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American Government and the Constitution Lecture Two (view source)

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== Separation of Powers ==

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If it became necessary to summarize the Constitution in merely three words, they would be "separation of powers." That is the greatest, and most basic, principle of the United States Constitution, and what makes it different from a parliamentary system of government that reigns in most other western nations.

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The three branches of the federal government -- legislative, executive, and judicial -- are required to act independently of each other, and expected to limit growth in power by each other. Some credit for this concept is given to the French political philosopher Baron de Montesquieu.

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Numerous statements by the Framers, both in the Federalist Papers (by Alexander Hamilton and James Madison) and other documents, emphasized how important the separation of powers is. For example, Alexander Hamilton wrote in Federalist No. 71:

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{{cquote|The same rule that teaches the propriety of a partition between the various branches of power, teaches us likewise that this partition ought to be so contrived as to render the one independent of the other.}}

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What does the separation of powers mean in practice? <more>

== Magna Carta ==

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