The governmental structures of the United States and Pennsylvania are similar: three branches that share power and watch over one another through a system called checks and balances, so that no one person or group ever grows too strong. America’s Founding Fathers learned, under the harsh dictates of the English monarchy, that a government body given too much power will oppress its people. Life under England’s king left them wary of a leader who answered to no one, so the U.S. Constitution deliberately divides power.  A separation of powers, guarded by checks and balances, was built into the basis of our government to keep tyranny out.

The idea of democracy and the belief that all people should have a voice is ancient. The Greeks of Athens voted in a direct democracy, more than 2,000 years ago: one male citizen over 18 was allowed one vote. The United States is not a pure democracy; it is a representative democracy: we elect candidates to vote for us, trusting them to carry our voice and the country’s best interests into every law.

Starting on your own block, you elect a block captain, a committee person, a ward leader, etc. Citizens in each Philadelphia district vote for a representative to become one of 17 members of City Council. There are also 50 State Senators who represent the entire State of Pennsylvania, and 203 members of the House of Representatives elected to two-year terms. Pennsylvania, like all 50 states, is represented on the Federal level. Pennsylvanians elect two United States Senators and a member of the United States House of Representatives from their congressional district. Together, the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives form Congress.

Each state has a governor, a lieutenant governor, a senate, a house of representatives, and a state Supreme Court. The federal executive branch is led by the President, who can veto or sign into law bills passed by Congress. The judicial branch, the courts, with the U.S. Supreme Court at the top, decides whether laws follow the Constitution.

At the federal level, Congress is the legislative branch, the part of the government that creates our laws. Federal laws are considered, under the Supremacy Clause, to be the supreme law of the land, which can override some state laws. It holds some of the most powerful powers, including the authority to declare war and to decide how the nation’s money is spent.

No branch works alone. Checks and balances work together to ensure that the government stays honest and true to the law and that no one person can have too much power. Congress writes a law; the President can veto it. Congress can override that veto with a two-thirds vote. The Supreme Court can strike down a law that is considered unconstitutional — and while the President nominates judges to the Supreme Court, only the Senate can approve them.

Every one of those lawmakers, from council member to president, holds a seat because voters put them there.

Next week: how a bill is introduced and becomes law.