The following paper will discuss the branches of the United States government. The paper will include reasons why our forefathers divided the government into the legislative, judicial, and presidential branches; how the branches interact with each other and how the braches are balanced in power. This paper will also discuss the success of the three branches and how conflict arose between supporters of a strong federal government versus supporters of states’ rights. Finally, the paper will include possible suggestions of different efficiency designs along the way. Reasons behind the Equal 3 The reasons why the Unites States forefathers divide the government into the legislative, judicial, and presidential braches are because of the limited and self-government traditions during the colonial period (Patterson, 2008, p. 36). The United States did not want to be a government like England. The United States did not want a dictatorship or monarchy when they broke away from Britain. The United States forefathers wanted to create a government that promoted a majority rule, but also has restrictions on the amount of power of the majority. Under the Articles of Confederation, protecting the rights of the people and building a strong centralized government was necessary. This is why the United States adopted the legislative, judicial, and presidential branches. Each branch holds both power and restrictions while working together, called a checks and balance system. The first three Articles of the Constitution list the responsibilities of each branch. The legislative branch writes and ratifies laws while the judicial branch promotes justice and dispute resolution. Finally, the executive branch handles the management of the state. How the ... ... middle of paper ... ...atelle, J. (2006, January 18). [Weblog] Don't look now, but its happening. Retrieved June 9, 2008, from http://battellemedia.com/archives/002245.php The executive branch. Retrieved June 9, 2008, from Welcome to the Whitehouse Web site: http://www.whitehouse.gov/government/exec.html Governement braches: judicial. Retrieved June 9, 2008, from Welcome to the Whitehouse Web site: http://www.whitehouse.gov/government/judg.html Governement braches: legislative. Retrieved June 9, 2008, from Welcome to the Whitehouse Web site: http://www.whitehouse.gov/government/legi.html Patterson, Thomas E. (2008). The American Democracy, 5th ed. Boston, Massechussettes: McGraw Hill. Savage, Charlie (April 30, 2006). Bush challenges hundreds of laws. The Boston Globe, Retrieved June 9th, 2008, from http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2006/04/30/bush_challenges_hundreds_of_laws/
In the early years of the eighteenth Century, the young United States of America were slowly adapting to the union and the way the country was governed. And just like the country, the governmental powers were starting to develop. Since the creation of the Constitution and due to the Connecticut Compromise, there is the Executive, the Legislative and the Judicial Power. But the existence of those powers was not always that naturally. In these crucial times, the Judicial Power had problems controlling the other powers. It was a challenge for the Supreme Court to exercise the powers granted by the new Constitution. Federal Government was not generally appreciated and its formation also caused many disagreements and debates.
September 17, 1787, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; during the heat of summer, in a stuffy assembly room of Independence Hall, a group of delegates gathered. After four months of closed-door quorums, a four page, hand written document was signed by thirty-nine attendees of the Constitutional Convention. This document, has come to be considered, by many, the framework to the greatest form of government every known; the Constitution of the United States. One of the first of its kind, the Constitution laid out the frame work for the government we know today. A government of the people, by the people, and for the people; constructed of three branches; each branch charged with their own responsibilities. Article one established the Congress or Legislative branch, which would be charged with legislative powers. Article two created the Executive branch, providing chief executive powers to a president, who would act in the capacity of Commander in Chief of the Country’s military forces. The President of the United States also acts as head of state to foreign nations and may establish treaties and foreign policies. Additionally, the President and the departments within the Executive branch were established as the arm of government that is responsible for implementing and enforcing the laws written by Congress. Thirdly, under Article three of the Constitution, the Judicial branch was established, and consequently afforded the duty of interpreting the laws, determining the constitutionality of the laws, and apply it to individual cases. The separation of powers is paramount to the system of checks and balances among the three branches; however, although separate they must support the functions of the others. Because of this, the Legislative an...
Davidson, Roger H., Walter J. Oleszek, and Frances E. Lee. Congress and Its Members. Washington, D.C.: CQ, 2009. Print.
University of Texas at Austin. Texas Politics, The legislative Branch. Austin, 2nd Edition-Revision 94 2009, Liberal Arts Instructional Technology Services.
The founding fathers of the American Constitution divided the government up into the following three branches to prevent the majority from ruling with an iron fist; legislative, judicial, and executive. The three braches were created by the Constitution: Article 1, Legislative branch made up of the House and the Senate, collectively known as Congress; Article 2, Executive branch, or President; Article 3, Judicial branch, made up of the federal courts and the Supreme Court. This was done in efforts to distribute power amongst the three so that one would not have more power than the other. Each branch has the ability to check the power of the other branches. This power check of the other branches is referred to as the checks and balances, better known as the Separation of Powers. This was to prevent tyriny.
"Changes in the Executive Branch: Checks and Balances: Three ..." http://www.enotes.com/government-checks-balances/changes-executive-branch. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2011
Schmidt, Shelley, and Bardes. American Politics and Government Today. Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1999, pgs. 325-327.
West Virginia Legislature. (2011). How a bill becomes a law. Retrieved October 14, 2011, from
The executive branch of our government is like a chameleon. To a startling degree it
Since the late 1700s, American government continuously found itself in gridlock with the executive and legislative branch in passing bills. The executive, which is commonly known as where ‘the highest office in the land’ is located, enforces the laws passed by congress. At times, the executive must come up with new and unique ways to combat congress hesitation and approve bills the branch wants. Some tools in the executive’s toolkit such as having some authority over agencies budget help to enforce other departments to work with the leaders of the executive branch. Although the division of powers among the branches limits the executive branch effectiveness in some forms, the executive branch is able to overcome their difficulties through innovative
U.S. History. (2014). Foundations of American Government. Retrieved April 4, 2014, from American Government: http://www.ushistory.org/gov/1c.asp
1. An assessment of the strengths of the institutions mentioned implicitly recalls the most central strength of government as outlined in the constitution, namely its division into three major branches: legislative, executive and judicial. Regarding the legislative branch (Congress), its major strength is the opportunity – indeed, the mandate - to represent the interests and preferences of the citizens who elect representatives to conduct “the people’s business.” The laws and programs that guide social action and distribute resources to various interest groups may often be contentious due to the diversity of the American population, but the mechanism by which they are enacted remains one of the most successful in the history of political systems.
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.
A bureaucracy is a group of nonelected officials that carry out functions connected to a series of policies and programs. “Modern society relies on the effective functioning of government to provide public goods, enhance quality of life, and stimulate economic growth. The activities by which government achieves these functions include—but are not limited to—taxation, homeland security, immigration, foreign affairs, and education” (558). There are five different branches of the American bureaucracy: Cabinet department, Independent executive agencies, Independent regulatory agencies, Government corporations, and Presidential commission. Each branch has a different job to do to help the governmental system run smoothly.