Three Branches of Government--What's That All About?
Posted: Wednesday, July 07, 2010
by Lynn Schott
Founders Academy
Sweeping laws and new policies have been passed since the 2008 Presidential election. Does the government have a role in such areas as health care, automakers, and banks? Have our elected officials stepped beyond the Constitution?
Before we discuss the limited power of government, we should list the 3 branches of government and then define limited government in light of the delegated powers of the Constitution.
House members (known as Congressmen) are chosen by district, and each district is based on the Census population. Congressmen serve for two years.
The Legislative branch is mentioned first in the Constitution, because the Founders saw it as the most important and powerful branch. The primary job of Legislators is to make law. The Constitution gives legislators the power to pass tax law, laws governing citizenship, the power to impeach, and the authority to declare war. Article 1 of the Constitution shows us examples of limited government.
Tax laws must be introduced in the House, because the Founding Fathers wanted Congressmen to think very carefully before raising taxes on the people. They wanted to make sure that Congress felt the pressure of being voted out of office. The Founders instituted limited power of government when they barred Senators from proposing tax increases. Judges and the President also cannot propose tax bills.
The House of Representatives has the power to bring impeachment charges against a badly-behaved President. A safeguard known as the separation of powers requires that an impeachment trial be conducted by the Senate. Again, the House must be VERY sure that impeachment is warranted, lest the public vote them out of office as a punishment. The trial is conducted by Senators, who are elected every six years, and are insulated from the "passions of the people." Since Congressmen and Senators play different roles in impeachment, power is separated. This example is a definition of limited government power.
The Executive Branch is filled by the President and his cabinet. The Executive Branch is responsible for carrying out, or executing, the laws enacted by the Legislators. Since we have a republican form of government, our President is chosen by electors in the Electoral College, not by popular vote. The purpose of the Electoral College is to prevent "intrigue and cabal" when choosing the Executive. Again, power is separated, and there is a check within the three branches of government.
The Judicial Branch is the last on the list of 3 branches of government. It is mentioned last in the usa branches of government, as it was intended to be the least powerful. Thomas Jefferson warned that creating a Supreme Court would lead to a loss of power in the other two branches of government. Jefferson's warnings are coming true, as we often see Federal and state law struck down by the Supreme Court. Many believe that these actions violate the doctrine of limited government in the Constitution.
Supreme Court justices receive lifetime appointments from the President. Each appointment must be confirmed by the Senate. Impeachment is the only way to unseat a justice under our definition of limited government. This rarely happens. Conversely, if it was too easy to unseat a justice, we would have justices making decisions with their popularity in mind instead of the law.
Understanding the usa branches of government and their specific roles is important when answering the question about the government's role in our lives.
The Founders feared the tyranny of old Europe, so they instituted strict limited government in the Constitution. Each of the branches of the us government as some power that checks a power held by the other two. These checks and balances are intended to protect our liberties. Ultimately, Americans are for limited government. We want Constitutional freedoms preserved!
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Top-level comments on this article: (2 total)I am a South African living in the USA and I love your Constitution. Your article made it very simple for me to understand the basic roles each of the three branches of the US government. Thank you very much. I would be interested in other articles you've written on similar topics. I think that too many US citizens don't understand enough of the Constitution and would benefit from this simply written article. Perhaps that's too critical but I certainly encourage anyone who doesn't know the Constitution to read this one to get a simple overall view of it.
Hi Lynn. Welcome to Searchwarp. Great article and it is good to be refreshed and reminded about how the three branches of the government function. Well done. ~~Nenita
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