Checks and Balances are part of the Constitution. The checks and balance system was made so that no branch of our government could become too powerful. Each branch is restricted by the other two in different ways.
What Does Checks And Balances Mean?
To share power among three different branches of government to limit the power of each branch.
The US government is an example of checks and balances. In this case there are three branches of the federal government: the executive branch (President), the legislative branch (Senate and House of Representatives collectively known as Congress), and the judicial branch (Supreme Court). It is basically a system that prevents any one branch from becoming too powerful.
Congress makes laws which have to be approved by the President. The President can veto a law, but the Senate can override his veto. Once a law is passed by Congress and approved by the President, the Supreme Court can strike it down if it's determined, by the Court, to be unconstitutional or a violation of the Constitution. The President cannot declare war without the consent of Congress, and certain Presidential appointees, such a Supreme Court Justice, must be approved by the Senate.
It's like a never-ending circle in which one branch checks on another so the power is balanced among all branches not allowing any one to become too powerful. At the present time the system seems to be faltering because Congress has been permitting President Bush to literally get away with murder.
Congress makes laws which have to be approved by the President. The President can veto a law, but the Senate can override his veto. Once a law is passed by Congress and approved by the President, the Supreme Court can strike it down if it's determined, by the Court, to be unconstitutional or a violation of the Constitution. The President cannot declare war without the consent of Congress, and certain Presidential appointees, such a Supreme Court Justice, must be approved by the Senate.
It's like a never-ending circle in which one branch checks on another so the power is balanced among all branches not allowing any one to become too powerful. At the present time the system seems to be faltering because Congress has been permitting President Bush to literally get away with murder.
