Question Dissection Part XI

Question Dissection – Part XI US History/Napp Name: ______

Introduction to Review: Some things just go together. Like

A multiple-choice question also has parts that naturally go together.

In this review, I will present multiple-choice questions and answers. I will explain what the question is asking and provide its answer. I will also reveal why these two parts of the question must go together.

Yes, some things just naturally go together.

The Question Dissection:

A. The Monroe Doctrine declared that the United States would (1) prevent the establishment of new European colonies anywhere in the world (2) help colonies in North and South America adopt a democratic form of government (3) view European interference in the Americas as a threat to the national interest of the United States (4) prevent other nations from trading with South American nations

What the question is asking: What was stated in the Monroe Doctrine?

Answer: In the early 1800s, Latin American colonies had gained independence from Spain. These newly independent lands could easily be conquered by other powerful Western European nations now that Spain and Portugal no longer controlled the region. Thus, the United States President James Monroe issued the Monroe Doctrine stating that the Americas were off limits to future colonization. It was a statement telling Europeans to keep out of the Americas. Having strong colonial powers as neighbors threatened the security of the United States.

Thus, the answer must be 3.

B. Why did the United States formulate the Open Door policy toward China? (1) to develop democratic institutions and practices in China (2) to prevent a European and Japanese monopoly of Chinese trade and markets (3) to establish a military presence on the Chinese mainland (4) to support Japanese efforts to industrialize China What the question is asking? What was the Open Door Policy and why did the United States want an Open Door Policy?

An Open Door allows all to enter. The Open Door Policy stated that all countries should have equal trading rights in China. During the Age of Imperialism, it was all too common for a Western European nation or Japan to have a sphere of influence in China. Thus, Europeans and Japanese controlled important ports in China and thus trade in parts of China. The United States did not have a sphere of influence in China and wanted to make sure that Americans could still trade with China. Trade with China was profitable. Thus, the Open Door Policy allowed all nations to have equal trading rights with China. There would be no monopoly of trade with China where only one nation could trade with China.

Thus, the answer must be 2.

C. “I took the Canal and let Congress debate.” ~ Theodore Roosevelt

This quotation best demonstrates (1) an effort by a President to maintain a policy of isolationism (2) a decline in the use of militarism as a defense policy (3) an increased reliance on the legislative process (4) a Presidential action that achieved a foreign policy objective

What is the question asking? What canal did Teddy Roosevelt take and when did he take the canal – before or after Congress had time to decide if the canal should be taken?

Teddy Roosevelt was responsible for the building of the Panama Canal. This canal was very important to the United States because it greatly decreased travel time from the Atlantic coast to the Pacific coast. Prior to the Panama Canal, a ship had to travel all the way around South America. With the Panama Canal, a ship could travel through Panama and greatly reduce shipping time. In business, time is money. Now, Teddy Roosevelt knew how important that canal was for the United States. So, he simply ordered it done. He did not wait to ask Congress to decide.

Thus, the answer is 4.

D. Involvement in the Spanish-American War, acquisition of Hawaii, and introduction of the Open Door policy in China were actions taken by the United States Government to (1) establish military alliances with other nations (2) gain overseas markets and sources of raw materials (3) begin the policy of manifest destiny (4) support isolationist forces in Congress

What is the question asking? Why did the USA want to control territory outside of the USA and more foreign trade? It was the Age of Imperialism. Imperialism occurs when a strong nation conquers a weaker region. Imperialists want natural resources or raw materials for their factories. Imperialists want markets or places to sell their manufactured goods.

E. Which foreign policy position was held by both President James Monroe and President Theodore Roosevelt? (1) Trade with other nations should be sharply reduced. (2) The United States should follow a policy of isolationism. (3) A special relationship should exist between the United States and the nations of Latin America. (4) The United States should send troops to aid revolutionary movements in European nations

What is the question asking? What did President James Monroe and President Theodore Roosevelt have in common regarding their foreign policy views?

The Monroe Doctrine and the Roosevelt Corollary: The Monroe Doctrine stated that European nations must not interfere in the Americas (after the colonies of Latin America had gained independence from Spain and Portugal) and the Roosevelt Corollary stated that the United States could interfere in Latin American affairs when necessary (i.e. debt collection for a Western European nation). Thus, both documents address the United States relationship to Latin America.

