Have you ever wondered who has the authority to make laws or punish people who break them? When we think of power in the United States, we usually think of the president. However, he does not act alone. In fact, he is only one piece of the power puzzle, and for a very good reason. When the American Revolution ended in 1783, the United States government was in a state of change. The founding fathers knew that they did not want to establish another country that was ruled by a king. So, the discussions were centered on having a strong and fair national government that protected individual freedoms and did not abuse its power. When the new constitution was adopted in 1787, the structure of the infant government of the United States called for three separate branches, each with their own powers and a system of checks and balances. This would ensure that no one branch would ever become too powerful because the other branches would always be able to check the power of the other two. These branches work together to run the country and set guidelines for us all to live by. The legislative branch is described in Article 1 of the US Constitution. Many people feel that the founding fathers put this branch in the document first because they thought it was the most important. The legislative branch is comprised of 100 US senators and 435 members in the US House of Representatives. This is better known as the US Congress. Making laws is a primary function of the legislative branch, but it is also responsible for approving federal judges and justices, passing the National budget, and declaring war. Each state gets two senators and some number of Representatives depending on how many people live in that state. The executive...