaller states then had more power than the bigger states. Roger Sherman thought there should be two houses; later laeading to each state having two votes.
All citizends need to undertsand government. A lot of men are a representative. People have the right to do many htings like texting, calling, and emailing, but voting is very important. We have the right to do many thing like wahat is in out food or water. The Legisative Branch was the first to be described in the Constatution, It was written the most by the Founding Fathers. This branch's primary job is to make the laws. This branch is also known as congress. It is made up of two houses: the house of representives and senete. It is not alwasy easy to make law. One group may like it while the other does not. Congress has many jobs to do. There is a long process when it comes to making a new law. (390)
The first video I watched was on the Presidency. At the beginning, and for quite awhile, it talked about the stuff that we've already learned in class. Things about the Revolutionary War, the Constitutional Convention, the Articles of Confederation, etc. Then it went into full detail about the president and his roles. He has a Cabinet, or group of advisors. He can veto things passed by Congress (but if they have a 2/3 majority vote they can still pass it). I think it was a good idea to make sure the president and the other branches of government have an equal amount of power. And i also didn't know that there was a bowling alley in the White house! (115)
ReplyDeleteThe second video was on the Judicial Branch of government. This is the branch that includes the Supreme Court, and all the judges and stuff like that. The branches of government have a system called Checks and Balances so they can check up on eachother and make sure they all have equal amount of power. Like I said, Congress can still put a law into practice if the president vetos it as long as there is a 2/3 majority vote on it. And all of these ideas about our government and how it should be came together by a bunch of guys bouncing around ideas in Philadelphia! (106)
The third video was about the Legislative Branch. One thing that i definately did not know was that there are 435 (give or take a few) members of the House of Representatives! I was thinking more along the lines of 20. So anyways, Congress is separated into two sections: Senate, and House of Representatives. This is the branch of government where laws are made. How? Well, it's a very long, drawn out process where one section of Congress introduces a bill, the other side has to agree, and so on. Then they can show it to the president. If the president approves it, it's a law! (103)
September 17th is an important day in our year. It is the presidential election day! This is a big day because it determines the leader of our WHOLE country for four years. Not just one, but four! That is a lot of years and a lot of responsibility to take on for one person(along with the vice president). The video also talked about, in detail, all of the things that the president has to do. There are so many things that a president has to do. There are so many details, things have to be just right. It also talked about other people that have smaller jobs, nut are also important. It talked about a lot of things that we have already covered in class. It also mentioned some things that I already knew.(134)
ReplyDeleteThey came up with it in Philadelphia.The second video was on the judicial branch. This branch deals with the supreme branch. That obviously means that this deals with all of the people and things that go on in the court system. They also have a system ( or whatever you want to call it), called checks and balances. This system is to make sure that every one has an equal amount of power. They made this system because people were afraid of others having more power than they did. No one wanted any one else to have any more power than some one else. This idea was not something they had planned to come up with. It was kind of an accident.(134)
The third video talked about the Legislative branch. This branch is the branch that makes laws. This is definitely not an easy job. The process of making laws was very difficult and lengthy. It was probably one of the hardest jobs in of the branches. They were all very hard, but I think this on was probably very hard and frustrating. One thing I thought was interesting, or that I did not know was that they had over 400 representatives. Another thing that I thought was interesting was that the congress can over ride the president with their veto!!! Crazy that someone can over ride the president.(118)