power. The Federal Constitution is the supreme law of the land, and no
state action may contradict it. Unity has given us strength, and great
crises, such as the Civil War and the World War, have ended by
increasing that strength.

33. THE CHECK AND BALANCE SYSTEM.--A striking characteristic feature
of American constitutional government is the check and balance system.
By this system we mean all those constitutional provisions which
divide and subdivide governmental power among various sets of public
agents. [Footnote: For a fuller discussion of the check and balance
system see Chapter XXXIX.]

This division of powers is threefold. First, there is a division of
power between the Federal government and the governments of the
several states. The states are obliged to act in concert on most
questions involving the nation as a whole, but the Federal
Constitution safeguards the rights of the states by reserving to them
all powers not specifically delegated to the Federal government.
Second, in both Federal and state governments, power is still further
distributed among the executive, legislative, and judicial branches in
such a way that each branch constitutes a check upon the other two.
Third, in both Federal and state governments there is a division of
power within each of the three branches of government. Thus both the
President of the United States and the governors of the various states
are at least partially controlled by subordinate executive officials,
while in the legislative branch of both Federal and state governments
the upper and lower houses constitute a check upon one another. In the
case of both Federal and state judicial systems there is a division of
jurisdiction.