Chapter 1 THe LeGisLaTive BranCH In 1787 men from across the United States met and wrote the U S Constitution The Constitution explains how the men thought the U S government should work George Washington CeNteR heads the signing of the U S Constitution What is explained in the U S Constitution 4
The Constitution splits the government into three parts The parts are called branches The branches must work together The executive branch includes the president of the United States It also includes those who work for the president The judicial branch is the courts and judges The legislative branch is Congress the U S Constitution defines the roles of each branch of government 5
PresiDenT BaraCk oB ama makes a sPeeCH To ConGress in 2011 The House and the senate Congress is made up of two groups of people They are the House of Representatives the House and the Senate Congress is in charge of making laws for the whole country 6
The House has 435 members The members are called representatives They come from all fifty states Each state has at least one representative Big states have many representatives Small states have few representatives Each state also has two senators So there are one hundred senators in Congress Members of the House of Representatives raise their hands while they are sworn in they are promising to support the Constitution 7
