The Power of the Legislative Branch

There are three branches in American government today. They are: Legislative, Executive, and Judicial. The Executive branch "makes sure that the laws of the United States are obeyed" http://www.evgschool.org/three_branches_of_government.htm
The president is the head of this branch of government. "The judicial branch of government is made up of the court system. The Supreme Court is the highest court in the land. Courts decide arguments about the meaning of laws, how they are applied, and whether they break the rules of the Constitution." http://www.evgschool.org/three_branches_of_government.htm
The Legislative branch writes the bills and makes laws. It can also pass laws, approve treaties, and go through the process of impeaching officials. All of these branches were created to have equal amounts of power and there is a system of checks and balances to watch the power of each branch. The Executive branch may seem like it is the most important of the branches, but it is not. In fact, it is the Legislative Branch that is the most important.
One of the presidents that demonstrated the importance of the Legislative branch was Franklin Delano Roosevelt. While the country suffered during the Great Depression, FDR was working on passing bills and acts to help restart the economy and get America back on its feet. It was called the New Deal. It started many programs to help struggling Americans and their families. All of these programs were approved and passed by the Legislative branch. Without the support of the Legislative branch, many of the programs probably would not have come to fruition.
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/learn/features/timeline/depwwii/newdeal/newdeal.html
Another example of a president who was affected by the power of the Legislative branch was President Bill Clinton. When Clinton was president both houses of Congress were Republican, while he himself was Democrat. This greatly affected his presidency and actions. When there was suspicion of impure activity going on in the white house, all sorts of investigation were allowed that probably wouldn’t be allowed if the houses were Democrat. When it was found out that there was infidelity in the white house, with an intern no less, Congress pushed for impeachment. The Legislative branch had the power to do this, even though it was not as serious a crime as other presidents had committed. For example, Nixon was almost impeached for the crime of treason. The Executive branch would not have the power to try and impeach the president for a less serious offense.
http://www.eagleton.rutgers.edu/e-gov/e-politicalarchive-Clintonimpeach.htm




Additional Sources:
http://www.congressforkids.net/Constitution_threebranches.htm