...Branches of Government John Freak HIS/301 November 26, 2008 Paul Hill Branches of Government The United States of America (U.S.A.) is known by most peoples the best country in the world. This country system of democracy has set the example for many countries in the world to emulate. Facts dating back to the 1700 and 1800 show the key guide lines in establishing the U.S. constitution. The articles of the Constitution today are in place to protect the rights of the citizens of the United States. The articles of Constitution are laws in place for the people to abide by. Reason the U.S. Government has the Legislative, Judicial, and Executive Branches The forefathers of old was very wise and intelligence men because of their upbringing, education, and experiences of life. As the writer of this paper brainstorming on the reason the forefather made the three branches of government is to possess a checks and balances system. The branches of government would not have any more power than the other branches when making decisions. The checks and balances piece comes into play an approval process have to take place or a vote has to be completed. The three branches remind the writer of the paper of the chain of command in the U.S. military. According to eHow.com, “the first three articles of the Constitution were written to maintain a balance of power within the U.S. government. The three branches of government were designed to check each other, balancing power in order to...
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...HIS/301 Branches of Government Paper University of Phoenix July, 26 2010 Branches of Government Former President Thomas Jefferson once said, “Government are instituted among Men, deriving their just Power from the Consent of the Governed.” Since the second continental congress declared America’s independence from Great Britain on July 4, 1776 the United States government has sought to realize the fundamental principle on which our nation was founded. This was the start of the government we now know and still honor today. As our school children say every morning in class, as our founding fathers wished for us, that all people have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. This paper will answer a handful of questions such as; what were the reasons our forefathers divided the government into the legislative, judicial, and executive branches? How are the three branches of the U.S. government supposed to interact? Is the system successful? Why or why not? Are the branches balanced in power? How was the conflict between supporters of a strong federal government and champions of states’ rights characterized then as opposed to now? How could things have been designed more efficiently, if at all? Our founding fathers divided the government into three separate branches was because they planned to implement a democratic government that would work to serve the citizens and not regulate them. In other words, the founding fathers wanted to devise...
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...Running Head: THE MAINLEVELS OF THE U.S. FEDERAL GOVERNMENT The Main Levels of the U.S. Federal Government Lynn Todd Colorado Technical University Online PBAD200-0904A-13 American Government Professor Jamie Boyd October 12, 2009 The U.S. Government is composed up of three key branches, the Executive Branch, the Legislative Branch, and the Judicial Branch. Each branch has its own powers, functions, checks, and balances. First, we will look at the history of the Constitution. During the 1600’s many Europeans left Britain in search of economic, political, and intellectual freedoms. However, they remained under the power of Britain, which functioned under a unitary system of government with one national power that permitted it to take action against any individual. During the Revolutionary war, the states battled with Britain, and won their freedom from the unitary system of government of Britain (CTU online, 2008, phase 1 multimedia presentation)....
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...In the Articles of the Constitution, the first three articles represent the three branches of government. The first article is The Legislative Branch, the second article is The Executive Branch and the third article is The Judicial Branch, the Farmers’ considered all of our branches of government equal, yet some appeared to be more powerful than others. The Farmers’ were concerned that these branches of government will abuse their powers, thus making a necessity for the separation of powers, and for checks and balances. Checks and balances is a system where the different parts of government have powers that can affect and control the other parts of government in order for the other branches cannot become too powerful. This is to prevent any branch of government from exerting too much power. Each branch of government has different powers and functions that they carry out, they are separate although they are constitutionally equal they are also independent from each other. This is the separation of powers. The Legislative Branch of government, which is the first Article of the Constitution, which is also known as Congress, is made up of the Senate, and the House of Representatives. The U.S. Senate consists of 100 members, and these senators are allowed to serve six years. The House of Representatives has 435 members which make up the HOR, these representatives serve two year terms. In total Congress is made up of 535 Congressmen. The Legislative Branch has many powers...
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...America learned from Great Britain’s government and used what they had learned to create the government that the United States has today. After the Thirteen colonies broke away from Great Britain, they needed a plan of government so, they made a document entitled the Articles of Confederation. The Articles of Confederation worked like a constitution would and it worked very well until the framers of our now Constitution realized that The Articles of Confederation would never work to suit the needs of the new blossoming country. Upon this realization, they made a whole new plan of government called The Constitution which protected the people’s rights, set out the rules of the government, and most importantly protected all the citizens from an abusive government otherwise know as a tyrant....
