US Congress for Kids: Over 200 Years of Lawmaking, Deal-Breaking, and Compromising, with 21 Activities

US Congress for Kids: Over 200 Years of Lawmaking, Deal-Breaking, and Compromising, with 21 Activities — page 1
FOREWORD t’s an exciting time to learn about Congress and our government Congress truly is a body of the people by the people and for the people Together members of Congress repre sent the entire nation bringing with them a range of diverse backgrounds interests and experiences to make decisions on behalf of the American people The Constitution confers great power upon Congress to govern Throughout history the work of the Congress has greatly changed the nation It abolished slavery and created new federal programs under President Roosevelt s New Deal to bring the country out of the Great Depression It passed civil rights laws to end racist practices and established environmental protections to guarantee the safety of the air we breathe and the water we drink It changed the landscape of national security after Sep tember 11 and passed landmark health care reform to provide better health care to all Americans Many of the most important figures in our nation's history have been members of Congress Approximately half of this country's