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Three Branches: Who Makes, Enforces, and Interprets the Law · The distinct functions of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches, and how separation of powers and checks and balances together prevent any one branch from dominating

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Three Branches: Who Makes, Enforces, and Interprets the Law

with Atlas

Atlas the guide stands in front of a tall stone capitol building with three lit doorways labeled Legislative, Executive, and Judicial, pointing to each door in turn as glowing arrows loop between them to show how each branch can push back on the others.

Identify the core function of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches.
Match each branch to a specific constitutional power it holds.
Explain how each branch can check or limit the actions of the others.
Describe why dividing government into three branches prevents any one branch from acting alone.

Key terms

Legislative branch: Congress, the lawmaking branch that controls the budget, sets taxes, and declares war.
Executive branch: The branch led by the President that carries out and enforces the laws Congress passes.
Judicial branch: The courts, topped by the Supreme Court, that interpret laws and resolve constitutional disputes.
Separation of powers: The division of government into three branches with distinct functions to prevent concentration.
Checks and balances: The tools each branch holds to limit the others so no branch acts alone.

Three Functions, Three Branches

The Constitution assigns lawmaking, enforcement, and interpretation to three distinct branches so that no single body controls the whole legal process. Congress writes and passes laws and holds the purse, the President and federal agencies execute those laws, and the courts interpret them and resolve disputes. Articles I, II, and III lay out these roles in order. Keeping the functions straight is the foundation for everything else: identifying which branch is acting, and in which capacity, is the first step in analyzing any government action.

Power Met by a Limit

Separation of powers and checks and balances were designed together as a single system, not added one after the other. Every branch's power is matched by a counterweight in another branch: Congress passes a bill, but the President may veto it, and Congress can override only with two-thirds of each chamber. The President nominates judges, but the Senate must confirm. Courts strike down unconstitutional acts, yet those judges were appointed and confirmed by the other branches. This interlocking design ensures ambition checks ambition, so no branch can govern alone.

Worked examples

Identify the branch and its function for a veto.

A bill passes Congress, the lawmaking branch.
The President refuses to sign and returns it.
Recognize the President leads the executive branch.
Classify the veto as an executive check on the legislative branch.

Answer: The executive branch is checking the legislative branch through the veto.

Trace what happens after a veto.

The President vetoes the bill.
Congress reconsiders the measure.
A two-thirds vote in each chamber, House and Senate separately, is required.
If both reach two-thirds, the bill becomes law despite the veto.

Answer: Congress can override the veto only with a two-thirds vote in each chamber.

Hey, I am Atlas. Picture the government as a building with three doors, and behind each door sits a branch with one main job. The LEGISLATIVE branch makes the laws. In the United States that is Congress, which is split into two chambers: the House of Representatives and the Senate. Congress also controls the federal budget, sets taxes, and declares war. The EXECUTIVE branch carries out and enforces the laws that Congress passes. The President leads the executive branch, together with the cabinet and federal agencies that run government day-to-day. The JUDICIAL branch interprets the laws. Courts — topped by the Supreme Court — decide what a law actually means when real disputes arise, and they can rule that a law or government action violates the Constitution. Dividing these jobs is called SEPARATION OF POWERS, and it was built into the Constitution from the start alongside a second design: CHECKS AND BALANCES. Both ideas were crafted together by the framers as one system, not one after the other. Each branch has tools to limit the others so that no single branch can act completely alone. Congress passes a bill, but the President can veto it; then Congress can override that veto only if two-thirds of each chamber votes separately — first the House, then the Senate. The President nominates federal judges, but the Senate must confirm them. Courts can strike down laws that conflict with the Constitution, yet those same judges were appointed and confirmed by the other two branches. Notice the pattern: every branch has power, and every branch has a limit. If a step ever feels confusing, return to the building image: which door makes the law, which door enforces it, which door interprets it.

Activity

Match each branch of government to its primary constitutional job.

Practice

Decide which branch is acting when a court strikes down an unconstitutional law and why.

Explain how dividing government into three branches prevents any one from acting alone.

Common mistakes to avoid

The President makes the laws by signing themCongress writes and passes laws; the President's signature only enacts what the legislature drafted.
Courts write new laws after striking old ones downCourts interpret laws and may void unconstitutional ones, but only Congress can draft new legislation.

Check your understanding

Which branch has the primary constitutional function of making laws?

A bill has passed Congress. Which action is a check the executive branch can use against it?

A student claims the judicial branch's job is to create new laws whenever courts disagree with Congress. Why is this incorrect?

Recap

The legislative branch makes laws, the executive enforces them, and the judicial interprets them; separation of powers divides these jobs while checks and balances arm each branch to limit the others, ensuring no single branch can act completely alone.

Reflect

Why might separating these three jobs protect ordinary citizens from abuse of power?