Merriam-Webster defines power as the, “ability to act or produce an effect.” The legislative, judicial, and executive branches of the United States government maintain a delicate balance of power as they make, interpret, and enforce laws. In the first three articles of the Constitution, the framers did their best to ensure that power would be separated to the extent where no single branch of government could claim superiority over another and they further enforced this through the structure of checks and balances. Despite the separation of powers and checks and balances, there is an imbalance of power. The legislative branch has more power than both the judicial and executive branches. The primary function of the legislative branch is to make laws. Although the bicameral Congress has several enumerated and implied powers, such as declaring war, regulating both foreign and interstate commerce, and establishing post offices, none of these powers is more significant than their main task of lawmaking. When created within a nation, laws are a set of rules which that nation’s society must abide by. Laws impact nearly every facet of how that society functions, from economics to politics. Each time the Senators and Representatives propose a new bill which becomes a law, they wield a massive amount of power that affects the lives of over 311 million Americans. When it comes to which branch has the most power, this power alone, to produce an effect over the American society, is what sets the legislative branch above the judicial and executive branches. The judicial branch’s central duty is to interpret laws. Although their ability to interpret laws and to determine whether or not a given law, or legislative action, is const... ... middle of paper ... ...ative branch has over the executive branch. In the final analysis, although the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government share the powers bequeathed to them in the constitution and maintain a system of checks and balances between them, power is not equally dispersed among them. The legislative, judicial, and executive branches make, interpret, and enforce laws. If power is defined as the ability to act or to produce an effect, then power in government is directly related to the ability to make laws because laws are the primary method in which a government can “act” or “produce an effect” on society. Therefore, the legislative branch of government has the most power because the laws they create are what affects society and without those laws, the judicial and executive branch would not be able to function. Works Cited American Government
...airly neat job of making sure all branches of government were given equal responsibilities and powers, one branch appears to have more than any other. The Legislative branch has the power to make laws, veto laws, start wars and impeach our president. As a country, we must be careful to elect only trusted officials into our Senate. The Framers made sure that with checks and balances, no one branch of government would have more power than the other to ensure that our government would run smoothly for decades on.
...09). Congress is supposed to enact laws, and the ability of judges to modify them with court decisions shows how their power may extend past what the system of checks and balances had intended. The last aspect that shows how powerful this branch may be is the judges. Originally, the lifetime appointment was supposed to relieve them of pressures when deciding cases, but this serves as a double edged sword. Judges without fear of retribution shows the amount of power that they posses. Overall, the development of judicial review, judges lifetime appointment, and ability to modify laws has led to an unbalance of power by the Judicial Branch among the three branches of government.
In conclusion, it seems clear to me that the Legislative Branch holds huge power, and in my opinion has the most power of the three. No other branch seems to screams out “We the people” like this one. No other branch offers so many checks and balances to the other branches. This is the branch that writes and passes our laws, can supersede even a presidential veto if it has enough unity from its members within. Congress decides how federal money will be spent, approves presidential appointments, and impeach the President if deemed appropriately within.
It has been said that the U.S. Constitution is deliberately inefficient because of it forces the other branches to check the powers eliminating one becoming more dominant than the other two. The three branches of government are legislative, executive, and judicial. The legislative branch enacts federal laws on a national level in Congress, which is comprised of the House of Representatives and the Senate. The executive bran...
