Constitutional Principles

Although all are equally important to keep the government from getting to powerful over the people, I beilive checks and balances are most important and federalism are east important.

Most Important
Checks and Balances- The government is organized around three separate branches. Though the constitution says that these three powers must be separated they are still connected and are not completely independent of each other. What ties them together is known as checks and balances. Three major factors that make checks and balances te most important are:

Independence-Checks and balances create independence amongst the Judicial, Executive, and Legislative branches of the U.S. government. Each branch has its own procedures and rules of conduct, giving them the liberty to legally operate without constraint from another branch.

Limited Power-Each part of the U.S. government is limited in their power as designated by the Constitution. This ensures that no single government branch can overtake another when making policy decisions, attempting to create a single government entity.

Punishment-Each branch of the government has procedures to punish or restrict their members from acting in an unethical manner. This type of punishment usually relates to a break in parliamentary procedure on the code of ethics of that particular government branch.

Examples of checks and balances include the Presidential veto of a Congressional bill, the Congressional impeachment of the President, or the Judicial ruling of Congressional laws that violate the U.S. Constitution.

 

Least Important

Federalism-Federalism is a political system in which the powers are divided between the central government and numerous regional governments. There is a written constitution which formulates this power sharing arrangement between the state and its units. The local governments have exclusive powers to issue licenses, provide for public health, conduct elections and form local governments, and look after the intrastate trade.Prevents the creation of a national policy:The United States does not have a single policy on issues; instead, it has fifty-one policies, which often leads to confusion.

Leads to a lack of accountability: The overlap of the boundaries among national and state governments makes it tricky to assign blame for failed policies.

Federalism promotes regional inequalities. Natural resources, industries, employment opportunities differ from region to region. Hence earnings and wealth are unevenly distributed. Rich states offer more opportunities and benefits to its citizens than poor states can. Thus, the gap between rich and poor states widens.