This is Ryan. Ryan knows a lot about our United States Government.

I still have a lot to learn! Come and learn with me as I go to my Government class!

The first thing in Government that we need to understand is the Constitution. The Constitution contains all the rights that we, as US Citizens, have.

The Preamble is the opening statement of the Constitution that says why the Framers, the writers of the Constitution, made our government a republic. 

The Framers were important people like Ben Franklin and George Washington.

The Framers decided to make the US Government a republic to avoid the tyranny they faced in England.

The Government is controlled by 3 branches of Government: the Executive branch, the Judicial branch, and the Legislative branch. The separation of power allows for a better government.

A president can veto a bill if he does not like it. When he vetoes a bill, it goes back to Congress where they can overrule the veto with a 2/3 majority vote.

The branches keep each other in order through Checks and Balances. That makes sure that power is not concentrated too much in one branch. 

The Senate and the House of Representatives make up Congress. Congress has the power to make laws.

A law must first be proposed as a bill. Once a bill has been enacted into law, it is signed into the Constitution.

Now we can go over the local people who are our government!

President

• 4 year term
• 35 years or older
• resident for 14 years
• Born in the US
• Donald Trump

Senate

• 6 year term
• 30 years or older
• A citizen for 9 years
• Marsha Blackburn, Lamar Alexander

House of Representatives

• 2 year term
• 25 years or older
• Citizen for 7 years
• Be, at the time of election, an inhabitant of the state they represent
• Phil Roe Tim Burchett
• Chuck Fleishmann Scott Dejarlais
• Jim Cooper John Rose
• Mark E. Green David Kustoff
• Steve Cohen

All people are elected through something called popular sovereignty, where the people decides who governs them.

Now we will learn about the Bill of Rights! That is the first 10 Amendments of the Constitution.

1st Amendment

to express ideas through speech and

the press, to assemble or gather with a group to protest or for other reasons, and to ask the government to fix problems. It also protects the right to religious beliefs and practices. It prevents the government from creating or favoring a religion

2nd Amendment

the right to bear arms

3rd Amendment

prevents government from forcing homeowners to allow soldiers to use their homes. Before the Revolutionary War, laws gave British soldiers the right to take over private homes.

4th Amendment

bars the government from unreasonable search and seizure of an individual or their private property.

5th Amendment

states that serious criminal charges must be started by a grand jury. A person cannot be tried twice for the same offense (double jeopardy) or have property taken away without just compensation. People have the right against self-incrimination and cannot be imprisoned without due process of law (fair procedures and trials.)