F. The principle that the United States has the right to act as the “policeman of the Western Hemisphere” and intervene in the internal affairs of Latin American nations was established by the (1) Good Neighbor policy (2) Open Door policy (3) Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine (4) Marshall Plan

What is the question asking? What document stated that the United States has the right to militarily intervene in Latin America?

The Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine stated that the United States could militarily intervene in the affairs of Latin America. In 1904, President Theodore Roosevelt declared that the U.S. would act as an “international police power” in Latin America. The so-called “Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine” also became known as the Big Stick Policy. It was used to justify sending troops to Haiti, Nicaragua, Honduras, and the Dominican Republic.

G. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, United States intervention in Latin America was motivated by the United States desire to (1) protect its growing investments in Latin America (2) encourage Latin American trade with Europe (3) end Latin American independence movements (4) reduce the influence of communism in Latin America

What is the question asking? Why did the United States intervene in Latin America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries?

American businessmen had invested lots of money in Latin America. They owned plantations and businesses in Latin America. When their business interests were threatened by new governments in Latin America, these American businessmen expected the United States military to protect their investments (money, plantations, and businesses).

H. Which United States policy is most closely associated with the annexation of Hawaii and the Philippines? (1) neutrality (2) isolationism (3) imperialism (4) international cooperation

What is the question asking? What is annexation? What policy is annexation part of?

Annexation is to take over a territory and make it part of another nation. When the United States took control of Hawaii, it annexed Hawaii. When a militarily stronger nation controls a weaker region, imperialism occurs. Thus, the annexation of Hawaii is a form of imperialism.

Thus, the correct answer is 3.

I. Yellow journalists created support for the Spanish-American War by writing articles about the (1) political popularity of William Jennings Bryan (2) efforts of the United States to control Mexico (3) destruction of United States sugar plantations by Hawaiians (4) sinking of the United States battleship Maine in Havana Harbor

What is the question asking? What is Yellow Journalism and how did Yellow Journalism increase Americans’ desire for war with Spain?

Yellow Journalism is sensationalized news – it is writing stories that have lots of drama and make people feel very emotional about issues. Frequently, the stories told are not entirely true. The U.S.S. Maine was an American battleship that sank in Havana harbor. An explosion occurred and the ship sank. The Yellow Journalists wrote stories about the explosion and blamed the explosion on Spain. Even today, there are many doubts about this story. It is quite likely that Spain did not sink the ship. But in Yellow Journalism, facts are not important. A dramatic story that sells papers is important.

J. News organizations were engaging in yellow journalism before the Spanish-American War when (1) publishers tried to prevent the war (2) articles about Cuba were fair and balanced (3) editors exaggerated events to build support for war (4) writers ignored the situation in Cuba

What is the question asking? What is Yellow Journalism?

Yes, Yellow Journalism exaggerates stories, exaggerates and elaborates the facts. Thus, in Yellow Journalism, the facts are not as important as creating an emotional reaction in the reader of the paper.

K. The United States issued the Open Door policy (1899–1900) primarily to (1) bring democratic government to the Chinese people (2) secure equal trade opportunities in China (3) force China to change its immigration policies (4) use China as a stepping stone to trade with Japan

What is the question asking? What was the Open Door Policy?

As was written earlier, an Open Door allows all to enter. The Open Door Policy stated that all countries should have equal trading rights in China. During the Age of Imperialism, it was all too common for a Western European nation or Japan to have a sphere of influence in China. Thus, Europeans and Japanese controlled important ports in China and thus trade in parts of China. The United States did not have a sphere of influence in China and wanted to make sure that Americans could still trade with China. Trade with China was profitable. Thus, the Open Door Policy allowed all nations to have equal trading rights with China. There would be no monopoly of trade with China where only one nation could trade with China.

L. Which action was necessary to change from the indirect to the direct election of United States Senators? (1) ratification of a constitutional amendment (2) passage of a Federal law (3) a Supreme Court decision (4) a national referendum

What is the question asking? What occurred that led to the direct election of Senators?

