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● Articles
of Confederation
● Constitution
● Legislative
Branch
● Executive
Branch
● Judicial
Branch
● Checks and Balances
● Bill
of Rights
● Political Parties
Checks and Balances
 When
Americans talk about their three-part national government, they
often refer to what they call its system of “checks and balances”.
This system works in many ways to keep serious mistakes from being
made by one branch or another. But sometimes they do not work the
way as they are supposed to work. Here are a few examples of checks
and balances:
If
Congress proposes a law that the president thinks is unwise, the
president can veto it. That means the proposal does not become law.
Congress can enact the law despite the president's views only if
two-thirds of the members of both houses vote in favor of it.
If
Congress passes a law which is then challenged in the courts as
unconstitutional, the Supreme Court has the power to declare the
law unconstitutional and therefore no longer in effect.
The
president has the power to make treaties with other nations and
to make all appointments to federal positions, including the position
of Supreme Court justice. The Senate, however, must approve all
treaties and confirm all appointments before they become official.
In this way the Congress can prevent the president from making unwise
appointments.
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