American Government / Unit 1 Gov 032 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Checks and Balances
Captions available
The idea
Checks and balances give each branch of government tools to restrain the other two.
In practice
A president vetoes a bill; Congress can override the veto with supermajorities in both chambers.
Where people slip
A check is a power over another branch's act, not a wall between jobs.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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