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Do The Checks And Balances Between The Legislative And Executive Branches Matter?

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Vanessa Amechi Ms. Smedley Civics Period 5 March 2024. Do the Checks and Balances Between the Legislative and Executive Branches Matter? The Founding Fathers of the United States when constructing the Constitution, needed a way for there to be equal power within the government, thus creating a system called checks and balances. Although checks and balances are listed together, they perform in different ways. Checks limit the powers of other branches while balances allow for the views of the United States government. Checks and balances ensure that there is a separation of powers and responsibilities between each branch of government so that there is no overpowering in one branch. In the United States, this system is used between three branches …show more content…

Furthermore, the checks and balances between the legislative and executive branches are essential to the United States democracy by ensuring that no one branch can overpower the other and so the government is kept fair and constitutional. The ability for the legislative branch to impeach a president, which is a check on the executive branch, permits no power of abuse in public office. The Constitution states that “The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments. and no Person shall be convicted without the Concurrence of two thirds of Members present” (U.S. Const. Article 1 (Section 3). The Senate has the power to try a President for impeachment, however, there has to be a two-thirds majority agreement amongst the members. The power of impeachment is crucial to the United States government because if a President commits an act of treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors, then they will receive harsh punishment and in extreme cases, removal from office. This demonstrates that no one, even the President, is above the law, and so it is Congress’ responsibility to keep them in check. This ensures that the President will play their role properly, knowing that they will be held accountable for their actions. In

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