Aspects of the American Political System: Checks and Balances

The concept of power is a divisive matter in the American political system, as the actors holding it are sometimes unable to impose it as a result of their limited authority to do so. The legislative, executive, and judicial branches in the national government depend on each-others point of view. Part of the Constitution was designed with the purpose of making it impossible for either of these three to become more powerful than the others. Each of them has the ability to check and balance the way that the other two function. In spite of the fact that this system was created with the intention of preventing power from being shared unequally in the country, it sometimes serves as a tool for political gridlock, considering that the judicial branches can debate in regard to a particular topic for unlimited amounts of time before actually reaching a conclusion regarding the respective issue.

To prevent from one branch of government having all power, and therefore having tyranny, (Madison FP # 47) Checks and Balances was added to the defenses of the constitution. There are three branches of government: Legislative Branch (Congress), Executive Branch (President), and Judicial Branch (The Courts). These three branches work together to check one another to make sure the power is evenly distributed and balanced, hence the name Checks and Balances. The way it works is that the Legislative Branch (Congress) can check the Executive Branch (President) by approving Presidential nominations, being able to override a President’s veto, and can impeach the President, him or her, from office. The Legislative Branch can check the Judicial Branch by having Senate confirm Presidential nominations and by being able to impeach judges and remove them from office. The President can check the Legislative Branch by vetoing Congressional legislation, and can check the Judicial Branch by nominating judges. The Judicial Branch can check the Legislative Branch by declaring laws unconstitutional, and can check the Executive Branch by declaring presidential acts unconstitutional. (Madison FP # 51) All three branches of government work together to make sure no branch is abusing their limited power, by using the system Checks and

The United States government braces its power among three powerful branches, legislative, executive and judicial. These branches interact with one another to establish authority that is strong, yet equal to have power over the country. Each branch pursues certain responsibilities and duties to operate in an efficient and effective manner in which society upholds. The executive, legislative and judicial branches all interact amid each other to validate accuracy of the nation’s most powerful law of the land, the Constitution. It is important to know how these branches interact with each other to learn how a bill becomes a law. Reflecting on how the three branches promote a balance of power that is constructive to include the agendas and

“Enlightened statesmen will not always be at the helm.” With this statement, Madison aptly points out in Federalist 10 that United States citizens might not always elect the most qualified or well-intentioned political leaders (24). In our current presidential political climate, these words seem more pertinent than ever. There is no question that the powers of the presidency have increased since the founding of the United States, but what are the implications of this for American democracy? Increased presidential powers are taking power away from Congress, undermining the system of checks and balances, and ultimately hurting American democracy. Concentration of power in the executive branch circumvents democratic deliberation and limits

The United States government consists of three main branches: the legislative, the executive, and the judicial. Within the contents of this essay, the judicial branch will be examined. The judicial branch of the United States government oversees justice throughout the country by expounding and applying laws by means of a court system.1 This system functions by hearing and determining the legality of such cases.2 Sitting at the top of the United States court system is the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court of the United States encompasses the federal judiciary, explicitly the judicial branch. This court is comprised of life-long serving Justices who are selected by the President of the United States and approved by the Senate.3 Cooperatively,

American politics is often defined by a continuing power conflict between the executive and the legislative branches of the government. This struggle for political power between the two stronger branches of the three is inherent in the Constitution, itself. The concepts of separation of powers and checks and balances ensure that the branches of government will remain in conflict and provide a balance that keeps the entire government under control. As it was first established, the executive branch was much smaller and weaker than as we know it today. Consequently, the legislative branch was unquestionably dominant. Over the course of history, the executive branch grew in both size and power to the point where it occasionally overtook the

The Constitution provided many ways to prevent tyranny such as popular sovereignty, federalism, etc., but this paper focuses on the two most important; checks and balances and separation of powers. Separation of Powers was a brilliant idea, because it gave each branch of the government certain powers that the other branches didn’t have (Document D), and the other branches couldn’t take that power away from each other.

In conclusion, checks and balances between branches can protects against one, a few, or many harsh and greedy

After much trial-and-error in attempt to establish a satisfactory form of government for the American people, a system of checks and balances was installed. Due to the separation of powers among three branches of government, this system ensures that there is no concentration of government power that will go unchallenged by different representations of the people. With this in mind, the defined powers of the Court are to “ensure uniformity in interpreting national laws, resolve conflicts among states, and maintain national supremacy in law” (Edwards, Wattenberg, and Lineberry 509); these powers are confirmed by the rulings of such cases like Marbury v. Madison and McCulloch v.

First, let’s clarify that the Supreme Court is the court of the land. After reading the book of Cheeseman and some research from the website that the Checks and Balances is needed because according to Muller “it is the framers of the Constitution designed the U.S. government so that each branch had a check on the others. In this way, no one branch would have absolute authority. Judicial review is the main way the Supreme Court can check the legislative branch's power. If a case before the court raises a constitutional question, the justices may decide a law violates the Constitution. Congress then has the power to pass another law to override that court ruling. Of course, that law, if challenged, would be subject to further judicial review” (Muller,2013).

Governments play an important role in a society by providing it with a set of rules and structures in order to keep it in order and its citizens safe from harm. The United States is governed by a Democracy which is the best type of government because of the rights it gives to its citizens and the steps that it takes to ensure that the government doesn’t have too much power over its citizens.

Madison said “If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary.” (Madison, 1788). A system of checks and balances needed to be implemented. Madison argued that the only way the government could be effective was to allow it to “control the governed, and in the next place [be obliged] to control itself” (Madison, 1788). The Executive Branch is responsible for implementing the laws passed by the Legislative Branch, and those same laws are either upheld or rejected by the Judicial Branch. The three branches of government must work together to provide for the general welfare. The fragmentation of the power, along with a system of checks and balances, greatly diminishes the ability for one branch to gain too much power. This guarantees the rights of the people and ensures the government’s ability to govern.

James Madison warned the young American nation of factions at its conception, describing groups of individuals perpetually discontent with the status quo. Such groups would find compromise impossible, isolating themselves in the vast, untamed wilderness of the young country. Madison’s prognosis, however, offered the slim positive that the nation was large enough to contain the factions without conflict because so long as they remained in the minority, they posed no threat in a democracy. However, Daniel J. Boorstin’s evaluation of the nation’s health leans towards illness, as he correctly argues that while “disagreement is the lifeblood of a democracy, dissension is its cancer.” Democracy functions through disagreeing opinions coalescing to

Out of Friedman’s list of problems that American will be facing in the coming decade, it is hard to justify which one is the most important. Some of the problems are not even problems yet. However, I think the most important problem right now relates to the first chapters to Friedman’s novel; which is the balance of power in America. America has to find the balance of power and morals. As Friedman has explained that we have unintentionally become an empire, it is taking away from the republic that the founders originally set out for it to be.

The United States started as a nation that was to be built on the philosophy of a no party system. George Washington once said “However [political parties] may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government, destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion.” Our government was built for the people. Under the Article of Confederation, it states that the states had to agree on issues unanimously. But with the passing of the United States Constitution, the constitution different opinions and ways of thinking throughout the population, the country began to form parties to represent each citizen. In our current society, we have two main parties. These parties are the Democratic and Republican parties. Both parties have different views regarding social programs, health care, and individual liberty. Though on the surface they seem diverse, they do share similarities. Democrats and Republicans believe in the democracy that the country was built on. They agree on tax cuts, foreign aid, and spending. No matter what the issue may be, they are run by the same people and the same government.