What Are The Three Levels Of Government

Improved Essays
The dilemma the founding fathers face when creating the new government for the United States was who was going to have all the power. The main struggle was deciding how to distribute the power evenly, so that no one group had too much power. For deciding between states and federal powers they created a federalist system similar to the idea of a marble cake. The levels of government each had their own powers and some that were shared. Within these levels of government Madison came up with the Madisonian model which distributed the power into three different branches. This branches share the duties, but can also challenge each other’s decisions. The U.S. Constitution was written in a way that through Federalism the powers were shared between states and federal, but also with the Madisonian model …show more content…
Thus at each level he created a system of three branches. This three branches had their own powers, but were also able to challenge the other branches decisions. In the Executive branch the President commands the armed forces, but if the Supreme Court in the Judicial branches the ability to declare his actions unconstitutional. This checks and balances example prevents the Executive branch from abusing their power. In the Judicial branch the Supreme Court interprets the constitution in court cases, but Congress in the Legislative branch can propose constitutional amendments to overrule judicial decisions. In this such situation Congress prevents the Supreme Court from deciding unjust court rulings. Congress has the ability to write up laws, but if the president does not agree with them he can veto the bills. The president has the ability to ensure that congress is not creating unconstitutional laws. The checks and balances system of the U.S. government is created, so that no one section of government has an overriding amount of

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    They created the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial branches. Each branch had their own different responsibilities. For example the Legislative branch makes the laws and the Congress and the House of Representatives are a part of it. The Executive branch carries out the laws and the Judicial branch evaluates the laws. The President is a part of the Executive branch and in Article 3 Section 1 it states that “The executive power shall be vested in the United States of America.…

    • 454 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    James Madison wanted two distinct government a Central and State Government. The Central Government watched trades, declared war, print money, and provide an army. The State Government can set up local governments, hold elections, establish schools,pass marriage and divorce laws. Both governments can tax, borrow money, set up courts, make laws, and enforce laws. Even though both governments shared some power they were distinct from each other but equal.…

    • 495 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    According to Doc. B, “James Madison, Federalist Paper #47, 1788”, “Liberty requires that the three great departments of power should be separate and distinct." and if they are not then it “may be justly pronounced the very definition of tyranny...” According to Doc. B, Constitution of the United States of America, 1787, the three branches of government have 3 different responsibilities. The executive branch enforces laws.…

    • 463 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    During the constitutional convention, the federalist and the anti-federalist went head to head trying to create new laws for government. Many articles were written by James Madison; these articles were the federalist papers. Within these paper, Madison outlines that the constitution protects against tyranny by dividing power between state and government, by separating government into branches, having a checks and balances system, and having equal state representation among the states. In document A, James Madison states that power is “First divided between two distinct governments, state and federal.” This describes the idea of federalism, where state and federal governments share power; powers like declaring war and printing money belong…

    • 426 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    One important way the constitution guarded against tyranny was Federalism. Powers were divided between state governments and…

    • 519 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Constitution Dbq Analysis

    • 765 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Separating the powers of the central government and allowing them to control each other equally split the power in the government. Madison explained this separation by stating that “the constant aim is to divide and arrange the several offices in such a manner as that they may be a check on the other… (The three branches) should not be so far separated as to have no constitutional control over each other.” (Doc. C) By separating the central government’s powers, no branch will be able to overpower the others and therefore protects against tyranny.…

    • 765 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Confederation Weaknesses

    • 838 Words
    • 4 Pages

    In Constitution, Watts states that the Constitution “…sets out the basic structure and functions of the various branches of government” (1). These being the executive, legislative and judicial branches. Our founding fathers wanted our country to be free from tyranny of the government and of the people, so they created the three branches of government and the system of checks and balances to make sure that one group does not assume more power than the other. The new structure for our government fixed many of the problems related to the Articles of Confederation. Under the Constitution, the states are no longer sovereign and the laws of the federal government are supreme.…

    • 838 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    The three branches of our federal government consisting of the Executive branch, The Legislative branch, and the Judicial branch. Each of these branches plays a key role in homeostasis within our central government. Things like checks and balances ensure the stability of each of these vital branches of the American Federal Government. No one branch is more important than the other and they all have to work together to function properly. The Executive branch of the government is represented by the President and his choice of members.…

    • 209 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    According to Federalist #51, “In republican government, the legislative authority necessarily predominates,” meaning congress is the most powerful branch of the government, but the founding fathers believed the president should serve as an additional check on power. A perfect example of why they wanted the check on congress’s power is what Madison stated in federalist #51, “Ambition must be made to counteract ambition.” This means that if congress becomes too powerful then the president can check congressional power and vice versa. The president can convene congress and has veto power. The president can call Congress into a special session, as described by the constitution, on “extraordinary occasions.”…

    • 1047 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Our society continuously evaluates the balancing of powers between the state government and the federal government. It is important in a democracy for the powers to be equally distributed, for if one person in the government takes total control, it would no longer be a democracy. A government with too much power isn’t a good thing, for the society itself would change. One of the main things that helps our society balance the powers between the governments are the three divisions of government. The three branches of government consist of the legislative branch, the judiciary branch, and the executive branch.…

    • 1119 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The United States Constitution is not a contract because is the supreme law of the land. Which means it was written to bring order and structure. Order is the first reason why the constitution is not a contract due to its two influences: government staying alive and the tyranny of the majority. Then the second reason why they united states constitution is not a contract because it was created to have a structure in the government. The third reason that United States Constitution is not a contract due to ratification process from the Article VII.…

    • 1152 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Under the system of Checks and Balances the power to rule is divided into the three branches of government. It includes the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial branches. James Madison states in the Federalist No. 51, “The distribution of power was intended so that each may be a check on the other.” In essence no branch can over power the other and together they make sure every branch is in upright.…

    • 949 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Just Government

    • 1281 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The US Constitution created three branches, the executive, the legislative and the judicial. These branches are independent but have actions they can take to ensure that the other two don’t misuse their power. Power was divided between houses and each house checked every other house so that there would be no excessive power. (Evidence)Due to this, the three branches have a balance between governmental power. The system of checks and balances tried to create a better government for the people by ensuring that no branch of the government had excessive power.…

    • 1281 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Each holding the other accountable so no one branch can gain too much power. These Madisonian checks and balances ensure big government doesn’t infringe on people’s liberties also outlined in the Bill of Rights (The Constitution, 2013).…

    • 777 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Lastly, the Judicial branch then evaluates the laws, and check if they are constitutional or unconstitutional. This process is called Checks and Balances, “The system of separate institutions sharing some powers… its purpose is to keep power divided among the three branches” (Turner,27). By this definition not one power is meant to be all powerful, although…

    • 1331 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays