DO NOW
• Identify each of these
US politicians and the party to which they each belong.
• Which of them hope to be candidates for president in 2016?
• Which of them are currently elected officials? In which house of Congress to they sit?

• To explain further the concepts of separation of
powers and checks and balances
• To evaluate the effectiveness of Congressional oversight
• To watch some more ‘West Wing’

1) How many original states were there?
2) Where was the Constitutional Convention of 1787 held?
3) Which original state did not send any delegates to the Convention?
4) Which two states sponsored versions of the Constitution debated at the Convention?
5) Which state sponsored a compromise agreement between them?
6) Who served as the first president of the United States?
7) Who served as the first vice president of the United States?
8) Which article of the Constitution deals with the powers of the
Congress?
9) Which article deals with the role of the Supreme Court?
10) States enjoy reserved powers. What do we call the powers of the
Federal government?

1) How many original states were there? 13
2) Where was the Constitutional Convention of 1787 held? Philadelphia
3) Which original state did not send any delegates to the Convention? Rhode Island
4) Which two states sponsored versions of the Constitution debated at the
Convention? Virginia and New Jersey
5) Which state sponsored a compromise agreement between them? Connecticut
6) Who served as the first president of the United States? George Washington
7) Who served as the first vice president of the United States? John Adams
8) Which article of the Constitution deals with the powers of the Congress? Article I
9) Which article deals with the role of the Supreme Court? Article III
10) States enjoy reserved powers. What do we call the powers of the Federal government? Expressed powers

Executive
Legislature
Judiciary
• Political power is distributed among the three branches of government, all acting independently and interdependently
• Powers are shared through a series of checks and
balances in which each branch exercises limited controls over the actions of the others

Legislature
Makes the laws
Congress
House of
Representatives
Senate
Executive
Carries out the laws
President
Plus VP, EXOP,
Cabinet, Executive
Dept, and Agencies
Judiciary
Enforces and interprets the laws
Supreme Court
Including appeal courts and trial courts

• Appointment of judges
• Ratification of Treaties
• Judicial review
• Proposition of constitutional amendments
• Impeachment trials and removal from office
• Veto
• Amend/Delay/Reject legislation
• Veto override
• Power of the Purse
• Declaration of War
• Confirmation of executive appointments
• Pardon
• Impeachment
Complete the table, showing how the checks and balances prevent any one branch of government from dominating any other.

Checks on →
Checks by ↓
Legislature
Legislature Executive Judiciary
Executive
Judiciary

Checks on →
Checks by ↓
Legislature
Legislature Executive
Executive
Judiciary
• Amend/delay/ reject legislation
• Override president’s veto
• Power of the purse
(House)
• Power to declare war
• Ratify treaties
(Senate)
• Confirm executive appointments
(Senate)
• Impeachment, trial, conviction, removal from office
• Propose constitutional amendments
• Impeachment, trial, conviction, removal from office
• Appointment of judges
• pardons
• Judicial review Judiciary
• Recommend legislation
• Veto legislation
• Judicial review

Enumerated powers i.e. those arising from the Constitution
• appropriate funds
• raise and support armies
• provide for and maintain a navy
• declare war
• provide for organizing and calling forth the national guard
• regulate interstate and foreign commerce
• est. post offices and post roads
• advise and consent on treaties and presidential nominations (Senate);
• impeach (House) and try (Senate) the
President, Vice President, and civil officers for “treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors”
Implied powers i.e. those Congress has given itself conduct inquiries or investigations of the executive access to records or materials held by the executive issue subpoenas for documents or testimony from the executive
Review the purview and/or effectiveness of federal agencies

Check Effective?
Amend/delay/reject legislation
Override president’s veto
Power of the purse
Declare war
Ratify treaties (Senate)
Investigation
Impeachment, trial, conviction and removal from office
Subpoena documents and testimony
Hold individuals in contempt
Illegal to lie to Congress
Reject presidential nominees

•
–
–
–
•
–
•
–
–

E Target: will describe the system of checks and balances
D/C target: will explain the process of checks and balances
A/B target : Will assess the success of the process of checks and balances in terms of the constitution and the Government

Ratification procedure
VI
I
Legislative Branch
I
II Executive Branch
Misc. Provisions
VI
Amendment Process
V
III
Judicial Branch
IV
Federal – State &
Interstate Relationship

