Dividing government into three branches to prevent one from having too much power?

• A. Checks and Balances
• B. Federalism
• C. Judicial Review
• D. Separation of Powers

Answer: (D)

The main idea here is Separation of Powers, which divides government into three branches so no single part can accumulate too much power. Each branch has its own core job: one makes laws, one enforces them, and one interprets them. By keeping these functions separate, it’s harder for any one group to dominate, because the other branches can limit or review what the first does. This structure relies on mutual checks, so actions by one branch can be balanced by the others. Related terms describe parts of how government operates but aren’t the division itself: checks and balances refers to how branches oversee one another, federalism concerns the division of power between national and state governments, and judicial review is the courts’ power to evaluate laws for constitutionality.