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...the local, state, and federal governments Weakness of the Articles of Confederation The Articles of Confederation gave final authority to the state governments, creating conflict between states. For example, if one state passed a law that affected citizens visiting from another state, no one could settle the dispute. Also, the federal government had no way to protect the people and nation as a whole. Solution in the U.S. Constitution Article VI of the Constitution makes federal laws supreme over state laws. Article IV of the Constitution says the states must respect each other’s laws and explains the duties of the federal government to protect the states. Article I of the Constitution allows the federal government to create and maintain a national military force to protect the nation. Limited Government Idea that government should be restricted to its basic function of protecting people`s natural rights Weakness of the Articles of Confederation Under the Articles of Confederation, the central government was too weak and limited. For example, it could pass laws but not enforce them. Solution in the U.S. Constitution The Constitution expanded and listed the powers of the federal government. Through Article I, Congress could raise taxes. Article II establishes the president as the leader of the military. Articles I(One), II (Two), and III (Three) expanded federal power but still limited it by dividing its powers into the three branches and by specifying who is qualified...
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...United States vs Japanese Government In. 1788 the United States government outline is laid out in the Constitution, making the United States one of the first modern national constitutional republic, with the principle that all people have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. One hundred and fifty nine later in 1947, the Japanese Constitution was formed, following closely in the form of the United States government; with the three principles of sovereignty of the people, respect for fundamental human rights, and renunciation of war. Both of these unique governments are separated into three different powerful branches; the legislative, the executive, and the judicial. However, the way that three branches are ran within these two nations differ. The purpose of this essay is to examine these branches, and identify the differences between the two governments. The executive branch of the United States, is the over seer of the United States. As commander in chief of the U.S. Armed Forces, the president is the leader of the country. The president has the power to convene Congress, appoint ambassadors to other nations; appoint Supreme Court justices and other federal judges, and is expected to carry out and enforce laws of the United States. Meanwhile in Japan, the Executive power falls in the hands of a prime minister. The prime minister is designated by the National Diet, Japan’s legislative branch. The prime minister has the power to present bills to the Diet...
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...United States vs Japanese Government In. 1788 the United States government outline is laid out in the Constitution, making the United States one of the first modern national constitutional republic, with the principle that all people have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. One hundred and fifty nine later in 1947, the Japanese Constitution was formed, following closely in the form of the United States government; with the three principles of sovereignty of the people, respect for fundamental human rights, and renunciation of war. Both of these unique governments are separated into three different powerful branches; the legislative, the executive, and the judicial. However, the way that three branches are ran within these two nations differ. The purpose of this essay is to examine these branches, and identify the differences between the two governments. The executive branch of the United States, is the over seer of the United States. As commander in chief of the U.S. Armed Forces, the president is the leader of the country. The president has the power to convene Congress, appoint ambassadors to other nations; appoint Supreme Court justices and other federal judges, and is expected to carry out and enforce laws of the United States. Meanwhile in Japan, the Executive power falls in the hands of a prime minister. The prime minister is designated by the National Diet, Japan’s legislative branch. The prime minister has the power to present bills to the Diet...
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...The Constitutional Convention was an important event because it is what lead us to the government we have now. The different compromises are what lead to the methods that were used and still being used nowadays The Constitutional Convention was a meeting that took place in Philadelphia in 1787. The purpose of that meeting was to rewrite the Articles of Confederation. There were fifty five men who were delegates, their purpose was to have the federal government strengthen. The delegates did not think that rewriting the Articles of Confederation would actually work out. Eventually they wrote the U.S. Constitution. George Washington was chosen to lead the convention. All of the delegates had to agree that every state would get one vote. They did not want anyone to know about what was going on during the convention meetings. The delegates made sure to keep everything a secret, anyone who was not a delegate were not allowed to attend any meetings. We have no written documents because they kept everything a secret of what had occurred during the meetings. The only details we have today is from a notebook that belonged to James Madison. However, James Madison is known as the “Father of the Constitution.” He had also helped write the federalist papers. At the Constitutional Convention James Madison had done a very good job. When the delegates had to decided to write the “Bill of Rights” he was against it. James Madison was afraid that the future people would just go by those...
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...Government What are the main principles embodied in the U.S Constitution? Here are a few principles embodied in the U.S. Constitution Federalism “Federalism is a system for organization government that is based on a geographic division of power (Volkomer).” Basically the national government has authority over the entire territory and the regional government has authority within its own area. Separation of Powers Divided powers of the state and the national government were separated into three branches. The first three articles made this possible. First is the legislative branch. According to article 1 “all legislative Powers shall be vested in a Congress of the U.S” (Volkomer). The second is the executive branch. Article II states “executive Power shall be vested in a president of the U.S” (Volkomer). The Judicial is the last branch. Under Article III “the judicial Power of the U.S. shall be invested in one supreme Court.” Checks and Balances Checks and Balances is a system for organizing the government and power is shared by the legislative, executive, judicial branches. Its main purpose is to limit the power of government by making the 3 branches process the same power over each other activities. Judicial Review Judicial review means the court has the power to declare legislative and executive actions unconstitutional. The Supreme Court can review the legislative and executive and determine whether the acts are within the Constitution. Popular Sovereignty Popular...
