U.S. Government – 101

Posted on | October 1, 2008 |

The federal government of the United States is the central United States governmental body, established by the United States Constitution. The United States Government consists of three separate branches: Executive, Legislative and Judicial. Together, they function as a system of lawmaking and enforcement based on checks and balances, and separation of powers intended to ensure that no individual or body of government ever becomes too powerful.

“In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself.”
- Alexander Hamilton and James Madison in Federalist 51

In the effort of enabling the government to control itself, it is important to understand how each branch functions.

The Executive Branch

The Executive branch consists of the President and his delegates. The President functions as the head of state and government, as well as the military commander-in-chief, chief diplomat and chief of party. The power to sign legislation passed by Congress into law, or veto it, is reserved by the President as well as the power to appoint Supreme Court justices and federal judges.

The Legislative Branch

The United States Congress is the legislative branch of the federal government. It is comprised of the House of Representatives and the Senate. The Constitution grants numerous powers to Congress. These powers are mainly over taxes, currency, the establishment of roads and post offices, promoting the progress of science and maintaining a powerful military.

The Judicial Branch

The Judicial Branch is represented by the The Supreme Court. The court deals with interpretation of the United States Constitution, matters pertaining to the federal government, disputes between states, and can declare legislation or executive action made at any level of the government as unconstitutional, nullifying the law.

Summary

In short, each branch has power to act on its own, some authority to regulate the other two branches, and is in turn regulated by the other branches. For example:

• Congress may pass laws, but the president reserves the power to veto them.
• Congress reserves the power to override the president’s veto.
• The Supreme Court can declare a law approved by Congress and the president unconstitutional.
• The president can appoint judges to the Supreme Court, but Congress must approve them.

Do these branches function as a perfect system? Of course not. But “[i]f men were angels, no government would be necessary” (Alexander Hamilton and James Madison in Federalist 51).

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