April 21, 2013
Principles of the Constitution
POS 301
Part I: Principles of the Constitution | | DEFINITION | | Self-Government | A government in which the people who live in a place make laws for themselves. | In Massachusetts Bay, men who owned property could go to a town meeting and vote. | Separation of Powers | Power of the Constitution is divided among the three branches. | James Madison and the other authors of the Constitution created three branches to make sure that the government’s powers were limited. | Checks and Balances | A system that lets each branch limit the power of the other two. | No single branch or person had the power to run the United States alone. |
The U.S. Constitution is the
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Part II: The Three Branches of the Government |
Legislative Branch Headed by Congress (Senate and House of Representatives) * Pass Laws * Originate Bills * Impeach officials * Approve treaties
Executive Branch Headed by the president * Direct the government * Command the Armed Forces * Deal with international powers * Act as chief law enforcement officer * Veto laws
Judicial Branch Headed by the Supreme Court * Interpret the Constitution * Review laws * Decide cases involving states’ rights
Balance of Power Interaction/The ways each branch of the national government can check the power of the other two branches:
The Supreme Court can declare a law passed by Congress unconstitutional
The Supreme Court can declare the President’s actions unconstitutional
The President chooses the judges for the national government’s courts
The President approves or vetoes laws passed by Congress
Congress must approve the judges the President chooses for the national court
If two-thirds of the Senate and House agree, Congress can pass a law even if the president has vetoed it
How a bill becomes a law:
All of the laws in the United States begin as a bill, which must be approved by the Senate, House of Representatives, and the President. The bill stars as an idea from a representative or a citizen who has an idea and tells their representative about the idea. The representative then decides if the idea is
The government of the United States of America has been around for over 2 centuries, in this time the original setup has been little altered. The government is composed of three individual branches: judicial, executive, and legislative branches. All three branches are held together using a system of checks and balances. While each branch has some kind of trump or has control over another branch, some branches are arguably more powerful than others. The main focus of this paper will be on where the executive branch stands power-wise. When our founding fathers first started building our nation from the dust, they had in mind a system of branches where no one branch was more powerful than the others. The decision of whether or not they hit
Power was distributed through each government body, giving each their own responsibilities and equal power (Document B). “Liberty requires that the three great departments of power should be separate and distinct”. Madison did not want the power in one person (B). Each branch had an important job such as legislative powers should be vested in Congress, the executive should be vested in the President of the United States, and the Judicial should be invested in one Supreme Court (B). James Maddison wanted a person elected to the House of Representatives to serve at the same time on Supreme Court because he wanted the government separate (B). This safeguard has been established to make sure each branch doesn’t control the government
With the concept of majority tyranny in mind, the founder’s, including Madison, divided the power of the government into three different branches. The need
A law in the Articles of Confederation in the Executive Branch, “No executive to administer and enforce legislation” (Document 5). There was no executive leader (president) because the people were scared a king or tyrant would be created. The framers of the Constitution wrote in a president because they believed having one person to enforce laws would leave a positive effect on the United States. The federalists believed in a “Strong Federal government” (Document 3) because they wanted the United States to be a strong
We created the three branches of government, so that each branch as a different power, but having them all work together to be able to function themself. Therefore not giving any of the branches enough power to overthrow one another. These branches consist of the Legislative branch, which is separated into two groups, The House of representative, which is in charge of originating spending bills. The we have the Senate, which is in charge of impeaching officials and approving treaties. But all together they have the power to pass laws, which is headed by
In 1787, it was decided that the Articles of Confederation was not a good enough guide for the government of the United States as it didn’t give the national government enough power, and was too weak. That summer, fifty-five delegates from twelve of thirteen states met in Philadelphia to create a fix to this. Tyranny is when a leader or group of leaders dictate with harsh and absolute power. The country had just finished a war to end tyranny, and their new challenge was to create a new government with a strong center, however not let one person or group of people get so much power as that would create tyranny. The delegates at this Constitutional Convention created a document called the Constitution.
In the case of one branch trying to gain total control, the other two branches have legal power to hold them in their spot. Presidents can veto legislative bills and congress and override that, judicial can review their passed bills and deem them unconstitutional and throw them out. These checks have been created to ensure no one power gains complete control. Another form of check is State versus Central government. To create a form of double jeopardy, States have their own powers, as to make sure the central government itself does not become a tyranny (Doc A).
This led to the Constitution further being divided into three branches in order to maintain a balance of power within the government, which is how our current government remains today.
Madison felt that the branches should be able to have power over each other. Each branch has something different , legislative is invested by congress, executive is invested by the president and judicial is invested by the supreme court. Checks and balances ....” the constant aim is to divide and arrange the several offices in such a manner as they may be a check on the (The three branches) shouldnot be so far separated as to have no constitutional control over each other.” (Document C).
During the Writing of the United States Constitution, the Framers wanted a new government, but NOT a king. They split up the Government into three branches, the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches. The Executive branch is run by the president. The Framers wanted the president to have power, but not too much power where he converts into a king. The Frames decided to allow him to give executive orders over laws.
In our newest Constitution, the Framers created three branches of government: Judicial, Legislative, and Executive. These branches were made to have each of their own powers, as to keep the others in check. This system with separation of powers and checks and balances has run our country for more than two-hundred years. One of the main problems facing the Framers in 1787 was where to assign leadership of the United States. In which branch should the power be vested in? Should one branch have more power than another? The division of power is still an issue that exists today. In this essay, I will look at the three branches of government, their power, and how the branches balance each other.
The U.S Constitution prevents the abuse of power by dividing the federal government into three branches. Each branch has their own assigned responsibilities and has authority to limit the power of other branches. This is done through a system of checks and balances, all of which are crucial in maintaining the balance of power within the U.S government. One of the most important checks and balances occurs between the legislative and executive branches of government. It works so that the President can veto any laws created by Congress, but Congress can override the veto with a two-thirds vote. This check and balance is extremely important in fulfilling the goals of
The United States Founding Fathers built this country, the United States, around three branches of federal government: Legislative Branch, Executive Branch, and Judicial Branch. All three of these branches contain equally amount of power. Also these branches are granted the power to keep the other branches from gaining too much power. The Executive Branch has the power to veto a bill, while the Legislative Branch has the power override the veto. But some will say that the checks and balances that the Judicial Branch has are most important checks and balances of all three branches.
Before anything else can even be considered, a congressman must propose the bill. Under our republican government, no one but an elected representative can propose the bill, but anyone can draft them. The president, or any other citizens can write as many bill as they want, but unless they get a congressman to propose it, it won’t ever reach the speaker.
You started out as just an idea. The Senate decided they wanted you to become a law, but before you become a law there is so many steps. But Bill, do not worry. That will only make it worse. Let me help you explain the process. If the Senate votes no with not at least one half plus one one of the people, that's called a quorum. So after you get a quorum in the Senate they send you the the House of Representatives. The good thing is you don't have to walk! They will carry you. So then the House of Representatives votes on you, and if they pass you with a quorum you get to go to the President. But if they don't pass you with at least one half plus one, you go back to the original Chamber and get all fixed up. Oh yeah i forgot to tell you, a Chamber is either the