Special offer

Q46-50 Learning about the US government structure

By
Real Estate Agent with Advantage Avenue Real Estate

Want to become a US citizen? or just curious to see how much you know about your own country? 
The following questions are meant for US immigrants applying to become US citizens to help study in preparation for their interview.
This is for education purpose only.

Question 46: What are some of the requirements to be eligible to become President?
Question 47: Why are there 100 Senators in the United States Senate?
Question 48: Who nominates judges for the Supreme Court?
Question 49: How many Supreme Court justices are there?
Question 50: Why did the Pilgrims come to America?


Scroll down to read the official answers
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


Answer 46: A candidate for President must
be a native-born, not naturalized, citizen,
be at least 35 years old, and
have lived in the U.S. for at least 14 years.
The writers of the Constitution wanted the President to be an experienced leader with a strong connection to the United States. The eligibility requirements try to make sure that this happens. In Federalist Paper #64, John Jay wrote that the President should be a man "of whom the people have had time to form a judgment." This, Jay explains, is one main reason for the eligibility requirements. The youngest person in American history to become President was Theodore Roosevelt. Roosevelt entered the White House when he was 42 years old.


Answer 47: Each state elects 2 Senators.
The writers of the Constitution wanted the two parts of Congress to have different characters. By giving each state only two Senators, the writers made sure that the Senate would be small. This would keep the Senate more orderly than the larger House of Representatives. As James Madison wrote in Federalist Paper #63, the Senate should be a "temperate and respectable body of citizens" that operates in a "cool and deliberate" way.


Answer 48: The President nominates judges for the Supreme Court.
The process of nominating a Supreme Court Justice is an example of checks and balances. The executive branch has the power to choose the members of the judicial branch of the federal government. The legislative branch can check this power, since the Senate must confirm the President's nominee. However, once on the Court, the Justices have lifelong terms. Therefore, the judicial branch's power and independence is protected.


Answer 49: There are 9 Supreme Court justices.
The number of Justices is not established in the Constitution. In the past, it has been as high as ten and as low as six. Now, there are eight Associate Justices and one Chief Justice. The current Associate Justices are Ruth Bader Ginsburg, David Souter, Clarence Thomas, Stephen Breyer, Antonin Scalia, John Paul Stevens, Anthony Kennedy, and Sandra Day O‘Connor. The Chief Justice, William Rehnquist, passed away September 3, 2005. Judge John Roberts has been nominated to succeed Rehnquist as Chief Justice. Justice O‘Connor recently announced that she will retire as soon as a successor is confirmed.


Answer 50: To gain religious freedom
In the early 1600s, the Pilgrims left their homeland of England. They first went to Holland, where they lived for a few years, then America. Many English settlers sailed across the ocean to the American colonies during the 17th Century. Many came for political freedom or, like the Pilgrims, the right to practice their religion. Others came because of economic opportunity. These freedoms and opportunities often did not exist in the home countries of these settlers. For them, the American colonies meant a new chance in life and the freedom to live as they wanted.

 

For more questions visit the Table of Contents to see the entire list of questions that have been posted so far.


Mario

Comments (0)