Checks and Balances

The concept of checks and balances was incorporated into the Constitution by our forefathers to ensure a balance of power and to avoid overly centralized government. By creating three branches of government and dividing the responsibilities among them all, it made it nearly impossible for one branch to become too powerful. The reason this concept was so important is because the people of America wanted to be free from the oppression and monarchy from their previous country, England. The system of checks and balances was helpful to the United States in ensuring its citizens' freedom in many ways, but as in any system, there were a few downfalls.

Checks and balances basically have two meanings: federalism and separation of powers (http://usinfo.state.gov)

Federalism is when power and authority are shared by the national and state governments (Axelrod, pg 68). This ensured that no part of the government could become too powerful. Some of the powers that were given to the states were things such as education, transportation, law enforcement, and health care (http://usinfo.state.gov). Basically what was done is that the states were given specific responsibilities to take care of problems and needs in each particular state so that the national government could concentrate more on the needs of the people as a whole. The concerns of the national government were more based on the states as a whole like the passing of laws, foreign diplomacy, military, taxation, etc.

The separation of powers ensured that there were three branches of government and that none of the branches would have more power than the others. The three branches of the government were the legislative, judiciary, and executive. The legislative branch or Congress was given the powers of taxation, coining and borrowing money, maintaining armed forces, the right to declare war, as well as several others (Arco, pg 34). The executive branch, the president, was given power to veto Congressional actions, send and receive ambassadors, make treaties and appointments with consent of the Senate, as well as other responsibilities (Arco, pg 35). The third branch, or the judicial branch, was the Supreme Court. The heart of the Supreme Court's power was judicial review which is the power to declare legislative and executive actions unconstitutional (Arco, pg 35). By giving the branches their own separate powers, one branch could stop another branch from doing that they were in disagreement with. This made sure that one branch could not do whatever they wanted.

There are several advantages to checks and balances. One is that there was no special bloodline required to be a part of the government. There was a Senate, and its representatives were elected by the people and regardless of population, there was still the same amount of representatives for each state (Axelrod, pg 67). The House of Representatives allowed for so many people to be elected by the people depending on the state population (Axelrod, pg 67). Another advantage was that it was nearly impossible for a tyranny to occur or abuse of power compared to that of England, where a king could easily get away with things through a bribe or with his power. Another advantage of checks and balances is that if one branch of government disagrees with another's actions they can do something about it. An example would be that the President nominates ambassadors and members of the cabinet and negotiates international treaties, but all have to be approved by the Senate (http://usinfo.state.gov)

There are several disadvantages to the system of checks and balances. For one, if any of the branches are in disagreement, it could be a long, difficult process to get anything done. For example, if the president is in disagreement with one of the laws that is being passed by Congress, he can veto the law. But if Congress wants, they can still pass the law with a two-thirds majority (http://usinfo.state.gov). But as stated earlier, the Supreme Court has the power to declare the executive and legislative actions unconstitutional. Another disadvantage is that the people who are elected to government positions are not always researched by the people electing them. For example, there are some people who just vote to vote and do not care who wins or loses. There are those people that vote for the Republican candidate just because that's the way they've always voted. There are also a lot of people who choose not to vote. By doing this, they are not accepting their Constitutional right to choose who represents them. In some ways, it seems that "the people" are not even being represented because they are not taking an active part in making sure that the leaders of the America are good leaders.

Our forefathers began the system of checks and balances to ensure that there would not be any part of government that was too centralized or powerful. The idea of checks and balances was brought about to ensure the freedom of the people of America. This system has been fundamental in helping the United States become one of the greatest countries in the world.

Works Cited

Axelrod, Alan. Ph.D. Ace Your Midterms and Finals: U.S. History. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1999.

International Information Programs.http://usinfo.state.gov

Worton, Stanley. Ph.D. American History to 1877. New York: Arco Publishing, Inc, 1980.