1.6 Powers of Government and Checks and Balances Part 1

1.6 Powers of Government
&
Checks and Balances

Open Ended

Revisiting Federalist 51 - James Madison wrote...

“…The interest of the man must be connected with the constitutional rights of the place. It may be a reflection on human nature, that such devices should be necessary to control the abuses of government. But what is government itself, but the greatest of all reflections on human nature? If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary...."

What does Madison say about the nature of men?

Open Ended

James Madison continued to write...

“…In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself. A dependence on the people is, no doubt, the primary control on the government; but experience has taught mankind the necessity of auxiliary precautions…"

What must we enable a government to do, what is the primary version of this, and what else do we need?

Open Ended

James Madison continued to write...

"…In a single republic, all the power surrendered by the people is submitted to the administration of a single government; and the usurpations are guarded against by a division of the government into distinct and separate departments. In the compound republic of America, the power surrendered by the people is first divided between two distinct governments, and then the portion allotted to each subdivided among distinct and separate departments. Hence a double security arises to the rights of the people. The different governments will control each other, at the same time that each will be controlled by itself…”

What is Madison talking about here in relation to the previous statement?

Labelling

Put the Correct pieces in.

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Pres. can call Congress to assemble

Paid by federal gov.

None

reps 2 years - sen. 6 years

One vote per rep. or sen.

majority

Bicameral, called Congress, two chambers

Two senators/state, representatives/pop.

Labelling

Apply the labels correctly

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President

US Supreme Court

2/3 Congress + 3/4 State Legislatures

Congress Builds Navy

Congress raise and support army

Applied and collected by Congress

Consent of 9 states required

Supreme Court - Congress creates others

Categorize

Options (19)

Enact Legislation

Declare War

Confirm/Reject Presidential Appointments

impeach a president

override a veto

change the size and jurisdiction of federal courts

substantial investigative powers

acts as head of state

commander-in-chief

implement and enforce laws

appoint heads to federal agencies

nominate federal judges

appoint cabinet members

power to veto

interpret the law

determine constitutionality of the law

order a subpoena to gather evidence/info

apply interpreted law to cases

serve for life to avoid being influenced by public opinion

Organize these options into the right categories

Powers allocated to Congress

Powers allocated to the President

Powers allocated to the Courts

All these powers...where's the checks?
Checks and Balances

Found in The US Constitution

Congress - countering the Executive Branch
- con override a presidential veto with 2/3 vote in both houses
- House of Reps: sole power of impeachment
- Senate: the power to try any impeachment (check on impeachments)
- may approve/disapprove the president's nominations SC/FED+FED Office
- map approve/disapprove treaties that president negotiated

Implications of
Separation of Powers
and
Checks and Balances

• Both positive and negative implications exist

• Lets look at some of the positives - Multiple Access points