US Government - Checks And Balances :: Political Science Government Essays

US Government - Checks And BalancesThere is no more important function for all of regime to define the rights of its citizens. (Norman Dorsen) In this essay I will fall out a short history of the consecratement in United States of the States (U.S.). Then I will describe each of the three tell apartes of government in the U.S. and the relationship among them. In principle, the U.S. is a democratic republic, they govern themselves by choosing their leaders by secret ballot, and these leaders in bust start the directs. Americans started governing themselves as a nation on July 4th, 1776, when the declaration of Independence was signed in Philadelphia by representatives of the thirteen British colonies in North America. These states joined together formally in 1781 under a first constitution, the Articles of Confederation. That loose union of the states was replaced by the Constitution of the U.S. in 1789. This memorial (amended 26 times) is still the political foundation of t he U.S. Being based on a written constitution, the U.S. government is committed in principle to the rule of law. To guarantee the rights of free speech, a free press, freedom of religion etc. the first ten amendments, called the Bill of Rights were adopted in 1791. There atomic number 18 three levels of government in the U.S. Local government (city/county), state government, and national official official government. Here I will pay most attention to the federal government. Many of the concepts of the U.S. government can be traced to progressive thinkers of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, e.g. Locke, Spinoza, Blackstone, and Montesquiueu. Out of some of their thoughts the U.S. government system with the three branches were made A legislative branch ( intercourse), an Executive branch (President), anda judicial branch (Supreme Court). The Constitution is most of all a document of checks and balances among the three branches of the federal government and between the level s of government, nation and state. The legislative branch (Congress) that has the power to make laws valid for the whole country. Powers like the regulation of taxes,regulation of commerce between the states and with foreign countries, the power to decl be war, and the power to impeach the President are some of the other matters the legislative branch have to deal with. Congress has two chambers (or houses) theSenate and the House of Representatives (the house). The Senate consists of one hundred senators both senators from each of the fifty states.