Topics on the Page
The Three Branches of U.S. Government
Legislative
Executive
Judicial
Checks and Balances
Cross-Links
The Three Branches of U.S. Government
The United States federal government has three parts: the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial branches.
Politico Magazine article on the three branches of government today: We No Longer Have Three Branches of Government
Legislative Branch
The Legislative Branch makes laws. They draft proposed laws, confirm or reject presidential nominations for heads of federal agencies/federal judges/ Supreme Court, and have authority to declare war.
The Legislative Branch is made up of Congress (the Senate and House of Representatives) and special agencies/ offices that provide support services to Congress. As American citizens, we have the right to vote in Senators and Representatives through free, private ballots.
As stated above, Congress is divided into the Senate and House of Representatives.
The Senate has responsibilities specific to this branch.
These responsibilities include agreeing to treaties and confirming federal officials like Supreme Court Justices.
The Senate consists of 100 elected Senators, and each state is represented by two Senators. It is interesting to note that former Presidents John Quincy Adams and John F. Kennedy represented Massachusetts as Senators.
Senate terms are six years, and there is no limit to the number of terms an individual can serve. According the Article 1, Section 3, clause 3 of the U.S. Constitution, no person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained the age of thirty years and been 9 years a citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected be an inhabitant of that state for which he shall be chosen.
On the other hand, there are 435 elected House of Representatives.
They are divided among the 50 states in proportion to their total population. For the District of Columbia and other territories, there are additional non- voting delegates. Representatives serve two- year terms, and there is no limit to the number of terms an individual can serve. Representatives' duties include introducing bills and resolutions, offering amendments, and serving on committees. The House of Representatives also has exclusive powers vested by the Constitution. These include the right to initiate impeachment proceedings and to originate revenue bills.
Constitution Article on Legislative Branch: https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/articlei
How Laws are Made: https://www.usa.gov/how-laws-are-made#item-35837
Link here for the official website for Congress and federal legislative information
Link to contact Congress: https://www.congressionalinstitute.org/contact-congress/
Women have played prominent roles in national and state legislatures as well.
Women in the United States Senate
Link to Margaret Chase Smith and the Declaration of Conscience Speech
Women in State Legislatures for 2019
A First: Women Take the Majority in Nevada Legislature and Colorado House
Women Make Up 24% of Members of National Legislatures Around the World
A timeline for Milestones for Women in American Politics
Page that gives links to evolution of Women in Congress
Executive Branch
The duties of the Executive Branch are to carry out and enforce laws. Sections of the Executive Branch include the President, Vice President, Cabinet, executive departments, independent agencies, and other boards, commissions, and committees.
The President leads the country. They are the head of state, leader of the federal government, and the Commander in Chief of the United States armed forces. The President serves four year terms, and can only be elected for two terms.
The Vice President is the second after the President. The VP supports the President, and if the President cannot serve their duties, the VP takes over. The VP can be elected and serve an unlimited number of four year terms even under different presidents.
The Cabinet serve as advisers to the President. They include the Vice President, heads of executive departments, and other high-ranking government officials. Cabinet members are nominated by the President and must be approved by a simple majority of the Senate—51 votes if all 100 Senators vote.
Fun Fact! President George Washington was the one to set the two- term precedent in 1796 when he passed on his third term. Washington made his thoughts quite clear, especially when it came to new phenomena of political parties. “The line between Parties,” Washington said, had become “so clearly drawn” that politicians “regard neither truth nor decency; attacking every character, without respect to persons – Public or Private, – who happen to differ from themselves in Politics.”
Click here for an overview of the Presidents of the United States from George Washington to Barack Obama
Article II of the Constitution establishes the executive branch of the US government
Primary Sources
President documents: The American Presidency Project
U.S. Presidents including Donald Trump
60-Second Presidents audio clips
U.S. Presidential Inaugurations: "I Do Solemnly Swear" Library of Congress
James Madison's Federalist 51, describing the necessity of a government that has checks and balances
Justices of the US Supreme Court, 2018
The Judicial Branch interprets laws, applies laws to different individual cases, and has say on violations to the Constitution. This branch is made up of the Supreme Court and other federal courts.
The Supreme Court is the highest court in the United States. There are nine members of the Supreme Court: a Chief Justice and eight Associate Justices. The minimum number of Justices needed to decide on a case is six. There are no fixed terms for Justices. They serve until their death, retirement, or removal in exceptional circumstances.
According to the Constitution, Congress has authority to establish federal courts to handle cases involving federal laws like taxes, bankruptcy, lawsuits involving U.S. and state governments, and more.
There is a process in appointing the Supreme Court Justices and other federal judgeships.
First, the President nominates a person to fill a vacant judgeship.
Second, the Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing on the nominee and votes on whether to forward the nomination to the full Senate. If the nomination moves forward, the Senate can debate the nomination. Debate must end before the Senate can vote on whether to confirm the nominee. A Senator will request unanimous consent to end the debate, but any Senator can refuse. Without unanimous consent, the Senate must pass a cloture motion to end the debate. It takes a simple majority of votes—51 if all 100 Senators vote—to pass cloture and end debate about a federal judicial nominee.
Once the debate ends, the Senate votes on confirmation. The nominee for Supreme Court or any other federal judgeship needs a simple majority of votes—51 if all 100 Senators vote—to be confirmed.
Some famous Supreme Court cases:
Here is an article about the first black man to be elected to the Supreme Court.
Checks and Balances & Separation of Powers
The reason checks and balances was such an important part of the Constitution was because the American People were afraid that one part of the government would become more powerful than another and a Monarchy would be established.
Montesquieu, 1728
The idea of having power be separated into three independently acting branches of government originates from Charles-Louis de Secondat, Baron de la Brede et de Montesquieu (1689-1755) more commonly know as just Montesquieu. He was a French historian and political philosopher of the Enlightenment. In his Spirit of the Laws, Montesquieu outlines how political authority should be distributed to legislative, executive and judiciary powers. This, Montesquieu claims is the best way for a republic to promote liberty.
Primary Source: Excerpts from Montesquieu's Spirit of the Laws
Information on Separation of Powers: http://resourcesforhistoryteachers.pbworks.com/w/page/125621699/Separation%20of%20Powers%20in%20American%20Government
Learning Plan on Separation of Powers from National Constitution Center
Ben's Guide to checks and balances https://bensguide.gpo.gov/j-check-balance
Crash Course YouTube video on checks and balances: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bf3CwYCxXw
So what's unique?
- Developing from the Articles of Confederation, the US constitution's creation of an independent executive was unique development for the US government
- In addition, the creation of independent judiciary branch was just as unique, as the last judicial system was tied to Congress under the Articles of Confederation
- It is also important to consider how this document was not our modern one:
- The original constitution had the Three-Fifths Compromise. This compromise effectively counted slaves as three-fifths of a person in determining the number of representatives each state would be allotted in the House of Representatives.
- major amendments, such as the 13th, 14th and 15th, were not added until one hundred years later. This is important as the original form of the Constitution provided freedom for primarily white, rich men