When one was a child, one typically thought that to be the president meant that one could create any law they wanted, and have everyone obey your every wish. Back then as a child, one did not know of the important system that the United States of America has called checks and balances. Checks and balances was created by the ingenious founders of the constitution. The checks and balances system works with the three areas of the government containing limited power, so that one group is not too overpowering. There are many groups and governments that do not use the checks and balances system, which ultimately makes them more prone to political corruption and an unfair society for the people. Without checks and balances, the United States would be a much different place. Checks and balances is the amazing system that prevents the United States from falling into totalitarianism.
The United States of America was founded on July 4, 1776 by thirteen British colonies with help from Thomas Paine's pamphlet Common Sense (The Declaration of Independence). The people of the colonies were tired of the King abusing his power with high taxes. Many others immigrated to the United States of America for religious freedom. Britain ruled the colonies for its own benefit, and paid little attention to the colonists governing them. On September 17, 1787, the constitution was adopted to fix the problems that were in the Articles of Confederation (The Constitution of the United States). One of the founding fathers and philosophical thinkers of the United States who greatly influenced the constitution was John Locke. John Locke wrote essays in which he had an idea to push a system of checks and balances in the government. Knowing of the unfair and corrupt monarchy that the British had, John Locke wanted to ensure that the government would be able to avoid tyranny (John Locke). John questioned a Kings right to rule, saying that a nation shouldnt be governed by a single person, but by the people themselves. He thought that a society should be ruled with majority rule by the people, and that it was their natural right. John felt that there should be three parts to a government; the Legislative, Executive, and Federal (John Locke Major Works). If the government was divided into three sections, or branches, each with equal power, no one part of the government would become too powerful.
Checks and balances works by having each of the three branches of the government constantly check the others to make sure there not too powerful. Each branch has their powers and duties, and each has their cons. The Legislative Branch is made up of the United States Congress; House of Representatives, which depends on the population of a state, and the Senate (The Legislative Branch). The House of Representatives was designed to represent the people in the national government, and the Senate was designed to represent the states in the national government. Both the House of Representatives and the Senate are elected by voting of the people. The House of Representatives are elected every two years and must be at least twenty-five years old, a United States citizen for at least seven years, and a resident of the state they wish to represent. There are two Senators for each state which are elected every six years. To become a Senator, one must be at least thirty years old, a United States citizen for at least nine years, and a resident of the state they wish to serve under. The Vice President of the United States serves as the leader of the Senate and tries to pull it in the direction of his party (The Legislative Branch). The main purpose of the Legislative Branch is to create laws. Any member of the Congress can introduce a new bill, or a proposed law (Making Laws). However, only members on the House of Representatives can introduce bills that deal with taxes or spending. The Executive Branch is made up of the United States President, Vice President, the Presidents Chief of Staff, and cabinet members. The President is elected by the Electoral College and to become the President, one must be at least thirty-five years old, be a natural born citizen, and must have lived fourteen years in the United States. The President is the United States Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, meaning that he controls the military. The President also is responsible for signing or vetoing bills passed from the Legislative Branch. If the President signs the bill, it then becomes law. If he vetoes the bill, the bill is passed back to congress and doesnt become law unless it is voted by two-thirds vote (The Executive Branch). Furthermore, the President is also in charge of the United States foreign policy, where the president decides to recognize a new nation as independent. For example in modern times, Tibet declares itself as an independent nation, but the United States doesnt recognize it and considers Tibet a part of China (Tibet). The Vice President is appointed by the President and to become the Vice President one must be at least thirty-five years old, be a natural born citizen, and must have lived fourteen years in the United States. The Vice President is President of the Senate, where he holds the tie-breaking vote if necessary. If the President were to die, the Vice President immediately takes charge. The Vice President seriously has no real job unless something happens to the president, as stated from Joe Biden, Its easy being vice president you dont have to do anything (Biden: How wonderful to have a job where I dont do anything!). The Presidents Chief of Staff is basically the boss of the house under the President. The Chief of Staff hires key White House staff and protects the interest of the President (The Executive Branch). The cabinet members are appointed by the President, and then confirmed by the Senate. There are fifteen departments in the cabinet; the Secretaries of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Labor, State, Transportation, Treasury, and Veterans Affairs. The cabinet members jobs are to advise the president on topics relating to their department (What is the United States Cabinet?). The four most important cabinet members are