Checks And Balances Essay

The U.S. President has a veto right over any bill approved by Congress. This practically means that "if the president doesn't like a bill, he or she vetoes it" (Kowalski 2012: 22). Even with this, his authority can be challenged if two-thirds of the senators and House of Representatives vote accordingly. The Congress also has the ability to limit the president's actions as a result of the fact that it has power over the finances. Similarly, each body in Congress can check the other, considering that all proposals have to be issued

To prevent from one branch of government having all power, and therefore having tyranny, (Madison FP # 47) Checks and Balances was added to the defenses of the constitution. There are three branches of government: Legislative Branch (Congress), Executive Branch (President), and Judicial Branch (The Courts). These three branches work together to check one another to make sure the power is evenly distributed and balanced, hence the name Checks and Balances. The way it works is that the Legislative Branch (Congress) can check the Executive Branch (President) by approving Presidential nominations, being able to override a President’s veto, and can impeach the President, him or her, from office. The Legislative Branch can check the Judicial Branch by having Senate confirm Presidential nominations and by being able to impeach judges and remove them from office. The President can check the Legislative Branch by vetoing Congressional legislation, and can check the Judicial Branch by nominating judges. The Judicial Branch can check the Legislative Branch by declaring laws unconstitutional, and can check the Executive Branch by declaring presidential acts unconstitutional. (Madison FP # 51) All three branches of government work together to make sure no branch is abusing their limited power, by using the system Checks and

The relationship between the president and Congress has changed drastically in the past two hundred years. The framers of the constitution did not want an executive power in charge of the whole country in fear of it turning into a monarchy. They knew they needed a leader for America though. The framers did not want political parties. “Political parties established after Washington left the presidency” (Mandate). The relationship between Congress and the president changed in a very visible way. In the past, the president would meet to discuss issues with Congress, but that is not how it is today. Also the president would have to go through congress to pass a bill or an amendment, but presidents found a way around going through congress. The president can sign a bill without congress’s approval. For example, president Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln wanted to pass an amendment that would end slavery but Congress said no. Lincoln then did what the people wanted and signed the emancipation proclamation anyways to end slavery. Also known as the thirteenth amendment. Some presidents even put the people in power.

The American government has many powers that are given to, and checked by each branch. This is done by a system of Checks and Balances. The system of Checks and Balances states that the different branches have powers but the other branches have methods to stop each branches powers. But there are many argument that the system is broken or it isn’t. The system is broken because of many reasons involving the President, Congress and the Supreme Court.

The checks and balances was the separation between three branches, it prevented any one branch from having too much power by checking on each other. Doc C is an excerpt from Federalist Paper #47, written by James Madison. This excerpt is about how the three branches should be divided and arranged into several offices, so that they have the opportunity to check on each other’s powers. According to Doc C, “...(The three branches) should not be so far separated as to have no Constitutional control over each other.” James Madison, provides an explanation that if all citizens wanted liberty in this country, the three branches would need to be separated: the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial branches. The Legislative branch can impeach the president and the judges from the Judicial Branch. The Executive Branch can nominate judges and veto Congressional legislation. Lastly, the Judicial Branch checks the Executive and Legislative Branch by declaring acts and laws

These three branches of government include the Legislative Branch, the Executive Branch, and the Judicial Branch which all have separate powers. While the Legislative Branch has the power to make laws, the Executive Branch has the power to put the laws into action. The Judicial Branch meanwhile is made up of courts which interpret the laws and apply them in cases brought before them. Although these branches have their own powers, they are also able to prevent the other branches from having excessive power through what is known as checks and balances. As Madison writes in “Federalist Paper #51” (Document C), “The constant aim is to divide and arrange the several offices in such a manner as that they may be a check on the other… the three branches should not be so far separated as to have no constitutional control over each other.” Each branch has a different method of keeping the other branches in check. While the Executive Branch can manage the laws made by the Legislative Branch by vetoing Congressional legislation, the Legislative Branch can override a President’s veto and additionally impeach the president. The Legislative Branch can also impeach judges and remove them from office in the Judicial Branch, which can in turn declare laws made by the Legislative Branch as unconstitutional. The Executive Branch can control the Judicial Branch by nominating

The documents above helped to persuade those in America that the Articles of Confederation were outdated. This was because they unfairly separated power of the nation, giving too much to the state governments. The documents also highlight the reasons as to why the Constitution ratification is necessary to the country. The Bill of Rights is used to prove the Constitution's efficiency for government. The United States Constitution should be ratified because it gave power to the central government without infringing upon the peoples' rights, used a Checks and Balances system to limit power of the national government, and is much more fair and just than the Articles of Confederation.

