Government is defined as “the group of people who control and make decisions for a country, state, etc. (Merriam Webster, 2016). There are six types of government styles. The style is defined by the style of control the government maintains and the system of beliefs that the governed body holds. Sample governments include republic, democracy, theocracy, dictatorship, fascism and monarchy. It all depends on the country’s system of beliefs. A Republic government is in effect when the power is in the hands of the elected individual or individuals by the citizens and the citizens are protected by a written constitution providing basic inalienable rights. Conversely, a Democratic government is when it is governed by the people …show more content…
The Legislative branch is the branch that makes laws. For a new law to be made, an individual comes up with an idea for a new law and brings their idea to a member of Congress. The Congress member then reviews the idea and decides if they want to support the suggestion. If they do, they will present the proposed new law to the rest of Congress and debate and makes changes or additions until everyone agrees on the details and vote to pass it on. They will then send the bill to the President to get it passed into law or vetoed by the President. If the President vetoes it, Congress will have a chance to overrule him with a two thirds majority vote. (Trethan, 2016).
The second branch of government is the Executive branch. The Executive branch of government enforces the laws that are made by the Legislative branch. Their purpose is to take the interpretation of the laws by given to them by the Judiciary branch and enforce them onto the people. The executive branch is made up of the President, Vice President, and the Cabinet. The Cabinet is comprised of fifteen executive heads of Department, such as Agriculture, Commerce, Defense and more. (whitehouse.gov-executive branch, …show more content…
The president is the one that “directs” the Executive branch of government. The first president, George Washington, was elected in 1789. Presidents are elected by the citizens of the United States by a popular vote and Electoral College tally. When Elected, the president serves a four-year term and can run for re-election for another four-year term to reach the maximum two term limit. There have been 13 presidents that were elected and served two terms. Before the United States Constitution limited the number of terms could be served, one President served more than two terms. To become president, you must be a citizen within the United States for 14 years and you must be 35 years of age or older (Trethan, 2016). The Vice President is the second highest person in the executive branch and is elected with the President as his chosen running mate. He or she serves a term of four years alongside their President. He or she may become President if the President dies, resigns or is removed. The Vice President also has influence over the Senate, acting as President of the Senate. He only has influence when there is a need to break a tie between the House of Representatives and Senate. The only requirement to be elected as Vice President is that you must be a natural born citizen of the United States. This requirement was put into place to ensure that the county would be safe from “foreign influence.”