--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It matters enormously to a successful…" description: "\"It matters enormously to a successful democratic society like ours that we have three branches of government, each with some independence and some cont..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5c/sandra-day-o-connor-3681_branches_it-matters-enormously-to-a-successful-de_378855.png" --- # It matters enormously to a successful democratic society… ![“It matters enormously to a successful democratic society like ours that we have three branches of government, each with some independence and some control over the other two. Thats set out in the Constitution.” quote by Sandra Day O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5c/sandra-day-o-connor-3681_branches_it-matters-enormously-to-a-successful-de_378855.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5c/sandra-day-o-connor-3681_branches_it-matters-enormously-to-a-successful-de_378855.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5c/sandra-day-o-connor-3681_branches_it-matters-enormously-to-a-successful-de_378855.png) > “It matters enormously to a successful democratic society like ours that we have three branches of government, each with some independence and some control over the other two. Thats set out in the Constitution.” [Sandra Day O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-day-o-connor/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A balanced government with independent branches safeguards democracy. **In simple terms:** Separate powers protect democracy. Key Takeaway Support checks and balances. Themes democracy government separation of powers Mood formal optimistic Type political educational When to use this quote - legislative debates - court decisions - policy making Key Concepts constitutional law institutional independence balance Questions to Reflect On - How can branches collaborate without compromising independence? - What reforms strengthen accountability? A Different Perspective May ignore political gridlock that hampers effectiveness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Branches of government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/branches-of-government/) [Constitution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constitution/) [Democratic society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democratic-society/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Independence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/independence/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/society/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [Successful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/successful/) [Three branches of government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/three-branches-of-government/) ## Related quotes > [Power is the great evil with which we are contending. We have divided power between three branches of government and erected checks and balances…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-henry/power-is-the-great-evil-with-which-we-are-contending-we-have-divided/) [Patrick Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-henry/) > [We are sworn to uphold the Constitution and law. And it has to be consistent and agreed upon with three branches of government -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-huckabee/we-are-sworn-to-uphold-the-constitution-and-law-and-it-has-to-be/) [Mike Huckabee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-huckabee/) > [The Constitution is government's stop sign. It says, you - the three branches of government - can go so far and no farther.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michele-bachmann/the-constitution-is-government-s-stop-sign-it-says-you-the-three/) [Michele Bachmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michele-bachmann/) > [We've never had our injustices rectified from the top, from the president or Congress, or the Supreme Court, no matter what we learned in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/we-ve-never-had-our-injustices-rectified-from-the-top-from-the/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [The Three Branches of Government: Money, Television, and Bullshit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/the-three-branches-of-government-money-television-and-bullshit/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [Under our system of three branches of government, the courts ultimately are the checks on the legislative and executive branches when they exceed or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-totenberg/under-our-system-of-three-branches-of-government-the-courts/) [Nina Totenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-totenberg/) > [The Congress is a dysfunctional institution; its broken. One of our three branches of government is broken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-bernstein/the-congress-is-a-dysfunctional-institution-its-broken-one-of-our/) [Carl Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-bernstein/) > [The three branches of government number considerably more than three and are not, in any sense, 'branches' since that would imply that there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/the-three-branches-of-government-number-considerably-more-than-three/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [You know, when you get to the New World and you develop your three branches of government and you have a civil society, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/you-know-when-you-get-to-the-new-world-and-you-develop-your-three/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [I'm looking for a Justice who appreciates the awesome responsibility that she will be given, if confirmed. A Justice who understands the gravity of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-klobuchar/i-m-looking-for-a-justice-who-appreciates-the-awesome-responsibility/) [Amy