Branches of Government

Branches of Government

Branches of Government
The United States has a unique form of government. The first government colonist abided by was that of England’s King. The monarchy’s tyrannical rule pushed citizens to defy the government and form their own. To ensure a government’s power was not over reaching branches of responsibility, division of function was established.  
Historical Reasons for the Three Branches
The forefather’s intention to divide the government into three branches was based from the elements successful and unsuccessful of governments from around the world and through history and to maintain maximum support from all States through compromise. The purpose was to equally distribute power across Federal and State governments so a single entity would not over whelm the nation with power, as seen in the monarchies of the day.
At the Constitutional Convention, two major systems dominated the debate power delegated to the Federal level or power delegated to the individual States. James Madison’s plan, called the Virginia Plan: “provided for three branches of government: an executive, a judiciary, and a two-house legislature. Members of lower house of the legislature would be voted for by the public. These representatives would choose members for the upper house. The executive, or president, would also be chosen by the legislature” (McGill, 2009, para. 4). Madison’s plan was more in line with the views and beliefs of Federalist, however the Anti-Federalist agenda centered closely with the power delegated not to the Federal level (as the Federalist insisted), but power is granted to States as seen in the Articles of Confederation. The New Jersey Plan, authored by William Patterson, “altered the Articles somewhat by giving congress power over taxation and interstate commerce. The plan also gave each state equal power in the legislature to keep the largest states, like Virginia, from dominating and controlling national affairs” (McGill, 2009, para.6)....