Why is the Separation of Powers so Important for the US Government?
Written by: peone, as a CNN iReport
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We have been using the principle of The Separation of Powers since the founding fathers created the principle. Back when the founding fathers made that principle so that there would not be tyranny in the country. Although in the present day we use it to stop people from abusing the power of the government. There are many other reasons for having a separation of powers. One reason being so “we have separation of power is to provide a system of checks and balances” (CNN iReport). We need this system of checks and balances to make sure that one branch of government do not get to powerful. An example of this would be the executive branch vetoing a law presented by the legislative branch. It is also good to have these checks and balances because “without the presidential veto or judicial review we would just be stuck without any way to easily rectify the bad policy” (CNN iReport). This is true because if we didn’t have checks and balances our country would not be the same as it is. People say that the U.S. Supreme Court is bad for doing what they need to do. “I know there are those who think idealism outweighs the law, but the job of these people is to make sure that the congress does not pass laws that are illegal per our constitution” (CNN iReport). This statement says that idealism outweighs the law, which may be true or may not be true, but the only people that know that is the Supreme Court. In conclusion, the separation of powers are important today because we have to make sure that the correct laws get passed and that the correct executive decisions get made.
The Founders' View of Character and the Presidency
Written by: Scott R. Stripling
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The Separation of Powers is used to separate the powers of the Executive branch, the Legislative branch, and the judicial branch. The president, which is part of the Executive branch, can veto any laws that are made by the Senate and the House of Representatives, which is part of the legislative branch. Each branch has to keep a type of a good appearance to anyone in the public or community, especially the President. “During the presidential campaign of 1996, the issue of character and its importance to the presidency was raised. The hurly-burly of a presidential campaign, however, does not conduce to philosophical or theoretical thinking about good character and its relevance to the office of the presidency” (Stripling). With the president needing to have a good presidential campaign, if he the president were greedy or was abusing funds he might make things in his favor when that person became President. The principle of Separation of Powers prevents the President from abusing his power. “The issue of virtue and the presidency must be viewed in the light of the more comprehensive issue of human nature” (Stripling). Basically what stripling is saying is that the president needs to discuss and try to solve the issue of human nature. Human nature isn’t the only thing that the president has to worry about. There are other problems with money and national security as well. “The Founders did not take for granted the opinion that democracy is the best form of government” (Stripling). What this means is that they didn’t let this statement make them think that they were the best type of government. If they thought this they might try to become the best and even maybe do everything their own way and become a king. They can’t do that because of the principle of Separation of Powers. It stops them from creating a monarchy. In conclusion, the separation of powers is needed because without them the wonderful country that we have could be a country with a king.
Separation of Powers
Published by: PBS
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The people of the United States of America have been using the principle of the separation of powers in the government since the Founding Fathers founded this country, but do we really know what this principle of Separation of Powers. The separation of Powers is the act of vesting the legislative, executive, and judicial powers of government in separate bodies. “The framers of the Constitution feared too much centralized power, adopting the philosophy of divide and conquer” (PBS). This philosophy is kind of like the principle of Separation of powers because the Founding Fathers thought it better to divide up the powers in the government which is how we got the principle. It is a good idea to do this because if the President had all the power then the President could do as he please, which would result in a dictatorship inside the government. “At the national level, they created three different branches of government to administer three different types of power. The legislative branch made the laws through a Congress of two houses, the Senate and the House of Representatives. The executive branch enforced the laws through a president, vice president, and numerous executive departments such as Treasury and State. And the judicial branch interpreted the laws through a Supreme Court and other lower courts” (PBS). With these three branches then there can be no dictatorship in the government. The branches of government don’t just protect us from an unjust leader but they also protect us from unjust laws. “For instance, Congress makes the laws, but the President can veto them and the Supreme Court can declare them unconstitutional” (PBS). Right there is an example of why the separation of powers is very important to our country.