The Three Branches of the United States Government

When the Founding Fathers created the Constitution of the United States of America, they wanted a system in place to prevent the government from abusing its powers. Because of this, the United States Constitution clearly outlines the separation of powers between three branches of the United States government.

In this class, students will learn about the three branches of government in the United States of America, from the composition of the three branches, to each branch's powers, to the American system of checks and balances. Students will be provided with detailed descriptions, illustrations and various charts to understand key facts and ideas regarding the three branches of government. Furthermore, students will be posed with various guided discussion questions, as well as encouraged to analyze how the three branches affect American citizens today.

The goal of this course is to provide students with background information to 1. give insight into the three branches of the United States government and its system of checks and balances, and 2. inspire students to appreciate the past as well as the present.

All in all, this class will be highly interactive, with the majority of the work happening in the here-and-now of the class session. By the time this class is over, students will not only have a deeper understanding of the three branches of government, but will also have a renewed appreciation of the rights that Americans are afforded.