Checks And Balances Between The Three Branches Of American Federal Government During The Civil War And Reconstruction Era

"Division of powers" and "checks and balances" are the crucial part of the Westernpolitical tradition. Even today it still works as the solid foundation of modern political system.It was firstly demonstrated by John Locke. He believed that everyone was born with the rightsto live, to keep property and to have liberty. He condemned the opinion of "divine power ofthe monarch". He claimed that the authority of the government only came from the agreementof the governed. Locke emphasized the Social Contract. He believed powers should beseparated while the legislation was placed at the supreme position.Montesquieu, the famous French political philosopher, indicated in his masterpiece, TheSpirit of Laws, that a country should be organized upon the foundation of division of powersto prevent power abusing and despotism. Based on the British political institution,Montesquieu illustrated the checks between powers. He indicated that the legislationconsisted of two parts, each with veto right against the other;the whole legislation and theexecutive branch checked each other and moved in concert.Combined the above doctrines, the thesis discusses the effects of "division of powers"and "checks and balances" in the history of the USA Government. The division of thesupreme powers in the USA Government and the scopes of powers of each branch areanalyzed, strictly based on the text of the Constitution in 1789. The thesis is located in thecontext of the Civil War and Reconstruction, and stresses the broken balances and the effectsof checks between powers. It is concluded that the relations between the three branches keepmoving and changing. When the balances are broken, the organism of checks delaysimbalances and promotes the restoration of balances.