Understanding Our Constitution - Part 19 - Checks and Balances

This article should have been one of the first written. I apologize for this oversight.

James Madison was probably the strongest proponent of the concept of checks and balances. He wrote in the Federalist Papers:

“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. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty is this: You must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place, oblige it to control itself.”

Madison said that checks and balances were indispensable as it was necessary to check “vice with vice, interest with interest, power with power, to arrive at a balanced or 'mixed' government”.

Checks and balances on power begin with the assumption that any person might abuse power and that any good leader might turn bad. Therefore, measures are established to guarantee that people who could be effected by decisions have input in the decision, can veto the decision, and have legal protection from injury as a result of the decision.

The Constitution divided the powers and responsibilities of the federal government among three branches and also between the two houses of the Congress. Each part of the government provides a check and balance on the ambition of the others, preventing any one part from becoming too powerful or autocratic.

Checks and balances encourage cooperation between branches as well as debate on controversial policy issues. To enact a federal law, the Senate and House of Representatives must each vote to pass the law. In this way, each house can check each other.

Even if the two houses agree, the President must sign the law. If he chooses to veto the law, it can still be enacted if two-thirds of both houses vote to override the veto. Under this arrangement, both Congress and the President can check each other. The Supreme Court may declare acts of Congress unconstitutional, but new legislation can reverse Court decisions.

The President serves as commander in chief of the armed forces, but Congress appropriates the funds for the military and votes to declare war. The Senate must ratify any peace treaties.

The President nominates federal officials, but the Senate must confirm those nominations. The House votes to impeach federal officials and then the Senate sits as a court to convict or acquit them.

Checks and balances are important for all social institutions including religious institutions, corporations, and partnerships. In all, there is an opportunity for one person to use their power at the expense of another.

One of the most visible problems is the growth of corporate wealth and its impact on government policy - gradually removing power from the people and placing it in control of an oligarchy (control by a few). The other side of the coin, is where the government has too much control over these corporations - which is now occurring, with the “government takeovers”.