Separation Of Powers In The United States

Separation of powers is a concept outlined within the first three articles of the United States Constitution. In primary school, separation of powers is taught as a simple concept concerning the three branches of government. It appeared as though each branch had an equal set of powers and that no abilities overlapped in the branches. However, after further research, it is blatantly apparent that one branch’s power supersedes the others. The Legislative branch’s powers stem into areas that overlap the judicial and executive branch. Conversely, the executive and judicial branch do not have any powers that may even resemble that of the legislative branch. Outlined in the first Article of the United States' Constitution, are the powers and limitations
The Framers explicitly stated that there would be a separation of powers in the United States' government. This was intended to prevent a concentration of power in just one branch of government. After being subjected to the tyranny of King George III and declaring independence, it is not shocking that the American people would instate regulations to avert another despotism. The concentration of power in the legislative branch was documented in the 1980s in a paper published by the University of Chicago Law School, " after a long period of legislative hemogony ..." The idea of separation of powers laid the foundation for the concept of checks and balances. Checks and balances is the system that was put in place so that every branch is checked to ensure no wrong-doing is occurring and to see to it that the roles of each branch are being met to the fullest extent. The power that Congress is equipped with has been the topic of many controversial conversations regarding how detrimental the amount of power could be to the effectiveness of legislation. This is demonstrated in the debate between strict constructionists and liberal constructionists. One of the most well known of Framers, Thomas Jefferson, was a strict constructionist. He believed that the Constitution must be followed by what is explicitly stated. So it would make sense that when being apart of a discussion regarding implied powers, Jefferson felt so strongly against the interpretation of those powers as they were not specifically written out. Conversely, another well known Framer of the United States' Constitution, Alexander Hamilton, sat on the opposite side of the spectrum and is identified as a loose constructionist. Loose or liberal constructionists do not think the Constitution is set in stone. Rather their interpretation of it is very flexible and