The Constitutional Separation of Powers

The Constitutional Separation of Powers Part One: The Wisdom of the Framers The Framers of our Constitution England and the failed attempt to govern powerful it threatened the principles that understood human behavior and created ourselves in the Articles of Confederation. formed the foundation of this new system: a system of government that would protect They wanted to learn from these limited government, commitment to the our nation from the worst of those human experiences and create something better. rule of law and protection of civil liberties. instincts. Humans James Madison, This was the initial wisdom that allowed us are emotional and the Father of the to flourish as a constitutional republic. capable of actions Constitution, argued they might later that if there was regret. Humans love concern about the power and may not abuse of power by Newspaper exercise that power in government, then we Connections the best of fashions. should stop putting The Constitution all the power of Use newspapers or news was written to guard websites to find articles government into a against these instincts. about the three branches single set of hands. of the federal government One of the ways The King possessed and the various ways they the Framers sought But the great security all the power under provide checks and balances on each other. against a gradual to accomplish colonial rule, which Examples include a this was with the concentration of the led to tyranny. congressional committee separation of powers several powers in the same Under the Articles investigating travel by into legislative, department, consists in giving of Confederation, Cabinet members or the Supreme Court hearing executive and judicial to those who administer each all the power was department, the necessary arguments about whether branches. Congress, given to the states, gerrymandering of voting constitutional means, and the President and leading to chaos. maps can lead to personal motives, to resist the Supreme Court The Framers wanted Constitutional violations. encroachments of the others. Once an article is would each have to avoid both James Madison identified, you should be checks upon the extremes. Their able to provide a summary other branches and in solution was to of the circumstances turn would each be checked by the other create a substantial federal government, explained within the piece and what examples of branches. This system of separation of but divide power between a Congress, a checks and balances are powers and its web of checks and balances President and a Supreme Court. occurring. was designed to allow government to rise It is essential to remember the Framers above human frailty. This Newspapers in Education feature were not focused on creating a system of brought to you by this newspaper and In 1787, the Framers arrived in government that would get things done Philadelphia to construct a new system of quickly or easily. Their greatest concern government with two events fresh in their was the emergence of a single force within minds: the abuse of power by the King of the government that would become so .

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War and the Constitutional Text John C
War and the Constitutional Text John C. Yoo∗ In a series of articles, I have criticized the view that the original under- standing of the Constitution requires that Congress provide its authorization before the United States can engage in military hostilities.1 This “pro- Congress” position ignores the constitutional text and structure, errs in in- terpreting the ratification history of the Constitution, and cannot account for the practice of the three branches of government. Instead of the rigid proc- ess advocated by scholars such as Louis Henkin, John Hart Ely, Louis Fisher, Michael Glennon, and Harold Koh,2 I have argued that the Constitu- tion creates a flexible system of war powers. That system provides the president with significant initiative as commander-in-chief, while reserving to Congress ample authority to check executive policy through its power of the purse. In this scheme, the Declare War Clause confers on Congress a ju- ridical power, one that both defines the state of international legal relations ∗ Professor of Law, University of California at Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall) (on leave); Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legal Counsel, United States Department of Justice. The views expressed here are those of the author alone and do not represent the views of the Department of Justice. I express my deep appreciation for the advice and assistance of James C. Ho in preparing this response. Robert Delahunty, Jack Goldsmith, and Sai Prakash provided helpful comments on the draft. 1 See John C. Yoo, Kosovo, War Powers, and the Multilateral Future, 148 U Pa L Rev 1673, 1686–1704 (2000) (discussing the original understanding of war powers in the context of the Kosovo conflict); John C.
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Vanderbilt Law Review Volume 40 Issue 6 Issue 6 - November 1987 Article 5 11-1987 Federalism, Separation of Powers, and Individual Liberties Dennis G. LaGory Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.law.vanderbilt.edu/vlr Part of the Constitutional Law Commons, and the Fourth Amendment Commons Recommended Citation Dennis G. LaGory, Federalism, Separation of Powers, and Individual Liberties, 40 Vanderbilt Law Review 1353 (1987) Available at: https://scholarship.law.vanderbilt.edu/vlr/vol40/iss6/5 This Essay is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarship@Vanderbilt Law. It has been accepted for inclusion in Vanderbilt Law Review by an authorized editor of Scholarship@Vanderbilt Law. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Federalism, Separation of Powers, and Individual Liberties* I. INTRODUCTION: GOALS AND GOVERNMENT We the People of the United States, in Order to . .secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitu- tion for the United States of America.' The Framers began the Constitution with this statement of purpose because the philosophical tradition that spawned their po- litical temperament viewed the preservation of liberty as the chief objective of government.2 This tradition hypothesized that man, prior to the formation of organized society, lived in a state of per- fect freedom and equality.' In this state, all men possessed natural liberty. According to William Blackstone, one of the eighteenth century's most respected
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The Irish Opposition to English Oppression Under the Protector
Loyola University Chicago Loyola eCommons Master's Theses Theses and Dissertations 1946 The Irish Opposition to English Oppression Under the Protector Margaret E. McVey Loyola University Chicago Follow this and additional works at: https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_theses Part of the History Commons Recommended Citation McVey, Margaret E., "The Irish Opposition to English Oppression Under the Protector" (1946). Master's Theses. 286. https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_theses/286 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses and Dissertations at Loyola eCommons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of Loyola eCommons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. Copyright © 1946 Margaret E. McVey ,... THE IRISH OPPOSITIOWTO ENGLISH OPPRESSION UNDER THE PROTECTOR by MargaretE. McVey A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Loyola University June 1946 VITA Margaret E. McVey was born in Chioago, Illinois, July 6, 1908. She was graduated from The Immaoulata, Chioago, Illinois, June, 1926, and reoeived a teaohers oertifioate from Chioago Normal College, Chioago, Illinois, June, 1929. The Baohelor of Arts degree with a major in Philosophy was oonferred by Loyola University, June, 1934. From 1935 to the present the writer has been engaged in teaohing in a Chioago elementary sohool. For the past five years she has been
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