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The United States Constitution: Checks And Balances

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The United States constitution has a system specifically designed to prevent one of the three branches of government from gaining too much power. This system is called Checks and Balances. Throughout the course of history, this system has been put into use many times. Each branch is checked by the other two in many ways, some more than others. The balancing and checking of the federal government is important so that one branch does not become superior to the others. The president may be the most powerful elected leader in the U.S., but the other branches help to limit the executive branch's’ power. The Legislative branch checks the Executive branch in many ways. They can override a presidential veto with ⅔ vote, remove a president through impeachment and they also approve executive appointments. In 1868, the house of representative impeached their first president, Andrew Johnson. The Judicial branch also plays an important role in checking the power of the executive branch. Their judges are appointed for life and are free of any presidential influence plus the …show more content…

Otto Kerner had been convicted of bribery and in July 1974, he resigned after being told that the House Judiciary committee would vote to impeach him immediately after they were done with proceedings against President Richard Nixon. The Executive branch can nominate judges to the supreme and federal courts, the president can pardon individuals convicted of crime and grant amnesty, forgiving a class of crime. Gerald Ford granted Richard Nixon a full and unconditional pardon just before he could be indicted. Therefore, the Judicial branch is still checked in many

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