Three Branches of Government - Protecting our freedom
The three branches of government, in the United States, were created to be based on the principle of constitutional checks and balances. If we turn back the page of history, we can see that the founding fathers believed that the three branches of government were critical to protecting the American Republic.
The Legislative branch, one of the three branches of government, is divided into the House of Representatives and Senate. The House must be the source of any budget Bills, the Senate has the ability to confirm Presidential acts such as treaties and appointments, and has the power to impeach the President. The legislative body collectively has responsibilities such as passing laws and declaring war. These powers are strictly given only to the legislative branch by the Constitution of the United States of America as part of the checks and balances.
The President, or the executive branch, is charged with executing acts of Congress as well as being the Commander in Chief of the military, which is very much an administrative part of the three branches of government. In some ways, the President has taken on a legislative role with executive orders, but they are very limited in scope in part because of their dubious constitutionality. Americans often seem to act as though the President has more power than he does, which can often put him in a precarious political situation that he might not deserve to be in. An interesting fact about the President is that he must not be a naturalized citizen. The founders put this in place to make sure that people of foreign nations did not take control of the Presidency to manipulate America to the advantage of a foreign nation. Only this branch, of the three branches of government, has a requirement such as this one and mandated by the constitution.
The Supreme Court, like the other of the three branches of government at the federal level, has checks and balances placed upon it. The President appoints the members of the court, and the Senate confirms the judges and has the power to impeach them. In the right circumstances, the Supreme Court can declare laws of Congress, and even acts of the President, unconstitutional, as its check on the legislative branch. In terms of checks and balances, the Judicial Branch absolutely is on the same level as the other two of the three branches of government.
The three branches of government often influence the public by the nature of how they are designed to interact. This can be very plainly seen by the public of the nation when the President chooses a nominee for the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court can often be a critical part of taking or denying rights to the people because its rulings are, well, Supreme, which makes it a very powerful institution. The President will try to make sure that his appointment follows his values, and the Congress will try to make sure that the nominee is acceptable. In the case of Supreme Court appointments, all of the three branches of government are in the public eye.
In the end, this system of checks and balances, between the three branches of government, was designed by the founding fathers to make sure that no member of part of the three branches of government had too much power, yet all the functions of governing could be accomplished by a dedicated body. Considering that we have the longest standing Constitution in the world, they must have done something right!
Frequently Asked - Who, what, where, when, why, and how information directory. Features listings and articles.