Lesson 5: How Can We Organize Government to Prevent the Abuse of Power?
checks and balances The distribution and balancing of power among different branches of government so that no one branch is able to dominate the others.
executive branch The branch of government that carries out the laws made by the legislative branch.
judicial branch The branch of government that interprets and applies the laws and settles disputes.
legislative branch The branch of government that makes the laws.
separation of powers The division of powers among the different branches of government. In the United States, powers are divided among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches.
