Three Branches Of Government Essay

By creating three branches of government, the delegates built a “check and balance” system into the Constitution. This system was built so that no branch could become more powerful than the others. The delegates were afraid that if the government was run by one man or one group, the United States would end up under the rule of another dictator or tyrant. The delegates wanted to avoid the risk of dictatorship and tyranny, so they divided the government into three different parts, or branches: the legislative branch, the executive branch, and the judicial branch.

First, we will begin with the legislative branch. The legislative branch can make laws. It has the following checks over the executive branch: may override presidential vetoes with two-thirds vote, has

the power over the purse strings to actually fund any executive actions, may have the president removed through impeachment, senate approves treaties, senate approves president appointments. The legislative branch has the following checks over the judicial branch: creates lower courts, may remove judges’ trough impeachment, and senate can approve appointments for judges’.
The Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, also known as the Speaker of the House, serves as the presiding officer of the U.S. House of Representatives. The Speaker represents constituents as a Member of Congress, acting as administrative head of the House, and serving as leader of the majority political party in the House. The Speaker is the second in the U.S. Presidential line after the Vice President, but no speaker has ever acted as President.
The President Pro Tempore presides over the Senate whenever the Vice President is absent, and the Constitution provides for The President Pro Tempore.

In the years 1886 to 1947, the president pro tempore has been included in the presidential line of succession. In the Presidential Succession Act of 1792, The President Pro Tempore was the next one in line after the Vice President, and followed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives. In 1886, a new law removed both, The President Pro Tempore and the Speaker, from the line of succession, substituting Cabinet officers. Another law in 1947, changed the order of succession to place the Speaker of the House in line after the Vice President, followed by the President Pro Tempore, and then the Secretary of State and any other Cabinet Officers in order of their departments’ creation. This is the same system that we use today. Before 1890, the Senate elected a President Pro Tempore only during the period that the Vice President was absent. Since 1890, the President Pro Tempore has held office until the election of a successor. The President Pro Tempore has other Senators to take his place whenever he is absent, generally any new member of the majority

party.
The majority and minority leaders serve as spokesmen for their parties’ position on the issues. The majority also come to speak as an institution for the Senate. The majority works with the committee chairs and ranking members and schedules business by calling bills from the calendar, and keeps the members of his party aware of the daily legislative program.