3_Branches_of_Government

The Three Branches of Government By: Stephanie-Kaye Baker May 14, 2010 Facilitator: Joshua Bearden Many problems arose once the Revolutionary War was over. One problem was that the federal government was entangled in the self-servicing interests of each state. Another problem was that state financial bankruptcy along with inter-state relations had become difficult to settle. Along with other problems, political and religious leader started to acknowledge the need for many modifications to the Articles of the Confederation. The Constitutional Congress was called to order and the founding fathers made amendments to the Articles. They also had to review the previous Articles and make revisions if necessary. A completely new government was produced, which would create a stronger and more organized group who would have the main responsibility for the ideas and requests of the country. This would leave the more simple requests and matters of the state and counties to the local governments. These ideas lead John Adams, the Federalist, to create the Virginia Plan. It also allowed him to lead the Creation of the Constitution of the United States. John Adams became the second President of the United States in 1797 after serving as the first Vice President of the United States for two terms (1789-1797). He was also one of the founding fathers of the United States, and some say that he was one of the seven most influential individuals during that time. The seven most influential men who helped shape our destiny were; Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, John Jay, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton (Morris, 1973,) Thanks to John Adams, the Constitution helped assign power to local, state, and federal governments. The United States Constitution made dictatorship as well as other powerful dominations to be impossible. It also made it possible for citizens, by way of politicians, to have a say in the way the government worked. This made the Constitution one of the most copied and rewritten forms of government in the history of the United States. There was a major conflict of interest when the people who created (wrote) the laws were also allowed to enforce the laws. These individuals were also permitted to judge fellow Americans against the laws, which almost forced the government to become a complete tyranny. Having the government recognize this issue and to resolve it, the founding fathers created the three branches of government (legislative, judicial, and executive). Each branch of government was responsible for a different part of the governing development. Some of the responsibilities included: creating laws, enforcing laws, and adjunction of the law (Kelly, 1970). In addition, the body of government had been designed with specific rules that introduced ‘checks and balances’ to go through to prevent one branch of government from dominating. The founding fathers had recognized the need to administrate the needs of the people and provided a process to address this problem. The problem was due to the fact that the country was bigger than any other democratic society to date and it negatively affected each person’s (political and nonpolitical) capability to have the opinions heard (Kelly, 1970). This was especially true for the secluded (or smaller) states. This resulted in giving citizens the chance to elect representatives from areas of the country to articulate for them and to keep in mind the best interests in a smaller meeting. The elected officials became identified as the Legislative Branch. The Legislative branch is made of up 535 members; 100 senators (which are called the Senate) and 435 representatives (which is the House of Representatives). The Constitution grants Congress the sole authority to enact legislation and declare war, the right to confirm or reject many Presidential appointments, and substantial investigative powers (whitehouse.gov). The senators are made up of two from each state. To become a senator, one must be 30 years of age, a U.S. citizen for at least nine years, and resident of the state they represent. A senator represents the state for six years and can continue to represent (as long as elected) until death. The Vice President of the United States serves as President of the Senate and may cast the decisive vote in the event of a tie in the Senate. The Senate has the sole power to confirm those of the President's appointments that require consent, and to ratify treaties. There are, however, two exceptions to this rule: the House must also approve appointments to the Vice Presidency and any treaty that involves foreign trade. The Senate also tries impeachment cases for federal officials referred to it by the House (whitehouse.gov). The House of Representatives is divided among the 50 states in proportion to their total population. For example, New York will have more representatives than Alaska. To become a state representative one must be 25 years of age, a U.S. citizen for at least seven years, and a resident of the state (but not necessarily the district) they represent. A state representative term is two years, but there is no limit of the number of terms they may serve. The House also has six non-voting members, representing the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and four other territories of the United States. The House has many powers; the power to initiate revenue bills, impeach federal officials, and elect the President in the case of an electoral college tie. For a bill to reach the President (for his approval and signature) both the House and the Senate must pass the same bill by majority