During the American Revolution of 1775-1783, 13 colonies were exploited under British colonial rule and longed for freedom. In June 1776, Jefferson and five others were appointed by the Continental Congress to draft the Declaration of Independence. On July 4, the Continental Congress formally signed the Declaration of Independence, which stated that "all men are created equal", and the United States of America was formally established.
After the end of the Revolutionary War in 1783, the United States was faced with the question of what kind of political system to establish. The confederacy established in 1777 was not yet mature, and the Articles of Confederation granted the states too much autonomy and very limited powers.
Under this loose institutional framework, ** is weak. This has led to a lack of effective cooperation and coordination between the states. This made it difficult to organize major issues such as tax collection and war expenditures effectively, and the Union was often on the verge of collapse. These institutional problems, as well as the question of the boundary between centralization and local autonomy, are constantly exposed and urgently need to be addressed.
In order to solve the dilemma of the federal **, in 1787, the representatives of the states convened the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, at which the ** faction represented by Hamilton and others proposed the "New Jersey Plan" to increase the power of ***, while the state faction represented by Jefferson and others proposed the "Virginia Plan" to safeguard the rights of the states. *Representative Madison advocated the creation of a strong ***, while small-state representatives feared that the big states would dominate**. After a game, the conference decided to implement a bicameral system, with the Senate representing each state equally and the House of Representatives representing the population proportionately.
This conference established a constitutional scheme that would guarantee the power of the states on the basis of national unity, and this constitution is known as the "Constitution of the United States". It is the first written constitution in the history of the world's constitution and the cornerstone of the American political system.
The U.S. Constitution incorporates the idea of "separation of powers." Among them, the executive power is mainly exercised by the ** and the cabinet, which is highly representative through elections; The legislative power belongs to the Congress, which is composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives, and represents the will of the people. Judicial power is vested in the Supreme Court and other legal institutions to judge the application of the law and ensure justice. The three major political forces check each other and cooperate with each other.
The idea of the separation of powers was first proposed by the 18th-century French thinker Montesquieu in his book On the Spirit of Law. America's Founding Fathers such as Hamilton, Jefferson, and others embraced this idea during the Declaration of Independence and the drafting of the Constitution. In 1787, when the U.S. Constitution was enacted, the principle of separation of powers was adopted to establish the basic framework of the U.S. political system. Subsequent amendments further refine this framework, including the extension of the term.
The gradual improvement of the constitution continued to promote the democratic process, such as the abolition of slavery after the Civil War, and the expansion of the scope of suffrage. The progressive movement of the early 20th century broke the monopoly of the consortium and eliminated corruption in politics and business. By the 60s of the 20th century, the civil rights movement had narrowed the gap between different races in American society. Today's U.S. polity is still based on the political system laid down by the Founding Fathers more than 200 years ago, which has made the United States democratic and prosperous. Suffice it to say that the United States has become the most powerful country in the world and has an inseparable relationship with this system. His political wisdom is also of great significance to the rest of the world.
The system of separation of powers is unique in that it disperses political forces among different institutions. The establishment of such a system of checks and balances avoids a high degree of concentration of political power, provides structural constraints for society, and can effectively prevent the excessive expansion of power institutions.
It can be said that the separation of powers is an outstanding embodiment of the political wisdom of the founding fathers and the foundation of the political civilization of the United States. It has set the benchmark for institutional freedom for future generations and has had a profound impact on global political development.