Senators were not elected directly by the people. That is, until an amendment was added the Constitution. When the Constitution was adopted in 1788, it made the Senate an assembly where the states would have equal representation. Each state legislature would elect two senators to 6-year terms. But the “Oregon system” utilized a state primary election to identify the voters’ choice for Senator while pledging all candidates for the state legislature to honor the primary’s result. Over half of the states adopted the “Oregon system” but the 1912 Senate investigation of bribery and corruption in the election of Illinois Senator William Lorimer indicated that only a constitutional amendment mandating the direct election of Senators by a state’s citizenry would allay public demands for reform. Thus, the Seventeenth Amendment was ratified. The Seventeenth Amendment allows for the direct election of Senators.

M. A main purpose of President Theodore Roosevelt’s trustbusting policies was to (1) reduce corruption in government (2) save the nation’s banks (3) encourage competition in business (4) end strikes by labor unions

What is the question asking? What is trustbusting? What is the goal of trustbusting?

A trust is like a monopoly. A monopoly occurs when a single seller dominates a market. When a single seller dominates a market, there is no competition in the market. Therefore, trustbusting is to break up a monopoly and allow more businesses to enter the market and thus more competition. So, the goal of President Theodore Roosevelt’s trustbusting was to encourage competition in business. Thus, the answer is 3. N. In the early 20th century, muckrakers were able to influence American society mainly through their (1) frequent acts of civil disobedience (2) activities as government officials (3) publication of articles and books (4) control over factories

What is the question asking? Who were the muckrakers?

Muckrakers were writers during the Progressive era. These writers exposed the wrongdoings in society – the wrongdoings of big businesses or the wrongdoings of government. Muckrakers exposed the unsanitary conditions of the meat industry and the corruption of government.

O. A major goal of reformers during the Progressive Era was to (1) end segregation in the South (2) correct the abuses of big business (3) limit immigration from Latin America (4) enact high tariffs to help domestic industry grow

What is the question asking? During the Progressive Era, reformers wanted to improve society. They wanted to eliminate abuses in business and government.

Thus, the correct answer is 2. ------Here are some more questions to practice.

With each passing day, our skills increase. Thus, we are better prepared to answer more questions without too much assistance.

Of course, you may benefit from my Two Hundred and Fifty Facts to Pass the US History and Government Regents.

This packet is the first link on my U.S. History – Consent of the Governed page on my webpage. Here is a link to my U.S. page: http://www.whiteplainspublicschools.org//site/Default.aspx?PageID=12862 ------“All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost.” ~ J.R.R. Tolkien P. The purpose of the Interstate Commerce Act (1887), the Sherman Antitrust Act (1890), and the Clayton Antitrust Act (1914) was to (1) eliminate unfair business practices (2) reduce imports from foreign nations (3) reduce the power of the unions (4) increase the power of local governments

Clue: Antitrust is anti-monopoly.

Q. The United States Federal Reserve System was established to (1) provide loans to industrialists (2) end the Great Depression (3) provide for a balanced budget (4) regulate the money supply

Clue: The Federal Reserve System is the central bank of the United States.

R. Which law was passed as a result of muckraking literature? (1) Interstate Commerce Act (2) Sherman Antitrust Act (3) Meat Inspection Act (4) Federal Reserve Act

Clue: Upton Sinclair was a muckraker. He wrote The Jungle, a book about unsanitary conditions in the meat industry.

S. In How the Other Half Lives , Jacob Riis described the living conditions of (1) workers in urban slums (2) African Americans in the segregated South (3) the rich in their mansions (4) Native American Indians on reservations

Clue: Jacob Riis was a muckraker. He wrote a book about poor neighborhoods in cities.

T. Which long-awaited goal of the women’s rights movement was achieved during the Progressive Era? (1) right to vote (2) right to own property (3) equal pay for equal work (4) equal access to employment and education

Clue: The Nineteenth Amendment gave woman the right to vote. It was ratified in 1920.

“The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.”  U. During the Progressive Era, Jane Addams responded to urban conditions by working to establish (1) settlement houses that provided assistance to the poor (2) newspapers that helped to inform Americans about slum conditions (3) laws that restricted certain immigrant groups (4) free public schools located in inner-city neighborhoods

Clue: American social reformers began founding settlement houses in the late 1880s to respond to growing industrial poverty. In 1889, Jane Addams and her friend Ellen Starr founded Hull-House in Chicago, which would eventually become the most famous settlement house in the United States.