vote. If the President vetoes a bill, they may override his veto by passing the bill again in each chamber with at least two-thirds of each body voting in favor. The branch that would become the administrator of the nation’s laws was the Executive Branch. The President (which is elected by a mix of the state’s vote and the authentication of the states electoral delegate) was considered to be the most powerful elected official in the world. He has great powers limited only by the Constitution. The Executive Branch is made up of The President, Vice President, and all cabinet members. The Cabinet is made up of 15 departments; Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Justice, Labor, State, Transportation, Treasure, and Veteran Affairs. The President is both the head of state and head of government of the United States of America, and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces. The Executive Branch is the administrator of the nation’s law. Although this was not a popular idea with the majority of the states, it was found essential at the time for a strong national government to run a country of its size. For he or someday she, to be elected, they would be considered the Commander in Chief and would be held accountable for all portions of the military, for the accomplishments of foreign affairs as well as the nomination of foreign representatives, Supreme Court Justices, and federal judges (Our Government. 2003). The Judicial Branch is the highest court in the country. This branch decides arguments and opinions about the meaning of laws, how the laws are operative, and whether they disobey the Constitution (whitehouse.gov). They are also in charge of the court system. There are three different kinds of courts found in the federal court system. The lowest level is the district courts, the 2nd level is the court of appeals, and the top level is the Supreme Court.(whitehouse.gov) All members are appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. The Supreme Court (as by Article III of the Constitution) is made up of nine justices/judges; eight associate justices and one chief justice (Kelly, 1970). The power of the Supreme Court is held in the verdicts of all laws and their legitimacy under the Constitution, the basis of which all the United States laws must follow (Kelly, 1970). For any law to be passed by the Legislative Branch, it must endure judicial assessment by the Supreme Court. Any events or actions may experience judicial review for legality under the Constitution. The Supreme Court may also determine Constitution controversies between states and the citizens. Article III of the Constitution of the United States guarantees that every person accused of wrongdoing has the right to a fair trial before a competent judge and a jury of one's peers (whitehouse.gov). According to whitehouse.gov, the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendments to the Constitution provide additional protections for those accused of a crime. These include: * A guarantee that no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without the due process of law * Protection against being tried for the same crime twice ("double jeopardy") * The right to a speedy trial by an impartial jury * The right to cross-examine witnesses, and to call witnesses to support their case * The right to legal representation * The right to avoid self-incrimination * Protection from excessive bail, excessive fines, and cruel and unusual punishments As stated by the Constitution and some of its amendments, the three branches of government would have a problematical and complex relationship, which was designed to instill checks and balances against personal motives and counteract devious and power hungry ambitions (Constitution Issues: Separation of Powers, 2010). It is the interfering of the branches in the others dealings that creates a balanced and evident government. Executive counterbalance: In the Legislative branch * The President has veto power of legislation. * The President can recommend special legislation to Congress.
 * The President can call Congress into special session. * The President Is responsible for Executing laws enacted by Congress. In the Judicial branch * The President nominates candidates for Justice seats. * The President may pardon those convicted by judicial branch. * The President executes court decisions and thereby affects their implementation The Judiciary counterbalance: In the Legislative branch * The Judiciary interprets legal disputes arising under acts of Congress * The judiciary may declare legislative acts unconstitutional * The judiciary can preside over cases that question the constitutionality of the laws of a government or the acts of a government official. In the Executive branch * The judiciary may declare an executive action unlawful. * The judiciary may declare presidential action unconstitutional. The Legislative counter balance: In the Judiciary branch * Congress decides the size of the federal court system. * Congress decides the appellate jurisdiction of the Supreme Court. * Congress may impeach and remove federal judges. * Congress may rewrite legislation that courts have interpreted as non-constitutional. * All judicial nominations must be confirmed by a majority vote of the Senate. In the Executive branch * Congress may impeach or remove the president. * Congress may override the president. * Congress may investigate presidential action. * Congress must approve treaties and executive appointments. * Congress enacts the budgets and laws the president action occurs under. It has been said that the structure of the United States Government and the