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A central government is the government that is a controlling power over a unitary state. Another distinct but sovereign political entity is a federal government , which may have distinct powers at various levels of government, authorized or delegated to it by the federation and mutually agreed upon by each of the federated states .
May 17, 2021 · Learn about the three branches of the federal government and the state governments in the US, as well as the federal and state reporting entities and related entities. The report explains the constitutional and legal framework of the US government and its relationship with the states and the people.
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What is a central government?
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Unitary state, a system of political organization in which most or all of the governing power resides in a centralized government. In a unitary state, the central government commonly delegates authority to subnational units and channels policy decisions down to them for implementation.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Nov 21, 2023 · Learn about the role, features, and functions of a central government, such as the US federal government. See examples of central governments and their strengths and weaknesses.
- What is the role of a central government?The role of a central government is to administer over a nation. As a rule, it must be able to protect its territorial integrity, lay and collect t...
- What is considered the central government?The government which exercises national supremacy over other governments within a country is the central government. Usually, it has the sole right...
- What is an example of a central government?An example of a central government is the Federal Government of the United States of America. The government controls 50 states with their state go...
- Overview
- Key points
- The structure of US government: separation of powers
- The structure of US government: checks and balances
- What’s important about separation of powers and checks and balances?
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The power of US government is constrained by the separation of powers and checks and balances between branches.
•The Framers of the US Constitution structured the government so that the three branches have separate powers. The branches must both cooperate and compete to enact policy.
•Each of the branches has the power to check the other two, which ensures that no one branch can become too powerful and that government as a whole is constrained.
By the late 1780s, it had become clear that the first governmental system of the United States, the Articles of Confederation, wasn’t working. The central government under the Articles lacked a strong executive and a method for resolving disputes at the national level.
But adding a strong executive branch to the US government might pose the opposite problem. Would an executive, wielding the power of the army, become too powerful? Would a federal government with more power overall soon become tyrannical?
At the Constitutional Convention, the Framers debated these issues. Their ultimate solution was to separate the powers of government among three branches—legislative, executive, and judicial—so that each branch had to cooperate with the others in order to accomplish policymaking goals. For example, although the executive branch commands the military, only the legislative branch can declare war and make funds available to pay and provision the army. Therefore, both the legislative branch (Congress) and the executive branch (the president) must consent for the United States to go to war.
Accordingly, each branch of government has unique powers. As the branch most responsive to the will of the people (who elect its members), Congress has the power to pass laws, declare war, ratify treaties, and levy taxes. The executive branch conducts foreign affairs and commands the armed forces. The judicial branch interprets the laws of Congress and the actions of the president to determine whether they are constitutional.
Check your understanding
Which of the following is the best definition of separation of powers?
In addition to separating powers among the branches, the Framers gave each branch the power to check, or stop, the actions of the other two branches in meaningful ways. For example, the president has the power to veto, or reject, laws made by Congress. But Congress can balance out that power in its turn by overriding the president’s veto with a two-thirds vote.
This system of checks and balances keeps each branch of government from overstepping its bounds, and consequently, the federal government itself from becoming too powerful.
Check your understanding
Which of the following is the best definition of checks and balances?
Choose 1 answer:
Choose 1 answer:
How does the structure of US government affect its citizens?
First, the separation of powers in the government means that making law is a long, complex process. Although this slows the pace of policymaking considerably, the Framers intended for it to be difficult for the government to act. The positive consequence of this system is that it gives people many opportunities to influence law as it travels through the policymaking process from initial idea to final implementation. For example, if Congress passes a law that a citizen disagrees with, that citizen can work to persuade the president to veto that law.
Second, checks and balances ensure that the government is working for the people’s interest and following the law. Government officials who commit crimes or abuse the power of their office may be impeached. Impeachment is the process of making formal charges against a public official. An official who is impeached undergoes a trial, and if convicted, he or she is removed from office. This process demonstrates that in the United States, no one is above the law, not even the highest public officials.
[Notes and attributions]
Learn how the US government is structured with separation of powers and checks and balances among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. Explore the powers and roles of each branch and how they affect the people and the federal government.
The federal government of the United States ( U.S. federal government or U.S. government) [a] is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, five major self-governing territories, several island possessions, and the federal district and national capital of ...
Learn about the Federal Government's three branches, powers, and agencies, and how Federal elections are conducted. Find out how State Governments are organized and run, and how they differ from the Federal Government.
