T<span>he Framers of the Constitution divided American government into three branches: the executive, legislative, and judicial. This created a better democracy because the power is not concentrated within one branch or in the hands of a few.
The systems in </span><span>place that protect against one branch having too much power is called "separation of powers" and "checks and balances." This system keeps each branch from getting too powerful by limiting its powers. For example, the legislative branch can pass a law but the president veto it. That's a way the executive branch checks the legislative. And let's say the legislature really wants to pass that law, so they vote on it. With 2/3 majority of votes for the law, Congress can override the president's veto. That's a way the legislative branch checks on the executive. And let's say that although that law was passed by the legislature, some say that it's unconstitutional. If that happens, then the judicial branch checks out the law and can declare it unconstitutional. If it's declared unconstitutional, then the law will be no longer enforced or valid. That's a way the judicial branch checks the other branches.
Other examples of "checks and balances" is how the president is in charge of the armed forces, but only Congress can declare war. The judicial branch interprets laws and their constitutionality, but the president appoint the federal judges. The president appoints the federal judges, but the legislative branch has to approve those officials. The legislative branch also decides how many judges would be in the Supreme Court. The president can veto and the judicial can repeal laws, but the legislature can impeach the president and federal judges/officials.
These systems are important to American democracy because they keep the government from getting too powerful and oppressing the people. </span>
Culturally, the medieval era was dominated by the church which emphasized human beings' lowliness in contrast to the greatness and holiness of God. The church remained strong in the Renaissance, but humanists of the Renaissance emphasized the God-given capabilities of human beings, created to do great things. And so, many great things were done by energetic and imaginative human beings of the Renaissance -- in art, architecture, literature, science, etc.
Socially, politically, and economically, medieval life focused on feudalism and agricultural life. The people lived on lands owned by the great landowners (the nobility), and the political power centered in the hands of those nobles. Economic value was tied to land ownership and agricultural production. In the Renaissance, cities rose to prominence. Banking and trade and budding industries became new ways of generating wealth, social status, and political power.
We should know about this because American Citizens need to know how we won the war.