The Separation of Powers in American History

James Madison's effort to create a Constitution in which the three branches of government would each have distinct powers, and would check and balance one another, has been put into practice throughout American history. The Constitution, as Madison had hoped, has generally proved flexible enough to meet changing conditions. The Constitution has also changed in important ways: the power of the federal government has grown, sometimes at the expense of state governments, and the power of the presidency has also expanded tremendously, especially in the twentieth century.

Under the system of separation of powers, the Supreme Court has sometimes found itself at odds with the legislative and executive branches. Congress and the president have also vied with one another for power throughout our history. In some broad sense, the presidency has steadily gained power, sometimes as Congress's expense. As early as the Civil War, the power of the executive branch began to grow. In the twentieth century the tremendous growth of the federal government has generally contributed to the growing power of the presidency. The Progressive era, the New Deal, World War II, the Cold War, and the Great Society of the 1960s all expanded the size and power of the federal government, and especially the role of the president. The Vietnam War and the Watergate scandal of the 1960s and 1970s, however, suggested to many Americans that stronger limits ought to be placed on the power of the president, resulting in some righting of the balance of powers between the legislative and executive branches. Congress has also struggled to maintain its place in the American system of checks and balances by insisting on its power to oversee and confirm appointments to the Supreme Court and the cabinet, and so forth. So, while the presidency has generally gained power at Congress's expense, the system of checks and balances continues to operate.