There are three branches of the United States government that function together to protect individual rights and the common good throughout history and present day. The supreme law of the land known as the Constitution has been amended, enforced through departments and agencies, and interpreted through proper reviewing to determine if a law is constitutional, which is done in both state and national level. This balance will continue to keep our unified United States government properly functioning. .
The legislative branch of the United States government uses important principles to form a system which makes laws and amendments. This branch consists of Congress, which has two houses, Senate and House of Representatives. An example of how this branch makes the laws is the process of how a bill becomes a law. When a bill is introduced into one house, it has to go through many procedures to actually become a law. A bill has to be passed through one house and several committees for it to go to the other house. Then the other house has to repeat the same procedures. Eventually when a bill is passed through both houses, respective leaders have to sign it, including the President. If he vetoes it, it has to go through the same process again or he can sign it and make it an official law. This is one way Congress makes the laws. Another one of the legislative branch's duties is to take part in the amendment process. Amendments can either be added to the U.S. Constitution or they can be changed. An amendment is commonly proposed by Congress with a two-thirds vote in both Senate and the House of Representatives. Next, it has to be ratified by a three-fourths vote in the state legislatures to become official. An excellent example of how Congress created laws to protect the common good is definitely the changes that were made to buildings after the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire. This fire took place around the spring of 1911 in a clothing factory building in New York City.