...American government. • Self-Government: Self- Government is when the people of a country get to create their own rules and doesn’t have outside governments making decisions for them. This helped shape the American government by giving citizens of our country the responsibility to and the right to have a say in the rules that are being created. • Separation of Powers: Separation of Powers is when the government shares power between the three branches which are executive, legislative, and judicial. This helped shape the American government by making sure that powers weren’t being abused. Separation of Power is also a part of Checks and Balances. • Checks and Balances: Checks and Balances is when the U.S. Constitution divides the government into the three branches executive, legislative, and judicial to make a decision for our country. This helped shape American government because not only on branch could say yes or no on a decision, one may say no and two may say yes two might veto a decision and on may not but a decision has to be made by the three branches. Part II: Balance of Power In the space below, write an analysis of approximately 250 words on how the system of checks and balances in the federal government helps to limit the concentration of power. • Cite specific examples. Defend your rationale. Utilize the required readings, academic websites, and the GCU Library as resources for this assignment. Part III: The Three Branches...
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...Running head: WHAT WERE THE REASONS AMERICA’S FOREFATHERS DIVIDED THE GOVERNMENT INTO LEGISLATIVE, JUDICIAL, AND EXECUTIVE BRANCHES? 1 What were the reasons America’s forefathers divided the Government into legislative, judicial, and executive branches? Dorthea Johnson HIS/ 301 November 8, 2012 James Halm What were the reasons America’s forefathers divided the government Into legislative, judicial, and executive branches? The main reason our America’s forefathers divided our government into three branches was because they thought every man had the capacity to be corrupt, or was corrupt and they also wanted to avoid tyranny. Tyranny is defined as, having the capacity to be authoritarian or to just be authoritarian ruler. To separate powers...
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...Principles and Articles of the Constitution Part One: Table of Primary Principles of the US Constitution Self-Government | Self-government is government that is provided by or voted on by the inhabitants of the country or group as opposed to having external governing forces. The Constitution names Self-government as the ultimate and proper means of government. The US uses majority rule as part of self-government. | Separation of Powers | Separation of powers is the division of governing powers among separate branches of the government. This idea was widely favored as many states started drafting their governments and was used as a founding principle of the US Constitution. Basically, separation of powers assigns one group of people as task and another group another task. This helps in many ways, primarily it makes sure that each group is skilled at the powers assigned to them. It also paves the way for Checks and Balances. | Checks and Balances | Checks and Balances is an elaborate system that is written into the US Constitution that requires the divided branches of government to all work together to make any major decisions. Originally, this system was designed so that no one branch of government overpowered the others. A single branch cannot act decisively without the support of the other branches. The three branches of government in the US are designed to overlap so that Checks and Balances can succeed. | Checks and Balances Over the years, the US system...
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...Concept of Separation of Powers in the American Democracy There are three branches of the government that represent the will of the people. These are the legislative, executive and judicial branches of the government. These three branches are the main organs of the government. The legislative branch makes the laws, executive enforces the laws and judicial applies them to the specific cases that arise out of the breach of law. While each branch works individually in performing their tasks it tends to interfere in the sphere of working of another functionary because a strict demarcation of functions is not possible in their dealings with the general public. Even when acting in ambit of their own power, overlapping functions tend to appear among the branches. It is important that the political system to be stable and that the power need to be balanced off against each other. The separation of power deals with the mutual relations among the three branches of government: Legislative, Executive, and Judiciary. The Constitution was written to bring forth a functioning sense of the three branches and hence a strict demarcation of power is the aim sought to be achieved by this principle. The constitution signifies the fact that one person or one body should not excess all the three powers of the government. A French scholar by the name of Montesquieu found that concentration of power in one person or a group results in tyranny. Montesquieu felt the need for decentralization of power...
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...distributing the power between the two governments. Federalism has given separate states power over the federal government. The state's government and federal government also share powers such as they can borrow money or...
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...Branches of Government Branches of Government America’s forefathers found it necessary to divide governmental power to ensure that history could not repeat itself; to protect the United States from being controlled by one ruler or a king. The forefathers established three branches of government to manage the enactment of important legislation. While diversity in political preference and views can create obstacles, it can also find compromising ground and come together for the greater good of the country. Law is a living thing, constantly changing as society evolves. The three branches of government: judicial, legislative, and executive were put into place to provide America with a solid foundation as a basis to grow from and expand on. When our forefathers wrote the constitution in 1787, they were very much aware that with time, came change, so in knowing this, the constitution was written in an open manner, allowing for changes to be made to the document as seen fit. The forefathers did not want to create another document such as the articles of confederation which had only one branch of government and many thought the Articles to be very weak. Our forefathers did not want to give just one government so much power; they wanted to ensure that the people’s liberty would always remain protected, and by creating the three branches, the power would be split up. Article One of the United States Constitution is Legislator, it describes the Congress, and the legislative branch...
