Like nature, the United States government has evolved to meet the demands of an ever growing population, the increasing terrorist threat, and a new state of mind in terms of what government should look like. Each branch of the federal system plays a key role in controlling the populace. The Executive branch handles day-to-day maintenance of the federal government, makes sure laws are enforced and carried out, as well as represents the U.S. to foreign interests. The Legislative branch passes laws and allocates funds for use in running the federal government and providing assistance to the states. The Judicial branch hears cases that involve disputes between interpretations of the laws or those that challenge them. A delicate balance …show more content…
Cuba, due to the sinking of the U.S. Maine was taken over, and is now regulated by the U.S. government as a result of the Spanish-American War, while China was forced to keep an Open Door Policy, which caused the Boxer Rebellion. After World War Two, America became the leading world power, the foreign policy opened up with the creation of the United Nations, Marshall Plan, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. During the Cold War, the main objective was to prevent the spread of Communism; however, afterwards global peace became the main objective ("War…”). Third, what changes have been made to each power? The executive branch has grown the most since the late 1800’s. Abraham Lincoln used his position as Commander-in-Chief, and used the Chief Executive Clause in his Emancipation Proclamation to build an army to take over the South, as well as, suspended liberties (habeas corpus). This showed the executive branch gained power in times of war, causing it to have more power than the other branches (Yoo, John). Theodore Roosevelt used all powers of the president to further his agendas, without extending from the Constitution. In his “Square Deal”, he pressed for more government involvement in the U.S. economy and regulation of business, as well as, more legislative powers for the president. ("American…”). Woodrow Wilson’s “New Freedom” created the Federal
Throughout the lifespan of the American government, there have been changes to the different branches. One cannot simply claim that they are exactly as the Founding Fathers had designed them and pictured them; they have become so much more. Among these changes are the adoption of the 17th Amendment, the general surrender of control of power to the executive branch, and the centralization of power to a couple of congressional leaders in recent years. These are some of the most important changes that have altered the Congress and the American government in general.
In 1789, the first official government of the United States of America was established. The power was divided into three branches, the executive, legislative, and judicial branches in order to maintain democracy. This system has remained relatively unchanged and is in use today. However, within each of these branches many changes have transpired to accommodate the expanding and fluctuating American society, such as the introduction of Cabinet Departments in the Executive Branch, the establishment of new laws and Amendments by the Legislative Branch, and rulings on issues by the Judicial Branch.
The legislative branch has the Senate and the House of Representatives, the House of Representatives has the power to initiate revenue bills, impeach federal officials, and elect the President in the case of an Electoral College tie. The Senate takes action on bills, resolutions, amendments, motions, nominations, and treaties by voting. The executive branch has the president who can make treaties with the approval of the Senate, veto and sign bills, represent our nation in talks with foreign countries, enforce the laws that Congress passes, act as Commander-in-Chief during a war, and call out troops to protect our nation against an attack. The judicial branch has the supreme court who can interpret the meaning of a law, to decide whether a law is relevant to a particular set of facts, or to rule on how a law should be applied. This shows that all the branches of government have their own unique powers to keep power levels equal.
Each branch is staffed separately, with their equality and independence protected by the Constitution (O’Connor &Sabato, 2018, p. 28). As a result of this division of power, each branch has a different primary function. The legislative branch creates laws, the executive branch enforces laws, and the judicial branch interprets laws. Although this system is in place, each branch of government has a role in the other, a sort of interdependency. The checks and balances system was created so that each of the three branches of government could have some control and say over the other branches’ actions. In addition, the Framers created this system in order to eliminate the possibility of any one branch infringing on the rights of the people. For example, the legislative branch has the power to impeach the president and can propose constitutional amendments to override judicial decisions. The executive branch can veto a legislation and has the power to appoint federal judges. Finally, the judicial branch can rule federal and state laws unconstitutional, and can declare executive branch actions
Over 200 years ago the United States’ Founding Fathers created a unique system of government that allowed a balance to exist between both the federal government and the separate state governments. Through the three branches of government, specifically the executive and legislative branches, the United States has been able to act as a unified body with several varying individual parts. With the executive branch and the legislative branch each having outlined powers of their own the Founders were able to equally balance the power of the national government and the state governments. Although this system has managed to stay in tact for two centuries and has allowed the United States of America to become a dominate player in international affairs, there has consistently been a battle of power between the president in the executive branch and the two houses of congress in the legislative branch. As the United States continues to evolve and face multiple obstacles, so does the relationship between these two branches.
