The Importance Of Separation Of Power In The United States

850 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Demonstrate the significance of the separation of powers doctrine

Our country is now taking so steady a course as to show by what road it will pass to destruction, to wit: by consolidation of power first, and then corruption, its necessary consequence,” (Doonething). If power is given to the wrong group of people and is not controlled by a just system, it will lead our country to destruction without an inescapable return to order. In my ideal constitution, I will set up a balanced system of three branches; legislative, executive and judicial. These three branches will make up what is called the separation of powers. Much like the checks and balances system used by the U.S. government to prevent corruption and the abuse of power, I will focus on three protections against these crimes. Similar to the US government, the legislative branch will have the power to make laws, and the president (executive branch) will have the power to veto, but …show more content…

The executive branch includes the President, the Vice-President and the Cabinet members. “The president can issue rules, regulations and instructions called executive orders, which have the binding force of law upon federal agencies but do not require congressional approval,” (iipdigital). The president has control over certain decisions that do require approval by Congress (legislative branch), such as making choices as commander-in-chief of the Us military. Moreover, the executive branch has the power to veto laws and appoint judicial officials to the Supreme Court. Not all of the decisions in the executive branch are taken by the President, the Vice President and his cabinet members are his advisors, which they all have a role from choosing to veto a law or justices. The executive branch not only work as effective group, but they make reasonable decisions together. This is functional for the purpose of avoiding one person to gain all of the

Show More
Related

  • Example Of Allocative Representation Essay

    1718 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Executive Branch can veto bills from the Legislative Branch, but the Legislative Branch can override the veto. An example of our checks and balance system is Obama’s plan for military action that requires congressional checks and balances; therefore, Congress has a constitutional duty to debate and vote on Obama’s plan to expand the US role in Iraq and Syria.

    Read More

  • Comparing The Sedition Act And The Revolution Of The 1800s

    1300 Words  | 3 Pages

    For hundreds of years, politicians have searched for the perfect form of government to be the foundation onto which a strong and prosperous nation can be built. A Democracy is a form of government by the people. In a Democracy, a code of law is not required and the majority always rules. Similarly, in a Republic, the power of the government resides with the people. In addition, a Republic requires a code of law, which protects the minority by limiting the majority, and a system of checks and balances. In the New Nation era, the Sedition Act and the Revolution of the 1800s demonstrated the need for a code of law in order to prevent revolts. Furthermore, in the Jacksonian Era, Andrew Jackson’s abuse of power exhibited the importance of checks

    Read More

  • Executive Branch Checks And Balances

    872 Words  | 2 Pages

    According to John Acton in 1887, “Absolute power corrupts absolutely”, meaning that if unlimited power is given to any one person, they can be corrupted by it. The framers of the Constitution recognized this and built in a plan to prevent this from happening and a result of this, the Constitution spreads power equally between the three branches of government: The Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches. These built-in checks and balances are very important to our government, because they keep one branch from gaining too much power over another. This balance of power prevents any branch of our government from being “corrupted absolutely”. This thesis will argue that this part of the Constitution is as important today as it was when first

    Read More

  • Power of the Branches

    1126 Words  | 3 Pages

    Our Constitution establishes three branches of government and defines their very existence. The reason for the three branches is to separate the powers. The phrase “separation of powers” isn’t in the constitution, but it best explains the intention of the Constitution. It is essential that the assignment of lawmaking, enforcing and interpreting be spread out among the separated powers to ensure that all power doesn’t fall into the lap of one group, or even a power-hungry individual. The powers of which I’m speaking that were intentionally separated by way of the Constitution are the Legislative Branch, Executive Branch and finally, the Judicial Branch.

    Read More

  • The Power Struggle between the President and Congress

    862 Words  | 2 Pages

    From the inception of the Constitution, there has always been a power struggle between the President and Congress. In the beginning, Madison and the Jeffersonians were placed in a gridlock with Hamilton and his school of political philosophy. Andrew Jackson fought to extend the powers of the President, then Congress spent 50 years fighting to repeal the powers of the Executive. Abraham Lincoln refined Jacksonian presidential politics, then Congress impeached his successor, Andrew Johnson, for fear of another quasi -- tyrannical President. Even today, a Congress, whose majority is of the same party as the President, fights 24 hours a day to check the power of President George W. Bush. But why, and how? Inherent Power Struggles Within the Constitution: Article I, Section I -- "All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and a House of Representatives" VS. Article II, Section I -- "The executive power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America" Article II, Section II -- "The President shall be the Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several states, when called into the actual service of the United States" - The Founders' ambiguous and contradicting language sets the stage for a power struggle between the Executive and the Legislative branches - Being that the Founders were political masterminds, they realized that unique circumstances would demand some deviations from the restraints that the Constitution places on both the Executive and the Legislature - Founders anticipated that during times of crisis', the nation would need ...

