Separation of Powers in U.S. Government (Further explained below)

Separation of Powers in U .S . Government

April 28 , 2007

Introduction

The Founding Fathers of the early American Constitution examined various political and modern theories as their guide in establishing a government that truly supports their aims and aspirations as a people who wish to be rid of the destructive clutches of the British Empire one of which is the principle of separation of powers advanced by Baron de Montesquieu

This will examine the concept of separation of power and its evolution since the start of the Philadelphia Convention in

1787 up to the present

Separation of Powers

The concept of separation of power as theorized by Baron de Montesquieu states that the legislative , executive , and judicial power function of the government - the power to make laws , the power to carry out laws and the power to uphold the laws - should rest with the different branches of government ' thus , reducing the possibility of tyranny (Johnson , Aldrich , Miller et al , 1990 , 45 . In the adoption of a Federal government in 1787 's American Constitution , de Montesquieu 's theory of separation of power was approved , thus , drawing line separating the powers held by each of the branches of government

The three branches of government were allocated with its own powers some of which are shared among them . The system was designed to reduce the risk of abusing its power by a single branch acting independently from the other branches . According to Johnson et al (1990 , 51 ) no branch can carry out its powers without some degree of cooperation from the other branches

In a dissenting opinion of Justice Louis Brandeis in Myers v . United States ,272 U .S . 52 , 293 (1926 ) opined that the separation of powers was adopted by the Convention of 1787 , not to promote efficiency , but to preclude the exercise of arbitrary power . The purpose was , not to avoid friction , but , by means of the inevitable friction incident to the distribution of governmental powers among three departments , to save the people from autocracy

It is this concept that minimizes the risk of one branch to completely take over the government or stray too far politically from the other branches making this design as a key factor in the Constitutions survival , assuring evolution in government rather than revolution

Though this was the case , due to Constitutional provisions couched in general terms , tensions and conflicts regarding individual interpretation by the branches arise

The Constitutional Provisions

The American Bar Association painstakingly listed the power of each branch and its relation to the other branches

There are various provisions in the Federal Constitution that outlines the blending power of the check and balance or the separation of powers

The first three Articles found in the Constitution define the powers of each branch . Article 1 defines Congress ' powers Article II defines the Executive branch 's power and the Judicial Power is defined in Article III

Federal Judiciary

Alexander Hamilton 's The Federalist revealed that among the three branches it is the judiciary...