There are many real life examples of checks and balances being used in the US. Take Andrew Jackson for example. He vetoed over 20 bills after the civil war! Another one would be in 1936, when the Supreme Court declared the NIRA and the AAA, which were 2 new deal programs passed during the Roosevelt administration unconstitutional. After the civil war, congress also overrode over 20 presidential votes!

Article II of the constitution outlines the powers of the president, however, the checks and balances of the other branches of government limit them. After the 1960s, historians argued that the presidential power had become extremely powerful that an “imperial presidency” existed (Lamb, 2015). This has caused an imbalance in power within the legislative branch, giving more control to the presidency. “Congress has been taking themselves out of the game for several decades now” (Kamark, 2013). At this rate, the checks and balances of the branches of government will be thrown out of proportion, thus making it suitable for the House of Representatives to make a lawsuit against the president’s executive orders. Originally, executive orders and

When the United States constitution was written by the founding fathers almost 238 years ago, the first three articles outlined both the powers and limitations of the three branches of government. In Article 2 of the constitution, the duties of the President, the Executive branch, are defined and the system of checks and balances are explained. These checks and balances are the Congress and the Supreme Court. Our founding fathers designed the constitution specifically so that no one branch of the American government would never be allowed to contain more power or have authority than the other two. In recent times, however, the executive branch has grown more powerful during stressful times. This power grab goes directly against what the founding fathers had in mind when they wrote the U.S Constitution. The rights of the American people are guaranteed and protected by the Constitution through this distribution of power. Giving more power to the executive branch would lead to an unequal distribution of power, something our forefather carefully tried to prevent from happening when they signed the Constitution. James Madison proclaimed in Federalist No. 47 that all power should be distributed equally among the three branches of government or the United States would conform to a dictatorship. “The accumulation of all power, legislative, executive, and judiciary in the same hands…may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny.”

Power is the capacity or ability to directly influence the behavior of others or the course of events. Power is something that can destroy the world if the people give one-person control over everything. In the last presidential election so many individuals were afraid that President Donald Trump would have too much control and power. People fail to realize Trump does not control nor have that much power by himself. The power is separate but equality between each branch. The reason we have such rules is because of the founding fathers, who made the Federalist Paper to promote the ratification of the United State Constitution.

After the victory in the Revolutionary War, the nation found itself in turmoil. In May 1787, in Philadelphia, delegates came together to create an effective and a successful system of government. The Constitution fixed the nation’s international weakness, economic problems, and inability to respond to Shay’s Rebellion. The frameworks of the Constitution hoped to protect the life and liberty of the citizens, advance commerce while limiting the National government. A strong National government was created in the Constitution through the Bill of Rights, the separation of powers, and federalism.

My example of checks and balances is the H. R. 4038: American SAFE Act of 2015. This bill will do extensive background checks into Iraqi and Syrian refugees entering the United States in prayers to enter properly and quickly. The House voted on November 19 within two days after it was brought forwarded with the vote of 289-137 in favoring of Republicans ruling. Although, with this transpiring President Obama said he would veto the bill if it passed the Senate. This seems a bit harsh to me on behalf of the President when the only thing the refugees are trying to do is find sanctuary here in the United States and the European countries. Reason for the bill changes are the recent assaults on the immigrants with the ISIS issues and the migrants in actuality being pushed from their homes resulting from this

When the Constitution was first composed, it created a separation of powers which shared its power with the system of Checks and Balances. The Government consists of three branches; the Legislative, Judicial, and the Executive. Although they are expected to uphold different responsibilities on a day to day basis, they are still considered to be equal. Looking at the Legislative branch, which consists of the House and the Senate, they are responsible for making the laws that will be instituted into the states as well has what is considered to be a criminal act. Whereas the Judicial branch has the role of limiting the powers of the other branches and has the responsibility for evaluating the laws and interpreting them. In order to maintain an equal balance of power between both of these branches, the system of Checks and Balances was created. According to the

Do you feel like there’s nothing you can do to achieve balance in your life? Do you feel trapped by the demands of your job, people’s attitude, or finances? Does everything important seem to be out of your control? Do you strive to manage your time effectively? Do you have difficulties in taking decisions?