Hi mom! I have a question.

Yes dear, how can I help?

How does the government work?

Well it all started a long time ago, when a bunch of people came together to establish the foundations we know today!

First, there is the Legislative branch, with the House of Representatives and the Senate! They are in charge of writing the bills or laws.

How cool!

Next, there is the Judicial branch!

What do they do?

They are in charge of interpreting the laws and making sure they are not unconstitutional. They also have the Supreme Court that can make final rulings on the meaning of the law and the constitution.

Lastly, there is the Executive branch with the president. They have the power to veto laws, but can also get impeached if they do something bad!

So basically....

Exactly, and the Separation of Powers ensures one branch doesn't get too powerful.

Yep, and they all work together to ensure checks and balances so no one has too much power.

So how long are they in charge? What are the requirements?

Well they are all a little different...

President - 4 years per term, max two terms, must be at least 35 years old, a natural-born citizen of the United States, and a resident within the United States for 14 years.

Continued:

Senate - 6 years per term, no term limit, must be at least 30 years old, a U.S. citizen 9 years prior to the election, and live in the state they represent.

House of Representatives - 2 years per term, no term limit, must be at least 25 years old, a U.S. citizen for at least 7 years, and live in the state they represent.

Local Representatives - 2 years per term, no term limit, must be at least 21 years old by the start of the term, a U.S. citizen, lived in texas two years prior to the election, and registered and was able to vote.

Well that's cool, but what about the Bill of Rights?

Well the Bill of Rights is a list of the first ten amendments....

1st amendment - Protects freedom of religion, speech, the press, peaceful assembly, and the right to disagree with the government.

2nd amendment - Protects the right of the people to keep and bear arms and take down the government if the government does not properly protect citizens natural rights.

3rd amendment - Restricts the government from forcing citizens to house soldiers.

4th amendment - Protects against unreasonable searches and taking and requires reason.

5th amendment - Protects you from admitting to a crime, and being tried twice for the same crime, and the government must offer fair

compensation before taking private land/stuff.

The first five are...

...and...