Klobuchar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-klobuchar/) > [When the three branches of government have failed to represent the citizenry and the mass of the media has failed to represent the citizenry,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/when-the-three-branches-of-government-have-failed-to-represent-the/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [I think the Supreme Court has, as an equal branch of government, the ability to overrule Congress and the president. But I also feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-santorum/i-think-the-supreme-court-has-as-an-equal-branch-of-government-the/) [Rick Santorum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-santorum/) > [The federal judiciary is unlike the other branches of government. And once confirmed, a federal judge serves for life. And there's no court above…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-leahy/the-federal-judiciary-is-unlike-the-other-branches-of-government-and/) [Patrick Leahy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-leahy/) > [Thank God for the founding fathers, who set up three separate branches of government. And the media acting as the Fourth Estate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-carson/thank-god-for-the-founding-fathers-who-set-up-three-separate-branches/) [Andre Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-carson/) > [ \[The purpose of a written constitution is\] to bind up the several branches of government by certain laws, which, when they transgress, their acts… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/the-purpose-of-a-written-constitution-is-to-bind-up-the-several/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) ## More by Sandra Day O'Connor > [When I went to law school, which after all was back in the dark ages, we never looked beyond our borders for precedents. As…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-day-o-connor/when-i-went-to-law-school-which-after-all-was-back-in-the-dark-ages/) [Sandra Day O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-day-o-connor/) > [I think I learned to appreciate and treasure each day, because you don't know how many you're going to be given.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-day-o-connor/i-think-i-learned-to-appreciate-and-treasure-each-day-because-you-don/) [Sandra Day O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-day-o-connor/) > [I loved my husband very much, and it was heartbreaking to have him develop Alzheimer's disease, and to stand by and watch him decline…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-day-o-connor/i-loved-my-husband-very-much-and-it-was-heartbreaking-to-have-him/) [Sandra Day O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-day-o-connor/) > [My concerns through the years increased about the concerns of an independent judiciary and how we maintain it. Certainly in the states. I'm a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-day-o-connor/my-concerns-through-the-years-increased-about-the-concerns-of-an/) [Sandra Day O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-day-o-connor/) > [The courts of this country should not be the places where resolution of disputes begins. They should be the places where the disputes end…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-day-o-connor/the-courts-of-this-country-should-not-be-the-places-where-resolution/) [Sandra Day O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-day-o-connor/) > [Young women today often have very little appreciation for the real battles that took place to get women where they are today in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-day-o-connor/young-women-today-often-have-very-little-appreciation-for-the-real/) [Sandra Day O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-day-o-connor/) > [You have to answer the question, like it or not. And the questions deserve a valid legal response, even if the response isn't one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-day-o-connor/you-have-to-answer-the-question-like-it-or-not-and-the-questions/) [Sandra Day O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-day-o-connor/) > [A fundamental premise of American democratic theory is that government exists to serve the people. ... Public records are one portal through which the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-day-o-connor/a-fundamental-premise-of-american-democratic-theory-is-that/) [Sandra Day O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-day-o-connor/) > [This chance will stand before you only once.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-day-o-connor/this-chance-will-stand-before-you-only-once/) [Sandra Day O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-day-o-connor/) > [I care very much about women and their progress. I didn't go march in the streets, but when I was in the Arizona Legislature,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-day-o-connor/i-care-very-much-about-women-and-their-progress-i-didn-t-go-march-in/) [Sandra Day O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-day-o-connor/) > [There was no hostility at the court when I arrived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-day-o-connor/there-was-no-hostility-at-the-court-when-i-arrived/) [Sandra Day O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-day-o-connor/) > [And I went off to Stanford, I was pretty young and pretty naive. And I had a professor I really loved, who was himself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-day-o-connor/and-i-went-off-to-stanford-i-was-pretty-young-and-pretty-naive-and-i/) [Sandra Day O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-day-o-connor/) > [The really expert riders of horses let the horse know immediately who is in control, but then they guide the horse with loose reins…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-day-o-connor/the-really-expert-riders-of-horses-let-the-horse-know-immediately-who/) [Sandra