Merriam-Webster defines power as “the ability to act or produce an effect.” The legislative, judicial, and executive branches of the U.S. government maintain a delicate balance of power as they make, interpret, and enforce laws. In the first three articles of the Constitution, the framers did their best to ensure that power was separated to the point that no single branch of government could claim superiority over another and further enforced this through the structure of checks and balances. Despite the separation of powers and checks and balances, an imbalance of power exists. The legislative branch has more power than both the judicial and executive branches. The primary function of the legislative branch is to make laws. Although the bicameral Congress has several enumerated and implied powers, such as declaring war, regulating foreign and interstate commerce, and establishing post offices, none of these powers are more significant than their primary task of legislating. When created within a nation, laws are a set of rules that that nation's society must abide by. Laws affect almost every aspect of how society functions, from economics to politics. Every time senators and representatives propose a new bill that becomes law, they wield enormous power that impacts the lives of more than 311 million Americans. When it comes to which branch has the most power, this power alone, to produce an effect on American society, is what places the legislative branch above the judicial and executive branches. The central job of the judicial branch is to interpret the laws. Although their ability to interpret laws and determine whether or not a given law, or piece of legislation, is…middle of paper…the active branch has over the executive branch. Ultimately, although the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government share the powers granted to them by the Constitution and maintain a system of checks and balances between them, power is not equally distributed among them. The legislative, judicial, and executive branches make, interpret, and enforce laws. If power is defined as the ability to act or produce an effect, then power in government is directly related to the ability to make laws because laws are the primary method by which a government can “act” or “produce an effect.” on the company. . Therefore, the legislative branch of government has the most power because the laws it creates are what affect society and without those laws, the judicial and executive branches would not be able to function. Works Cited American Government