Limited Government

Which of the following is not part of America’s system of limited government?

• separation of powers

• denials of power

• grants of power

• the Bill of Rights

• all of the above are part of this system

Judging from the lecture, which institution poses the greatest threat to America’s system of limited government?

• presidency

• House of Representatives

• Senate

• Supreme Court

• federal bureaucracy

Which quote best represents the concept of limited government?

• "The government that governs least is the government that governs best."

• "A government of the people, by the people, and for the people."

• "Power must never be trusted without a check."

• "All men are created equal."

Which of the following is least likely to contribute to the breakdown of America’s system of limited government?

• presidential secrecy

• when one party controls both the presidency and Congress

• when the three branches of government are united in the belief that a breach of the Constitution is the national interest

• when the Supreme Court is dominated by appointees of the same party

Why is it more accurate to say that the United States has a system of “separated institutions sharing power” rather than a system of “separated powers”? Provide examples of how shared power can act to check and balance the power of each institution.

Answer to Question 5:

Several decades before the writing of the Constitution, the French theorist Montesquieu proposed a separation of powers. Montesquieu argued for a strict separation of legislative, executive, and judicial power. The framers of the U.S. Constitution rejected his idea and instead divided legislative, executive, and judicial power among separate branches while also granting each branch a share of the power of the other two branches. To the framers, this “sharing of power” was an important mechanism for keeping each branch in check. No branch would be able to exercise full power even within its sphere because the other two branches had a share of it, positioning them to counter an attempt by that branch to act beyond its constitutionally assigned powers.There are a fairly large number of examples of how shared power can act as a check on power. Here are a few of them: The executive branch has an ability to check the legislative branch through use of the veto—in casting a veto, the president voids a legislative act of Congress. Meanwhile, the legislative branch’s can check the executive branch through its funding power. The president is authorized to spend money for an activity only if Congress has appropriated money for that purpose. An example of the judicial branch’s ability to check Congress or the president is to declare its action null and void on the grounds it violates the Constitution. In turn, Congress and the president have checks on the judicial branch—an example is the president’s power to nominate federal judges and the Senate’s power to confirm them.

Did you watch the lecture?

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Did you complete the readings?

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Did you participate in the discussion?

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