Which of the following is a form of government in which the executive and legislative branches are separate and coequal?

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The U.S. Constitution establishes three separate but equal branches of government: the legislative branch (makes the law), the executive branch (enforces the law), and the judicial branch (interprets the law). The Framers structured the government in this way to prevent one branch of government from becoming too powerful, and to create a system of checks and balances.

Under this system of checks and balances, there is an interplay of power among the three branches. Each branch has its own authority, but also must depend on the authority of the other branches for the government to function.

U.S. v. Alvarez is an excellent example of how the three branches each exercise their authority.

In a Nutshell

• The Legislative Branch – Congress – passed the Stolen Valor Act of 2005, punishing those who misrepresent that they have received high military honors.
• The Judicial Branch – the Supreme Court of the United States – ruled in 2012 that the Act was unconstitutional because it infringed on the right to free speech protected by the First Amendment.
• The Executive Branch – the Pentagon and the President – took action within a month of the Supreme Court's decision establishing a government-funded national database of medal citations – phased in over time – to enable verification of military honors.
• The Legislative Branch – Less than a year after Alvarez was decided, Congress responded with legislation that sought to remedy the constitutional problems in the 2005 legislation, which the Supreme Court decided in U.S. v. Alvarez were in violation of the First Amendment.

  The new legislation continues the prohibition on false claims of military honors in instances outside the protection of the First Amendment. However, the Stolen Valor Act of 2013 narrowed the original legislation in the following ways:

  • Repealed the prohibition against wearing such awards without legal authorization.
  • Limited the prohibition to wearers who act "fraudulently" and "with intent to obtain money, property, or other tangible benefit."
  • Limited the prohibition to the Congressional Medal of Honor and certain, specified decorations or medals.  

DISCLAIMER: These resources are created by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts for educational purposes only. They may not reflect the current state of the law, and are not intended to provide legal advice, guidance on litigation, or commentary on any pending case or legislation.

In this activity, students will identify and draw conclusions about the relationship between the legislative, executive and judicial branches by critically analyzing primary sources. Using the scale, they will decide whether the United States government more appropriately fits the concept of "separation of powers" or "shared powers." They will formulate an opinion about each document and place it on the scale accordingly, and support their opinions with specific evidence from the primary sources.

Suggested Teaching Instructions

This activity may be used to conclude a unit of study into the creation of the US Constitution. The activity can be completed as a class, in small groups, in pairs, or individually. For grades 6-12. Approximate time needed is 90 minutes.

Start the lesson with a refresher of the terms "separation of powers" and "checks and balances." If students should be aware of these term's meanings, ask them to write a brief definition of the term in their own words, share their definition with a classmate, and then discuss the definitions as a group (i.e. a write, pair, share).

(Sample Definitions Checks and Balances: a system of overlapping powers of the separate branches of government that permits each branch to limit, restrain, or inform the actions of the other branches. Separation of Powers: a basic principle of American government that places different governing duties and powers among three independent and coequal branches: legislative, executive and judicial.)'

Ask students to provide an example of both "separation of powers" and "shared powers" in practice. For example, the President's ability to pardon without oversight is an example of separation of powers, while the law making power of Congress is shared with both the executive (through signing and vetoing legislation) and judicial branches (through declaring laws unconstitutional).

After discussing definitions, introduce the activity. Tell students they will be examining documents from throughout United States history to determine whether in practice our government has followed a principle of "separation of powers" or "shared powers."

Open the activity and model document analysis with one of the documents. After reading the document out-loud as a group, take a poll of students to see if they think this exemplifies "separation of powers" or "shared powers." Ask students to explain their opinions. Show how the scale works and based on the opinions of the class, place this example on the Weighing the Evidence scale.

Then tell students to analyze the remaining documents. As they analyze, students should note the particular branches associated with each document and the level of interaction between these branches within the document. Tell them to then place the document on the scale based on their opinion of which interpretation it helps support.

Special Note: As they analyze, tell students to note the overall importance of the actions they are selecting as examples of "separation of powers" and "shared powers." Rather than simply counting examples of both in action, they should be considering the scale and scope of the separation and/or shared nature. For example, while a President's exclusive pardoning power is an example of "separation of powers," does the fact that all laws require cooperation between the legislative and executive branches illustrate a greater degree of "shared powers."

Following completion of the activity, lead a class discussion on the issue. Teacher may write "separation of powers" and "shared powers" on opposite corners of the classroom and ask students to "take a stand" overall on their opinion about this issue. Question several students to explain their reasoning by citing evidence from the specific documents they analyzed.

During the discussion, direct students to some of the controversial documents included in this collection. For example, the fact the President must receive Congressional approval for confirmations (an example of “shared powers”), but can remove people from positions without approval (an example of a “separation of powers”). This discussion can include Lincoln’s suspension of habeas corpus (a Congressional power) and Franklin Roosevelt’s court-packing scheme.

Extension Activity: As an extension to this activity, ask students to create an argument writing focused on supporting either the "separation of powers" and "shared powers" thesis.

What is a government in which the executive and legislative branches are separate and coequal?

In which form of government the executive and the legislature are separate?

Which power is shared between the legislative and executive branches of government?

Is the institution through which a society makes and enforces its public policies?