<P> To me the key to understanding it is balance . The founders went to great lengths to balance institutions against each other---- balancing powers among the three branches: Congress, the president, and the Supreme Court; between the House of Representatives and the Senate; between the federal government and the states; among states of different sizes and regions with different interests; between the powers of government and the rights of citizens, as spelled out in the Bill of Rights...no one part of government dominates the other . </P> <P> The Constitution provides checks and balances among the three branches of the federal government . The authors of the Constitution expected the greater power to lie with Congress as described in Article One . </P> <P> The influence of Congress on the presidency has varied from one period to another; the degree of power depending largely on the leadership of the Congress, political influence by the president, or other members of congress and the boldness of the president's initiatives . Under the first half - dozen presidents, power seems to have been evenly divided between the president and Congress, in part because early presidents largely restricted their vetoes to bills that were unconstitutional . In 1863, New York governor Horatio Seymour believed Congress to be the "most influential branch ." The impeachment of Andrew Johnson made the presidency much less powerful than Congress . During the late 19th century, President Grover Cleveland aggressively attempted to restore the executive branch's power, vetoing over 400 bills during his first term, although historians today view Cleveland as exhibiting merely "boring, stolid competence ." </P> <P> The 20th and 21st centuries have seen the rise of the power of the Presidency under Theodore Roosevelt (1901--09), Woodrow Wilson (1913--21), Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933--45), Richard Nixon (1969--74), Ronald Reagan (1981--89), and George W. Bush (2001--09) (see Imperial Presidency). In recent years, Congress has restricted the powers of the President with laws such as the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 and the War Powers Resolution; nevertheless, the Presidency remains considerably more powerful than during the 19th century . Executive branch officials are often loath to reveal sensitive information to congresspersons because of possible concern that such information could not be kept secret; knowing they may be in the dark about executive branch activity, congressional officials are more likely to distrust their counterparts in executive agencies . Further, many government actions require fast coordinated effort by many agencies, and this is a task that Congress is ill - suited for . Congress is slow, open, divided, and not well matched to handle more rapid executive action or do a good job of overseeing such activity . </P>

What is the role of the president the courts and the congress