The Relationship Between the US Presidency, The Supreme Court, Congress and the States

The Relationship Between the US Presidency, The Supreme Court, Congress and the States

When exploring the relationships between the three branches of

government and the states, one must first define each branch, and then

analyse this relationship. In order to do this, I will need to

carefully compare and evaluate the constitutional powers and checks

and balances placed on each branch within each state. This will lead

me into discovering how these relationships operate in reality.

The US President, often referred to as the ‘most powerful man in the

world’ is frequently misunderstood by casual observers when the issues

of his power and authority over the American country are addressed.

However, his position of being the ‘most powerful man in the world’ is

proved to be true when subject mater of foreign policies are dealt

with rather than domestics.

In the USA, the President is the person who holds office of the head

of state for the United States government. Although Article II of the

American Constitution sets out the powers of the President, it is

rather generalised and modest. None of the powers of the President are

entirely set out in the constitution, but are bounded by checks and

balances. For example, the President has the power to nominate members

of the executive and candidates for the Supreme Court; on the other

hand this requires the majority of support in the Senate.

Another constitutional power of the President is Commander-in-Chief.

In spite of this, the Congress has been given the sole right to

declare war on any other country or city that attacks the USA in any

form. In theory the congress are referred to as more superior than the

President, and are seen to have more power as they make the final

decisions on whether or not to declare war. However in practice, this

power has not been used since 1941. Congress also has the ‘power of

the purse’ which can control the Presidents war makings, but again

this as not always been effective.

Article II of the constitution states that, ‘The president shall from