The structure of the United States Government created by the founding fathers is a foundation that holds the country together. It has gathered the trust of the American citizens and used it to make decisions that make America a better nation. The government is made up of three main branches, the Legislative branch, the Executive branch, and the Judicial branch. The branches are vital to America 's social and political integrity and the organization is considered one of the most unique forms of government in the world today. The three branches work together to face and solve the problems that confront the nation as a whole. The government changes as new viewpoints are taken by new generation, but the same
The constitution was established by men who had experienced the dictatorships of Europe and had escaped from its grasp. They sought to establish a form of government that would never allow a dictatorship or tyrant ruler to hold power over the people like in the places they had fled. With their creation of the foundation of what our government is today they created a system where 3 branches were all of equal power and each could be overruled by another which prevented any branch becoming superior of another. The separation of powers provides a system of shared power called Checks and Balances.(2) The three branches are legislative, judicial and executive and they each have specific powers to
According to the constitution of the United States the federal government is divided up into three branches to ensure an equal and balanced government and to make sure that no one or branch of government has too much power. The three branches are the legislative branch, executive branch, and the judicial branch. Each branch serves different purposes in the United States federal government and each branch is made up of different federal government employees. For example, the legislative branch make the laws. The legislative branch has the power to impeach the U.S. President and declare war. The legislative branch is made up of U.S. Congress which include the Senate and House of Representatives. Then there’s the executive branch which carry
The founding fathers divided the federal government in to three separate branches allowing each branch to place restraints on the powers exerted by the other branches. To prevent one branch from becoming superior and to induce cooperation among the three branches a system of checks and balances was created. The Legislative Branch writes and enacts laws, enacts taxes, sets the budget and has the sole power to declare war. They may start investigations against the Executive Branch and ratifies treaties. The Executive Branch may veto laws and refuse to spend money allocated for certain purposes. They may wage war or declare a state of emergency and promulgates regulations and executive orders. The Executive Branch appoints judges to the Supreme Court and has the power to pardon convicted criminals. The Judiciary Branch determines which laws apply to any given case and which laws are
The power of the executive branch is vested by the President of the United States. This branch is the largest branch that operates with assistance from the Vice President, agencies and members to successfully lead the government. The executive branch mainly operates based on the responsibilities and duties of the President implementing and forcing laws written by Congress (Whitehouse.gov). However, the interactions that the executive branch has with the other branches productively endorse power. The interactions that the executive branch has with the legislative branch are carrying out and enforce the laws that
The United States Government has three branches, legislative power, executive power, and judicial power. The founders of a division of power did not want all the power to be centralized in a monarch or anyone else, so they divided the legal authority into the three branches. Legislative power creates new laws, the constitution gives this power to congress, which is made up of the senate and the house of representatives. Executive power gives the authority to enforce laws, the commander and chief of armed forces is the president and the head of the executive branch. Judicial power gives the right to interpret the laws and determine their validity, the United States supreme court is head of the branch. The judicial
America is called a democracy which means that the government is designed to be run by the people. Since it is a representational democracy, this means that instead of voting for everything directly, the people vote for others who will then make a great deal of the decisions regarding laws of the land. The United States' government is comprised of three branches: the Legislative, Judicial, and Executive. Each branch is responsible for certain tasks which when all branches are working together create a democratic government which serves to protect the people. The job of the legislative branch, which is Congress, is tasked with making the laws of the United States. The judicial branch's, the courts and judges with the Supreme Court at the top, responsibility is to interpret the laws and to see if they are constitutional which means that they do not go against what the Constitution says is legal for the country. The Executive Branch is headed by the President of the United States as well as those who directly report to him. Their job is to enforce the laws and to make sure that all the citizens of the country follow the laws of the federal government.
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,
The executive branch of the Unites States government consists of the President, Vice President, Executive Office of the President (EOP), and the Cabinet (Citation). The President is the highest official of the Executive branch. The powers of the President are wide-ranging and highly substantial but were also drafted in the constitution to be limited by the other two branches of government. The remaining branches of government are the Legislative branch and the Judicial branch. There functions of all the branches are interrelated and the restraints on the amount of power each reserves are also coordinated. This correlation involves the system of checks and balances which was implemented by the framers of the Constitution. The President, as
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