Checks
and Balances in government
Why
are there three separate and distinct branches of government, each with a
different function? The framers of the Constitution did not wish to return to
the totalitarian system of governance imposed on colonial America by the
British government.
To ensure that no single person or entity had a monopoly
on power, the Founding Fathers designed and instituted a system of checks and
balances. The president's power is checked by the Congress, which can refuse to
confirm his appointees, for example, and has the power to impeach, or remove, a
president. Congress may pass laws, but the president
has the power to veto them (Congress, in turn,
may override a veto). And the Supreme Court can rule on the constitutionality
of a law, but Congress, with approval from two-thirds of the states, may amend
the Constitution.
The purpose
of the three branches of Government (Judicial, Executive and Legislative) is a
concept known as checks and balances. Checks and balances ensures that no
person or group accumulates too much power or is able to make decisions without
oversight. An unofficial fourth branch of the government is the media, owned
and operated by the public to be informed by sources other than those in
control of the government, since their careers and positions are largely
determined by public opinion it gives the media some measure of power among the
three main branches.
Separation
of Powers: A System of Checks and Balances
Because, 'All
Men Having Power Ought be Mistrusted.'
