# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Separation of Powers and Checks and Balances: Crash Course Government and Politics #3

# data[].attributes.body
8.C.3.1 Identify the three branches of government including the separation of powers and checks and balances in the Constitution

# data[].attributes.body
The Legislative part of our government is called Congress. Congress makes our laws. Congress is divided into 2 parts. One part is called the Senate. There are 100 Senators--2 from each of our states. Another part is called the House of Representatives. Representatives meet together to discuss ideas and decide if these ideas (bills) should become laws. There are 435 Representatives. The number of representatives each state gets is determined by its population. Some states have just 2 representatives. Others have as many as 40. Both senators and representatives are elected by the eligible voters in their states.

# data[].attributes.body
The Judicial Branch of the federal government interprets and reviews the laws of the nation. The group that has the job of interpreting and reviewing the laws of the land is the Supreme Court. It is the highest court in the nation.

Many arguments about federal rules and laws come up in such a large country as the United States. Someone must be like an umpire and make the final decisions. Someone must settle these arguments in a fair way. The Constitution has a special plan to solve this problem. It provides for a system of federal courts in the Judicial Branch of the government.

# data[].attributes.body
The President of the United States administers the Executive Branch of our government. The President enforces the laws that the Legislative Branch (Congress) makes. The President is elected by United States citizens, 18 years of age and older, who vote in the presidential elections in their states. These votes are tallied by states and form the Electoral College system. States have the number of electoral votes which equal the number of senators and representatives they have. It is possible to have the most popular votes throughout the nation and NOT win the electoral vote of the Electoral College.

# data[].attributes.body
The Judicial part of our federal government includes the Supreme Court and 9 Justices. They are special judges who interpret laws according to the Constitution. These justices only hear cases that pertain to issues related to the Constitution. They are the highest court in our country. The federal judicial system also has lower courts located in each state to hear cases involving federal issues.

# data[].attributes.body
Congress is made up of two houses, just the way most of the state legislatures are made up. The upper house is called the Senate, and the lower house is called the House of Representatives. People who belong to the House of Representatives are called representatives. They may also be called congressmen or congresswomen.

The number of senators in Congress is spelled out in the Constitution. Under the Constitution, each state has two senators. However, the number of representatives a state has depends on the population of the state. Every state must have at least one representative though. Law now sets the total number of representatives at 435. This means that as the population changes in a state, so does the number of representatives that state is allowed to have. But the total must not change! Therefore, as some states gain representatives, other states may lose representatives.

# data[].attributes.body
The Constitution says that the United States must have a President and a Vice President. These two people and the people who work for them belong to the Executive Branch of the federal government. It is the duty of the President of the United States to run the federal government and to see that the laws of our nation are carried out.

The President is the highest representative of the people of our nation. The Presidential Seal has fifty stars surrounding it to show that the President represents all United States citizens. He or she must focus on the welfare of the entire nation, not just the people in one state or district like senators and representatives.