The Framers of the Constitution had a problem. They knew the downfalls of tyranny, and wanted to avoid it in this new government they were creating. To solve the problem, they came up with the “Separation of Powers.” The powers of government would be split up into three groups, which they called branches; Executive, Legislative, and Judicial. They made the branches separate, so that no one part of the government could dominate. Each branch of the government was given the power to check the other branches to balance the government. The Framers had difficulty agreeing on how the states should be represented in the government. The larger states supported James Madison’s Virginia Plan, which called for a two house legislator, with representation …show more content…
That includes the Supreme Court, the federal court of appeals and district courts, and the U.S Court of International Trade.1 While the Executive and Legislative branches are elected by the people and the Electoral College, the Supreme Court judges are appointed by the President. They are in office for life as long as they do not retire or are impeached. An advantage of this is that they can make unpopular, but constitutional decisions, without the fear of losing their position. Their responsibility is to interpret the law. The Supreme Court has the power to declare laws and executive actions, …show more content…
The Legislative branch has many powers over the Executive branch. The House of Representatives can impeach the President. If two thirds of the senators vote for impeachment, they can remove him from office. They can also check by rejecting or approving, the President’s appointment of federal judges and officials. Congress, if it has a two thirds vote in both houses, can override a Presidential veto of a law. Congress can also refuse to pass laws that the President wants. Additionally, they can refuse to reserve funds for executive programs. Just like the Legislative branch can impeach the President, it can also limit the Judicial branch by removing judges. It can check on judicial nominees by rejecting them before they even reach their position. Congress can add or take away Federal courts, and also change the jurisdiction of federal courts. Congress can pass new laws that can override Supreme Court decisions, as long as these decisions are not based on the Constitution. Congress can also propose amendments to the
Framers of the U.S. Constitution On July 4, 1776 the Declaration of Independence was signed. The thirteen colonies were no longer under King George III rule. It was a new world that needed a new type of leadership. On July 12, 1776 the Second Congress proposed the Articles of Confederation. The articles were ratified by all thirteen states on March 1, 1781. Under the Articles of Confederation each state had its own sovereignty. And the central government was to provide thing such as national
constitutional law defines the scope and application of the terms of the Constitution. It covers areas of law such as the relationship between the federal government and state governments, the rights of individuals, and other fundamental aspects of the application of government authority in the United States. It is a field of law that is broad and complex. Some constitutional scholars maintain that the authors of the Constitution had intended that it be vague and subject to interpretation so that it
developing the constitution the framers had to take precautions to prevent the people's rights from being stripped away by an oppressive government. Since the constitution was constructed I believe it is self-evident that the people wanted to avoid tyranny in their new nation. That is exactly what the framers of the Constitution did in the summer of 1787 when delegates from twelve states met together to create a new government. The delegates discussed how to make the constitution strong enough to
George Washington, Framer of the Constitution and First President of the United States George Washington was born at his father’s plantation on Pope’s Creek, in Westmoreland County, Virginia on February 22, 1732. Washington was the eldest of his parents Augustine and Mary Ball Washington’s six children. Little is known about Washington’s childhood and eduction. His father died when he was eleven. But most of the stories that make up his legend, such as his honesty, piety, throwing a silver dollar
Since its very conception, the Constitution of the United States has while holding great reverence, been a great topic of debate amongst the political scholars left to analyze it in all its ambiguity. Two such scholars, John Roche and Charles Beard, in their analyses of the Constitution aim to tackle a layer of the uncertainty: how democratic the Framers truly intended the Constitution to be. John Roche speaks in unquestionably high regard of the Framers in advocating that they so evidently compromised
The Constitutional Convention was undertaken as an attempt to fix the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation by drafting a new governing document - the Constitution. Naturally, there were several debates about how the Constitution should address the prevailing issues at the time. The framers present at the Constitutional Convention did purposely leave some issues unresolved in the summer of 1787 by leaving some ambiguity. However, the purpose of this ambiguity was to allow some room for the
original constitution was designed to endure and last, ruling with the “original intent” would not be ideal due
that Article II of the constitution contains a record of executive powers and the president must be prepared at all times to justify his or her actions either on the basis of the record of the powers contained in Article II or on implied powers (Mason & Stephenson, 2012). Stewardship Theory: Implies that the president is a “steward of the people” and is deemed responsible to do anything that the needs of the nation deem necessary unless it is in violation of the constitution (Mason & Stephenson, 2012)
Robert Dahl's book How Democratic is the American Constitution, reminds us that the American Constitution wasn't the only possible base for a democratic system in America. In this book Dahl explains some of the democratic and undemocratic aspects of the American constitution. He also explains what should be changed to improve it. In chapter 2, Dahl begins explaining about the Framers of the constitution who had the task of basically creating a new government that combated all of the problems of
that you are not free to say are obscenity and anything that incites to imminent lawless violence. The framers had many goals for the constitution. One of their most important goals was protecting liberty by limiting the government. They were able to protect people 's liberty in many ways through the constitution. The Bill of Rights and grants and denials are just a few examples. The framers learn through mistakes of other countries as well as mistakes through the Articles of Confederation. Work
Government and Politics - The Original Constitution Did Not Have Many Democratic Traits In two world wars, Korea, Vietnam, and the Persian Gulf, Americans fought and died so that democracy would prevail around the world. In the minds of many Americans, America is the bastion of democracy. But how democratic is America? Today’s America was “born” with the signing of the constitution in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. There, it was determined how democratic America would be. And every American
democracy, so the Constitution made democracy stronger by taking having a good behavior and by taking claims in action. In addition, they also believed in freedom. The main goal is for the government to have freedom for the Americans. During the Articles of Confederation, America believed that they interfere with private property, economic efficiency, and people rights. The Framers secured the blessing of liberty by having individual rights and freedom. Similarly the Constitution has a section on
In writing the Constitution, the Framers were aiming to rectify the states’ inadequate attempt at establishing a democratic government. They wanted to create a stronger government while simultaneously keeping it a democracy and protecting the Peoples’ power within it. Wary of monarchy, they intended to constrain their envisioned government’s power by creating checks and balances between and within its branches. Did they do a good enough job? In Section I, we see the Framers’ intentions for the legislature’s
The constitution is one of the most valued documents in history. The typical American believes that the Constitution was a successful conclusion to the American Revolution. However, this is false. The Framers of the Constitution were dreamers who congregated together, originally to amend the Articles of Confederation, in Philadelphia in the early Fall of 1787 at the Constitutional Convention. The creation of the constitution was a result of the American Revolution in which delegates fashioned a manual
The Constitution works because of its adjustability and flexibility with the change of the amendments. The amendments are able to be change as time goes, to better fit the people. Or as Thomas Jefferson said, the Constitution “belongs to the living, not the dead.” This instrument of the government was also so victorious because of the three branches of government. All the three branches of government ballast and appreciate the needs of the hesitant nation, to gain the faith of the people again.