V. The Panamanian revolt, the Russo-Japanese war, and the creation of the national parks system occurred during the presidency of (1) William McKinley (2) Woodrow Wilson (3) Herbert Hoover (4) Theodore Roosevelt

Clue: Yes, he was responsible for building the Panama Canal. But he was also awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for having negotiated peace in the Russo-Japanese War in 1904-05 and created five national parks as President.

W. Which type of federal tax was authorized by the 16th amendment in 1913? (1) excise (2) import (3) income (4) estate

Clue: “The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several states, and without regard to any census or enumeration.”

X. In the late 19th century, the pattern of United States immigration changed in that (1) far fewer immigrants arrived in the United States than in previous years (2) most immigrants chose to settle in the rural, farming regions of the western United States (3) increasing numbers of immigrants came from eastern and southern Europe (4) most immigrants were political refugees

Clue: The “New Immigrants” were NOT from England or Northern Europe.

“These immigrants came to America from areas that had not traditionally supplied settlers to the United States. These immigrants came from the lands of Southern Europe and Eastern Europe such as Italy, Russia, Poland, and Greece, as well as China and Japan in Asia.” Y. The Gentlemen’s Agreement, literacy tests, and the quota system were all attempts by Congress to restrict (1) immigration (2) property ownership (3) voting rights (4) access to public education

Clue: “The Gentlemen’s Agreement between the United States and Japan in 1907-1908 represented an effort by President Theodore Roosevelt to calm growing tension between the two countries over the immigration of Japanese workers. A treaty with Japan in 1894 had assured free immigration, but as the number of Japanese workers in California increased, they were met with growing hostility. On February 24, the Gentlemen’s Agreement with Japan was concluded in the form of a Japanese note agreeing to deny passports to laborers intending to enter the United States and recognizing the U.S. right to exclude Japanese immigrants holding passports originally issued for other countries.”

Z. -Free and unlimited coinage of silver -Government ownership of railroads -Graduated income tax

Which of these political parties first proposed these reforms in its platform?

(1) Republican Party in 1876 (2) Populist Party in 1892 (3) Bull-Moose Party 1912 (4) Democratic Party in 1932

Clue: This was the farmer’s party. Farmers did not like the high prices charged by the railroads.

“ Transportation being a means of exchange and a public necessity, the government should own and operate the railroads in the interest of the people.” (1892)

Which group showed the greatest support for this idea? (1) western farmers (2) union leaders (3) factory owners (4) railroad owners

Clue: Did I mention that the farmers did not like the high prices charged by the railroads?

“Transportation being a means of exchange and a public necessity, the government should own and operate the railroads in the interest of the people. The telegraph, telephone, like the post-office system, being a necessity for the transmission of news, should be owned and operated by the government in the interest of the people.” ~ Populist Party Platform The passage of the Homestead Act and the completion of the transcontinental railroad helped to fulfill the United States commitment to (1) Reconstruction (2) racial equality (3) manifest destiny (4) conservation of natural resources

Clue: Free land in the West and the ability to move to the West encouraged more Americans to settle in the West and thus, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, Americans settled.

Which statement best summarizes the beliefs of Booker T. Washington? (1) The best solution for African Americans was to return to Africa. (2) Social equality for African Americans would be easier to achieve than legal rights. (3) The way to dissolve the barriers of segregation and bring about an end to Jim Crow laws was by active, violent resistance. (4) The most immediate means for African Americans to achieve equality was to expand their opportunities for vocational education.

Clue: Booker T. Washington believed that through job training and skilled employment, African Americans would gain wealth and through wealth, equality would be achieved.

“A house divided against itself cannot stand…I do not expect the Union to be dissolved; I do not expect the house to fall; but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing, or all the other…” ~ Abraham Lincoln, 1858

The “divided house” referred to in this speech was caused primarily by (1) expansionism (2) war with Mexico (3) slavery (4) the suffrage movement

Clue: The “house” is the nation. What was dividing the nation in the 1800s?

At the Constitutional Convention of 1787, which problem was solved by the Great Compromise? (1) developing the method of electing a president (2) designating control of interstate commerce (3) outlining the structure of the federal court system (4) establishing the formula for representation in Congress

Clue: - A House of Representatives based on the population of each state - A Senate of two senators for every state - A compromise between states with lots of people and states with fewer people - A bicameral or two house Congress The significance of the Supreme Court case Marbury v. Madison is that the decision (1) advanced civil rights for minorities (2) upheld the constitutionality of a national bank (3) limited Presidential control of foreign policy (4) established the power of judicial review

Clue: The court has the power to determine the constitutionality of a law.

