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Article V: The Amendment Process & Amendments

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The authority to amend the Constitution of the United States is derived from Article V of the Constitution.

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- The First Amendment is perhaps the most important part of the Bill of Rights. It protects five of the most basic liberties. They are freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, and freedom to petition the government to right wrongs.

- The Sixth Amendment provides more requirements for a fair trial in criminal cases. It guarantees a speedy, public trial by an impartial jury in the area where the crime was committed. The defendant must be able to question the accusers and to force favorable witnesses to testify. The accused has a right to a lawyer.

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The president (head of the executive branch) serves as commander in chief of the military forces, but Congress (legislative branch) appropriates funds for the military and votes to declare war. In addition, the Senate must ratify any peace treaties.

Within the legislative branch, each house of Congress serves as a check on possible abuses of power by the other. Both the House of Representatives and the Senate have to pass a bill in the same form for it to become law.

The president nominates federal officials, but the Senate confirms those nominations.

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In the U.S. government, the system of checks and balances is set to be a sentry over the separation of powers, balancing the separate branches of government. In a system of checks and balances, the authority to take an action, or make a decision, rests with one department, while the responsibility to verify the decision or action rests with another. The process of how laws are made is a good example of checks and balances in action. First, the legislative branch introduces and votes on a bill. The bill then goes to the executive branch, where the President decides whether he thinks the bill is good for the country. If so, he signs the bill, and it becomes a law. If the President does not believe the bill is good for the country, he does not sign it. This is called a veto. But the legislative branch gets another chance. With enough votes, the legislative branch can override the executive branch's veto, and the bill becomes a law.

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Judicial Branch- Nine Supreme Court Justices

Some of the duties include:
- deciding if laws agree with the Constitution
- interpreting how laws should be applied
The Supreme Court can:
- rule on court cases that question interpretation of the Constitution.
-supervises the operations of all federal courts
-overrule all decisions made by lower federal courts
-overrule decisions about federal laws made by state courts

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Legislative Branch: Headed by Congress, which includes the House of Representatives and the Senate. The main task of these two bodies is to make the laws. Its powers include passing laws, originating spending bills (House), impeaching officials (Senate), and approving treaties (Senate).
Some duties of Congress include:
- writing bills, then voting on whether or not the bill should become a law
- collecting money from taxes
- declaring war

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Executive Branch The President, or chief executive, is in charge of the executive branch. The President enforces the laws, oversees government agencies, and is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. The President gets help from the Vice President and from the cabinet, a group of people he chooses to work with him closely and give him advice.