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Megan Hicks
Professor Zitko
Political Science- Vacaville
12 December, 2015

The Protection Under The Three Branches of Government

In the late 1700s, our Founding Father gathered to formulate a document that would
allow for the United States to never be directly controlled by one person. This document is
commonly known as the Constitution of Independence. The idea of the Constitution was to
provide an equal protection over the people of the country by introducing the idea of three
separate branches of government. These three branches are frequently referred to as the Judicial,
Legislative and Executive branches. The proposal that our Founding Fathers had when
positioning this system into place, was that no one branch would have more power than the other
and that they would be run by the people of the United States, they were forced to share power
among one another . Although the idea of an equal government was an effective form of
government at the time, some wonder if the Constitution and the Separation of Powers is still an
effective, modern, governmental approach.

The founding fathers of the United States included many famous historical men such as;
John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton,
John Jay and Thomas Jefferson. All of these men were a huge part providing support and
remained unified towards the goal of establishing a country that was based on independence and
equality. In the late 1800s the people revolted against Englands government because of the lack

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of freedom that they were given religiously. They yearned for a country where freedom and
equality were given among its people, therefore they revolted and began a new country where
the basis would include freedom and equality that they had all desired. . Determined not to let
their new country follow the same path as the English government, the delegates of the
Constitution created an educated group of members and decided to provide an equal protection
of government to the people. The three branches, as stated above, Judicial, Legislative, and
Executive are all equal in the power that they behold. The job of those in the Judicial branch is to
assess laws, this branch includes courts in the land and the Supreme Court. Secondly, is the
Legislative branch which holds the United States Congress. This branch is commonly known as
the branch that makes the laws of the land. Lastly, the Executive branch that is responsible for
carrying out the laws. This includes the cabinet, president as Vice president. All of these branches
of government are three separate collections of people, of whom are given the equal power
within their branches, to make America the desirable country that our Founding Fathers once
dreamed of without the fear of one branch taking over. The purpose of this document was to give
the people of the United States equal rights and to make sure that would never be withdrawn
from them. History.com staff states it well when they say, The U.S. Constitution established
Americas national government and fundamental laws, and guaranteed certain basic rights for its
citizens. By putting the Constitution in place, they provided the People of the US with the
ability to live freely and with equality based on the fundamental laws and basic human rights that
this document guarantees .
Although the Framers of the Constitution created the three separate branches, they
proceeded further and divided the powers of government into state and federal governments. The
logic behind this idea was that they did not desire to give the government more power than the

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states, they wanted the states to govern matters on their own, without help from the federal
government, therefore creating the idea of federalism. Ashley Dugger states, Federalism is a
division of power between the federal government and the individual state governments. Each
government entity has responsibilities over the matters that are best addressed at that level of
government. This idea of Federalism is instituted through the Supremacy Clause, which informs
the people that the Constitution is the law of which the land is governed.. This is communicated
to the citizens of the US through the 10 amendment of the Constitution, which states that, The
Tenth Amendment helps to define the concept of federalism, the relationship between Federal
and state governments, According to the Legal Information Institute. Although the Federal
powers are beneficial to todays government, the state governments even out the authority over
the people of the US. This was put into place by the Framers because they feared that if the
federal government was put incharge of all aspects of government, that over time the people
would lose their voice. By placing the state governments in the position that they remain, they
allow for people to have a voice in their government, to allow the people to remain the
governmental control.
The principles of which influenced the Framers of the Constitution to adopt the principles
that the US foundation was built on, such as equality, freedom, etc, where the ideals of the
famous philosophers, John Locke and Montesquieu. These ideals are the foundation of the ideals
of which the Constitution was written. John Locke was a famous philosopher who promoted the
personal belief that all people should be given the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of property.
Locke believed that each person was born with specific rights that should always be respected
and never taken away. The most popular version of this position holds that there are certain
ideas which God planted in all minds at the moment of their creation, stated Conolly. His ideals

