Separation of Powers – Branches of Government
After much wrangling, speechifying, and debating, the delegates were able to come to a compromise that
established a legislative branch that had a little of each plan mixed in. Like fruitcake, but not as dense and
without that bloated feeling after you eat it. The new Congress under the Constitution would have a bicameral legislature with the lower house (House of Representatives) elected based on the size of a state’s
population and elected by the people. The upper house (The Senate) would elect two members (Ben
Franklin’s idea) from each state and would be chosen by the state legislatures. This last rule would
remain in effect until 1913 when the Seventeenth Amendment allowed people to directly vote for their
Senators.
The next big issue was what powers the Executive Branch would be allowed to have in the new
government? Remember that Madison was in favor of the POTUS being a life-long position similar to a
king– and would be chosen by Congress. Most wanted to have a president elected for a single term of
seven years. What they settled on what we have today. The President elected for a four year term with
the possibility of re-election. Most presidents have followed George Washington’s example and served for
only two terms. The president that broke this tradition was Franklin D. Roosevelt who served from 19331945 was elected to four terms in office–the longest run for any POTUS. Soon after, in 1951, the twentyfirst amendment capped the terms a president can serve to two consecutive terms.
The third and final branch would be the judicial branch consisting of the various courts led by a National
Supreme Court. Compared to the other two, setting down the foundations for the court system was
breeze. Under the A.O.C legal disputes were left up to the state’s to decide. No national court system
existed. What happened when a dispute broke out between the states? Well that’s one of the biggest
failures of the old government. Congress was supposed to play referee between the squabbling states but
didn’t have the power to enforce its decisions. Under the Constitution a federal court system was set up
with a national (federal) court system and a state court system. Criminal and civil cases would be tried
based on whose laws were being broken.
For example, a traffic ticket in Maryland is dealt with by the Maryland courts. A case involving a guy that
robs a store in Kentucky and then crosses the state line and does the same thing in Ohio would be
considered a national crime and be handled by the Federal Courts. Article III of the Constitution set up a
tiered pyramid of justice with lower district courts being able to hear cases first, but with the chance of
an appeal to a higher court. At the top of this pyramid is the Supreme Court (one for each state and one
for the nation) who makes a final decision on all cases if the problem couldn’t be resolved by the lower
courts.
Separation of Powers – Branches of Government… Did You Get It?
1. The new Congress under the Constitution would have a bicameral/unicameral legislature.
2. What would the lower house of the legislature be called?
3. How would the number of members in the lower house be determined?
4. What would the upper house of the legislature be called?
5. How would the number of members in the upper house be determined?
6. Before the 17th Amendment, how were members of the Senate chosen?
7. What does POTUS stand for? (You will have to Google it if you don’t know)
8. What are the terms of the election of the President under the Constitution today?
9. How did Franklin D. Roosevelt’s presidency change president’s term limits?
10. Who leads the Judicial Branch?
11. What is the role of the federal court system under the Constitution?
12. Who hears a case first under the tiered pyramid of justice system?
13. What is the role of the Supreme Court?