Once a president takes office; he is typically rated as either a strong or weak President; even before he has made any significant changes. This occurs because the President of the United States is referred to by many as the most powerful position in the world. But is his position in the American Government really that powerful? On the surface, it may seem to be that way. He is the chief executive of the world's largest superpower; is boss over approximately two and a half million employees, which makes up two per cent of the American labour force. He is also the commander-in-chief of the most powerful army and he also has a briefcase containing America’s nuclear launch codes. But does he truly have control over all of these things on his own, or do other levels of the American government play just as important of a role, or more important of one. With the American divided into three branches; the executive, legislative and judicial, they all play a part in helping the country prosper economically and socially as a society. So as far as the presidential strength goes, I would say the presidency is quite weak due to the Separation of Power, Checks and Balances and the amount of power that the Legislative branch specifically has over him. In doing so however, it helps the country prosper by not giving too much power to one single branch of government or one single person. When the thirteen colonies back in seventeen seventy-six declared their independence from Great Britain during the American Revolution, they did not wish to have a monarchy like the British government. To prevent this, Congress created the Articles of Confederation to establish some sort of alliance between the states. Once this alliance was formed, the Treaty of Paris secured their independence and the Constitutional Convention convened. It was at this conference that arrangements between the legislative and executive branch were formed within their respective state governments. It was also at these negotiations that the presidency was framed and a constitution emerged. This is one of the reasons that the President doesn’t have much control in modern society. Had things gone well when the States had significant power over the The American Constitution created a representative government that contains three branches. (Hamilton 2005) Congress is considered the first branch of the American national government. While the United States has three co-equal branches, with the others being the President and the Senate, it is the powers that the congress has that make it so powerful. The president is never the master of Congress, except in relatively brief intervals of emergency. (Laski 1940) An example of this would be if a place were devastated by a storm, like Hurricane Katrina in 2006. The president can then make it eligible for federal aid. Article One of the constitution covers a lot of these powers. In section eight, it shows that Congress has the power to lay and collect taxes duties imposts, and excises. (Wilson, et. al. 2015: 304) They also have a lot to do with the American currency. Congress has the power to borrow money from the banks, regulate commerce, establish rules for naturalization and bankruptcy and to coin money, set its value, and punish counterfeiting. (Wilson, et. al. 2015: 304) All of these have to do with money, which shows that the Congress controls a lot of what the federal money goes towards. Congress, also under section eight, can fix the standard of weights and measures. (Wilson, et al. 2015: 304) Regulating these is necessary for industry and commerce so that you can regulate products. They also have the power to issue patents and copyrights to inventors and authors. Congress also establishes post offices and post roads, which is called the Postal Clause. Finally, they are able to create courts that are inferior to the Supreme Courts. Congress is one of the most important positions in the legislative branch. In the United States, the Congress is bicameral, meaning that it is a lawmaking body that consists of two chambers. The first chamber is the Senate. The Senate is made up of two senators from each state regardless of the size of population of each state. This means that there are one hundred senators who each serve six-year terms. The major power of the Senate is to pass bills that have gone through the House. The power that the Senate exclusively has includes confirming appointments of various Federal officials, consenting to treaties and to trial federal officials who have been impeached by the House. The second chamber is the House of Representatives. There are four hundred and thirty five members of the House, but unlike the Senate, these spots are in proportion based on each States population. States such as Alaska and Delaware only have one representative, while California has fifty-three. Each representative serves a term of two years. The major power of the House is the pass of federal legislat