Joshua Wallace
Mrs. McCain
Section 125
22 November 2015
The Branches of Government, Checks and Balances, and Separation of Powers The United States Government consists of three branches: the Legislative Branch, the Executive Branch, and the Judicial Branch. These three branches each serve unique purposes in governing by exercising the different powers given to them under the Separation of Powers. This separation of powers in essence divides the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial powers of government enough so that no one branch has enough power to dominate the other branches. This is also followed by the Checks and Balances system, also introduced by Madison, through which each branch of government has the ability, and duty, to check the actions of other branches. For example: Congress can enact laws, but the President has veto power
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The Supreme Court has the power to declare acts of Congress and of the Executive Branch unconstitutional, but the President appoints the justices of the Supreme Court, however with the advice and consent of the Senate. Just as with Newton’s Third Law of Motion, for every action (in government), there is an equal and opposite reaction. Each branch of government has a distinct and vital role in the function of the government, and they were established in Articles I-III of the Constitution. The Legislative Branch (Article I) consists of the Senate and the House of Representatives, collectively known as the Congress. Within the Senate holds a total of 100 senators, with each state receiving two, an adoption of the New Jersey Plan to prevent population bias in government decisions. The amount of representatives for each state is determined by population and subsequently redetermined every ten years after the census, an adoption of the Virginia Plan. As of now, there are 435 members in the House. The Legislative Branch, as a whole, is charged with writing and passing the nation's laws as well as allocating funds for the use by