    Read More

  • The Power Struggle of the States and Federal Government in the United States

    1531 Words  | 4 Pages

    To define the terminology of federalism to a simplistic way is the sharing of sovereignty between the national government and the local government. It is often described as the dual sovereignty of governments between the national and the local to exert power in the political system. In the US it is often been justified as one of the first to introduce federalism by the ‘founding fathers’ which were developed in order to escape from the overpowered central government. However, federalism in the United States is hitherto uncertain where the power lies in the contemporary political system. In this essay I will outline and explain how power relationship alternates between states and federal government. Moreover I will also discuss my perspective by weighing the evidence based upon resources. Based on these resources, it will aid me to evaluate the recent development in the federal-state relationship.

    Read More

  • The Separation of Power and Its Significance for the Political System

    590 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Separation of Power and Its Significance for the Political System The principle behind the separation of power is to limit the powers of government by separating governmental functions into the executive, legislative and judiciary. The concept has its fullest practical expression in the US constitution. James Madison, who was later to become the fourth US President said: “The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, self-appointed, or elective, may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny”. In Madison’s vision, the federal government and state governments, as well as the legislature, executive and judiciary would be clearly divided and each would be given a clear motive to check each other.

    Read More

  • The Difference Between Separation of Powers and Federalism

    308 Words  | 1 Pages

    Separation of powers is the separation of branches under the constitution by the legislative, judicial, and executive branches of government. Federalism is a government system that includes the national government, which shares sovereign powers with fifty state governments.

    Read More

  • The Three Branches of the U.S. Federal Government

    987 Words  | 2 Pages

    The executive branch has the power to veto bills and laws passed by the Congress, and the executive branch sees the laws through. All the branches, however democratic, are set-up for the people and to carry out the public’s will. If any of the branches were unable to do so, the system would not have survived 200 years.

    Read More

  • Preventing Tyranny: The Power of the Constitution

    1370 Words  | 3 Pages

    separation of powers, which means that the government is separated into separate branches so that they can spread out the power so that one branch of government can have more pull in what happen in the decisions made for the well-being of the country. One way that the documents show the way that the constitution uses the separation of powers to guard against tyranny is when it has the people in the government that make the largest decisions able to serve for a term of only a few years. The separation of powers protects against tyranny because it makes sure that one branch of government can be more powerful and have more say than another so that there can 't be any tyranny. This means that the Legislative Branch should be completely different from the Executive or the Judicial Branch. This would separate all the powers needed into three separate parties. The different branches could have different viewpoints to make sure that almost everyone is pleased with the government. This may prevent tyranny by making people not want to try to take over the government because they think it is in good hands and the three branches of government are hard to take over, since there are three whole branches. In conclusion, the Constitution, may protect us from tyranny in this

    Read More

  • Structure of American and California Governments

    9636 Words  | 20 Pages

    The United States of America is one of the most powerful nation-states in the world today. The framers of the American Constitution spent a great deal of time and effort into making sure this power wasn’t too centralized in one aspect of the government. They created three branches of government to help maintain a checks and balance system. In this paper I will discuss these three branches, the legislative, the executive, and the judicial, for both the state and federal level.

    Read More

  • Why The Executive Branch Is The Most Powerful

    631 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Executive branch is all under the President's command, he is the one in charge of the final decisions. The Executive may veto the bill, all the hard work from the rest of the branches for the Executive to deny the bill. It also enforces laws which can be a major responsibility. It can also negotiate foreign treaties with other countries, in other words they inform and talk to other countries about what is happening. The President appoints the federal judge and this judge has his job for life or until he resigns.

    Read More

  • The Three Branches of Government

    1075 Words  | 3 Pages

    The United States government braces its power among three powerful branches, legislative, executive and judicial. These branches interact with one another to establish authority that is strong, yet equal to have power over the country. Each branch pursues certain responsibilities and duties to operate in an efficient and effective manner in which society upholds. The executive, legislative and judicial branches all interact amid each other to validate accuracy of the nation’s most powerful law of the land, the Constitution. It is important to know how these branches interact with each other to learn how a bill becomes a law. Reflecting on how the three branches promote a balance of power that is constructive to include the agendas and electoral roles that also plays a vast part in the government’s operation.

    Read More

  • The Importance Of The Separation Of Powers

    500 Words  | 1 Pages

    One of the biggest threats to a thriving country is a tyrannical government. To prevent this, the Founders declared that the power of the government must be separated. This principle, the Separation of Powers, states that, to prevent tyranny, one governmental branch cannot have supremacy over the country. The power must be divided among three branches. These are the executive, judicial, and legislative branches. The Separation of Powers is of equal importance now as when the Constitution was written because it prevents tyranny.

    Read More

  • Ideal Political System Essay

    941 Words  | 2 Pages

    The executive branch includes the head of government/head of state and their cabinet. As the leader of the state, the executive is considered the “top-tier of government.” Their job is to be the political leader of a country. In the case of

    Read More

More about The Importance Of Separation Of Power In The United States

Open Document