Separation of Powers and Checks and Balances
11th Grade · Social Studies · 40 min
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Learning Objective
I can analyze how the principles of the US Constitution, such as separation of powers and checks and balances, are reflected in the structure of the government.
- 1
The national government is divided into three branches: the legislative, the executive, and the judicial.
- 2
The main job of the legislative branch is to make laws, while the executive branch is in charge of executing the law, and the judicial branch is responsible to interpret the law.
- 3
Each branch has the power to limit the other two branches; this creates a balance between the three separate powers, also known as checks and balances.
