United States Government

Hey fellow Whyvillians, Krista12 here. I've just returned from the library with stacks of books about the Unites States government.

As many of us know, Whyville has been having numerous Senate elections lately. I decided to write an article to let everyone know how the United States government works. Sorry for all of those in Canada -- but maybe someone could write an article about the Canadian government! :-)

The government has three branches: the Legislative Branch, the Executive Branch and the Judicial Branch. The Legislative Branch is made up of Congress. The Congress has both an upper and lower house to it. The senate is the upper house, while the lower house is the House of Representatives. This branch has the power to do SEVERAL things, such as:

* Override a President's veto
* Approve treaties and presidential appointments
* Can impeach and remove President and other high officials
* Create lower federal courts
* Print and coin money
* Declare war
* Regulate foreign and international trade
* Raise and support the armed forces

John F. Kennedy, Harry S. Truman, Richard M. Nixon, Andrew Jackson, James Monroe, and ten others were senators who became President.

There are two senators from each state and they each have six-year terms (that means they're in office for six years). To be a senator you must be at least 30 years old, and be an United States Citizen for at least nine years.

The House of Representatives has members based on their state's population. The House of Reps currently holds 435 seats. The Senate only has 100 seats because they have two members from each state.

The Judicial Branch is formed of the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court is the highest court in the United States. It has nine justices who are appointed for life by the President, as long as the Senate approves. The Supreme Court's major responsibilities are to judge major court cases. The court carries out these responsibilities by selecting which cases have important questions of law that can only be decided by them.

The Executive Branch includes the President, Vice-President, and the President's cabinet. They all meet together when the President asks for its advice. The cabinet departments, in the order they were created, are:

* State
* Treasury
* Defense
* Justice
* Interior
* Agriculture
* Commerce
* Labor
* Housing and Urban Development
* Transportation
* Energy
* Education
* Health and Human Resources
* Veterans' Affairs
* And most recently, Homeland Security

The President serves for a four-year term, starting on January 20. A President can't be elected more than twice.

To become Whyville Senator, which many of us have run for in the past, and will be running for in the future, you must have a well-written platform. Babypowdr told us in a previous article that the definition from dictionary.com for "platform" is, A formal declaration of the principles on which a group, such as a political party, makes it appeal to the public.

I look forward to the last Senate election coming up at the end of May! Start writing those great platforms!!! Thanks for reading!