•
•
E Target: will describe the system of checks and balances
D/C target: will explain the process of checks and balances
A/B target : Will assess the success of the process of checks and balances in terms of the constitution and the Government

Checks and Balances -
• By the President on Congress :
- He can recommend legislation to Congress – State of the Union
Address.
Eg. Bush in 2002 used it to address his ‘war on terror’ and budget priorities.
- He can veto bills passed by Congress – public veto/pocket veto.
Eg. Bush during his 8 years in office, used the regular (public) veto 11 times – 2007 – veto on the State Children’s Health
Insurance Programme.
E Target: will describe the system of checks and balances
D/C target: will explain the process of checks and balances
A/B target : Will assess the success of the process of checks and balances in terms of the constitution and the Government

• By the President on the Judiciary :
- The president nominates all federal judges – to the trial court, appeal court and the Supreme Court (this meaning the most important) – by appointing judges with the same philosophy, presidents can hope to mould the outlook of the Court.
Eg. Bush managed two appointments – John Roberts (chief justice 2005) and Samuel Alito (associate justice 2006).
• The president has the power of pardon.
• Eg. in 1974 – President Ford pardoned his predecessor Nixon for any crimes he may have committed during the Watergate affair.
E Target: will describe the system of checks and balances
D/C target: will explain the process of checks and balances
A/B target : Will assess the success of the process of checks and balances in terms of the constitution and the
Government

Checks and Balances -
• By Congress on the President
• because the Founding Fathers were so scared by tyranny, the imposed the most checks on the executive – Congress exercises
8 significant checks.
• Congress can amend, block and reject items of legislation recommended by the President.
• Eg. 2001 Bush’s Education Reform Bill passed however it was significantly amended. However, Congress blocked Bush’s attempt at immigration reform in 2007.
E Target: will describe the system of checks and balances
D/C target: will explain the process of checks and balances
A/B target : Will assess the success of the process of checks and balances in terms of the constitution and the Government

Checks and Balances -
• By Congress on the President :
- Congress override a President’s veto – they would need to gain a two-thirds majority in the House and
Senate.
- Eg. during Bush’s office term – Congress overrode 4 of his 11 regular vetoes – including, his vetoes of 2007
Water Resources Development Bill and the 2008 Food
Conservation and Energy Bill.
E Target: will describe the system of checks and balances
D/C target: will explain the process of checks and balances
A/B target : Will assess the success of the process of checks and balances in terms of the constitution and the Government

Checks and Balances -
• By Congress on the President :
• ‘The power of the Purse’ – all the money needed by the
President for his policies must be voted for by Congress. If
Congress refuses, it could hinder what the President is trying to do both in domestic affairs and foreign affairs.
• Eg. the Democratic Congress tried to limit Bush’s spending in
2007 on the military operations in Iraq
E Target: will describe the system of checks and balances
D/C target: will explain the process of checks and balances
A/B target : Will assess the success of the process of checks and balances in terms of the constitution and the Government

Checks and Balances -
• By Congress on the President :
- The Senate have the power to ratify treaties negotiated by the
President. To do this, they need a super-majority vote (twothirds).
- Eg. 2006 – they ratified the USUK Extradition Treaty. In 1999 the rejected the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty; 48-51 (18 votes short). This was the first major treaty to be rejected since the Treaty of Versailles in 1920.
E Target: will describe the system of checks and balances
D/C target: will explain the process of checks and balances
A/B target : Will assess the success of the process of checks and balances in terms of the constitution and the Government

Checks and Balances -
• By Congress on the President :
- The Senate have the power to confirm many presidential appointments to the executive branch (cabinet members, heads of the CIA and FBI) and all those he makes to the federal judiciary.
- A majority vote is needed to approve nominations – rejections are unlikely as the president will usually informally consult with key Senators. Eg. Robert Bork – rejected in 1987 for a Supreme
Court Position, John Tower – rejected in 1989 for the position of secretary of defence.
E Target: will describe the system of checks and balances
D/C target: will explain the process of checks and balances
A/B target : Will assess the success of the process of checks and balances in terms of the constitution and the Government

