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Hello everyone.

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Today we are going to talk about
the separation of powers in the

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American government.

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I will be using works on architecture
and political power from scholars

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at the University of Notre Dame.

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The United States officially became
an independent country in 1783.

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The main objectives of its leaders,
the founding fathers,

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was to create a political system
that would allow their new country

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to always remain a democracy.

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This wish was both logical and bold.

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It was logical because one of the
main reasons why they had wanted

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to become independent in the first
place was that they no longer wanted

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to live under the yoke of the King
of England and his dictatorial methods.

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It was bold because they had to
create something that did not exist

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at the time, a true democracy where
the people would be sovereign.

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In order to solve this riddle,
they adopted the Constitution of 1787,

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still in use today, and applied
it to create a political system

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based on two main ideas,
the separation of powers and checks

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and balances.

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These two founding principles were
intended to guarantee the democratic

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nature of the American political
system and to make sure that the

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United States could never be turned
into a dictatorship.

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We saw last week that the first
two political parties in the country

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were divided around the idea of
a strong government, and the main

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idea of the separation of powers
and checks and balances were drawn

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from John Locke's philosophy.

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You spell it L-O-C-K-E,
you pronounce it Locke.

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Mankind's original condition is
a state of equality,

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he explained.

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Absent any natural hierarchy,
each and every human being is born

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with equal rights to life,
liberty and a state,

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the most essential natural right.

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Nonetheless, the state of nature
is an undesirable condition,

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you remember that from your philosophy
class.

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These free and equal individuals
rationally choose to form a social

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contract, one grounded in mutual
consent and guided by the determination

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of the majority, and in thus giving
up their individual rights that

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create the original powers of
government, the legislative and

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executive, a distinction that Locke
uses to justify a fundamental

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separation of powers.

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Prominent anti-federalists,
disappointed by the initial lack

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of a bill of rights,
appeal to Locke's philosophy as well.

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In a series of essays called The
Federalist Papers, compromises

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were expressed to reach such a
balance in power.

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Federalist No.

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51 is an essay written by James
Madison and published under the

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pseudonym Publius in 1788,
as part of the Federalist Papers.

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It was written to explain and promote
the idea of the United States

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Constitution, which was being debated
and considered for ratification

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at the time.

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In Federalist 51, Madison discusses
the concept of separation of powers

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and checks and balances,
which he argues are essential to

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protecting individual liberties
and preventing the abuse of power

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by any one branch of government.

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He writes that each branch of
government must have sufficient

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power to perform its duties,
but also must be limited in some

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way so as to prevent it from usurping
the power of the other branches.

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The essay is considered one of
the most important works of political

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theory in American history and
is widely read and studied for

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its insights into the functioning
of democratic governments.

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The separation of powers is simply
the idea that in order for a country

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to be a true democracy,
the three powers, executive,

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legislative, and judicial,
cannot be given to the same person

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or institution.

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Instead, they must be separate
and power must be shared in order

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not to be confiscated.

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The legislative power was given
to Congress.

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The House of Representatives and
the Senate are the two houses which

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form it.

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The executive power was given to
the President and the judicial

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power to the Supreme Court of the
United States.

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This order is particularly telling
in the Constitution as it takes

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into account Congress first and
the idea of popular sovereignty.

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Each power was defined according
to its role in the lawmaking process.

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Congress is the legislative power
because it has to legislate,

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create, and adopt laws.

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The President is in charge of executing
the laws adopted by Congress and

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the judiciary, both the Supreme
Court and federal courts,

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both courts of appeal and courts
of first instance, if they are

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to both punish those who violate
federal law and make sure that

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the laws adopted by Congress are
constitutional.

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But dividing power is not enough
to ensure the survival of a democratic

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system.

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Each power has to be given the
means necessary to defend itself

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against potential encroachments
by the other two.

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Otherwise, what would prevent the
President from trying to seize

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the powers of Congress and or the
judiciary?

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That is what checks and balances
are all about.

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It is basically a system of mutual
surveillance that allows each branch

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of power to control the other two
and make sure that no one branch

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becomes too powerful.

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For instance, the President has
control over Congress thanks to

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his veto power and over the judiciary
through his right to nominate federal

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judges, including justices of the
Supreme Court.

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The judiciary can declare any law
adopted by Congress or any decision

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made by the President unconstitutional.

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As for Congress, it has the capacity
to impeach any member of the federal

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government up to and including
the President.

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As said by one of the most famous
founding fathers, James Madison,

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ambition must be made to counteract
ambition.

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This system, designed in 1787,
is still used today more than 230

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years later, which means that the
American Constitution is often

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considered to be the oldest still
in use today.

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Accordingly, its main objective
has become a reality.

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From its independence in 1783 to today,
the US has always remained a democracy.

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Although often criticized and described
as dysfunctional, the three branches

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of government remain the basis
of this democratic system.

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Make sure to briefly research the
main institutions which head each

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branch.

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Something interesting,
however, would be a quick study

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of the design of the capital city,
Washington DC.

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After the war against Britain,
it had been entirely burned down

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and a new map was drawn by Pierre
Charles L'Enfant.

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If you look attentively,
you'll see that it looks like any

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European city which used to be
ruled by a monarch with radial

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avenues and formal landscaping,
like Versailles, St.

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Petersburg or Karlsruhe.

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While in the meantime ensuring
that the egalitarianism asked by

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the New Republic with two main
focal points was symbolized with

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the White House and Congress,
a strong nationally elected executive

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balancing the Congress of locally
elected legislators.

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The triangle formed by the two
avenues leading to both institutions

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rests on the Potomac River.

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The plan for the city was influenced
by ancient models, Rome and Athens,

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but takes into account the landscape
as it was.

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The city is made with higher classes
in mind and avenues were made extremely

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large, which at the time did not
meet the standards of such a small

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population and had Charles Dickens
and Thomas More scoff at it.

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The way you look at and from both
institutions echoes the Baroque

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aesthetics which amplifies the
picturesque of these monuments

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and therefore centralizes all the
power at the center of the city.

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The third branch was not considered
as grand as it is today architecturally

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speaking since the Constitution
gave the power to organize courts

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to Congress while the Supreme Court
actually assumed the main role

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of final arbiter in a decision
which dates back to 1803.

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They occupied diverse buildings
close to Congress until the

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construction of today's Supreme
Court began in 1932 and was completed

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in 1935.

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The classical Corinthian architectural
style was selected because it best

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harmonized with nearby congressional
buildings.

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The building was designed on a
scale in keeping with the importance

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and dignity of the court and the
judiciary as a co-equal independent

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branch of the United States government.

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The influence I was telling you
is manifold.

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Rome for the Republic,
Athens for the 5th century democracy,

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neoclassical styles for grandeur
attached to these eras,

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and as for the White House,
it used to be called a presidential

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palace and was inspired by Jefferson's
stays in Paris and his personal

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affection for the current Musée
de la Légion d'honneur on the left

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bank of the river Seine next to
the Musée d'Orsay.

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Go take a stroll in Artonneau,
Paris and look at it from the

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passerelle Leopold Sédar Saint-Gaur
and you will be stricken by the

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resemblance.

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Thank you.