Federal government of the United States

The **federal government of the United States** has three branches of government: the legislature, executive, and judiciary, as established in the United States Constitution.  

When the Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution, they wanted to make sure that their new government would not have any of the problems that the colonial British government did.  For example, they did not want there to be any person in the government who had complete power and could do whatever he wanted, like a king.  They also did not want any part of the government to get so powerful that nobody could control it.  Because of this, they split the government's power into three different branches.  Each branch has ways of balancing out the power of another branch if it gets too powerful.  This is called the system of checks and balances.
, home and work place of the U.S. president]]

The President cannot make laws.  This is a "check" on the President's power, so he cannot make laws to give himself more power.  However, when the Legislative branch passes a law, the President can decide whether or not to veto the law.  In this way, the President can "check" the power of the Legislature.  Another was President Dwight D. Eisenhower's order to send 1,200 soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division to allow the Little Rock Nine into a school that refused to admit African American students.

The President is in charge of many departments that control much of the day-to-day business of government. For example, the Department of Commerce makes rules about trade and business. The President chooses the heads of these departments, and also  judges at the  (nation-wide) level.

The duties of the judicial branch include:

### House of Representatives 
One house is the United States House of Representatives (often just called "The House").  The House of Representatives is made up of Representatives (also called Congressmen). They are each elected by voters from their own state. Each state has a different number of Representatives.  The number depends on how many people live in the state.  The more people a state has, the more representatives it gets. Every 10 years, the U.S. Census Bureau does a census, or count, of the population of the United States. States may gain or lose Representatives if the Census shows that the state's population has changed.  As of 2016, there are 435 Representatives in the House.

### How laws are made 
Representatives and Senators suggest laws, called "bills", in their separate houses. A bill may be voted upon by the entire house right away, or may first go to a small group of members of that house, known as a committee, which may recommend a bill for a vote by the whole house. If one house votes to pass a bill, the bill then gets sent to the other house. if both houses vote for it, it is then sent to the President.  The President may sign the bill, ignore it, or veto it. If the President signs or ignores the bill, it becomes a federal law. If the President vetoes the bill, it is sent back to Congress. If Congress votes again and at least two-thirds of Congress votes for the bill, it becomes law.  The President cannot veto it again.  This is another check on the President's power.

Under the American system of federalism, Congress may not make laws that directly control the states. Instead, Congress may use the promise of federal  or special situations, such as national emergencies, to encourage the states to follow federal law. This system is both complex and unique.

## Related pages 
**Executive branch:**
* President of the United States
** United States federal executive departments
**Judicial branch:**
* Supreme Court of the United States
** United States courts of appeals
*** United States district courts
**Legislative branch:**
* United States Congress
** United States House of Representatives
** United States Senate
**The whole federal government is based on:**
* Constitution of the United States
* Checks and balances

## References
## Other websites 
* The Three Branches of Government (from USA.gov)
* Find out who your Members of Congress and other elected officials are, and how to contact them (from USA.gov)
* How Laws are Made: For young learners , grade schoolers , middle schoolers , and high schoolers  (from the U.S. House of Representatives)
* About Federal Courts (from USCourts.gov)
* Checks and Balances (from the U.S. Government Publishing Office)