Which document established the framework for the United States government with three branches and a system of checks and balances?

Which document established the framework for the United States government with three branches and a system of checks and balances?

• A. Virginia Plan
• B. Northwest Ordinance
• C. Articles of Confederation
• D. Constitution

Answer: (D)

The main idea is the creation of a strong, organized national government with three branches and a built-in system to limit power. The Constitution does exactly that: it sets up legislative, executive, and judicial branches and designs checks and balances so no one branch can dominate. For example, laws require collaboration between Congress and the President, the President can veto laws but Congress can override, and judges can strike down laws that don’t fit the Constitution. This structure replaced earlier arrangements that either gave the national government too little power or left important powers to the states. The Virginia Plan was a proposal that helped shape the idea of three branches, but it wasn’t the final framework; the Articles of Confederation created a weak central government with no independent executive or national judiciary, and the Northwest Ordinance addressed territorial governance and statehood, not the lasting framework of the national government. The Constitution is the document that established that three-branch system with checks and balances.

The main idea is the creation of a strong, organized national government with three branches and a built-in system to limit power. The Constitution does exactly that: it sets up legislative, executive, and judicial branches and designs checks and balances so no one branch can dominate. For example, laws require collaboration between Congress and the President, the President can veto laws but Congress can override, and judges can strike down laws that don’t fit the Constitution. This structure replaced earlier arrangements that either gave the national government too little power or left important powers to the states. The Virginia Plan was a proposal that helped shape the idea of three branches, but it wasn’t the final framework; the Articles of Confederation created a weak central government with no independent executive or national judiciary, and the Northwest Ordinance addressed territorial governance and statehood, not the lasting framework of the national government. The Constitution is the document that established that three-branch system with checks and balances.