When our plan of government was established under the Constitution, three branches of government were created. Each branch had a different job to do, and each branch could control the other branches. One weakness of the legislative branch is that it has had a hard time getting back some of the power that belongs to the legislative branch.
There is a very good example of this weakness in recent U.S. History. In 1964, Congress passed...
When our plan of government was established under the Constitution, three branches of government were created. Each branch had a different job to do, and each branch could control the other branches. One weakness of the legislative branch is that it has had a hard time getting back some of the power that belongs to the legislative branch.
There is a very good example of this weakness in recent U.S. History. In 1964, Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution basically gave President Johnson the power to do whatever was necessary to be successful in the Vietnam War. This gave the President some powers regarding the use of our military that are normally reserved for Congress. Congress tried to regain some of this power by passing the War Powers Act of 1973. The law limits the ability of the President to commit our troops abroad without getting approval from Congress. However, several presidents have ignored this law because there is no penalty for breaking it. For example, President Reagan sent troops to Lebanon, and President Clinton sent troops to Kosovo. The courts won’t get involved because they view this more as a political issue than as a legal issue.
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