Checks and Balances

The three branches of the American government are able to check on each other by the system of check s and balances. Example to use in a term paper: President may be able to veto bills but if congress has a vote in Congress they can override the President. There are cases however when the branches cross the line and step out of their place. One example is when President Nixon was accused of his Watergate crimes. He refused to submit certain tapes to the Supreme Court that would supposedly convict him of his crimes. The Supreme Court finally got involved and forced him to give them the tapes; otherwise they would charge him with contempt of the court. The President of the US had to submit to the Supreme Court in 1974.

Another example to consider when writing an essay is Marbury vs. Madison in which Madison asserted the power of the Supreme Court and forever established judicial review, on the case of whether the court had the right to establish a writ of mandamus. This was against what the President tired to do and showed the full power of the clause of separation of powers of the constitution. The separation of powers clause has to deal with how the government reacts to the rest of the country and to each other. It not only clearly defines what institutions the three branches have a role in. It also shows how the branches connect with each other and the system of checks and balances. The theory of the constitution operates on this system. Finally the country operates on this system and without asserting the full power of the constitution and the government system; the government could fall into a monarchy again or worse, into total chaos. This is why this is so important to our system.