“Our true policy is to steer clear of permanent alliances…” ~ George Washington

President Washington made this statement to warn against United States involvement in (1) European military conflicts (2) international trade (3) the race for overseas colonies (4) westward expansion

Clue: To steer clear of permanent alliances is to not have permanent alliances and given that there were many wars in Europe, this neutrality would prevent the new nation from being involved in those many wars.

Nativism in the late 19th century was motivated primarily by (1) hostility toward immigrant workers (2) the need to reduce overcrowding in western states (3) cultural conflicts with Native American Indians (4) the migration of African Americans to northern cities

Clue: Nativism is an anti-immigrant attitude.

During the late 19th century, Samuel Gompers, Terence Powderly, and Eugene Debs were leaders in the movement to (1) stop racial segregation of Native American Indians (2) limit illegal immigration (3) gain fair treatment of Native American Indians (4) improve working conditions

Clue: Samuel Gompers was the founder of the American Federation of Labor.

What was the experience of most of the “new immigrants” who arrived in the United States from southern and eastern Europe in the late 1800s and early 1900s? (1) They lived in urban areas and most held low-paying jobs. (2) They obtained free land in the West and became farmers. (3) They became discouraged with America and returned to their homelands. (4) They were easily assimilated into mainstream American culture. Clue: The “new immigrants” came to work in the factories in cities. During the presidency of Andrew Jackson, the spoils system resulted in (1) federal laws being nullified by the states (2) elected officials rewarding their supporters with government jobs (3) all free males being given the right to vote (4) the end of political corruption in the federal government

Clue: To the victor goes the spoils and to the president goes the power to appoint supporters to government jobs…

Population data from the census of 2000 was used to determine the number of (1) states in the Union (2) Senators from each state (3) electoral college votes from each state (4) Supreme Court justices

Clue: The census records each state’s population every ten years. This information is used to determine the number of representatives for each state in the House of Representatives and thus impacts the number of electors for each state in the Electoral College.

Acquiring New Orleans as part of the Louisiana Purchase was considered important to the development of the Mississippi and Ohio River valleys because the city (1) provided protection from attacks by the Spanish (2) provided migrant workers for river valley farms (3) served as a port for American agricultural goods (4) served as the cultural center for the nation

Clue: The port of New Orleans connects the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico and thus is a great port for trade and in the early days of the nation, a great port for the nation’s agricultural goods to be loaded on ships and sold.

What was an immediate effect of the completion of the Erie Canal in 1825? (1) Prices increased for food products along the Atlantic Coast. (2) Farmers could more easily ship grain to eastern markets. (3) A territorial conflict began with Canada over the Great Lakes. (4) Railroads were forced to reduce their shipping rates.

Clue: The Erie Canal connects the Hudson Rivers to the Great Lakes but look at this answer carefully. The canal made it easier for farmers in the Midwest to sell the goods in eastern markets. Don’t let the term “Great Lakes” in one of the answers mislead you.

“The Erie Canal was proposed in 1808 and completed in 1825; the canal links the waters of Lake Erie in the west to the Hudson River in the east. In order to open the country west of the Appalachian Mountains to settlers and to offer a cheap and safe way to carry produce to a market, the construction of a canal was proposed as early as 1768. However, It was not until 1808 that the state legislature funded a survey for a canal that would connect to Lake Erie.” “…I challenge the warmest advocate [supporter] for reconciliation, to shew [show], a single advantage that this continent can reap [gain], by being connected with Great Britain. I repeat the challenge, not a single advantage is derived [acquired]. Our corn will fetch its price in any market in Europe, and our imported goods must be paid for, buy them where we will…” ~ Thomas Paine, Common Sense, 1776

This speaker is most likely opposed to (1) mercantilism (2) capitalism (3) direct democracy (4) representative government

Clue: You know I love that line “Our corn will fetch its price in any market…” In mercantilism, the colony can only trade with the mother country. But who needs the mother country when our corn will fetch its price in any market.