• By Congress on the President : both chambers of Congress have the power of impeachment – this is the ultimate check they perform.
• The House – they are able to formally accuse any member of the executive or judiciary including the president. A supermajority vote is needed. Eg. Bill Clinton was impeached by the
House in 1998 for perjury and obstruction of the justice.
• The Senate – once the House has impeached, the Senate holds the trail. If found guilty by a two-thirds majority – the person is removed from office. Eg. the Senate found Clinton not guilty on both impeachments – perjury – 45-55 (22 short) and obstruction of the justice – 50-50 (17 short).
E Target: will describe the system of checks and balances
D/C target: will explain the process of checks and balances
A/B target : Will assess the success of the process of checks and balances in terms of the constitution and the Government

Checks and Balances -
• By Congress on the judiciary :
- Impeachment – the House has the power to impeach any member of the judiciary – the Senate to hear the trail – with super-majorities – the member may be removed from office.
- Eg. from 1986 – 89 : Congress removed from office three federal judges. Harry Claiborne for tax evasion, Alcee Hastings for bribery and Walter Nixon got perjury
E Target: will describe the system of checks and balances
D/C target: will explain the process of checks and balances
A/B target : Will assess the success of the process of checks and balances in terms of the constitution and the Government

Checks and Balances -
• By the Judiciary on Congress –
- Judicial Review – this is a massively significant check, it enables the Supreme Court to declare Acts of Congress unconstitutional and therefore null and void. Eg. 1997 –
Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union – the Supreme
Court deemed the Communications Decency Act unconstitutional. 1998 – Clinton v. New York City – declared the Line Item Veto Act unconstitutional.
E Target: will describe the system of checks and balances
D/C target: will explain the process of checks and balances
A/B target : Will assess the success of the process of checks and balances in terms of the constitution and the Government

Checks and Balances -
• By the Judiciary on the executive –
- Judicial Review – again this is where the courts have the power to deem the actions of the executive unconstitutional.
- Eg. Hamdan v. Rumsfeld (2006) – the Supreme Court declared the military commissions set up by the Bush administration to try suspected members of Al Qaeda held at Guantanamo Bay unconstitutional.
E Target: will describe the system of checks and balances
D/C target: will explain the process of checks and balances
A/B target : Will assess the success of the process of checks and balances in terms of the constitution and the Government

• They encourage bipartisanship - law passed, treaties ratified, appointments confirmed and budgets fixed only when
Congress and the president work together & there is compromise.
• By working in a non-partisan way, more is achieved.
• Eg. Bush achieved his Education Reforms (2001-2002) by working with congressional Democrats (Senator Edward
Kennedy).
• Eg. Bill Clinton failed to get his healthcare reforms passed by
Congress (1993-94) because he worked in a partisan way and ignored many of the views within Congress.
E Target: will describe the system of checks and balances
D/C target: will explain the process of checks and balances
A/B target : Will assess the success of the process of checks and balances in terms of the constitution and the Government

E Target: will describe the system of checks and balances
D/C target: will explain the process of checks and balances
A/B target : Will assess the success of the process of checks and balances in terms of the constitution and the Government

Overall importance of checks and balances -
• However : divided government can also be an issue.
- This is a situation when one party controls the presidency and the other party controls Congress. during the 40 years between
1969 – 2009, 22 years have been under a divided government. this has become the norm.
- Some argue this leads to more effective checks and balances – there is more scrutiny/questioning/debate over legislation, nominations and treaties. When there is a united government, things are ‘nodded’ through. Eg. during the years of Republican control in Congress under Bush (2003 and 2006) – Congress
‘nodded’ through Bush’s ideas in regards to the Iraq War.
E Target: will describe the system of checks and balances
D/C target: will explain the process of checks and balances
A/B target : Will assess the success of the process of checks and balances in terms of the constitution and the Government

Strengths and Weaknesses of Checks and Balances
• It stops any one branch becoming too powerful or acting in a way that isn’t beneficial for the majority. = this was what the Founding
Fathers wanted – they feared tyranny (because of British rule).
• - The rights of the citizens are protected – hasty decisions aren’t able to be made – again stops any branch becoming too power/tyranny.
• - However : checks and balances can slow the working of government down – making passing legislation harder and longer. It also means that the executive can act decisively. Gridlock and divided government are also an issue caused by checks and balances.
E Target: will describe the system of checks and balances
D/C target: will explain the process of checks and balances
A/B target : Will assess the success of the process of checks and balances in terms of the constitution and the Government

• Definition of checks and balances.
• Explain that the president and Congress each have checks on each other; that they are separately elected; that they may be controlled by different parties and that this affects the way the checks and balances work
.
• Give examples to support your answer