The U.S is a Republic. The system of checks and balancesallows each branch to prevent the other branches from gaining too much power.
Chat with our AI personalities
This is called separation of powers.
In the United States of America, the concept of having three separate branches of government that share power is referred to as the "Separation of Powers". For the United States of America, those branches are the Legislative (i.e., Congress and Senate), Judicial (i.e, the Supreme Court), and the Executive (i.e., the President).
Checks and balances among the 3 branches of government. The President is the executive and is to faithfully execute the laws that are passed by Congress. Congress can withhold funding if the President doesn't do as he should. The Judiciary ensures the laws passed are Constitutional.
Enlightenment philosopher, Montesquieu introduced a system of checks and balances to keep government free of tyranny. He is also responsible for the concept of a separation of power, and the three branches of government which are the centerpiece of our country.
The system of checks and balances is an important part of the Constitution. With checks and balances, each of the three branches of government can limit the powers of the others. This way, no one branch becomes too powerful. Each branch "checks" the power of the other branches to make sure that the power is balanced between them.