Influence of the Founding Fathers Essay

The Founding Fathers created the federal constitution during their time and this contained an intricate set of checks and balances between different levels and branches of government. This remains relatively unchanged within the US constitution. This set of checks and balances works in a way that makes the different branches of government still have independence and work on their own, but also requires them to work together interdependently. This creates better, stronger

In document B and C, separation of powers of the three branches, legislative, judicial, and executive, ensures that not one power is greater than the other. However, as a form of checks and balances, the branches should not be separated to the point of having no constitutional control over each other. Madison stated "Liberty requires that the three great departments of power should be separate and distinct." (Federalist paper #51) but “..they may be a check on the other” (Federalist paper #51) meaning that the three branches have separate powers, but are able to have constitutional control on each other. For example, Legislative branch can approve the presidential nomination, override a president’s veto, and impeach the president from the executive branch while the senate confirms the president's nominations for the judges and remove them from the office from the judicial branch”. While,the executive branch can veto the congressional legislation from the legislative branch and nominate judges for the judicial branch. The judicial branch can declare presidential acts unconstitutional in the executive branch and declare laws unconstitutional to the legislative branch. (Document C). Framer guarded against tyranny through separation of powers but still being able to check on each other and having constitutional control on each other. The branches should be separate and distinct as if they were together, it would be given too much absolute power to one group. Checks and balances illustrates how the constitution guarded against tyranny because the three branches have fair opportunity to stop the other branches from committing an unconstitutional act. Additionally to how checks and balances the constitution from tyranny, “The Great Compromise” does the

To prevent from one branch of government having all power, and therefore having tyranny, (Madison FP # 47) Checks and Balances was added to the defenses of the constitution. There are three branches of government: Legislative Branch (Congress), Executive Branch (President), and Judicial Branch (The Courts). These three branches work together to check one another to make sure the power is evenly distributed and balanced, hence the name Checks and Balances. The way it works is that the Legislative Branch (Congress) can check the Executive Branch (President) by approving Presidential nominations, being able to override a President’s veto, and can impeach the President, him or her, from office. The Legislative Branch can check the Judicial Branch by having Senate confirm Presidential nominations and by being able to impeach judges and remove them from office. The President can check the Legislative Branch by vetoing Congressional legislation, and can check the Judicial Branch by nominating judges. The Judicial Branch can check the Legislative Branch by declaring laws unconstitutional, and can check the Executive Branch by declaring presidential acts unconstitutional. (Madison FP # 51) All three branches of government work together to make sure no branch is abusing their limited power, by using the system Checks and

The constitution was established by men who had experienced the dictatorships of Europe and had escaped from its grasp. They sought to establish a form of government that would never allow a dictatorship or tyrant ruler to hold power over the people like in the places they had fled. With their creation of the foundation of what our government is today they created a system where 3 branches were all of equal power and each could be overruled by another which prevented any branch becoming superior of another. The separation of powers provides a system of shared power called Checks and Balances.(2) The three branches are legislative, judicial and executive and they each have specific powers to

After the Constitutional Convention in 1787, the United States Government was reorganized under the Constitution. This gave the federal government far more power than did the Articles of Confederation, which invested power within the states. Basically, the Constitution created three branches of government (Executive, Judicial, and Legislative) which would work together to run the government. To make sure that there was an equal balance of power among the branches, a system of checks and balances was devised so that each branch could limit the power of the others. It is important to note that "the doctrine of separation of powers is not established by any constitutional provision [but] rather it emerges from he framers'

One of the most important principles incorporated in the U.S. Constitution is separation of powers. The U.S. Constitution divided the central government into three branches and created a system of checks and balances as a way to prevent the concentration of power. “The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, self-appointed, or elective, may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny.” In order to be sure that the main

