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All 3 Branches – Checks and Balances
Why did our Founding Fathers create a system of government that had three separate branches? Well,
we know that the founding fathers were afraid of giving any one person too much power. They remembered the
days when King George III of England took advantage of his power. Therefore, they believed that dividing the
government into three branches was one way to limit the government’s power.
The 3 branches of the government are:
1) The Legislative Branch (Congress to make the laws)
2) The Executive Branch (the President, Vice President, and cabinet to carry out the laws)
3) The Judicial Branch (the court system including the Supreme Court and lower courts to interpret the law)
The founding fathers developed a system that would allow each of the branches to check and limit the
power of the other branches. This system is called Checks and Balances. “Checks” allow one branch to check
and block the actions of another branch. Each branch of government has the power to watch over and check the
actions of each of the other branches.
For example, even though the Legislative Branch has the power to make laws, the President can check
the Legislative Branch by vetoing the laws. In turn, the legislative branch can check the President’s veto by
overriding the veto with a 2/3rds vote in both houses.
Let’s look at another example of checking powers related to the Judicial Branch of government. The
Judicial Branch can check the power of the other two Branches through a system called Judicial Review. In this
process, the Judicial Branch can say that the actions of the other two branches are unfair according to the
Constitution, or “unconstitutional”. However, the other two branches also check the powers of the Judicial
Branch because it is the President who nominates Supreme Court Justices, and the Legislative Branch
(Congress) must approve the President’s nomination. These checks and balances keep any one branch from
being too strong. This balance of power is one of the most important features of the American system of
government.
The Unwritten Constitution
The "Unwritten Constitution" refers to the ideas and processes that are accepted as a needed part of American
government, regardless of the fact that they are not actually in the Constitution. These ideas and processes came
about through the custom and precedent. Many aspects of the unwritten Constitution are so ingrained into our
system that many do not even realize that they are not laws or provisions of the Constitution.
President’s Cabinet
George Washington was the first to have a cabinet of advisors to aid him in making decisions for the nation.
Today, the president's cabinet consists of the secretaries/heads of the 14 major departments of the executive
branch (a few examples include: The Attorney General of the Justice Department, The Secretary of
Defense of the Defense Department and The Secretary of State of the State Department).
Judicial Review
The most important power of the Supreme Court – Judicial Review (the ability to declare laws
unconstitutional), is NOT in the Constitution. The power of Judicial Review was a precedent set in the 1803
Marbury v. Madison decision. Regardless, it has become one of the most fundamental concepts in
American government. It also serves a check and balance on the laws passed by Congress and the actions and
treaties of the President.
Political Parties
Political parties are as old as the Constitution itself, however the document makes no rules to govern them. The
first political parties arose from the debates over Constitutional ratification (the Federalists Party lead by
Alexander Hamilton and the Democratic-Republicans headed by Thomas Jefferson). It quickly became clear
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that political parties were to be the major forces in shaping American politics and by necessity rules and laws
were established for their regulation, with no basis in the Constitution.
Review Questions
1. Which governmental action illustrates the system of checks and balances?
a. a senator helping a governor solve a state problem
b. the president negotiating a trade agreement with foreign diplomats
c. the Senate ratifying a peace treaty
d. Congress raising taxes to pay for federal programs
2. Which feature of the federal government is specifically described in the United States Constitution?
a. president’s cabinet
b. two-party political system
c. congressional committee system
d. Senate approval of nominations to the Supreme Court
3. Which newspaper headline shows the operation of the system of checks and balances?
a. “Senate Rejects President’s Choice of Supreme Court Justice”
b. “Florida To Gain Two Seats in the United States House of Representatives”
c. “Albany County Receives $4 Million from Congress for Transportation Development”
d. “New York State Rejects Federal Regulations on Drug Testing”
4.
• Congress proposes an amendment legalizing an income tax.
• The Supreme Court rules that the income tax is unconstitutional.
These events illustrate the use of
a.
b.
c.
d.
delegated powers
checks and balances
judicial legislation
the unwritten constitution