Who Governs
The framers of the Constitution had a vision for a new nation, and a new government to regulate it. They saw the conditions in which England existed under the monarchy, and decided to construct a different kind of government in which no one faction could hold too much power. Thus, they developed a system of checks and balances to prevent any one of the three separate branches of the government from becoming dominant. Today, the three branches still remain intact, and no single branch has enough power to completely nullify the decisions and rulings of the other two. However, even though the Executive, Judicial, and Legislative branches are fundamentally comparable in their command of the nation, today the Legislative branch exercises the greatest extent of power. Each of the three branches serves a different function. The Legislative branch, which consists of Congress, makes laws for the nation to follow. Congress also creates federal programs and agencies, and appropriates funds to carry them out. The Executive branch, composed of the President and Vice President, most accurately carries out the laws of the nation. This branch is responsible for appointing Supreme Court Justices and other federal judges. The Judicial
Yet, even though the Legislative branch does exercise the greatest extent of power, it is far from in control of the government system. This is because Congress has the power to override a veto with a two- thirds majority vote. The veto is where a large part of the President's power lies. A famous example of this power was the resignation of President Richard Nixon in 1973. This branch is endowed with the power to declare laws and other executive actions unconstitutional. However, even if the President vetoes a bill initially, that does not mean the bill cannot become a law. Branch is made up of the Supreme Court and other federal courts, and is responsible for interpreting the laws passed by Congress. And while it is true that government has become more centralized than the framers of the Constitution had probably planned, it is still far from the monarchy of England. It has no armed forces or police at its disposal, so Judicial decisions are sometimes simply ignored. Congress does not have free reign to pass any laws it pleases, however, because the President has the power to veto a Congressional bill before it becomes a law. This power allows the federal court system to nullify certain decisions made by the other two branches. In closing, it can clearly be seen that while the three branches of the United States government are essential equal in power, the Legislative branch has the ability to use the powers it has most effectively. A more recent example was the 1998 impeachment of President William Jefferson Clinton. A good example of this occurred in 1973, when Congress passed the War Powers Act over a presidential veto. The checks and balances included in the Constitution ensure that the government will never become too centralized.
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Acceptance Essays