3 The legislative branch is the lawmaking branch of government. 4 The executive branch is the branch that enforces the laws of government power, and the judicial branch oversees the enforcement and creation of laws so that they are following the rulebook of the founding ideas of governmental power. All of these branches shown in any representation of government would be a practical representation. 4. 1 Demonstrate knowledge of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of the federal
To begin with, in the US Constitution according to Document F, there are three powers of government. This idea was adopted from Charles Montesquieu’s theory that the best way to run a government was to have a balance of power among
The legislative, executive, and judicial branches represent the constitutional infrastructure foreseen by the Founding Fathers for our nation 's governing body. Together, they work to maintain a system of lawmaking and administration based on checks and balances, and separation of powers intended to make certain that no individual or embodiment of government ever becomes too controlling. America is governed by a democratic government or a democracy which is a government by the people, in which the power is established in the people themselves. The people then elect representatives who carry out their power in a free electoral system. The United States government’s basic claim is to serve the people and only through a combined effort can we
In the Power of the Federal (National Government), the author talks about the Legislative powers of the Legislative Branch/Congress of the United States. “To create laws, to raise taxes, and declare war, the Executive Branch/President of the United States are, commander in Chief of the Armed Force, may negotiate treaties with foreign nations, and may nominate federal judges and other officials, and the Judicial Branch/Supreme Court and Federal Court Interpret and rule on laws, and interpret and rule on the actions of the other branches”(Document 2). These are the ways the federal government increased power by having three different branches to divide up the jobs and make government run easier, being able to collect taxes, and being able to make and enforce laws. All in all, this is a way that the constitution of the united states created a strong federal government by having a requirement of time in the federal office and how they are
Judiciary as the Most Powerful Branch of Government In answering this question I will first paint a picture of the power that the court holds, and decide whether this is governmental power. Then I will outline the balances that the court must maintain in its decision making and therefore the checks on its actions as an institution that governs America. "Scarcely any political question arises that is not resolved sooner or later into a judicial question." (Alexis de Tocqueville Democracy in America) If we take Tocqueville on his word then the American Judiciary truly is in a powerful position.
The United States of America is one of the most powerful nation-states in the world today. The framers of the American Constitution spent a great deal of time and effort into making sure this power wasn’t too centralized in one aspect of the government. They created three branches of government to help maintain a checks and balance system. In this paper I will discuss these three branches, the legislative, the executive, and the judicial, for both the state and federal level.
In conclusion, The Legislative Branch is the most powerful branch of the United States government not only because of the powers given to them by the Constitution, but also the implied powers that Congress has. There is also Congress’s ability to triumph over the Checks and balances that limits their power. The only thing truly holding The Legislative Branch back from gaining all the power, is the large amount of people involved in the process and their difference and ideologies, and that Congress is split into multiple houses, with public opinion and elections affecting half of the branch of government. Therefore, The Legislative Branch is the most powerful branch of the United States Government.
The legislative branch consists of the Senate and the House of Representatives also known together as Congress is the only branch that has the power to create new laws. Furthermore the legislative branch employs an amazing amount of power. However the members of this branch are likely voted out of office if their objectives are not acceptable to the people. In addition the legislative branch is looked at the branch that is connected to the people. (Phaedra Trethan, 2013)
All of the branches have a unique power from the rest of them. At times each branch has over come the other branches. The judicial branch has the supreme court which decides what laws to pass. The Legislative makes laws
American politics is often defined by a continuing power conflict between the executive and the legislative branches of the government. This struggle for political power between the two stronger branches of the three is inherent in the Constitution, itself. The concepts of separation of powers and checks and balances ensure that the branches of government will remain in conflict and provide a balance that keeps the entire government under control. As it was first established, the executive branch was much smaller and weaker than as we know it today. Consequently, the legislative branch was unquestionably dominant. Over the course of history, the executive branch grew in both size and power to the point where it occasionally overtook the legislative and today rivals the legislative in a much closer political battle. Today both branches have major factors that contribute to their power, but on the whole the legislative remains the lastingly dominant branch.
The United States government braces its power among three powerful branches, legislative, executive and judicial. These branches interact with one another to establish authority that is strong, yet equal to have power over the country. Each branch pursues certain responsibilities and duties to operate in an efficient and effective manner in which society upholds. The executive, legislative and judicial branches all interact amid each other to validate accuracy of the nation’s most powerful law of the land, the Constitution. It is important to know how these branches interact with each other to learn how a bill becomes a law. Reflecting on how the three branches promote a balance of power that is constructive to include the agendas and electoral roles that also plays a vast part in the government’s operation.