CHECKS AND BALANCES
Federal Government: A form of government where
states form a union and the sovereign power is divided
between the national government and the various
states.
Tri-Partite Government: The national government
of the United States of America is composed of three
separate branches, each of which acts as a check on
the others’ power:
The Executive Branch (i.e., the President),
which has the power to veto legislation passed by
Congress and to appoint the members of the
Judiciary;
The Legislative Branch (i.e., Congress), which
may override the President’s veto and which may
define the jurisdiction of the Judiciary and must
confirm Judiciary appointees; and
The Judicial Branch (i.e., the Supreme Court
and the federal court system), which has the
power to void the acts of the Executive and
Legislative branches because they are
unconstitutional.
