This article is part of a series, called Civics & Civility, focused on explaining how government works and encouraging dialogue and understanding among Butler County residents.

Greg Hayward has played an underrated role in the democratic process for more than three decades.

During his 33 years as a civics teacher at Seneca Valley High School, he’s taught thousands of students about the three branches of United States government and how the unique system has stood the test of time.

Power at the top of one of those branches recently changed hands in late January when Donald Trump assumed the office of the presidency for the second time.

After becoming only the second president in history to win a nonconsecutive second term, Trump now spearheads the executive branch. It’s one of three that define the United States government, along with the legislative and judicial branches.

All three have essential functions that are granted by the U.S. Constitution, which has served as the supreme law of the land for nearly 236 years.

As one of the longest-standing democracies in the world, the United States and its three government branches have operated on a system of checks and balances.

That system was put in place to ensure that no branch would gain a substantial amount of power over another.

“The Founding Fathers had an idea based on their education that they got at the college level in Europe, because that’s where most of them were educated,” Hayward said. “When it came time to create our Constitution, they thought it was extremely important to incorporate that system of checks and balances, where each branch can check on the power of the other two.”

As the country’s leader, a president serves as the head of the federal government and is the commander in chief of the nation’s six military branches, which include the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force and Coast Guard.

The vice president is second in command and first in of succession, should the president not be able to perform his duties. A total of 15 vice presidents have gone on to assume the presidency, eight of those followed the death of a president while in office.

Additionally, a president possesses the right to draft and implement executive orders, issue pardons and appoint federal officials, judges and ambassadors.

One of the other powers that is exclusive to the president is the ability to veto bills that are passed by the United States Congress.

“The president has the ability to say no to a bill,” Hayward said. “But if we look at how that plays out, even if he vetoes (a bill), it can still go back into Congress and both branches of Congress, the House and Senate, can vote to override that presidential veto to get the bill passed anyway.

“That doesn’t happen very often, but that’s that power of checks and balances to make sure that the president doesn’t have all the power to either pass or negate every law that comes over his desk.”

The legislative branch, meanwhile, is responsible for the legislation that ends up on the president’s desk in the White House’s Oval Office.

Congress, which receives its powers from Article I in the Constitution, consists of 435 members of the House of Representatives and another 100 members that make up the Senate.

In addition to determining what laws are in the best interest of American citizens, members of Congress can jointly declare war, regulate trade and control funding, both in the United States and globally.

“Congress has the power to disperse money to foreign entities or countries,” Hayward said. “Once a certain allotment of money is passed through Congress to give to a country, that cannot be overridden — even by the president. Congress also has the power to enforce treaties with other countries.”

Finally, the judicial branch mainly holds power through the interpretation of laws and the ability to settle a wide variety of legal disputes.

The most recognizable part of the branch is the Supreme Court, which is made up of nine judges who serve lifelong terms after being appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate.

Additionally, there are 94 district courts and 13 courts of appeals that make up the judicial branch at the federal level.

“Basically, the job of the Supreme Court is to oversee and make sure that the laws are following the rule of law, which is stated in the Constitution,” Hayward explained. “Any law that’s being created that in any way goes against what the Constitution says can be sent back to the legislative branch.”

While each branch is held accountable by the others, they are all tied together through the Constitution and its 27 amendments.

The first amendment is one of 10 that make up the Bill of Rights passed in 1791 and protects freedom of speech, religion, press, assembly and the right to petition the government.

“When we were colonists of England, we didn’t have any of those rights,” Hayward said. “When the Bill of Rights was assembled, it was adamant that those five basic rights were instilled in the First Amendment.”

While members of the federal government make the majority of critical decisions that affect the nearly 335 million people that call the United States home, it doesn’t mean that any one individual can’t be involved in the democratic process.

One of the most important ideals that can sustain life, liberty and pursuit of happiness as outlined in the Declaration of Independence is the ability to vote and hold elected officials accountable.

“I always tell my students that I have in class that, ‘If the only thing that you do to get involved in government is vote, then you’re doing more than what most Americans do,’” Hayward said. “Connecting to that would be having a voice. If there’s legislation that is currently going through Congress that you don’t agree with or you think is wrong, we as citizens are allowed to voice our opinion.”