The Three Branches of Government
The legislative, executive, and judiciary are the three branches of government in the United States. The division of powers applies to the fact that each branch has distinct positions that are specified by the constitution.
Checks and Balances
While each branch has distinct functions, the powers of one branch may be verified by another, which is known as the checks and balances method (Wilson, DiIulio, & Bose, 2016).
The Importance of Division of Powers and Checks and Balances
In our constitution, the division of powers and checks and balances are important. This is because the structure avoids power manipulation because each branch has its own distinct position, and the power of one branch may be contested by another. For instance considering president Trump’s executive order, although the president has power over immigration, this power can be challenged by the federal courts. The order suspended travel from seven Muslim countries reduced most of the refugee programs benefits. The federal courts have the role of protecting marginalized groups against irrational and discriminatory conduct (Liptak, 2017). This is why some parts of the order were blocked.
Separation of Powers
Separation of powers also ensures that the government roles are not exercised by one person. If a judge, for example, is appointed as a minister or elected as a member of the national council he/she should be suspended from his judicial duties.
Protection of Individual and Group Rights
The constitution protects individual and group rights by having provisions that support and protect the rights. The provisions include the bill of rights, the fourteenth amendment on citizenship rights, fifteenth amendment on voting rights, Amendment 19 on women’s voting rights and Amendment 26 on voting age. When the individual rights and group rights are violated, the case it taken to the court for the affected to get justice. Again on Trump’s executive order on limited refugee programs, it aims to favor the Christian refugees at the expense of the Muslim refugees (Liptak, 2017). This was challenged in the court as it will violate the first amendment which guarantees the freedom of religion, speech, press and petition ("First Amendment Rights [ushistory.org]", 2016).
References
First Amendment Rights [ushistory.org]. (2016). Ushistory.org. Retrieved 4 May 2017, from http://www.ushistory.org/gov/10b.asp
Liptak, A. (2017). The President Has Much Power Over Immigration, but How Much?. Nytimes.com. Retrieved 4 May 2017, from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/05/us/politics/trump-immigration-law.html
Wilson, J. Q., DiIulio Jr, J. J., & Bose, M. (2016). American government: Institutions and policies. Cengage Learning.
