Checks and Balances ensure that the American Government does not give total power to one branch. Coined by Montesque, an elightenment thinker during the American Revolution, checks and balances means that each branch is given a specific power over another (checks) and another branch has a specific power over it (balances).
The legislative branch has a check over the executive and judicial branch because the White House or Supreme Court can not propose laws. However, the executive branch has a balance over the legislative because the president can veto any law. The judicial branch also has a balance over the legislative because the Supreme Court can rule any law unconstitutional.
