BRANCHES OF GOVERNMENT

• There are three different levels of government in the United States: federal, state, and local. Each of those levels is elected by the people to serve and protect the people within its jurisdiction, or area of authority. The federal government handles relations between the United States and other countries, including war. It is also in charge of printing money and running the military. State governments are responsible for public education, health, and safety. Local governments provide services, such as parks, police, fire, and city records, to members of the community.
• The federal government, which is the national level of government, is divided into three separate branches: the legislative branch, the judicial branch, and the executive branch. The three branches work together to make sure power is balanced, and none of the individual branches becomes too powerful. This is known as a system of checks and balances.
•  The legislative branch is responsible for making laws. It is made up of two separate groups: the Senate, and the House of Representatives. Each state has two representatives in the Senate. Representation in the House of Representatives is based on a state’s population. The House and the Senate together are called Congress.
• The judicial branch is responsible for interpreting laws, and for hearing court cases to see if laws have been broken, or if laws are unjust. The Supreme Court is our nation’s highest court, and has power over all lower courts when deciding matters mentioned in the U.S. Constitution. 
• The executive branch is responsible for executing, or carrying out laws. The President of the United States is in charge of this branch, and is assisted by his cabinet of advisors. The President signs bills into law, and can also veto proposed laws. In addition, the President is Commander in Chief of the U.S. Armed Forces.
• The three branches of the federal government work together to ensure that the rights of citizens are not lost. The ultimate power in the U.S. government belongs to the people. We entrust it to our government officials by voting to elect them. 

Name:__________________________________

Answer the following questions based on the reading passage. Don’t forget to go back to the passage whenever necessary to find or confirm your answers.

1.  What does a system of checks and balances protect against? 
2. Which of the branches of government is divided into two separate groups? What are the groups? 
3. What is the difference between representation in the House and representation in the Senate? 
4. Based on the context of the next to last paragraph, what does the word veto mean? 
5. How can the American people use their power in the government system?

THE METRIC SYSTEM

• There are two basic systems of measurement: the metric system, and the standard/customary system of measurement. The United States, Liberia, and Myanmar are the only countries in the world that still use the standard/customary system of measurement. Ironically, the United States was involved in the metric system meetings from the beginning, and was a signer of the 1875 Treaty of the Meter, voting to recognize the meter as a standard of measurement. So where did the metric system come from, and why don’t we use it?
•  In 1790, just after the French Revolution ended in France, the new French government commissioned the French Academy to develop a simpler system of measurement. The agreed-upon measurement for one metre was one ten- millionth of the distance between the north pole and the equator, as measured along the Paris meridian. It took until 1800 to complete the survey and finalize the metric system based on this new measurement.
•  American relations with France were much better than its relations with England in 1800, as the American Revolution was fresh in the lives of the people on both sides of the ocean. President Thomas Jefferson enjoyed a good relationship with the new French government. It was during this time that he made the Louisiana Purchase, buying a huge section of land from France that greatly enlarged the territory of the United States. For some reason, the United States failed to immediately approve the new, simpler metric system at its first opportunity
•  Interestingly, approval for the U.S. to “go metric” was granted by Congress in 1866, and the U.S. did sign the Treaty of the Meter in 1875. The standard or customary system of measurement would not go quietly. Instead, the U.S. added metric equivalents for standard measurements in 1959. For example, one inch is exactly 2.54 centimeters. But there is no direct comparison for the smaller unit, the millimeter. The U.S. government still states that our nation is working toward the goal of going metric, but for now we seem to be stuck somewhere in the middle. Many medical and scientific measurements use the metric system, while customary units are still seen in daily places such as marking miles and miles per hour rather than kilometers or kilometers per hour on our highways. Change is difficult. It’s not the metric system we fear, but the change.

Name:__________________________________

Answer the following questions based on the reading passage. Don’t forget to go back to the passage whenever necessary to find or confirm your answers.

1. There is a lot of talk about the metric system being a simpler system. What makes it simpler?
2. Why do you think the United States did not immediately switch to the metric system in 1800?
3. Do you think it was right for the U.S. to sign the Treaty of the Meter and then not switch to the metric system? 
4. Why do you suppose the fields of science and medicine have been the first to switch to the metric system? 
5. In your opinion, why are people so resistant to change?

EASTERN WOODLAND NATIVES

• The Eastern Woodlands was a Native American cultural region long before European colonists arrived there to start settlements. The region extended from the eastern edge of the Great Plains all the way to the east coast. It also extended from just above the current northern U.S.- Canadian border all the  way south to the Gulf of Mexico. 

• Rich in natural resources, the Eastern Woodlands provided a wide variety of agricultural land, forests, mountains, rivers, and lakes in addition to the oceans of its coastal borders. The region had definite seasonal climate changes, with cold winters and hot, humid summers. The Native American people who lived in these areas had to learn how to adapt their lifestyles to the changes in order to survive and meet their needs

• Water is always an essential resource for living things, and the Eastern Woodlands region had many rivers, lakes, and streams. Not only did these bodies of water meet the obvious needs of people and animals for drinking and washing, but they also provided an important way for people to travel and transport goods. The flexible birch bark of the local forests was an important resource because it allowed the natives to make canoes. They used canoes fortraveling, and also as a base from which to catch fish. Natives who lived near the ocean waters also collected seashells, which they used to make jewelry and other ornaments. 
• The forests of the Eastern Woodlands provided many other resources  besides the birch bark for canoes. Several kinds of plants were woven to make baskets, trays, and even sandals. An abundance of animals lived in the forest, providing plenty of fresh meat for the natives who hunted them. Some animals commonly hunted by the natives included deer and rabbits. Native Americans used every part of the animals they hunted. The meat was eaten, the bones were carved into tools or arrowheads, and the skins were used to make clothing and blankets. An occasional bear skin made a nice, warm winter blanket or coat. The natives were able to meet all their needs in the Eastern Woodlands.

 Name:__________________________________

Answer the following questions based on the reading passage. Don’t forget to go back to the passage whenever necessary to find or confirm your answers.

1) How did the Eastern Woodland natives meet their needs for clothing?

2)   How were the water resources beneficial for the Eastern Woodland natives?

3)   What characteristic of the forest’s birch trees made them suitable for building canoes?

4)   Many natives were skilled in working with plant materials. Name something that was made out of local plants.

 5)   Why do you think Americans today are so much more wasteful than the natives were in early America?