Checks and Balances in the 21st Century

Essay by mercury30College, UndergraduateA, September 2008

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Abstract

In 1791 our founding fathers met to draft a constitution that would be fair and protect the rights of all citizens. They created an almost perfect system which included three branches, the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. The government was divided into these three branches to separate powers. To guarantee that no branch would have more power then the other a system of checks and balances was implemented. This system allows each branch to check the other when they are not being fair or constitutional.

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Checks and Balances in the 21st Century

Shortly after our country gained it's independence from Great Britain, our founding fathers met to put together a government plan. They came to the table with several ideas on how to make a strong system that was fair and would protect all of its citizens. Several earlier documents played a role in drafting what would become the most important document written in America.

In 1789 our founding fathers drafted the Constitution of the United States America. The Constitution was founded on three basic principles: freedom of speech and religion, the right to bear arms, and the right to a fair trial. In order to ensure that these rights were protected, government powers were split between three branches: executive branch, legislative branch and the judicial branch. Each branch has different responsibilities and to ensure that neither would become more powerful then the other a system of checks and balances was established. This system is still used in our government today and has served as a model for several countries.

In order to understand how the checks and balances system works, it is important to understand the powers of each branch. The executive branch is made up of the executive...