Connecting Our NationTo provide a separation of powers, the U.S. federal government is made up of three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial, ensuring that no branch becomes too powerful or overwhelmed. To ensure the effectiveness of government and the protection of citizens' rights, each branch has its own powers and responsibilities. Legislative power is addressed in Article I of the Constitution. Within the legislative branch, their main functions and responsibilities are to carry out oversight, process files and develop laws. The power structure consists of a bicameral legislature, consisting of the House of Representatives and the Senate. There are 435 members of the House, based on population, where each state has at least one representative. Each of these representatives has a two-year term and is directly elected by the people. In the Senate, however, each state has two, regardless of its size. They serve staggered six-year terms, with a third of the senators being re-elected every two years. The 17th Amendment allowed the Senate to be elected by the people in 1915. Each of these representatives and senators are there to represent the political ideologies of their constituents, which is why different states have different laws. Another important member of the legislative branch is the Speaker of the House. In the House of Representatives, a Speaker of the House is chosen by the members. The Speaker belongs to the majority party and can direct action in the House. In the Senate, the vice president serves as president. He only votes in the event of a tie and does not spend the majority of his time in the Senate. When the vice president is not there, the Senate has its own...... middle of paper...... section dealing with senatorial courtesy. A president can leave a decades-long legacy in the form of the judges he appointed to the bench during his term, depending on their political party. A Republican president is more likely to appoint conservative judges whom he expects to make conservative decisions. On the other hand, Democratic presidents tend to appoint liberal judges who are expected to make liberal decisions. All of these decisions are extremely important, because many of the rights we rely on are based on such decisions. These rights were granted to us based on a decision made by 9 unelected judges of the Supreme Court, appointed for life. The welfare and order of our country is ensured by these three branches of government. Each branch serves its own purpose and each helps our nation and will continue to help our nation grow and succeed..