Why is power divided between
the legislative, executive, and
judicial branches?
Origins of separation…

 The Constitution of the Roman Republic (509-27BCE) had
a separation of powers with the ultimate source of power
being the people.
 In the mid-300sBCE Aristotle speaks of a “mixed
government” as being the best form. This combines
democracy, oligarchy, and monarchy. James Madison
used the term “mixed government” in the Federalist
Papers.
 “When the legislative and executive powers are united in
the same person or in the same body of magistrates, there
can be no liberty.” – Montesquieu, Spirit of Laws, 1748
Why were many colonists so adamant
about a separation of powers?

 From what type of government had they come?
 Autocracy, monarchy- one person is in charge. In a
monarchy, the powers to make, enforce, and judge laws
were all held by the King or Queen.
 England did have a Parliament, but many English people
did not feel as if the representatives in Parliament really
represented them.
 When English colonists came to America in the 1600s,
they had the opportunity to govern themselves in daily
matters. They did not want to create the same type of
government from which they had come.
Separation of powers is so important that
it is one of the six principles of
government!
Six principals:
Separation of Powers- each branch has separate and
unique powers
Checks and Balances- each branch of government is able to
check, or restrain, the power of the others
Limited Government- a government that can do only what
the people allow it to do
Popular Sovereignty- the idea that power lies with the people
Federalism- power is shared between the national government
and the states
Judicial Review- the Court can declare acts of either other
branch to be unconstitutional
Legislative Branch

 WHERE is it explained?
 Article I of the U.S. Constitution
 WHO is a part of it?
 Congress
 House of Representatives
435 Representatives that are divided
between states based on population
 Senate
100 Senators = two per state
WHAT do they do?
Write laws
Approve presidential appointees
Govern Washington, D.C.
And mannnnny others things about which
you will read 
HOW do they do it?
WAIT- 535 people negotiate and
compromise on one law at a time?! Nope.
There are committees in the House and
Senate that are responsible for certain issues.
Ex. Agriculture, Veteran Affairs, Homeland
Security
Executive Branch

 WHERE is it explained?
 Article two of the Constitution
 WHO is it?
 Not just the President. It includes the Cabinet (all
of those “Secretaries”).
 WHAT are the President’s powers?
 Veto bills
 Serve as Commander in chief of the armed forces
 Make treaties with other countries
 Appoint heads of agencies, Supreme Court
Justices and Ambassadors
 Many other things about which you will read 
Judicial Branch

 WHERE is it explained?
 Article three of the Constitution
 WHO is it?
 Nine Supreme Court Justices. Currently they are
John Roberts, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Elena Kagan,
Clarence Thomas, Anthony Kennedy, Stephen
Bryer, Sonia Sotomayor, Samuel Alito, Antonin
Scalia
 WHAT do they do?
 Hear cases
 Decide if laws are constitutional
Checks and Balances

Another way to look at it…

What did the founders have to say about
the separation of powers?

 “The principle of the Constitution is that of a separation of legislative, Executive
and Judiciary functions, except in cases specified. If this principle be not
expressed in direct terms, it is clearly the spirit of the Constitution, and it ought
to be so commented and acted on by every friend of free government.” –
Thomas Jefferson (1797)
 “[T]he great security against a gradual concentration of the several powers in
the same department consists in giving to those who administer each
department the necessary constitutional means and personal motives to resist
encroachment of the others.” – James Madison, Federalist No. 10, (1787)
 “The necessity of reciprocal checks in the exercise of political power, by
dividing and distributing it into different depositories, and constituting each
the guardian of the public weal against invasions by the others, has been
evinced by experiments ancient and modern, some of them in our country and
under our own eyes.: - George Washington, Farewell Address, (1796)
Let’s talk.

The Constitution is vague in some
descriptions of powers. How can this cause
conflict between the branches?
Which branch do you think is the most
powerful? Why?
Why did the framers believe that a separation
of powers was so important?
Does each branch really perform its proper
function?
 Think about it…
 In a parliamentary system, like England's, the
executive and legislative powers are often closely
interconnected. In a presidential system, like the
United States', these powers are separated. What
are some of the pros and cons of each system?

So what?
How have we seen the separation of powers
limit the power of a particular branch?
Is power in the government balanced today?
Does the system still function well?