The United States Central Government: Power of the Branches

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The Founding Fathers knew that our country needed a strong central government. They did not want one part to have more control than another. They came up with the three branches of government to equally spread out the power. Each branch has their own separate duties and roles to make sure our government runs smoothly, and so no one branch can overthrow another. The three branches are Legislative, Executive and Judicial. The Legislative branch makes the laws, and is made up of the House of Representatives and the Senate. Next, the Executive branch where the President and Vice president stand, and this is where laws are “executed”. Finally there is the judicial branch, which consists of the Supreme Court. This branch oversees the court system, and they decide whether a law is unconstitutional or not. Even though each branch is just as important as the other, and was supposed to be created “equal” which one holds more power? Which branch should hold more power? Out of the three branches, the Executive branch is the most powerful branch. The executive branch comes with Executive freedoms. The President has certain powers, such as permitting pardons for federal offenses if need be. For example, when Nixon was impeached, President Ford had pardoned him. Even though the Legislative branch makes the laws, the President is the one who puts the laws into action with the support from Congress. However, if the president does not agree with the law trying to be passed, he has the right/power to veto the law. After the president veto’s a bill, the likelihood of that bill becoming a law is very slim. If Congress decides they want to override a veto from the president, two-thirds of both the House of Representatives and Senate must vote agai... ... middle of paper ... ...y decide to do this, the president could be tried for wrongdoing. If a majority of the House of Representatives vote to impeach, then a trial will be held and a decision will be made based on existing evidence. As stated before, each branch is supposed to equal, but their duties raise them to different standards than the others. If we did not have these guidelines for each branch and our government would not be complete without all three of these branches working together successfully, but the Legislative branch should always be viewed as the most powerful. Works Cited Barbour, Christine, and Gerald C. Wright. Keeping the Rupublic. 4thth ed. Washington DC: CQ Press, 2011. 216. Print. "Which Branch can impeach and remove the president." Answers. N.p., 2013. Web. 20 Nov. 2012. .

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