Separation of Powers

Seperation of Powers

This is a theory of government were power is distributed among three branches of govt (legislature, executive and judiciary), when applied to the US it can also be called seperation of powers- instituions are seperate, but powers are shared through an elaborat series of checks and balances.  

Founding Fathers, wanted to prevent tyranny, they did this by all branches checking each other, the FF wanted limited government (only the essentials). 

• When Obama was elected president in 2008 he had to resign from he Senate. 
• When Al Gore was elected vice-president in 1992 he too had to resign from the senate. 

Seperated powers may be misleading, as the instiutions are seperate but the powers are not. The FF created a system of 'shared powers', each branch of the federal government would check and balaance the other two. 

This particulary true when it comes to the legislature and the executive, which Professor S. E Finer described as 'like two halves of a bacnk note- each useless without the other'