In 1787, the leaders of the states gathered to write the Constitution. They wanted a strong and fair national government. They did not want one person or one group of people to have too much power. While under control of the British, they learned having too much power could cause trouble. So, the delegates wrote the Constitution to provide separation of powers which is the three separate branches of government. This separation balances the branches and keeps any of them from growing too powerful. The branches are called the Legislative branch, the Executive branch and the Judicial branch. Each branch has its own responsibilities and at the same time they work together to make the country run smoothly and to assure that the rights of citizens are not ignored
The Legislative branch, also known as the Congress, is separated into two parts. There are the Senate and the House of Representatives. This branch’s main job is to make laws. They also confirm Presidential appointment, approve treaties, grant money and declare war. There are 100 senators in the Senate, two from each state. They must be at least 30 years old and must be citizens for nine years. Senators are elected by their states and serve six year term. There are 435 representatives in the House of Representatives. The number is determined by the state’s population. Some states have just one representative while others may have as many as 53. The Congress permanently fixed the size of the House of Representatives at 435 in 1929. The representatives must be 25 years old and a citizen for at least seven years. The Legislative branch is important because pretty much anyone could write the laws, but only members of the Congress can write the official ones. Only this branch can make new laws or change existing ones.
The government also needs someone to make people obey the laws that the Legislative branch had stated. So, there is the Executive branch. The Executive branch includes