5-18 The Branches of Government

The U. S. Constitution divided the powers of government into three branches.  The three branches of government are the legislative branch, the executive branch, and the judicial branch.  Each branch of government has different responsibilities and looks out for and checks the other two branches.  The three different branches create the separation of power.  The checking on other branches is called checks and balances.

The legislative branch is the House of Representatives and the Senate.  Both branches make laws to govern our country.  The legislative branch checks the executive and judicial branches.

The executive branch contains the office of the President.  The job of the President and the executive branch is to carry out the laws passed by the legislative branch.

The judicial branch contains the Supreme Court.  It is the job of the Supreme Court to interpret and define the laws passed by the legislative branch and carried out by the executive branch.

Each branch of the government has its own responsibilities and powers.  Part of the responsibility of each branch is to control and check the powers of the other branches.  This creates a separation of power and a system of checks and balances.  The system of checks and balances prevents any one branch from getting too powerful.

Complete the questions below.

The U. S. Constitution divided the powers of government into branches.

The legislative branch is divided into two parts.  The and the  of .

The three different branches allows for the separation of .

The executive branch contains the Office of the .

The Supreme Court is in the branch.

The interprets and defines the laws passed by the legislative branch and carried out by the executive branch.

The carries out the laws passed by the legislative branch.

The system of and prevents any one branch from getting too powerful.