Separation of Powers and Checks and Balances: Crash Course Government and Politics #3

In which Craig Benzine teaches you about the US Governments Separation of powers and the system of checks and balances. In theory, the Legislative Branch, the Executive Branch, and the Judicial Brach are designed to keep each other in check and to keep any branch from becoming too powerful. In reality, the system was designed to keep the President from becoming some kind of autocrat. For the most part, it has worked. Craig will call in the clones to explain which powers belong to which branches and to reveal some secret perks that the Supreme Court justices enjoy. Produced in collaboration with PBS Digital Studios: Support is provided by Voqal: Chapters: Introduction 00:00 Separation of Powers 0:25 Checks & Balances 2:28 Legislative Branch powers over the Executive Branch 2:58 Legislative Branch powers over the Judiciary Branch 3:39 Executive Branch powers over the Legislative Branch 4:37 Executive Branch powers over the Judiciary Branch 4:59 Judiciary Branch powers over the Legislative & Executive Branches 5:20 Why do we have checks & balances? 6:22 Credits 7:58 Crash Course is on Patreon! You can support us directly by signing up at Want to find Crash Course elsewhere on the internet? Facebook - Twitter - Instagram - CC Kids: