The plan to divide the government into three branches was proposed by James Madison at the Constitutional Convention of 1787. He modeled the division on what he called "the governor perfect,” as he did. read Isaiah 33:22; “For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; He will save us. http://www.eadshome.com/QuotesoftheFounders.htmThe founding fathers of the US Constitution divided the government into the following three branches to prevent the majority from ruling with an iron fist; legislative, judicial and executive. The three branches were created by the Constitution: Article 1, Legislative Branch consisting of the House and Senate, collectively known as the Congress; Article 2, Executive power or President; Article 3, Judicial branch, consisting of the federal courts and the Supreme Court. This was done in an attempt to distribute power between the three so that one would not have more power than the other. Each branch has the ability to check the power of other branches. This check on the power of other branches is called checks and balances, better known as separation of powers. It was about preventing tyranny. http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_did_the_forefathers_of_America_divided_the_government_into_the_legislative_branches Separation of Powers It has been said that the US Constitution is deliberately ineffective because it forces the other branches to check the powers, eliminating one becoming more dominant than the other. two. The three branches of government are the legislative, executive and judicial. The legislative branch enacts federal laws at the national level in Congress, which includes the House of Representatives and the Senate. The executive power...... middle of paper ......lature by judicial control and seats being occupied on good conduct. The judiciary has executive power by judicial review, and the chief justice serves as president of the Senate during a presidential impeachment. Government by the People by James Burns, JW Peltason and Thomas Cronin (Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1984) Constitutional Law by Daniel Hall (Lawyers Cooperative Publishing, Albany, NY, 1997). History of the separation of powers The history of the separation of powers dates back to ancient Greece. In comparison with the American system of government, other countries like Great Britain and France, Canada and Mexico are quite similar. The British parliamentary system does not have two legislative houses; however, there is an upper house called the House of Lords, which was made up of Britain's dukes, earls, viscounts, barons and bishops..