The plan to divide the government into three branches was proposed by James Madison, at the Constitutional Convention of 1787. He modeled the division by what he called "the perfect governor", as he 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 American Constitution divided the government into the following three branches to prevent the majority from ruling with an iron fist; legislative, judicial and executive. The Constitution created three branches: Article 1, the legislative branch consisting of the House and Senate, collectively called Congress; Article 2, Executive Power or President; Article 3, Judicial Power, composed of the federal courts and the Supreme Court. This was done in an attempt to distribute power among the three so that one would not have more power than the other. Each branch has the ability to control the power of the other branches. This control of the power of the other branches is called checks and balances, better known as separation of powers. This is to avoid tyranny.http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_did_the_forefathers_of_America_divided_the_government_into_the_legislative_branchesSeparation of PowersIt has been said that the US Constitution is deliberately inefficient because it forces the other branches to control the powers by eliminating one from becoming more dominant than the other two. The three branches of government are legislative, executive and judicial. The legislative branch enacts federal laws at the national level in Congress, which is composed of the House of Representatives and the Senate. The executive... half of the document... lature of judicial review and seats held on the basis of good conduct. The judiciary has an executive branch through judicial review, and the Chief Justice is the president of the Senate during a presidential impeachment. Government of 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 PowersThe Story Behind the Separation of powers dates back to ancient Greece. Compared to the American system of government, other nations such as Great Britain, France, Canada, and Mexico are quite similar. The British parliamentary system does not have two houses of parliament; however it has the upper house called the House of Lords, which included Britain such as dukes, earls, viscounts, barons and bishops.