The American System

In the American system, power is checked by the division of government into three branches-legislative, executive, and judicial. Power is checked in order to keep the nation safe from an excess of power in the hands of one branch of government. The three branches of government control each other and at the same time, each branch controls itself.

The three branches of government each carry out different powers. The Legislative branch creates the Congress to make laws. Congress is divided into the Senate and House of Representatives and Members of Congress must meet at least once a year. There Senate has one hundred senators, two from each state, who serve six year terms. The Vice President of the United States is the presiding officer over the Senate. The House of Representatives has four hundred and thirty five representatives who serve two year terms. The Speaker of the House is the presiding officer of the House of Representatives. The representatives are divided among the fifty states with larger states getting more representatives and smaller states getting fewer representatives. In order for a bill to become a law, a representative must introduce a resolution. The resolution has to pass both the Senate and the House in order to become a law. After it has passed both, the President has the power to sign the bill as a law or veto the bill.

The Executive branch carries out laws. The President and Vice President make up this branch of government, with the powers resting with the President. The president serves a four year term and can only be elected into office twice. The President appoints the Cabinet and oversees the departments of the federal government. Cabinet members carry out legislative actions and can they don't have set terms; they can be replaced at any time.

The Judicial branch explains the laws. The Supreme Court is the head of this branch. There are nine justices on the Supreme Court. Other courts that help make up the judicial branch are the Circuit Court of Appeals and the District Courts. All of the justices in these courts are appointed by the President but have to be approved by the Senate. They serve for life unless they are impeached.

The advantages of this American system are the separation of powers among the three branches. By keeping powers separated, each branch has different responsibilities to carry out and no branch is overloaded with making or carrying out all of the decisions. Those who support this checked and divided American system believe that advantages are that it protects democracy and prevents tyranny. Opponents argue that "it reduces the effectiveness of the state and hinders democracy." Some believe that dividing and spreading out power will cause the branches of government to compete with the others and possibly cause conflict within the government. Conflict in government isn't uncommon; with members of Congress often disagreeing on certain issues.

With Members of Congress facing the dilemma of doing what his constituents want and what the country may need, representatives need to make sure they are aware of their constituents' concerns. They should make an effort to be available to the people in their district and find out what is of most concern to the people in the area, and how it relates to the bigger picture of what is going on in the country. There needs to be a balance because people are sure to have different opinions, and some may differ from the representative's platform or the issues that they uphold. Usually representatives serve on specific committees, so they have to make sure that they make good decisions on those committees. They need to make sure the public is aware of what issues they support or are against. Representatives also need to make sure they are present and vote for or against different resolutions that are introduced. It's important that they introduce legislation that would be beneficial to the area they represent, and perhaps the country as a whole, and have the support of other members of Congress. Sometimes bipartisan legislation (supported by Democrats and Republicans) is approved more quickly because there is support from both sides, instead of Democrats and Republicans going against each other.

Representatives need to be knowledgeable about what is going on and ethical in carrying out their duties. There is a lot of corruption in terms of political contributions, raising such questions as "Where they get their contributions from?" and "What is the campaign money being spent on?" There is also patronage--hiring people based on who you know and not necessarily who is qualified. Many representatives only care about being reelected and don't have their constituents interests in mind at all. They lie their way into office and do nothing that needs to be done once they get there.

Overall, representatives need to be representatives their constituents can trust. Once they are elected into office, they should work towards what their constituents and country need. Instead of ignoring issues the public brings to them, they should work to make some changes that will be beneficial. It is too common for elected officials to forget all of the promises they made in order to get voted into office. If this continues to happen, the state of things in this country will not improve. Oftentimes, much is left unresolved because the government continues to act in the best interest of themselves or of the few elite rather than in the interest of the country as a whole.

Sources:

Baradat, Leon, 2006, Political Ideologies Their Origins and Impact, 9^th ed., Pearson

Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, New Jersey

Separation of Powers, Wikipedia Encyclopedia, 2006, Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.

< http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Separation_of_powers>