The Federalist Project: Modern Federalist #48

To the People of the United States of America,

The check and balance system established in the Constitution of the United States is one of the strongest guards against corruption in the government that imperfect people and imperfect government systems can live by. Under the Constitution the three legislative bodies have separate responsibilities but they are balanced by each other. The executive is in charge of matters that require instant decision making. For example, while he cannot declare war, the president is in charge of making decisions regarding where to send troops and other decisions of that nature. He deals with emergency responses. The legislative power makes laws and organizes institutions such as the postal service or the national mint. The judicial power observes and determines the constitutionalism of the laws the legislative branch enacts. Each branch has a very distinct set of powers. However, each branch is checked and balanced by another.

Why is it necessary to establish a system of balances? It is necessary to keep the branches of government in check. The legislative power is the strongest power. It is essential to balance the strength of the legislative with the roles of the executive and judicial so that one branch does not over power another. While the executive and judicial branches do not have the same amount of power as the legislative they have vital roles in the functionality of the US government.

The founders decided on a republic with this system of checks and balances because there was no government system that properly represented the people without giving them all the power. A monarchy put too much power in the hands of a single person. A democracy put too much power in the hands of the majority. In that case government becomes too inconsistent or too partisan. The balance between different government systems keeps the power from going too much to one group and becoming corrupt.  

The republic keeps the people from acting on every whim they have be establishing them as the core power center but providing a strong federal government to balance out the people. The legislative holds the most power and has the greatest extent of jurisdiction. The executive and judicial hold lesser powers because they have smaller roles. Since the legislative branch has access to the money of the people in the sense that they control the money the government receives from taxation all the branches must work together to use that money wisely.

Balancing the power of the branches is essential so there is not corruption. The people hold the greatest power but they have representatives in a divided and balanced government to represent their needs and wants. There are three separate branches and no one person can have power in more than one. The three branches, although divided, are united. They work together. One cannot operate without the cooperation of the other.

Under the Articles of Confederation the powers of government were scattered and essentially unusable. This is what is happening in our government today. The three branches are becoming completely separate and ignoring the balance of power they are supposed to uphold. Just a list of what the branches are not supposed to do are insufficient bounds for government. They need a list of just their responsibilities. For example, Article I Section 8 of the Constitution lays out 18 powers of the legislative branch. They are not to deviate from those 18 powers. Each article of the Constitution also includes a system of checks and balances that help balance the power.

The branches must be balanced. They are required to keep the people from overstepping their bounds, but they also answer to the people and to each other. Separating the powers causes confusion and chaos. Unity is required among the powers of government.

A Patriot

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