Midterm Essay

I will admit right now, that I had a bit of a hard time picking a topic to write about. None of them sounded very appealing or interesting to me. But I managed, and I decided to choose the first one; discuss the structure of the federal government as outlined in Articles I, II, & III of the Constitution. The first article deals primarily with the legislative branch. The second article talks about the executive branch. And the third article explains the judicial branch.

The legislative branch is where the Senate and the House of Representatives reside. This branch is in charge of making and passing laws. Though most people believe that the president is the one who makes laws, the president works in the executive branch and does not have the power to do this. In the Senate, each state elects two senators, making 100 senators in the Senate. Each senator serves for six years. Also, the Vice President is considered to be the Head of the Senate although he cannot vote with them unless there is a tie. The House of Representatives on the other hand, has 435 members based on the population of each state. For example, California has a lot more representatives than a smaller state like New Jersey. The representatives are elected by their state serve for two years rather than six years in the Senate. Then, the representatives vote amongst themselves to elect the Speaker of the House who is also known as the Head of the House.

The president is the head of the Executive branch of which can make laws official by approving and carrying them out. Different from what the legislative branch does by creating and passing laws. The president is elected by the entire country and serves for four years. The president creates his own Cabinet and negotiates treaties with other countries as the face of the United States. The Executive branch also includes the Vice President and the President’s Cabinet. The Cabinet consists of the heads of fifteen major departments in the government. The Secretary of State, Secretary of the Treasury, Secretary of Defense, Attorney General, Secretary of the Interior, Secretary of Agriculture, Secretary of Commerce, Secretary of Labor, Secretary of Health and Human Services, Secretary of Homeland Security, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Secretary of Transportation, Secretary of Education, Secretary of Energy, and Secretary of Veterans’ Affairs. The Cabinet gives advice to the President in important matters.

Last but not least, the Judicial branch runs the court systems of the US. Through different court cases, this branch explains the meaning of the Constitution and all laws passed by Congress. The head of this branch is the Supreme Court, which is different from criminal courts. This court rules whether or not something is constitutional or unconstitutional. The Supreme Court has nine justices (judges) nominated by the President and approved by the Senate and they have no term limit. There are eight associate justices, and one chief justice. This Court is the highest in the land and cannot be overruled by any other court in our country. The decisions that the Supreme Court makes create new ways of interpreting the laws of the land.

Reflection

This was honestly not a very difficult assignment. I did mention at the beginning of the essay that I had a hard time picking a topic out of the ones provided for us, but I managed and it wasn't nearly as hard as my mind told me it would be. I didn't even have to do much outside research, my textbook was all I really needed for this assignment. Though it was not an enjoyable topic, it was a fairly simple topic.

#history #Fall2015