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Background
- Ultimate sovereignty (power) in the United States resides with the people. In an attempt to govern themselves better, the people adopted the U.S. Constitution.
- Those persons present for the writing of the Constitution at the Constitutional Convention of 1787, known as the Framers, feared the concentration of too much power in any one person or governmental agency. In an attempt to prevent such an accumulation of power, the Framers wrote a Constitution with a system of checks and balances.
- Under a system of checks and balances, power is divided among different branches of government. This system is based upon the idea that each branch will be protective of its own power and, thus, prevent, intrusions upon it from other branches–thereby preventing any one branch of government from becoming too powerful.
- The U.S. Constitution established three separate but equal branches of government, the legislative branch (which makes the law), the executive branch (which enforces the law), and the judicial branch (which interprets the law).
The Legislative Branch
- Article I of the Constitution established the legislative branch. It is made up of the House of Representatives and the Senate. The number of seats in the House of Representatives that a state has is based upon its population. Each state has two seats in the Senate.
- The Constitution determines the qualifications of members of Congress, e.g., members of the House must be at least 25 years old and members of the Senate at least 30.
- A check that Congress has on the president is that the Congress must vote on whether or not it will fund the president's initiatives. A check that Congress has on the judiciary is that it can change the jurisdiction (the courts' ability to hear certain types of cases) of the federal courts.
The Executive Branch
- Article II of the Constitution established the executive branch. It is made up of the president, the vice-president, the cabinet, and other departments, agencies, and institutions that assist the President. The executive branch carries out a variety of functions from proposing legislation, to regulating the military, to extending diplomatic relations to different countries.
- The Constitution determines the qualifications of the president and vice-president, e.g., both must be natural-born citizens and be at least 35 years of age. Federal law and regulations usually determine the qualifications of other members of the executive branch.
- A check that the Presidents have on Congress is that they may veto Congressional bills.
The Judicial Branch
- Article III of the Constitution establishes the judicial branch. It includes the Supreme Court, the 13 U.S. Courts of Appeals, and the 94 U.S. District Courts (trial courts).
- The only qualifications that the Constitution establishes for federal judges (members of the judicial branch) is that they are nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate. They hold office during good behavior, typically for life.
- The judiciary has a check on both the legislative and executive branches in that it can declare laws and presidential orders unconstitutional.
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