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Judicial Branch Dbq

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The political cartoon analyzes the branches of government using football as a metaphor to show checks and balances that limit the power of the government. Furthermore, checks and balances work for the U.S. government because powers are delegated to each branch and the checks allow for equity among the branches. In the cartoon, the legislative branch and the executive branch are playing against each other while the judicial branch is the referee. In document one, Congress has the power to write laws, but the president can veto the bills that Congress proposes. Thus, the powers balance out the branches’ powers, which keeps them in a tight line of what they are allowed to do. Also, the President appoints judges, but Congress can reject them. They …show more content…

Although, officials of congress have to be elected after two and six years they can be elected continuously instead of being constrained to two terms. Although the Supreme Court Justices are nominated, they serve until they die or retire which allows for them to not be swayed by political views. The judicial branch has the upper hand here because once the justices are elected, they do not have to bend to the whims of Congress or the President, instead they focus on the constitutionality of a law. This especially significant because the cartoon depicts them as the referee because not many checks are put on the Judicial branch, but they do have the powerful check of judicial review. The only problem is they do not have an army to carry out their commands unlike the Executive branch. In document four, Congress has the power to declare war so that the President cannot make decisions hastily. The War Powers Act establishes that the President can send troops overseas, but within sixty days Congress has to declare war. The act itself has loopholes that the president can use to have troops stay over for ninety days, but troops have to be removed unless Congress gives the command of

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