Separation Of Power
Separation of powers is one of the major functions of the United States Constitution. The Founders aspired to create a new system of government complete with separation of power in order to implement a strategic system of checks and balances. Our current separation of power stems from concepts of federalism, where division is placed between national and state governments. The Founders wished to be centered on the powers of state over national government, so the concept of federalism allows for checks and balances between state and national government (Lenz, 2013). Separation of power delegates authority to different branches of government and provides a system of checks and balances. There are three branches of government: the judicial
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branch, the legislative branch, and the executive branch (Lenz, 2013). Founder James Madison was a strong advocate for the separation of powers within government. Madison had a fear of tyranny, and he knew if Congress had ultimate control over judicial and legislative matters, it would only be a matter of time until Congress abused the power, becoming an oppressive force independent of society (Carey, 1978). There are two purposes for the separation of power within the Constitution.
The first reason is to define a set of checks and balances, enabling different branches of government to check each other’s powers (Lenz, 2013). The Founders believed that checks and balances would ensure that no one branch of government became too powerful. This concept was based off ideas of Montesquieu, who believed that branches should be independent of each other without being completely separate, so that any one branch could not create or abolish another branch (Lenz, 2013). There are several ways that the legislative, judicial, and executive branches can create balance by keeping each other in check. This process can be easily witnessed when examining the process of a bill becoming a law. The bill can pass Congress (in the House and Senate), and the President will have the power to veto that bill. This will send the bill back to Congress, where the President’s veto can be overturned if the House and Senate vote for the bill with at least a two-thirds majority (Lenz, 2013). This is one of many examples where the separate branches of government keep each other in check to deter one branch from becoming too powerful. There has been controversy in the past over the abuse or avoidance of checks and balances. President Barack Obama has endured criticism for making appointments when the Congress is out of session. The Constitution suggests that the President make appointments with consideration of the advice and consent of the Senate (Lenz, 2013). When President Obama made several appointments while the Congress was out of town for a few days, this caused many people to question whether he was correct in making these appointments without the advice of the Congress (“Alexander”, 2012). Article II of the Constitution does allow for the President to fill any vacancies in the event that the Senate is not in session, however on this occasion it was argued that the Senate was not
out of session, merely away for a 3-day excursion (“Alexander”, 2012; Lenz, 2013). If one thing is clear about the Constitution, it is how vague and open-to-interpretation it can be.
The second purpose for separation of power within the Constitution is that it adds to good governance (Lenz, 2013). The separation of powers allows for each branch to develop expertise in its specific field of authority, which in turn benefits the people because they receive a better quality of service. The vision of the Founders was for “the legislative branch to make laws, the executive to carry them out, and the judicial branch to interpret the laws,” (Lenz, 37, 2013). Today, these separate branches of government share legislative responsibilities, though the majority of legislation still comes from Congress. Today, the two-party system can make it more difficult to get legislation written than the Founders may have originally intended (Lenz, 2013). Currently, we have a majority of Republicans in Congress and we have a Democratic president. This makes it difficult to get any bills passed if people stay true to party loyalty. This was not the original intention of the Founders, who did not approve of political parties in American politics (Lenz, 2013). Despite the fact that it can be difficult to accomplish tasks in a divided country, the separation of powers is still effective in ensuring that no one branch of government becomes too powerful.
branch, the legislative branch, and the executive branch (Lenz, 2013). Founder James Madison was a strong advocate for the separation of powers within government. Madison had a fear of tyranny, and he knew if Congress had ultimate control over judicial and legislative matters, it would only be a matter of time until Congress abused the power, becoming an oppressive force independent of society (Carey, 1978). There are two purposes for the separation of power within the Constitution.
The first reason is to define a set of checks and balances, enabling different branches of government to check each other’s powers (Lenz, 2013). The Founders believed that checks and balances would ensure that no one branch of government became too powerful. This concept was based off ideas of Montesquieu, who believed that branches should be independent of each other without being completely separate, so that any one branch could not create or abolish another branch (Lenz, 2013). There are several ways that the legislative, judicial, and executive branches can create balance by keeping each other in check. This process can be easily witnessed when examining the process of a bill becoming a law. The bill can pass Congress (in the House and Senate), and the President will have the power to veto that bill. This will send the bill back to Congress, where the President’s veto can be overturned if the House and Senate vote for the bill with at least a two-thirds majority (Lenz, 2013). This is one of many examples where the separate branches of government keep each other in check to deter one branch from becoming too powerful. There has been controversy in the past over the abuse or avoidance of checks and balances. President Barack Obama has endured criticism for making appointments when the Congress is out of session. The Constitution suggests that the President make appointments with consideration of the advice and consent of the Senate (Lenz, 2013). When President Obama made several appointments while the Congress was out of town for a few days, this caused many people to question whether he was correct in making these appointments without the advice of the Congress (“Alexander”, 2012). Article II of the Constitution does allow for the President to fill any vacancies in the event that the Senate is not in session, however on this occasion it was argued that the Senate was not
out of session, merely away for a 3-day excursion (“Alexander”, 2012; Lenz, 2013). If one thing is clear about the Constitution, it is how vague and open-to-interpretation it can be.
The second purpose for separation of power within the Constitution is that it adds to good governance (Lenz, 2013). The separation of powers allows for each branch to develop expertise in its specific field of authority, which in turn benefits the people because they receive a better quality of service. The vision of the Founders was for “the legislative branch to make laws, the executive to carry them out, and the judicial branch to interpret the laws,” (Lenz, 37, 2013). Today, these separate branches of government share legislative responsibilities, though the majority of legislation still comes from Congress. Today, the two-party system can make it more difficult to get legislation written than the Founders may have originally intended (Lenz, 2013). Currently, we have a majority of Republicans in Congress and we have a Democratic president. This makes it difficult to get any bills passed if people stay true to party loyalty. This was not the original intention of the Founders, who did not approve of political parties in American politics (Lenz, 2013). Despite the fact that it can be difficult to accomplish tasks in a divided country, the separation of powers is still effective in ensuring that no one branch of government becomes too powerful.