Day O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-day-o-connor/) > [It is true that as you have children, there are a good many months when you don't want to be working full-time. I agree…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-day-o-connor/it-is-true-that-as-you-have-children-there-are-a-good-many-months/) [Sandra Day O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-day-o-connor/) > [The abortion cases produced an enormous amount of mail to my chambers, vastly more than to the other chambers, I am sure. I sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-day-o-connor/the-abortion-cases-produced-an-enormous-amount-of-mail-to-my-chambers/) [Sandra Day O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-day-o-connor/) [Explore all 124 Sandra Day O'Connor quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-day-o-connor/) ## More Branches quotes > [ \[States and the Federal government are\] coordinate departments of one simple and integral whole... The one is the domestic, the other the foreign branch… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/states-and-the-federal-government-are-coordinate-departments-of-one/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [In our system of government, the judicial and legislative branches have different roles. Judges are not politicians. Judges must decide cases, not champion causes.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orrin-hatch/in-our-system-of-government-the-judicial-and-legislative-branches/) [Orrin Hatch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orrin-hatch/) > [The sugar maple is remarkable for its clean ankle. The groves of these trees looked like vast forest sheds, their branches stoppingshort at a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-sugar-maple-is-remarkable-for-its-clean-ankle-the-groves-of-these/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Where is the subject that does not branch out into infinity? For every grain of sand is a mystery; so is every daisy in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mountford/where-is-the-subject-that-does-not-branch-out-into-infinity-for-every/) [William Mountford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mountford/) > [You know how this is: if I look at the crystal moon, at the red branch of the slow autumn at my window, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/you-know-how-this-is-if-i-look-at-the-crystal-moon-at-the-red-branch/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [Money is made at Christmas out of holly and mistletoe, but who save the vendors would greatly care if no green branch were procurable?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-gissing/money-is-made-at-christmas-out-of-holly-and-mistletoe-but-who-save/) [George Gissing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-gissing/) > [“The branches do not support the root. But the root supports the branches.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/the-branches-do-not-support-the-root-but-the-root-supports-the/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [We're the only branch of government that explains itself in writing every time itmakes a decision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-white/we-re-the-only-branch-of-government-that-explains-itself-in-writing/) [Byron White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-white/) > [Certainly in the United States, you have a constituency in the form of the weapons laboratories, and you also have the branches of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burroughs/certainly-in-the-united-states-you-have-a-constituency-in-the-form-of/) [John Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burroughs/) > [The impossibility of separating the nomenclature of a science from the science itself, is owing to this, that every branch of physical science must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-lavoisier/the-impossibility-of-separating-the-nomenclature-of-a-science-from/) [Antoine Lavoisier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-lavoisier/) > [ \[The judiciary is\] the least dangerous branch of our government. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-bickel/the-judiciary-is-the-least-dangerous-branch-of-our-government/) Alexander Bickel > [ For some unknown reason, this \[antiabortion\] branch of Christianity cherishes the unborn and hates the living person. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vine-deloria-jr/for-some-unknown-reason-this-antiabortion-branch-of-christianity/) [Vine Deloria Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vine-deloria-jr/) > [ \[W\]ar is a question, under our constitution, not of Executive, but of Legislative cognizance. It belongs to Congress to say whether the Nation shall… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/w-ar-is-a-question-under-our-constitution-not-of-executive-but-of/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [The sky is now indelible ink, The branches reft asunder; But you and I we do not shrink; We love the lovely thunder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogden-nash/the-sky-is-now-indelible-ink-the-branches-reft-asunder-but-you-and-i/) [Ogden Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogden-nash/) > [I have always wanted to branch off and become a fashion guru. I want to share my artistic views with the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-mclean/i-have-always-wanted-to-branch-off-and-become-a-fashion-guru-i-want/) [A. J. McLean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-mclean/) Browse all 1,228 Branches quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It matters enormously to a successful democratic society like ours that we have three branches of government, each with some independence and some control over the other two. 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