Branches of Government Paper

Running head: THE BRANCHES OF GOVERNMENT

The Branches of Government
Alicia Sanders
University of Phoenix
His 301

The Branches of Government
Ever wonder how our government works?   The government was divided into three branches: the legislative, executive, and judicial.   What were the reasons our forefathers divided the government into these branches? Each branch works together as a whole by a system of checks and balances in order for the government to be run properly and no one branch ends up having the power.   How are the three branches of U.S. Government supposed to interact?   Are the branches balanced in power? Why or why not?   This paper will discuss these reasons.  
The three branches of government
Legislative
The legislative branch established by Article 1 of the constitution, consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate, which together form the United States Congress.   The Constitution grants Congress the sole authority to enact legislation and declare war, the right to confirm or reject many Presidential appointments, and substantial investigative powers (OUR GOVERNMENT • THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH, ¶1). The House of Representatives is made up of 435 elected members, divided among the 50 states in proportion to their total population. In addition, six members are non-voting, representing the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and five territories of the United States (¶2). The Senate is composed of 100 Senators, two for each state. Until the ratification of the 17th Amendment in 1913, Senators were chosen by state legislatures, not by popular vote. Since then, they have been elected to six-year terms by the people of each state (¶5). In order to pass legislation and send it to the President for his signature, both the House and the Senate must pass the same bill by majority vote. If the President vetoes a bill, they may override his veto by passing the bill again in each chamber with at least two-thirds of each... [continues]

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