Separation Of Powers Of Congress Essay

The Framers of the Constitution intended Congress to be the most important institution (McKay, 2013:161) thereby “All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives” (Article 1, Section 1). The Framers bestowed both houses with significant powers, namely the power of the purse, executive oversight and investigation, and the exclusive power to declare war (Baritono, 2014:4). On the other hand, the President is vested with executive power, responsible for faithfully executing laws (Article II, Section 3). As the chief executive, commander-in-chief, and chief diplomat, the President has the power to make treaties and to nominate and appoint federal positions (Article II, Section 2). With regards to legislative power, presidents are chief legislators. According to the Constitution, presidents have the

However, the resulting system of separation of powers has consequently caused the various branches of government to be in opposition (Howell and Moe xii). The issue rests in the fact that congressional members are, by the very nature of the system, nearsighted (Howell and Moe 54). By this, Howell and Moe mean that congressional members are focused both on representing their constituents and earning reelection. Consequently, legislation fails to represent a national framework (Howell and Moe 56).

First Draft Throughout history, empires have arisen through tyrant leaders, tyranny being a cruel and unfair treatment by people with power over others, such an example would be the Roman Empire. Even though they began as a republic, they soon became under control of a series of tyrannical leaders. So, how has America, as a republic itself, been able to avoid any tyrant takeovers? The answer lies in our constitution.

In 1776, the colonies wrote a Declaration of Independence that made the 13 colonies their own country, because they felt that King George III was a tyrant that abused his power too much and did not give the colonies their rights. The Articles of Confederation was the first constitution that gave the states all of the power. A new constitution was needed because the national government had no power over the states. which were out of control. In May of 1787, 55 delegates from twelve states , excluding Rhode Island, traveled to Philadelphia to fix the Articles of Confederation. When they were all gathered, the delegates decided to write a whole new constitution with a more powerful national government. The Constitution guarded against tyranny

Imagine if you had to write a whole new form of government that would protect corruption, freedom and ensure a good future for the sake of all its people. In May of 1787 they began to drift into Philadelphia, 55 individuals all responding to the call for a Constitutional Convention. The problem facing this remarkable group of men was that the existing Constitution, the Articles of Confederation, just wasn't working. The challenge was to write a Constitution that was strong enough to hold the states and the people together without letting any one person, or group, or branch, or level of government gain too much control. How does the government protect the citizens from an oppressive and cruel leader or group?

The first way the Constitution guarded against tyranny was the separation One of guard against tyranny is the Constitution. The Constitution was a document written in 1787 in Philadelphia by 55 men, mainly Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, and John Adams. It was very much needed in the United States since they had their last tyrant experience with King George III and wanted to prevent it from happening again. Tyranny or a Tyrant is when someone with lots of power abuses it or takes over because they have too much. Therefore the 55 men knew that there had to be equal powers so, thats why today we have 3 of powers.

The founders of the Constitution had to make a document that would give powers to the people yet also protect against one or more person getting too powerful. This is called tyranny, or a government with absolute power. They protected against it by creating Federalism, Separation of powers, Checks and balances, and Bicameral legislative. This allowed us to have a constitution that guards against suppressive tyrants. One of the guards against tyranny is Federalism.

Congressional authorization is the ability to empower and allocate funds, which supports Congress with an effective tool for omission and authority of intelligence activities. Congress is expected to have more power than the President and the Supreme Court. Its powers are also known to be Constitutional as well as evolutionary (ushistory). After the Senate as well as the House of Representatives approves a bill or proposed law, it then becomes an actual law. These two houses also share other powers, that involve coin money, the power to declare war, establishing rules of naturalization as well as immigration, raise an army and a navy, regulate commerce, and set up the federal courts along with their jurisdictions (ushistory). Although Presidents can have authority to act without Congressional authorization when necessary for the nations security, it would be better if they did seek Congressional authorization before acting or making any important decision regarding the nations security, in order to preserve Constitutional checks and balances, as well as make the right decisions and protect the President politically.

The President of the United States is under continual scrutiny, and for good reason. Often times Presidents are unable to garner a high approval rating from the public because either they are not able to influence government enough, or in some cases exert too much power over the government. Very few Presidents have been considered successful in modern times and often when Presidents first enter office they are shocked at the difficulty which influencing government entails. There are many possible changes that could be made in order to increase effectiveness. These changes concern the election progress, the transactional relationship between the President and Congress, the term structure and the nomination process. These changes are especially

The American Presidency is undoubtedly one of the most widely recognized popular icons throughout the world. Although to most foreigners or those who have never resided in the United States or know little of its history, the executive branch of government may seem to be as dull and unyielding as the rest of the American politics, for those few rare individuals who have taken the time to examine and closely scrutinize this office of the American political system and its recent history, quite the opposite will be said. Unlike Congressional or local elections where typically a number of individuals of the same ideological background must be elected in order for a particular issue to be

The Constitution gives Congress all of the legislative powers of the national government. The House and Senate share most of these powers. This includes the broad enumerated powers in Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution—for example, coining money, regulating interstate and foreign commerce, raising and equipping a military, and declaring war. The House and the Senate share most lawmaking powers. Bills must clear both chambers in exactly the same form before they are sent to the president for approval or veto.

Law is a system of rules that are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior. (Robertson, Crimes against humanity, 90).Laws can be made by a collective legislature or by a single legislator, resulting in statutes, by the executive through decrees and regulations, or by judges through binding precedent, normally in common jurisdictions.

I feel the system is biased because there are inequalities among the representation and participation of interest groups and constituents in the political system. Unfortunately, poor and uneducated citizens aren’t as organized as interest groups, lobbyists and PACs because they lack the money, resources and connections necessary to influence congress members on legislative bills. It is evident that, “businesses, interest groups and labor unions are spending more than $100 million a month to lobby the federal government”(Associated Press, SFC, 3/7/98). “The actual population of interest groups in Washington surely reflects that there is a class bias in the membership of interest groups”(JBG).

In the admittedly short life time of the Presidential branch its occupants have taken massive strides in empowering and strengthening their office. At times a case could be made that the executive has aspired to too much; threating essential American political values, such is the case of President Franklin Roosevelt who secured a third term of office ignoring precedent and tradition. However, evidence would suggest that for any significant step a president takes towards increasing their power; often results in an equal and opposite reaction. That is not to say that our presidents are weak, in actuality we see that our presidents have significantly increased their power to wage war

As the commander in chief, the president plays a significant role in shaping foreign policy. The president possesses the power to appoint senior cabinet members, commit troops and conduct high level talks with foreign governments. Congress, on the other hand, has the power to ratify treaties, confirm the president’s appointees and approve budgetary measures. And while the president has the ability to commit troops, only Congress has the authority to declare war. Despite criticisms of the American policy making process describing it as inefficient and slow moving, the main purpose and thus benefit of the constitutional separation of power is the framework of checks and balances that safeguard against monopolization of foreign policy decision making.