U.S. Constitution & Civics

What you’ll learn

• What are the three national government branches? Legislative, Executive, and Judicial
• Checks and balances means each branch can limit the others so no one branch becomes too powerful
• The Judicial branch does NOT make laws, it interprets them and can strike down unconstitutional laws through judicial review
• Article II of the Constitution lists the duties of the Executive branch (the President)
• The House of Representatives has the sole power to impeach (bring charges, like an indictment); it passes articles of impeachment by majority vote
• The Senate has the sole power to try impeachments; it acts as the jury, and a two-thirds majority is required to convict and remove an official