variety of “checks and balances” is encumbered with complicated polices and rules for governing (Branches of Government, 2003). The disorganization and the ineffectiveness of those rules were overshadowed by the achievements and the success in the balancing of the government and their powers among the branches individually. The Congress, which sometimes turned into a ruling of a monarchy, is held in check by the President’s option to veto legislation he/she may not agree with. Any changes to the divided system of government would be at the expense of more sweeping powers in one branch or another and with that attraction for the abuse of the power. For example, allowing Congress the right to perform laws without the President’s consent (written or verbal) could lead to laws that the Executive Branch would refuse to implement. A possible thought would be the restriction of the filibuster tactic used in Congress to delay controversial legislation in debate, sometimes lasting indefinitely. Currently it takes a majority of three-fifths of the Congress to end debate and move to a vote (Filibuster, 2010). By reducing the number of votes required for a proposition to vote to a more strict majority or less of a majority, would allow legislation to pass more quickly through the houses and ultimately to the President. This may improve the effectiveness of the government’s ability to pass legislation and may quicken the process by it may also lead to a totalitarianism majority to take place when issues are divided by party lines. Whichever party controls the house controls the vote. The initial attendees of the Constitutional Congress who favored a strong centralized government (the Federalists) and who supported the rights of the states, both agreed that despite the consequences of what style of government becomes adopted, it must be submissive to the Constitution. The principle of a Citizen’s Natural Rights was the primary importance and must be upheld to all parties (Kelly, 1970). In the end, both sides agreed that the National Government should be limited to those situations that are beyond the control of the state. If government interferential is essential, one should look to the city’s local government. If a local/city government is not up to the task, then one should look at the state’s government. But if the state’s government is not capable of taking care of the issue then the responsibility should fall into the National Government hands. The same is still true in present day; the elected official’s actions continue to be held accountable to the Constitution’s directions for operating the government and the civil rights of the citizens. The separation of powers; Judicial, Executive, and Legislative not only balance the powers but it also offers an assortment of possibilities for the states and the citizens to dispute actions of the government that are not constitutional. Finally, the state governments maintain to bear the inconvenience of legislation, enforcement and negotiation for the towns, cities, and municipalities. The progression and process of the United States Government can be followed through each of the key documents of the revolutionary period; The Declaration of Independence, the Articles of the Constitution, the Constitution of the United States, and the Bill of Rights (Kelly, 1970). As the country has grown from the British Colonies into separate states and into a union of states under one nation under God, it was necessary for the reform of the national government system for handling the country. The founding fathers recognized the need for these changes and opted to fortify the central government. They also recognized that this had to be implicated without the loss of the essential liberties that the states and the United States citizens had come to be accustomed. A government whose power is split into three separate branches with each having oversight responsibilities of the other was the result. These representatives that were elected from citizen’s popular vote were to represent the demands and wishes of the citizens through the various acts of legislation. This form of democratic system, along with a strong central government, officials through elections, has become the model for more countries than any present day government. Sources Kelly, A. H., & Harbison, W. A. (1970). The American constitution. New York, NY: W W Norton & Company. Morris, Richard Brandon Seven who shaped our destiny: the founding fathers as revolutionaries. (1973). New York, NY: Harper Collins. Yost, Mark Anthony. Filibuster (1999). Towson University Retrieved 2010 May 14, http://www.juntosociety.com/government/filibuster.htm Teaching with documents: constitutional issues: separation of powers. (n.d.). Retrieved 2010 May 14; from http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/separation-powers/ Branches of Government (2003, December 18). Retrieved 2010 May 14, from U.S. Government Printing Office: http://bensguide.gpo.gov/9-12/government/branches.html Our Government. (2000). U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved 2010 May 14, from U.S. Government Printing Office: http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi' Filibuster and cloture. Retrieved 2010 May 14, http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/briefing/Filibuster_Cloture.htm The Executive branch. (n.d.). Retrieved 2010 May 14, http://www.whitehouse.gov/our-government/executive-branch The Judicial branch, (n.d). Retrieved 2010 May 14, http://www.whitehouse.gov/our-government/judicial-branch The Legislative branch, (n.d). Retrieved 2010 May 14, http://www.whitehouse.gov/our-government/legislative-branch