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Checks and Balances
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- Checks and balances. After breaking from a British government that lorded over the colonists, the
- framers of the Constitution wanted to make sure that their government did not get too powerful. In order to do this, they established
- three separate branches of government that would each have its own specific powers. The three branches of government are the
- legislative, the executive, and the judicial. The legislative branch, or Congress, is comprised of the House of
- Representatives and the Senate. This branch has the power to make laws, the power to tax and spend, the power to approve treaties, and the power to
- declare war. The executive branch consists of the president, the executive and cabinet departments, and the independent
- governing agencies like the IRS. The president is the head of the executive branch. He has the power to carry out the laws passed by Congress,
- recommend new legislation, set foreign policies, and nominate Supreme Court justices.
- The judicial branch is comprised of the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals, and the District Court. The Supreme Court is the highest court
- in the judicial branch. This branch has the power to interpret all laws and decide cases involving state rights.
- In order to ensure that no one branch becomes more powerful than the other, a system of checks and balances was incorporated into the Constitution.
- In other words, each branch of government would be able to check the powers of the other. Take for example, the process of passing
- a law. A bill must be passed through both houses of Congress before it goes to the president for approval. The president can either sign the bill
- or veto the bill. Even if the bill is vetoed, Congress may overturn the veto with a 2/3 majority vote.
- The Supreme Court has the final say because it can decide if a law is constitutional or unconstitutional.
- In the framework of the Constitution, there are many powers issued to each branch of government. In order to keep these powers from growing too strong and
- allowing one branch to overpower the others, there are many other ways that one branch can check the power of another.
- Consider the following examples. The president has the power to order troops to fight, but only Congress can formally declare war.
- So, without Congress's support, the president cannot maintain a war even though the president is the commander-in-chief of the military.
- The president makes judicial appointments, but these must be confirmed by the Senate before they can be made judges.
- The president can issue an executive order, but the judicial branch can find it unconstitutional and overturn the order.
- Supreme Court justices are appointed for life, but they can be impeached by Congress or removed from office. The court system can imprison a citizen.
- However, the president can pardon the individual and set the individual free. This system of checks and balances gives each branch of government a voice in the
- country's affairs. If one branch ever tries to overstep its boundaries, there is always a check in place for one of the other two branches to pull the one
- branch back into a balance of power.