Get to Know Your Three Branches of Government

The United States Constitution describes the way the government is structured and how it operates. The first three articles set up the three branches of government and their powers – the legislative branch, the executive branch, and the judicial branch:

• All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives. (Article 1)
• The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America (Article 2)
• The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court (Article 3)

The President, Congress, and the Supreme Court are all located in Washington, DC, the nation’s capital. Each branch of government has a different job to do, but sometimes these jobs overlap.

Can you match each document to its corresponding branch of government? (Some documents may have more than one match.)

Tip: Click on the orange “open in new window” icon to see each one more closely.