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5 CHAPTER ONE The Constitution is the highest law in the country It explains how the government works It also lists the basic rights of all US citizens The United States is a representative democracy This means US citizens vote for the people who serve in government The men who established the government are known as the Founding Fathers They believed the government would work best if it were split into three sections or branches This system is known as a separation of powers It gives each branch a part of The Separation of Powers
Political Parties Political parties are large organizations They are made up of politicians and supporters who share the same basic ideas The Constitution does not mention political parties In fact George Washington disliked the idea of parties He worried elected workers would work harder for their party than for all citizens Most recent elections feature a candidate from the Democratic Party running against a candidate from the Republican Party 6 governmental power The Founding Fathers made sure each branch had ways to limit the power of the other branches The responsibilities of the three branches are laid out in the US Constitution This important document took effect in 1789 The Branches The legislative branch or legislature decides on new laws The people elected to work for this branch may represent an entire state or a small part of a town The federal legislature is called the US Congress
The head of the executive branch often holds the power to cancel a law passed by the legislature This type of power is known as a veto The executive branch leads a country state or town Citizens often vote for and elect the head of the executive branch The head of the executive branch in the federal government is the US president 7
