Congress is granted [1] "all legislative power" by the constitution. This could be interpreted to mean that as congressional constituents make demands, representatives and senators work to develop and decide issues eventually sending their policy decisions to the president in the form of laws. If this were the case the House and the Senate would speak for the people and the president and his administration would execute the peoples will. In practice however Congress usually reacts to the president's proposals rather than constructing its own, and on the contrary has devised laws that require the president to submit his programs for congressional action.
Article 3 vests all judicial power in the hands of the courts. The supreme court of the United States is mandated as the final court of appeal from the lower state and federal courts. The courts are responsible for interpreting the constitution this power is commonly known as judicial review. Although this power was not explicitly mentioned in the constitution, chief justice John Marshall in the 1803 Supreme Court case Marbury v. Madison definitively established the principle. The issues, which the court case raised, were to become extremely significant in that it raised the question. Could the Supreme Court declare an act of congress unconstitutional? This firmly established the Supreme Court as a strong third branch of the government although the president has the power of deciding upon all federal judicial appointments.
Based primarily on the British two house system, the legislative branches of government's primary functions as set out in article 1 of the constitution vests all law making powers in the House of Representatives and the Senate, giving them the right to raise taxes, borrow money, regulate interstate commerce and declare war. .
Drafters of the constitution saw the need for a document that would not only serve the needs of the four million people in the then 13 colonies; they were keenly aware of the need for a structure of government that would work (in their favour) not only in their own lifetime, but for generations to come.