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were based on the idea that every human being was born with a form of natural rights that
were never to be taken away from the people. The Framers used Lockes ideals in their drafting
of the Constitution to ensure that all people were appointed these rights. The second philosopher
whose ideals were used in the drafting of the constitution was Baron de Montesquieu.
Montesquieu was a philosopher whose ideals were focused on how the government should allow
its people to live. He believes that to live under a stable, non-despotic government that leaves its
law-abiding citizens more or less free to live their lives is a great good, and that no such
government should be lightly tampered with, stated Bok. His ideals were mainly focused on
how the government could be better to its people. He believed that a government that rules by
direction, not force, is a government that is doing its job correctly. The Framers adopted his
ideals to the Constitution by allowing the US citizens to gain independence from the
government, to allow them to be given direction, but not to take away the peoples freedoms and
ways of life. Both of these philosophers ideals were a large part of the drafting of the
Constitution. The foundation that our country stands is due to their views on government and
freedom, which influenced our Founding Fathers to direct our country to where we are today.
The system of checks and balances is still seen as a good source of an equal, modern,
government. Although some might argue that this system is outdated, many believe that it has
stood the test of time and has provided a sense of equality and freedom between the government
and its people. The three branches have helped maintain a balanced government over the years,
forbidding them to overstep their boundaries. The goal of the checks and balance system was to
allow the government to work together with the people rather than placing the government in an
authoritative position that stood above the position of the people. They further provided checks
and balances so that power would not be concentrated in one branch. The relationship among the

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three branches... has been evolving since the beginning of the Constitution, and will continue to
evolve, states Isreal. This quotes states that even though the principles that were ideals from
hundreds of years ago are still followed, they are adapting and evolving over time the country
changes from generation to generation. Some might believe that the checks and balance system
is not a good form of government for our modern day government, however the ideals that this
country was founded on are ones that we remain to hold true to ourselves and our country.
Freedom was the main ideal that the United States was founded upon. The framers of the
Constitution set forth to create a country, where freedom was a key element. Still in the United
States, freedom has remained a right that is respected among most people. Freedom of speech,
religion and assembly are all rights that we have been given as American citizens because of the
ideals that the Constitution was written upon. However, each day the definition of the word
freedom seems to be changing. The way that the Framers defined freedom is different than the
way that freedom is defined today. One thing seems certain. The story of American freedom is
forever unfinished. Debates over its meaning will undoubtedly continue, and new definitions will
emerge to meet the exigencies of the twenty-first-century world, a globalized era in which
conversations about freedom and its meaning are likely to involve all mankind, states Forner.
Although the fight for freedom in America is over, the fight to keep freedom is not. American
freedom will never be won over completely, however it will evolve and adapt over time as it
grows and changes.
The United States is a country that is constantly changing, however, it is certain that the
ideals and beliefs that the US was found on are still respected and acknowledged today. Through
the three branches and the state government, the United Stated has been provided with a stable,
balanced, form of governmental control that has lasted through the course of history. Through the

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influence of philosophers such as Montesquieu and Locke, the US has been given principles to
follow as it evolves and changes. The three branches of government, provide a form of an equal
protection for the people which was the goal of the delegated when they formed the US
government. The desire of the delegates was to have all Americans have the ability to live free
and equal lives. However, over the course of history our definition of freedom had changed and
is taken for granted from a day to day basis in our society. Freedom stands for something
greater than just the right to act however I chooseit also stands for securing to everyone an
equal opportunity for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, states Treder. The freedom that
the delegate yearned for is the freedom where US citizens were given equal opportunities at life,
at life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness which is the freedom that a large majority of the US
possesses. The US is constantly changing, from its ideals and its governmental policies.
However, it is important to look back at the ideals that this country was built on to see how far
the US has come since the late 1700s. The country is constantly changing, but the foundation
that the country was built on will always remain the same and the ideals that the delegates
proposed will always be followed and acknowledged by the American people.

Works Cited
1. "The US Constitution." History.com. 2009. Web. 12 Dec. 2015.
2. Dugger, Ashley. "Division of Powers Between the National Government and the States."
Study.com. Web. 12 Dec. 2015.

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3. "Tenth Amendment." Legal Information Institute. Web. 11 Dec. 2015.
<https://www.law.cornell.edu/anncon/html/amdt10_user.html#amdt10_hd4>
4. Patric, Conolly. "John Locke." Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Web. 11 Dec. 2015.
<http://www.iep.utm.edu/locke/#H7>.
5. Bok, Hillary. "Baron De Montesquieu, Charles-Louis De Secondat."Internet Encyclopedia of
Philosophy. Web. 11 Dec. 2015. <http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/montesquieu/>.
6. Isreal, Susan. "Checks and Balances and the Three Branches of Government." National Juris
University. 2014. Web. 11 Dec. 2015. <http://juris.nationalparalegal.edu/
7.

(X(1)S(wwbvsi5iswopllt1bfpzfkjd))/ChecksAndBalances.aspx>.
Forner, Eric. "The Contested History of American Freedom." Preserving American Freedom.
2014. Web. 11 Dec. 2015. <http://digitalhistory.hsp.org/pafrm/essay/contested-history-american-

freedom>.
8. Treder, Mike. "The Meaning of Freedom." Institute of Ethics and Emerging Technologies. 17
Sept. 2009. Web. 11 Dec. 2015. <http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/treder20090917>.