What are the three branches of government?

The three branches of government established by the United States Constitution are the legislative (Congress), the executive (the President) and the judicial (the Supreme Court and the federal court system). The President and the executive branch are responsible for carrying out the laws, which they do through the federal bureaucracy. The legislative branch makes the laws, and the judicial branch is responsible for interpreting and figuring out how to apply the laws under the Constitution. All governments perform legislative, executive, and judicial functions, but not all vest them in separate branches of government. The Framers of the Constitution gave the powers to the separate branches to ensure that no one branch, especially the executive, would become too powerful. They also granted each branch certain powers over the others (the presidential veto power, or the power to approve presidential appointments held by the Senate) to establish what have become known as "checks and balances" to further this process.