The way it worked is the Executive branch had the ability to enforce various laws and control of the military. However, in order to receive any kind of funding for its activities it had to work with the Legislative branch. This is when Congress had the power to review these actions and determine if they wanted to continue providing the President with funding for a host of different activities. If there was a conflict one had the power to check the other through different actions they could take (i.e. Congress refusing to fund a particular program that is favored by the President). At the same time, Congress had the authority to pass various laws that would determine how the country was governed. While, the President has the power to check that of Congress by vetoing it and sending it back to them for further review. The courts have the authority to review various laws and actions that are taken by the government. They can check these two branches by declaring a law or enforcement of different regulations as unconstitutional. This is important, because it is showing how the Constitution was created to prevent similar kinds of abuses from occurring in the new republic. (Williams, 2004, pp. 21 -- 48) Assess the possible role ethics played in the development of these founding documents.

The way that ethics played a major role in the government was to ensure that the final authority always...

The way the people had the ultimate power is through: the ability to choose who they wanted to elect to Congress and for President on a regular basis. If they disapproved with their policies, they have the authority to elect someone else that could change them. The Bill of Rights is designed to ensure that the government will never trample of the rights of the people under the Constitution. As a result, these two factors had a major influence in determining how the various ethics would always protect the rights of the people against the government and possible policies that were enacted. (Williams, 2004, pp. 21 -- 48)
Clearly, both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution shaped the government along with society that we live in by: providing everyone with guaranteed protections. This is significant, because both are illustrating how these documents were concerned about the impact of tyranny. Once this occurs, it means that the power given to the people will slowly slip away. Therefore, the founding fathers wanted to prevent this by creating various principals that did not make the government or one particular institution more dominant than the other.

Bibliography

The Declaration of Independence. (1776).

Williams, J. (2004). The U.S. Constitution. Minneapolis, MN: Campus Print Books.