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The separation of powers is America’s most profound and useful political contribution to the world. Studying its principles, development, and decay is a requirement for understanding American politics and is as well a potential benefit to students of aspiring democracies throughout the world. For the separation of powers enables self-government, putting democratic principles of equality and liberty into practice while moderating the powers of majorities. We will study the principles and practice of the separation of powers by examining how each elected branch of government protects its rights, while checking the rights of others. The separation of powers can be said to have produced a more just and moderate democratic form of government, but it has also occasioned the complaint that it has produced gridlock and incompetence. To investigate the strengths and drawbacks of the separation of powers, we will pay close attention to the classic texts advocating the separation of powers, such as The Federalist Papers; the great changes in American politics effected by the Civil War, the Progressive movement, and the New Deal; and the domestic and foreign policy debates in recent administrations. Special attention will be paid to the seminal opinions of the unelected branch of American government, the Supreme Court. The course will note in particular the contemporary challenges to the separation of powers, evidenced in the rise of the administrative state, the expanding powers of courts, and the growth of party government. We will also note instances of how parliamentary and presidential governments throughout the world might benefit from separation of powers principles.