Sectional differences developed in the United States largely because (1) the Federal Government adopted a policy of neutrality (2) economic conditions and interests in each region varied (3) only northerners were represented at the Constitutional Convention (4) early Presidents favored urban areas over rural areas

Clue: Plantations developed in the South because the South had very fertile soil.

Which statement best explains President Abraham Lincoln’s justification for the Civil War? (1) As an abolitionist, President Lincoln wanted to end slavery in the United States. (2) President Lincoln wanted to keep the South economically dependent on the industrial North. (3) President Lincoln’s oath of office required him to defend and preserve the Union. (4) To keep the support of Great Britain and France, President Lincoln had to try to end slavery immediately.

Clue: Lincoln was sworn to preserve the Union, a Union by the people and for the people.

“We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

~ Preamble to the U.S. Constitution

Well worth memorizing.  Because we are the people! “[The registrar] brought a big old book out there, and he gave me the sixteenth section of the constitution of Mississippi, . . . I could copy it like it was in the book, but after I got through copying it, he told me to give a reasonable interpretation and tell the meaning of the section I had copied. Well, I flunked out.” Source: A History of the United States since 1861

The main intent of the literacy test described in the passage was to (1) encourage reform of the political system (2) encourage Mississippi residents to learn about their state’s legal system (3) prevent African Americans from exercising a basic right (4) enforce the provisions of the United States Constitution

Clue: Sounds like a test to determine whether or not a citizen can vote and it sounds like that test was designed to ensure that the citizen failed it and thus could not vote. Sounds like discrimination.

Poll taxes and grandfather clauses were devices used to (1) deny African Americans the right to vote (2) extend suffrage to women and 18-year-old citizens (3) raise money for political campaigns (4) prevent immigrants from becoming citizens

Clue: A tax on voting and then allowing only people with a grandfather who voted before the Civil War to not pay that tax…sounds like discrimination again.

The Jim Crow laws, upheld by the Supreme Court in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), provided for (1) free land for former slaves (2) separate public facilities based on race (3) racial integration of public schools (4) voting rights for African-American males

Clue: Jim Crow is segregation.

The underlying reason for the impeachment of President Andrew Johnson was (1) the Credit Mobilier scandal (2) a power struggle with Congress over Reconstruction (3) his refusal to appoint new justices to the Supreme Court (4) his policies toward Native American Indians

Clue: To impeach is to charge a federal official with a crime. Perhaps President Andrew Johnson’s crime was that he did not agree with the Radical Republicans. The Radical Republicans wanted to radically change the South after the Civil War. Johnson favored a more lenient approach. “I can never acknowledge the right of slavery.” ~ Thaddeus Stevens W.E.B. Du Bois believed that African Americans should attempt to gain equality in the United States by (1) setting up a separate nation within the United States (2) entering vocational training programs in separate schools (3) demanding full and immediate participation in American society (4) taking over the leadership of the two major political parties

Clue: W.E.B. Du Bois believed that the Fourteenth Amendment granted all citizens equal rights and therefore African Americans need not wait. African Americans had rights now.

The Homestead Act, the mass killing of buffalo, and the completion of the transcontinental railroad are most closely associated with the (1) rise of organized labor (2) building of the Erie Canal (3) northern migration of African Americans (4) decline of the Plains Indians

Clue: Settlers moved to the Great Plains and with the mass killing of the buffalo and the loss of their lands, the Native American Indians of the Great Plains suffered and their way of life came to an end.

To avoid having too much power concentrated in one branch of government, the framers of the Constitution established (1) a bicameral national legislature (2) division of power among different levels of government (3) the system of two political parties (4) the system of checks and balances

Clue: Separation of powers and each branch of government limiting the power of the other branches…

“When the legislative and executive powers are united in the same person, or in the same body of magistrates, there can be no liberty; because apprehensions may arise, lest the same monarch or senate should enact tyrannical laws, to execute them in a tyrannical manner.

Again, there is no liberty, if the judiciary power be not separated from the legislative and executive. Were it joined with the legislative, the life and liberty of the subject would be exposed to arbitrary control; for the judge would be then the legislator. Were it joined to the executive power, the judge might behave with violence and oppression. There would be an end of everything, were the same man or the same body, whether of the nobles or of the people, to exercise those three powers, that of enacting laws, that of executing the public resolutions, and of trying the causes of individuals.” ~ Montesquieu

Always read carefully! 