3.5: Principles of the Constitution

Although most delegates at the Constitutional Convention recognized the need for a stronger national government, they were also aware of the dangers such a government would pose. The powers granted by the Constitution could be used for the good of the country, but they could also be abused if they fell into the wrong hands. Without safeguards to prevent such abuse, America might suffer the same sort of tyranny it had endured under British rule, if not a worse one.

To prevent the new national government from getting out of hand, the Constitution introduced a system of separation of powers. Rather than vest all power in a single person or institution, the Constitution divided it among three branches: a legislative branch (Congress), an executive branch (the presidency), and a judicial branch (the Supreme Court and other federal courts). Dividing power in this fashion would make it harder for a tyrant to take control. Even if America elected a bad president, that president would only have access to roughly one-third of the government’s capabilities.

Alongside separation of powers, the Constitution also implemented a system of checks and balances: each of the three branches possessed certain abilities to limit or block the actions of the other two. This gave each branch a degree of control over the other branches, preventing any one branch from exercising unchecked power. The president could veto bills passed by Congress, but Congress could override vetoes if the bills had enough support and could even remove the president through the impeachment process. The federal courts could strike down laws and executive actions as unconstitutional, but Congress and the president would select the judges who sat on those courts. Figure 3.2 below lists ways in which the three branches can check one another.

Figure 3.2: Checks and balances in the U.S. Constitution

The Constitution’s separation of powers and checks and balances reflect the Founders’ distrust of politicians. They recognized that not all presidents, members of Congress, and judges would be devoted to America’s national interest and the principles of limited government. On the contrary, they anticipated that the new, more powerful American government would attract ambitious, power-hungry people with selfish motivations for holding public office. For this reason, they designed a system to channel that selfishness for good. In theory, the branches would, by hoarding their powers from one another, prevent any one branch from becoming too potent. Even office-holders who only wanted to increase their own power would have a self-interested reason to use their checks in a way that the Founders hoped would prevent tyranny.