Why did the framers of the Constitution create three branches? Why does It matter now?
The concept of dividing government power came from the French philosopher Montesquieu. Montesquieu has three syllables, and there are three branches. Montesquieu was born in 1689 and died in 1755. He lived in a period of history called the Age of Reason or the Enlightenment. At this point in history, most nations had kings where power was controlled by a ruling family with few restrictions upon their power.
The eight-year long American Revolution came as a result of the abuse of power by George III, king of the British Empire. While the British Parliament acted as a partial check, George’s decisions caused the Americans to successfully rebel against the British and form the United States.
When the framers met in Philadelphia in 1787, they were leery of a too-strong monarch like George III. They were also fearful of anarchy after Daniel Shays and his army of western Massachusetts farmers tried unsuccessfully to overthrow the corrupt Massachusetts government in 1786-87. The framers incorporated Montesquieu’s three branches to achieve their goals.
The framers wanted to create a government from scratch which would balance a strong president with a Congress that represented all the 13 states. The judicial branch was added to act as an arbitrator between these two branches and between the states and the national government. The more power was divided, the less chance there would be for the rise of an abusive dictator.
The first words of the U.S. Constitution are “We the People”. It could have started with “We the States,” or “We Wealthy White Christian Males,” but it didn’t. The framers wanted a government that would endure for centuries by avoiding the pitfall of too much power in the hands of one person, and at the same time avoiding anarchy from the rest of the population.
The writ of habeas corpus was the only guarantor of protection for individuals from a strong and abusive government in the original Constitution. Habeas corpus required that a person be charged with a crime before he could be locked up.
In order for the Constitution to be ratified, the opponents, called Anti-Federalists, demanded that a bill of rights be added which guaranteed a free press, no state religion, the right to petition the government, the right to bear arms, the freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures, and several protections in court, including the right to due process. Powers not listed were to be held by the individuals or by the states. Later, after the Civil War, with the ratification of the 14th Amendment, all persons, not just citizens, were given the right to due process under the law.
Today, these checks and balances are being challenged on an almost daily basis. Laws passed by Congress are being ignored. Agencies created to serve the purposes of Congress and funded by Congress are being reduced without authorization.
The rights of non-citizens and in some cases, citizens, are being ignored as individuals are being deported without due process protections. Supreme Court rulings have been ignored by a president who is attempting to expand his power at the expense of individual rights and Congressional prerogatives. A state judge was arrested by I.C.E. agents in Wisconsin and charged with obstructing justice. This is an act of intimidation to the judicial branch. A member of Congress, a Black woman, was arrested carrying out her duty to investigate an I.C.E. facility. This is also a message that intends to erode the power of Congress. The Black Director of the Library of Congress was removed and replaced by executive decree.
Our president has imposed and then suspended tariffs. The Republican majority has not acted with their power of the purse to end such clearly unconstitutional power grabs. As a result, a recession is probable with accompanying inflation and lay-offs. Then we get stagflation.
State attorneys general have sued the executive branch for cutting funding passed by Congress. Money is being channeled to red states and withheld from blue states. Chaos reigns, and consumer spending has decreased in reaction to uncertainty created by the executive branch, reducing the GDP.
Clearly, Montesquieu’s principle of checks and balances is being challenged on several fronts. Three branches were created to divide power and avoid abuse. Ending the use of Montesquieu’s checks and balances does matter—a great deal.