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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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...Constitution sole purpose is to protect the citizens of the United States from the government. There are three branches of the federal government that are used to create the laws and policies within the states. The three branches are Legislative, Executive, and Judicial. All three branches oversee different parts of the government and have different roles that they play however they all limited powers as to what they can do as separate entities The Legislative Branch is headed by Congress to include the senate and House of Representatives. Their duties are to make the laws for which we are to abide. The powers include passing laws and bills, impeaching officials, and approving treaties. The Executive branch is headed by the President. The duties of this branch is to enforce and recommend federal laws, direct the government, and commanding the armed forces to name a few. The Judicial court is headed by the Supreme Court. The main function of this branch is to interpret the constitution, reviewing law and hearing cases involving violation of state rights (The Three Branches of Government, n.d.). The sole purpose of having the three branches is so there is no dictatorship, and tranny within the government so by triple checking everything between the branches is great. Checks and balances are much needed to ensure that no one branch gains more power over the other (Checks and Balances, n.d.). There three branches need to ensure that the laws are thoroughly looked through by each branch...
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...Branches of Government Team A HIS/301 30 Apr 2016 Mr. Joseph Richardson University of Phoenix After winning the Revolutionary War the Founding Fathers of the United States of America needed to come together on how they were going to run their new independent country. They all came together and decided they wanted their country governed based on a Constitution that followed natural law. They also wanted the separation of branches of government with checks and balances to ensure no one branch gets too much power, which is still in use to this present day. There are three branches of government that come together to make up a bill and keep it in place. There is the legislative branch, executive branch, and judicial branch. The legislative branch is there to make the laws. The executive branch carries these laws out and finally the judicial branch evaluates all these laws. The founding fathers put these three branches in place having in mind that they wanted all three to have equal power and an equal amount of work. These three branches consist of many checks and balances to share the power; it’s all about compromising. Each branch checks the power of the other branches to make sure power is balanced between each of them. The legislative branch introduces and votes on a bill, and then the bill goes to the executive branch where the president decides whether or not to veto the bill. Finally, once a bill is passed people can test it through the court system and this...
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...Branches of Government Michael Mousaw His/301 April 25, 2011 University of Phoenix Ric Hulshoff Branches of Government The founding Fathers of America divided the United States government into three branches of power in order to maintain a system of checks and balances. They did not want a government where one person or one body of government had all the power. The founding fathers of these United States wanted to step away from the totalitarian system of governance imposed on colonial America by the British (Trethan). Three Branches of Government With this thought in mind the founding Fathers of the United States came up with what Americans know now as the Federalist governing system. This Federalist government consists of the executive, the legislative, and the judicial. Each of these branches has its own distinct and essential duties to perform in the function of the United States government (Trethan). Executive Branch The executive branches of the United States government consist of the president, vice-president, and 15 cabinet level departments. These 15 cabinet level departments include the State, Defense, Interior, Transportation, and Education. The chief point of power is in the hands of the president. The president chooses his vice president, cabinet members, and appoints the Supreme Court Justices. The primary function of the executive branch is to ensure the laws are carried out, the constitution is followed, and that the day to...
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...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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...following principles and their significance in shaping American government. * Self-Government: Is the most important principle in the Constitution of the United States and refers to the need to have a system which would make sure that everyone has a voice in the local, state and national governments.(www.4uth.gov.ua) Separation of Powers: Each branch is responsible for their job. Separation of power establishes that one person or group of people could not control the government alone. The Constitution states the power of each branch and their functions are completely separate. No one gets too much power help things run smoothly.(www.nationalparalegal.edu) * Checks and Balances: Ensure that no people can control the government alone. Because each branch has separate power, they can check and balance each other to make sure that the best interests of all people are served, rather than only the interest of a small group. Check and balances specifically assigns power to the states, but only what has not been delegated to the federal government (PATimes, 2014). This intergovernmental relationship was created to ensure that the people’s voices would be heard through their elected representatives. Part II: Balance of Power In the space below, write an analysis of approximately 250 words on how the system of checks and balances in the federal government helps to limit the concentration of power. * Cite specific...
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...The Constitution of the United States was humbly made in 1787, in which the Founding Fathers, also known as the ‘Framers’, seeked to create what would be needed to rule amongst. Having seen the course of the country beforehand the Constitution, these men wanted a form of government that wouldn’t allow an individual or group with either too much control, power or authority. The Framers had already undergone brutal experience with the way other sorts of government ruled upon such as monarchy from the British. Their ideals were mainly based on a way of providing a right and just system for the people to depend firmly on. Therefore, with much thought process, they made the Constitution set up the government into three separate branches of government....
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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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...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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