The United States of AmericaFounded under the concept of a Republic (a government without a monarch, whose elected representatives are responsible to the governed), the founding fathers undertook approximately 235 years ago it declared independence and established a new nation claiming its own sovereignty and rejecting all allegiance to the British monarch. This of course started the Revolutionary War in April 1775 which lasted until September 1783. It amazes me that 38 men and later others were able, in wartime, to come together and develop rules of governance that would create the greatest (and not perfect) nation in the world. modern times. These men knew how excessive most of the world's governments had become and intended to prevent this from happening to this new nation. Thus, the Constitution of the United States of America and later the Bill of Rights became the founding document to govern this nation. The Constitution establishes the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government and gives each its own set of powers and responsibilities and controls. and balances between each branch in the hope of maintaining a balance of power. Throughout our history, these balances have been tested by situations and circumstances until the days following September 11, 2001. Regarding the legislative branch, the founder gave the country two chambers , each with different duties and powers and each with different means of determining representation. . The House of Representatives is composed of members whose numbers are based on current census statistics and are distributed at the rate of one representative for every thirty thousand voters. So as a state increases in population, the number of members of Congress for that state also increases. The...... middle of paper ......nt. Congress holds the power of impeachment, impeachment, and the power to enact laws. The President, through his veto power, holds the check and balance of power over Congress and Congress has rebuttal power over the President's veto, but can rarely muster the power to override most vetoes ( 76 vetoes and 7 derogations). Who then has the most power? In my opinion, the President holds the most cards. He has veto power or the right to veto. He has the ear of the electorate and access to the media that dwarfs everyone else. It sets the social agenda and controls budgetary priorities. He can enter into treaties, appoint federal judges including Supreme Court justices, and is commander in chief of the armed forces. Additionally, it can issue decrees that can have major social or economic impact, as we saw during the Gulf debacle..