A system of government where each branch has specific powers to limit and oversee the actions of the other branches, preventing any single branch from dominating. Examples include presidential vetoes, congressional impeachment, and judicial review.
The phrase combines 'check' (meaning to stop or restrain) with 'balance' (meaning equilibrium). It emerged in 18th-century American political writing as framers described their innovative constitutional mechanisms.
The term was inspired by mechanical balance scales and banking practices—the founders literally envisioned government as a machine that would self-regulate through competing forces! This mechanical metaphor reflected Enlightenment thinking that human institutions could be engineered like clockwork to prevent corruption and tyranny.
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