Article 1

Article I - The Legislative Branch
Section 1 - The Legislature
All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.



Okay, so first, let's set this up. The first article of the Constitution defines the Legislative Branch. Pretty straightforward, right? So, let's see if it's as clear as it sounds like. All law-making powers given to the federal government reside in the Legislative Branch. That means the other two do not have these powers at all. The President of the United States CANNOT make or enact laws. Neither can the Supreme Court. This is very important, if you have been following things of late.



The legislative branch is broken into two groups. The first is the Senate. This is the one that is representative of the States. There is a limited number of positions (2 per state). The second is the House of Representatives. It was designed to be representative of the people. I'll explain that further when I write what the Constitution says about each group and their responsibility.



Why does this matter? Who cares who makes the laws? How can it make a difference? Well, if you give the power of making laws to the Executive branch, then you have one person making the decisions. That is not a representative government, but an authoritarian one. Giving that much power to one individual has NEVER ended well in the history of humankind. I can point to times in our own past that the president has attempted to coerce Congress through one means or another. They seem to name their grand ideas "deals." There's been at least a couple. A New one and a Great one.



If you give the power to the Courts, then you will eventually start ceding powers that have been reserved to the people or the states to the federal government. Roe v Wade is the first decision that pops to mind, though it is certainly not the only one. In the last 25% or so of the history of the United States, the Supreme Court has superceded their power, in basically declaring law. This will be covered in more detail later as well.