Explain The Three Branches Of Government

1. What are the three branches of government? Please explain the concept of "checks and balances".

In the United States, under instruction from the Constitution, there are three branches of government. The three branches are: the Executive branch, the Legislative branch, and the Judicial branch. Each branch is involved in slightly different parts of governing.

The Legislative branch is made up of two chambers, the Senate and the House of Representatives, and is responsible for creating the laws. The Senate is made up of one hundred members—two from each of the states—while the House of Representatives is made up of 435 members allotting seats to states based on their population. The two chambers write, propose, and vote on legislation.

The Executive branch is in charge of enforcing the laws that Legislative branch writes. It is headed up by the president and a group of advisors who run the various departments of the Executive branch responsible for things like defense, agriculture, and education. The president is voted on by American citizens, 18 years and older, through a system called the Electoral College rather than by popular vote.

At the bottom of the system are district courts which have original jurisdiction in most cases. If one party is unhappy with the results in a District Court, they can choose to appeal the case to the intermediate level called the Appellate Court. There are 12 regional circuit courts which the 50 states and territories are all apart of. These courts strictly review cases. The resolutions made by the Appellate Courts can then be appealed to the highest court in the land, the Supreme Court. The 9 Justices of the Supreme Court select which cases they would like to review, typically choosing ones that will establish precedent and propose interesting challenges to the Constitution. The decision made by the Supreme Court is