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...Principles and Articles of the United States Constitution Tammie Johnson Grand Canyon University: POS 301 June 19, 2013 Principles and Articles of the United States Constitution Principles of the Constitution | Self-Government | The principle where the people are the decisive source of governing authority and decisions are made based on majority rules (Patterson, 2011). | Separation of Powers | The principle used for the allocation of power among the legislative, executive, and the judicial branches that outline the responsibilities of each branch. | Checks and Balances | A system of the government used to preserve a balance of power among the three branches of government so no one branch can over-power the other two. | In the United States, the federal government uses a system called checks and balances to ensure that the three branches of government are working equally and that no one branch becomes superior over the other two. The three branches that are based on the principle of separated institutions sharing power are the legislative, executive and judicial. Each branch has powers that it can use to check and balance the operations and power of the other two branches (Kelly, 2013, para. 1). What makes this system effective is that each branch must be willing to compromise to ensure the American people needs are put first and the safety and security of the nation is constantly being enforced. For instance in an attempt to limit the power that each branch...
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...Branches of Government Branches of Government The United States of America is run by our country’s Constitution. After the American Revolution, the newly named Americans realized the need for government and law. Our Constitution, once put into place, establishes three branches of government. It is important for all of Americans to understand why the founding fathers decided on three branches of government. It is also important to know what obstacles the division of power present for enactment of important legislation and how conflict has been characterized between supporters of a strong federal government and the supporters of state rights both in the past and now. The U.S. Constitution was written in 1787 by James Madison. This is considered the main law of the land. Any laws made for the country must agree with the Constitution. James Madison is the father of the constitution. Madison was the one that came up with the conspire that one branch could not have complete control. “The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether on or a few, or many, and whether hereditary, self-pronounced to very definition of tranny” (Spaeth & Segal 1999). This is when our three branches were born. In the Executive Branch we have our President, vice president, and all of the cabinet. Our president is allowed to make or laws, pass, or veto them. The legislative Branch has 435 representatives and 100 senators forming a party of 535 members...
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...The U.S. Court Systems Gabriella Robinson February 21, 2012 U.S. Court System 1 Throughout this paper, I will explain the organization and functions of the federal courts, describe the jurisdiction of the federal courts as well as what filing needs to be done within the court system. I will also be naming several different court levels as well as listing similarities and differences throughout each courtroom. Within the federal court system there are 3 organized divisions. First, there is the Supreme Court which is said to be the “highest court in the land”. Second, the U.S. Court of Appeals and last but not least, the U.S. District Courts. The federal courts hear cases that involve the laws that concern the Constitution, the laws and/or treaties of the U.S., Ambassadors and Public Ministers, disputes between two or more states and bankruptcy cases. The federal courts only exercise judicial powers, meaning the “courts decide controversies by issuing decisions in each case and the rationale for that decision”. Another exception to the rule is diversity of citizenship, which means that in such a case the Diversity of citizenship occurs if the lawsuit involves (a) citizens of different states, (b) a citizen of a state and a citizen or subject of a foreign country, and (c) a citizen of a state and a foreign country is the plaintiff. A corporation is considered to be a citizen of the state in which it is incorporated and in which it has its principal place of business...
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...Kaplan University The Structure of the Legal System – Federalism Within the United States, citizens are structured under two different governments, federal and state. Governments function under a principle called federalism. Federalism is a system of government in which people are regulated by both federal and state governments. (Banker, 2010, p. 16) Each government plays a role in the structure of the American legal system. Federal government has power over all fifty states, while state government only has the power within their own boundaries. The power of the state government can only make laws that doesn’t conflict with the federal government. Each government has their own organization that they follow that makes the American legal system. The federal government consists of three branches: legislative, judicial, and exective. Within our legal system each branch of government plays a distinctive role that doesn’t over power the other branches due to checks and balances. The legislative branch consists of congress which writes the laws. The judicial branch consists of the Supreme Court that interupts the laws. The exective branch is the president and the president’s cabinet that enforces the laws. (Banker, 2010, p. 22) The federal government is granted express and implied powers. Express powers are granted to congress and spelled out in the U.S. Constitution. Implied powers are regulated powers that are derived from the express powers. Congress has the right to regulate such...
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...These three enlightenment thinkers were some of the most important influences of the Founding Fathers and their thinking. John Locke influenced the Declaration of Independence, Montesquieu influenced the U.S. Constitution, and Thomas Hobbes influenced both. They influenced the Founding Fathers’ creation of our American Government. John Locke was a very popular Enlightenment thinker. He said that people form government to protect their natural rights. Natural rights are rights that everyone should have. These natural rights include life, liberty, and the right to own property. "According to Locke, people have the right to revolt against it if it has ceased to uphold it's end of the bargain." (classroom.synonym.com) This is what John Locke thought...
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