The 3 Branches of Government

The 3 Branches of Government

The constitution was established by men who had experienced the dictatorships of Europe and had escaped from its grasp. They sought to establish a form of government that would never allow a dictatorship or tyrant ruler to hold power over the people like in the places they had fled. With their creation of the foundation of what our government is today they created a system where 3 branches were all of equal power and each could be overruled by another which prevented any branch becoming superior of another. The separation of powers provides a system of shared power called Checks and Balances.(2) The three branches are legislative, judicial and executive and they each have specific powers to balance those of the other branches. The Legislative branch is made up of the House and Senate. The Executive branch is made of the President, Vice-President, and the Departments. The Judicial branch is made of the Federal courts and the Supreme Court. Each of these branches has certain powers, and each of these powers is limited, or checked, by the other two branches. By forcing the three branches to be monitored by the others, no one branch can gain enough power to become superior over the others. The American Governments system of being divided into 3 branches that can restrain one another is the most efficient way to govern the U.S. in a fair manner and without any branch becoming more powerful than another.

The Legislative Branch, also known as the Congress, is made up of two houses and their main job is to make the laws of the nation.(1) They are also responsible for checking the actions of the other two branches that make up the Federal government. The two houses that make up the legislative branch are, the House of Representatives and the Senate. Some of the main powers of this branch consist of: the passing of all federal laws; establishment of all lower federal courts; can override a Presidential veto; and can impeach the President. (1) The lower house is the House of Representatives which is made up of members called Representatives. To qualify for becoming a House member a person must be 25 years old or older, must have been a U.S. citizen for seven years, and must live in the district he or she plans to represents. (1) Each state has a number of Representatives depending on the population of that state and each state has at least one Representative. The maximum limit to the number of Representatives is 435. These 435 seats are divided among the states every ten years. Representatives serve for two years at a time, and every second November there is a new election where they are chosen by the people in a direct election. (1) The House is required to choose a Speaker for itself who is in charge over the proceedings of the House and is the highest position in the House leadership. Other leadership positions are the Majority and Minority Leaders, and the Majority