Creating checks and balances in the United States (US) Government was a goal achieved by dividing power into three governmental branches; legislative branch (Congress), executive branch (Presidency), and a judiciary branch. The power flows from the Judicial Branch to both Congress and Presidency and back again from both branches. The power also flows back and forth between Congress and the Presidency. According to Founder James Madison, they had to “enable the government to control the governed, and the next place to oblige it to control itself” (5). Although the Constitution gives the national government authority over foreign affairs, there was an essential tug of war created for the ultimate control between the legislative branch and

After the Revolutionary War, the newly formed United States still had a major task ahead of them. They had to form a new government that would satisfy the demands of the people and ensure the success of their nation. The Articles of Confederation was the first system of government that was proposed and put into effect. This attempt at creating a system that protected the people form a strong central government ultimately failed but was an important step in the development of the current government system. The weaknesses presented by the Articles of Confederation helped lead to reforms that made the Constitution successful. Both the Articles and the Constitution demonstrate the struggles that the colonists went through with the British and

When the framers of our revered Constitution came together to produce our governing system, they wanted to avoid the precedent of an all powerful entity that could control its citizens. They broke governments role into three important phases, which were the power to make laws, the power to interpret laws, and the ability to enforce them. To further decentralize these authority holding organizations, they created a system that allowed each of the three sections to have a say in each of the others ability to exercise said authority. This organization of overlapping power is referred to as a checks and balances system and was intended to create three equal powers to govern the United States. Over the years since its

Therefore, American politics today does not uphold the goals and values the founding fathers set forth for America during its creation because of national debt, freedom of the press, and current foreign affairs.

Imagine 10 of your closest friends. Now mentally sort them into two categories: those that think and behave more like Puritans (John Winthrop, Judge Danforth from The Crucible), and those who think and behave more like Founding Fathers (Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin). What percentage of those 10 people are more like Puritans? Is it higher than that of the people that are more like Founding Fathers? Odds are, in our modern society (especially in liberal Southern California) you don’t have many stern, conservative, bible-thumping friends. You probably do, however, have friends that are firm believers in freedom, liberty, and rationality. These ideals were instilled in them and in our country by the values and actions of our Founding Fathers

A common characteristic that contributes to the practices of democracy is the concept of checks and balances. James Madison, the fourth president quoted "the accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands...may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny." These checks and balances are primarily used to assure that the government or no branches or offices of the government hold to much power. The term “separation of powers” is somewhat inaccurate in terms of the powers are not actually be divided but they are ideally shared. The founding fathers of this country believed that unrestrained power is dangerous, and is a good thing the president and court check each other along with the state and federal governments. For example, the Congress is in charge of making the laws and other legislature authority but the president can veto that bill. In return, the president is also limited because the congress can then override the veto by 2/3 of the majority. The

The separation of powers and checks and balances is a system that was created in America by the founding fathers in the constitution of the United States. The separation of power plays an important role of keeping the three branches which are legislative, executive, and judicial in the government systems equal to one another and that neither branches becomes too powerful. Each branch has its very own power and duties to serve to the people and government. All three branches play a significant role in checks and balances and separation of powers, in our government and rely on each other to make sure that all of the power is equally distributed.

When America’s founding fathers broke away from England, they weren’t the first colonial Englishmen on the American continent, there were plenty of French, Spanish, Dutch and even Russian colonial outposts established before them. What makes the English colonies along the Eastern seaboard story so important, was the fact that 13 colonies joined together to form what is now known as the United States. Furthermore, this 13 colonies New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia risk their lives, fortunes, and sacred honors to start a new nation free from Great Britain’s rule. In the mist of declaring independence from the most powerful nation on earth, America’s founding fathers created a governmental system that was unfamiliar during their era. America’s founding fathers created a government designed to protect civil liberties and encourage independence, a complex yet young and evolving system.

With the U.S. Constitution one of the strengths is how it divides federal powers between three main branches, legislative, executive, and judicial. Which is defined by the separation of powers doctrine, and provides a system of checks and balances to prevent one branch from overpowering the other. This is why separation of powers is important because if one person had unlimited power, then others would be suppressed. The separation of powers divides certain tasks among the three branches so that they can check each