Compare And Contrast The American System Of Checks And Balances

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Introduction The American system of government emerged as an experiment in liberty and democracy back in 1776. Since then it has proven to be quite adaptable and flexible. Although the United States are primarily associated with democracy, the more accurate categorisation would be constitutional federal republic. As regards to its legal definition, “constitutional” means that the government in the US is based on a Constitution (which is the supreme law). The Constitution provides not only the framework for how the state and federal governments are structured, but it also places clearly stated limits on their powers. Moreover “federal” refers to the two level system in US-national government and this of each state (they are 50 in total). Last but not least “republic” is a form of government in which the ultimate power rests with the people, but they exercise it through election of representatives. …show more content…

Being such, it defines three separate branches of government-legislative, executive and judicial; their powers and different types of procedures related with them. Perhaps one of the most intriguing characteristics of the document is the system of checks and balances, designed to distribute power among the three branches. Each branch exercises some form of power over the others. For instance, justices of the Supreme Court are appointed by the President, but the Senate must give his consent first. Similarly, the judiciary (in the face of the Supreme Court) can deem as unconstitutional laws passed by Congress and signed by the President, leading to their nullification. Thus this system is created in order to ensure that no single branch of government exceeds the limits of its