United States History Student Edition

The Supreme Court and other federal courts hear cases involving a number of special topics, such as the Constitution, federal laws, and disputes between states. Justices on the U.S. Supreme Court serve a lifetime appointment. When a spot is vacated, the president selects an individual to fill the spot and the members of the Senate cast a vote to decide whether or not to confirm the president’s selection. The Constitution also contains a system of checks and balances . This means each branch of government has ways to check, or limit, the power of the other branches. With this system, no single branch can gain too much power in the government.

7 CHECK FOR UNDERSTANDING 1. Identifying Where in the Constitution would one find detailed descriptions of each branch’s powers and responsibilities? 2. Explaining What kinds of cases are heard by the Supreme Court and other federal courts? Debate and Adoption GUIDING QUESTION How was the Constitution ratified? At the Constitutional Convention, the delegates discussed and debated different aspects of the government they were building. Although they

checks and balances a system by which each branch of government limits the power of the other branches

Congress, shown here listening to the president deliver the State of the Union speech, consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate. Congress currently has 100 senators and 435 representatives. Speculating Why might Congress gather to listen to the president’s address?

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