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A limited government is imperative to, not only the freedom, but the success of a country. The revolutionary war, as well as the civil war, was fought because one side thought the government needed to have more restrictions then it already did. Are government was designed with an intricate system of checks and balances that made us the country we are today. These checks and balances give us our freedom by limiting our government. How? Because our founding fathers knew that man is fallen, and evil. The only way to ensure freedom was to give more power to the people than to the government.
The idea to have the three branches of government actually comes from the Bible. The Bible mentions Prophet, Priest and King, which correspond to the judicial, legislative and executive branches of our own government. Prophet being the legislative branch, who makes the laws. The Priest being the judicial branch, and making sure the laws do not contradict what the Bible (or in this case the constitution) says. And the King being the Executive branch, and enforcing the laws. The expressed powers of our government are explained in the first few articles of the constitution.
The Executive branch of our nation is comprised of the President and his Vice President. This is one of the three branches of government. This branch enforces the laws, and controls our military. But like the other branches of our government they are limited. Powers of the President Alone: commander in chief of the armed forces; commission officers of the armed forces; grant reprieves and pardons for federal offenses (except impeachment); convene Congress into special session; receive ambassadors; take care that the laws be faithfully executed; make use of the “executive power” of the office; appoint officials to lesser offices.
Powers shared with the Senate/House: make treaties; appoint ambassadors, judges, and high governmental officials; approve legislation. The next branch of government is the judicial branch. The judicial branch ensures that the laws do not contradict what the constitution says. Unlike the legislative and executive branches the judicial branch is not elected, they are appointed. The members of the judicial branch, or the Supreme Court justices are nominated by the President, and approved by the senate. The Supreme Court decides whether or not laws passed by congress are constitutional.
The final branch is the legislative branch of our government. This branch makes and writes laws. There are twenty-seven expressed powers of the legislative branch in the constitutionThe power to establish rules to allow foreign-born immigrants to become citizens of the United States -The power to make rules for bankruptcies -The power to punish counterfeiters -The power to set up a national post office -The power to provide for copyrights and patents to protect the work of inventors and artists -The power to organize all federal courts below the Supreme Court -The power to punish pirates The power to hire pirates to attack foreign enemies -The power to make rules to regulate the conduct of the armed forces -The power to call out the militia to defend the country from invasions or insurrections -The power to organize and discipline the militia -The power to govern the federal capital (Washington, DC) -The power to acquire lands from the states for use by the federal government -The power to “make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing powers…. ” Sources: Google. com Shmoop. com Constitution. gov Papersofabrahamlincoln. orgpll