If separation of powers divides the work, checks and balances keep each branch from taking over the others. Madison's answer in Federalist No. 51 was to give each branch "the necessary constitutional means and personal motives to resist encroachments of the others."
Why it works
The design does not depend on officials being good. It assumes each branch will guard its own powers, so the ambition of one is set against the ambition of another. Every major power has a check attached: Congress makes laws, but the President can veto; Congress can override; courts can strike down unconstitutional laws; the President picks judges, but the Senate must confirm; and Congress holds the money.
Key idea
Each branch can check the others: the veto and the override, Senate confirmation, judicial review, impeachment, Congress's control of money, and the President's power to nominate judges.
Worked example: Actor and target
Congress passes a bill; the President vetoes it; both houses then pass it again by two-thirds. Name each check with its actor and target.
- The veto: the President (executive) checks Congress (legislative).
- The override: Congress (legislative) checks the President (executive).
Answer: Veto: executive on legislative. Override: legislative on executive.
Worked example: A check on the courts
Name two ways the other branches can check the federal courts.
- Appointments: the President nominates judges and the Senate confirms them.
- Congress can impeach and remove judges, set up the lower courts, and propose amendments to overturn a constitutional ruling.
Answer: Nomination and confirmation of judges; impeachment; amendments (any two).
Common mistake
Mixing up which branch checks which. Name the check, then its actor and its target. The veto is the President checking Congress; an override is Congress checking the President; judicial review is the courts checking Congress or the President. Check your answer by asking "who does it?" first.